Countdown to Camp: 72
As we look ahead to training camp in late July, we're going to take a daily retrospective look back at some random people, moments and games from Jets history...
The Current 72
Brandon Shell seems to have solidified his spot as the starting right tackle despite some up-and-down play over his first two seasons. He is an imposing figure and his pass protection numbers have been decent, but he needs to work on his consistency to establish himself as part of the long-term core.
The Greatest
Paul Rochester was the least heralded of the four defensive lineman that started Super Bowl III for the Jets, but he played his part. Rochester was with the Jets for the last seven years of his career:
The other 72's
Chris Ward, Jason Ferguson, Caleb Schlauderaff...
The '72 season
The 1972 season was most notable for a shootout win over the Baltimore Colts that was Joe Namath's greatest ever performance and one of the best passing performances by anyone in NFL history. Namath racked up 496 yards and six touchdowns on just 15 completions while Rich Caster also shone with 204 yards and three touchdowns on six catches. That was the Jets single-game receiving yardage record until Eric Decker broke it in "the Geno Smith perfect game game" a few years ago.
The Jets were 7-5 with two games to go and would have made the playoffs with two wins, but lost to Oakland and Cleveland to end up 7-7 on the year.
Namath, Caster and Winston Hill were all pro bowlers while John Riggins rushed for 944 yards and Steve Tannen led the defense with seven interceptions.
72-yard touchdown from across town
Here's a memorable 72-yarder the Jets gave up against their crosstown rivals. They still won though:
Let us know if there's any connections to 72 that we missed...