To quote WFAN host and life long Jet fan Joe Benigno, "Oh the pain". Pain is what Jet fans have felt for most of the franchises history. NFL Draft day is a time for hope and optimism. A great draft can lead to years of success, while a poor one will set the franchise backwards for a long time. The most scrutinized pick is the first one. For the Jets, that first pick usually comes early because of a poor previous season. Fans can at least cope with the fact their team sucked because they are compensated with a high draft pick. They hear the commissioner call out "with their first round pick the New York Jets select_____________".
We see and hear the reaction. Jet fans have become well known for this. The wanna be scouts and general managers are ready to explode. An ESPN video montage was made of it because they are classic. You can hear that true New Yorker accent screaming, 'Ya gotta be kiddin". Most of them are at least 6 beers in, probably have no life considering they are actually at the draft, and now want to torch the building. The New York sports fan can be very rough.
Welcome to New York rook. It must be difficult for a 22 year old kid right out of college to deal with that. Their life long dream of being drafted in the NFL came true. This should be the greatest moment of their life. They just better hope the fans want them because if they don't, it will be a miserable experience. What makes it worse for Jet first rounders is the NFL draft is in the city. They are literally walking into a fire of doom. I actually feel bad for them.
It's difficult to criticize Jet fans for their reactions. Aside from Freeman McNeil, those are some of the worst draft picks in the history of the NFL. Johnny "Lam" Jones, Ken O'Brien, Roger Vick, Jeff Lageman, Blair Thomas, Johnny Mitchell, and Kyle Brady are not names that make Jet fans moist. You can feel their disappointment. They look like a high school kid finding out he got his girlfriend pregnant. What made the video even more hysterical was after each pick, hearing ESPN draft host Chris Berman screaming, "Ohhhh" in the background. It rubbed more salt into the Jet fans wounds.
Another highlight from the video is when the fan said "Obviously the Jets know something that the people up hear don't", after picking Ken O'Brien over Dan Marino. He was being way too kind. He should have said, "it is obvious the Jets are clueless and we should hang the owner and general manager by their balls."
My top 5 worst Jet first round picks (Since 1980)
5- Dewayne Robertson- his pick was not featured in the video. Most supported the pick, but he turned out to be a bust. He had really bad knees and tackled more donuts than running backs in his Jet career.
4- Blair Thomas- He was the second overall pick in the draft. He ran for 2,000 yards and scored 5 touchdowns in five years. Not very good.
3- Roger Vick- The fact they chose a full back in the first round is insanity. His job is to block. A tackling dummy can do the same job. You can draft full backs in the 6th or 7th round
2- Kyle Brady- The Jets drafted a tight end in the first round the previous draft (Johnny Mitchell-also a bust). They passed over Warren Sapp. Sapp became one of the greatest defensive lineman in NFL history. Kyle Brady couldn't catch a cold. He was a good blocker though (Just to make Jet fans feel better about the pick).
1- Ken O'Brien- Had a decent career but was chosen over Dan Marino. Marino became an all time great quarterback for the Miami Dolphins and O'Brien was just another average NFL quarterback. The awfulness of the pick is more due to the Marino factor (Similar to the Kyle Brady over Warren Sapp pick).
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