March 2, 1995One other item of significance from this date.
The Jets and new head coach Rich Kotite were in need of a back-up QB after the Jets lost Jack Trudeau to Carolina in the expansion draft. Kotite turned to a familiar face, bringing in Bubby Brister, who had been the back-up to Randall Cunningham when they had both been in Philadelphia. On this date, March 2, 1995, the Jets signed back-up QB Bubby Brister to a 2-year contract.
In Philly, Brister proved to be a capable back-up -- completing about 60% of his passes with 16 TDs and 6 interceptions. However he would not come close to any of those numbers during his tenure with the Jets, which turned out to be just one miserable season. Brister would play in 9 games for the Jets in 1995, starting 4 of the 9. He would turn in one of the worst QB seasons in the history of the NFL.
How bad was Brister for the 1995 Jets?
His approximate value, according to Pro Football Reference, was -4 for that season. Only two players in the history of the NFL have ever had lower approximate values for a single season by the Pro Football Reference measure: Dan Pastorini for the LA Rams in 1981 and Ryan Lindley for Arizona in 2012.
During that season, Brister completed 93 of 170 passes for 726 yards with 4 TDs and 8 Ints. His average yards per attempt of 4.27 is the lowest Y/A for any QB throwing at least 150 passes in a season since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.
Nothing could sum up the futility and incompetence surrounding that team better than Brister’s own words, recalling his benching in a November loss to New England. Brister had started for an injured Boomer Esiason with Glenn Foley as Bubby’s back-up. Brister was benched down 3-0 and Foley came in, only to suffer a separated shoulder late in the game.
“Foley blows his shoulder out and Kotite goes to me, ‘You’re going in.’ I said, ‘No, you benched me. Boomer’s up.’
“Boomer said, ‘Screw that, I an’t going in.’ He said, ‘Punt the ball, it’s 3rd down.’
“We didn’t have a chance to win. So we punted. It was a disaster. I mean, if he is stupid enough to bench me when it’s 3-0, then I am stupid enough to say I ain’t going in. I just decided since I got benched I was in back of the line and Boomer was bitching all week about he should be starting anyway. I said go on, go ahead if you want to play. Ohhhh, it was really bad.”
Brister ultimately got the last laugh. After his stop in NY, he signed with the Denver Broncos to back-up John Elway -- he was on the Broncos Super Bowl team that beat the Jets in the 98 Championship Game.
Bad numbers, bad play, bad attitude. Possibly the worst Jet ever. Today’s Jet fan kick in the nuts, courtesy of Bubby Brister.
Source: Pittsburgh Post Gazette
