Countdown to Camp: 87
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 87
Jojo Natson was just released but had been the player with the 87 jersey, which will now go to one of the many receivers and tight ends without a number.
The Greatest
In two stints with the Jets Laveranues Coles was, at times, underappreciated. However, he had plenty of great moments, including a couple of thousand-yard seasons:
The other 87's
Eric Decker, Pete Lammons, Chris Burkett...
The '87 season
The 1987 season was a weird one. The Jets opened up 2-0 but then the players went on strike and, with replacement players in the line-up, dropped to 3-2 before the full-time players returned.
Still, they got to 6-5 with a win over the Bengals as Barry Bennett blocked a potential game-winning field goal and Rich Miano returned it for the winning score. However, they collapsed in December and ended up 6-9.
Al Toon fell just 24 yards short of a thousand yard season having only played 12 games due to the strike. However, he did represent the Jets at the pro bowl. Johnny Hector chipped in with 11 touchdown runs.
87 rating
In the strike-shortened season of 1982, Jets quarterback Richard Todd almost led the Jets to the postseason with a career-best quarterback rating of 87.3. That doesn't sound like much but it was good for sixth best in the NFL. He was also sixth in touchdown passes and ninth in completion percentage.
This - from the 1981 season - was probably his biggest moment, giving the Jets a 16-15 win over Miami and the AFC East lead late in the season:
Let us know if there's any connections to 87 that we missed...