Post by Lithfan on Sept 16, 2015 5:50:45 GMT -5
Sept 16, 1979
After a tumultuous off season in which the starting QB would be sidelined, the result of an training camp “altercation” with a teammate, the season got started as the Jets played host to the Cleveland Browns. Sound familiar? Oh yeah, and there was an Idzik involved.
In 1979, Matt Robinson and Richard Todd were locked in a battle to win the starting QB job for the Jets. Todd was injured during the 78 season, and Robinson had come off the bench to start 11 of the last 12 games, leading the Jets to a 6-5 record in his 11 starts. Robinson was named the starter following the 3rd preseason game.
3 days before the Jets were scheduled to host Cleveland in the opener, Robinson and some of his teammates went out drinking. Just fooling round with his teammates, Robinson and Joe Klecko wound up in a wrestling match. While Klecko apparently went easy on Robinson, when he got back to the hotel, Robinson challenged back-up WR Bobby Jones to a match. It was all in fun, but Robinson injured his thumb during the tussle. Fearing he would lose the starting job, Robinson hid the injury from Head Coach Walt Michaels and QB Coach John Idzik (the father).
Robinson played through the injury in week 1, a 25-22 overtime loss to the Browns, decided on a field goal set up by a Robinson interception. He would be benched for week 2 after the injury was discovered, and Todd got the start in a 56-3 loss to the Patriots. Robinson would finish the season firmly entrenched in Coach Michaels doghouse and he would never throw another pass for the Jets. He did appear as the holder for the placekicker, but would be traded to Denver in the offseason.
The Jets got their first win of the season in week 3, on Sept 16, 1979, a 31-10 victory at Shea Stadium against the Detroit Lions. Richard Todd would only throw 13 times in that week 3 matchup, but he made the most of those throws. He connected on 9 of the 13 for 208 yards, including 6 passes to Wesley Walker for 177 yards.
“The more he plays, the more confident he will get,” said Walker of Todd. “The more confidence he gets the more I’ll catch and the more we’ll win."
The Jets also rushed for over 200 yards and 4 TDs, with Kevin Long and Scott Dierking leading an attack that featured 4 RBs. Long had 3 of the Jets 4 rushing TDs.
The game was tight throughout, with Detroit jumping out to an early 7-0 lead. On the first play from scrimmage following the Lions score, Todd hooked up with Walker for 47 yards, which set up Kevin Long’s first TD on the day, a 7-yard score. It was a similar story on the next Jets possession, as Todd would connect twice with Walker for 22 and 32 yards to set up another Kevin Long rushing TD.
It would remain a one score game, however, until the 4th quarter when the Jets scored two late TDs to put the LIons away by a score of 31-10. “We saw the way to win,” said Michaels after the game, “And it's to be aggressive.”
1979 is also the first season that the Jets had the sack exchange together on the roster. Both Joe Klecko and Abdul Salaam were returning starters from the 78 season. With their first two picks in the 79 draft, the Jets selected Marty Lyons and Mark Gastineau. It would be a couple of years before they would gain fame as the New York Sack Exchange.
After a tumultuous off season in which the starting QB would be sidelined, the result of an training camp “altercation” with a teammate, the season got started as the Jets played host to the Cleveland Browns. Sound familiar? Oh yeah, and there was an Idzik involved.
In 1979, Matt Robinson and Richard Todd were locked in a battle to win the starting QB job for the Jets. Todd was injured during the 78 season, and Robinson had come off the bench to start 11 of the last 12 games, leading the Jets to a 6-5 record in his 11 starts. Robinson was named the starter following the 3rd preseason game.
3 days before the Jets were scheduled to host Cleveland in the opener, Robinson and some of his teammates went out drinking. Just fooling round with his teammates, Robinson and Joe Klecko wound up in a wrestling match. While Klecko apparently went easy on Robinson, when he got back to the hotel, Robinson challenged back-up WR Bobby Jones to a match. It was all in fun, but Robinson injured his thumb during the tussle. Fearing he would lose the starting job, Robinson hid the injury from Head Coach Walt Michaels and QB Coach John Idzik (the father).
Robinson played through the injury in week 1, a 25-22 overtime loss to the Browns, decided on a field goal set up by a Robinson interception. He would be benched for week 2 after the injury was discovered, and Todd got the start in a 56-3 loss to the Patriots. Robinson would finish the season firmly entrenched in Coach Michaels doghouse and he would never throw another pass for the Jets. He did appear as the holder for the placekicker, but would be traded to Denver in the offseason.
The Jets got their first win of the season in week 3, on Sept 16, 1979, a 31-10 victory at Shea Stadium against the Detroit Lions. Richard Todd would only throw 13 times in that week 3 matchup, but he made the most of those throws. He connected on 9 of the 13 for 208 yards, including 6 passes to Wesley Walker for 177 yards.
“The more he plays, the more confident he will get,” said Walker of Todd. “The more confidence he gets the more I’ll catch and the more we’ll win."
The Jets also rushed for over 200 yards and 4 TDs, with Kevin Long and Scott Dierking leading an attack that featured 4 RBs. Long had 3 of the Jets 4 rushing TDs.
The game was tight throughout, with Detroit jumping out to an early 7-0 lead. On the first play from scrimmage following the Lions score, Todd hooked up with Walker for 47 yards, which set up Kevin Long’s first TD on the day, a 7-yard score. It was a similar story on the next Jets possession, as Todd would connect twice with Walker for 22 and 32 yards to set up another Kevin Long rushing TD.
It would remain a one score game, however, until the 4th quarter when the Jets scored two late TDs to put the LIons away by a score of 31-10. “We saw the way to win,” said Michaels after the game, “And it's to be aggressive.”
1979 is also the first season that the Jets had the sack exchange together on the roster. Both Joe Klecko and Abdul Salaam were returning starters from the 78 season. With their first two picks in the 79 draft, the Jets selected Marty Lyons and Mark Gastineau. It would be a couple of years before they would gain fame as the New York Sack Exchange.
