Presidents Day New York Jets Tribute

Feb. 2, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA: New York Jets former quarterback Joe Namath walks the red carpet prior to the Super Bowl XLVII NFL Honors award show at Mahalia Jackson Theater. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning Jet Pressers. Happy Presidents Day! Hopefully, those of you that have the day off today are enjoying yourselves, as you take the time to stop by the site this morning. I thought to start off the day, doing a tribute to the holiday would be appropriate.

Presidents Day is when we celebrate George Washington’s birthday. As the president, you become the face of the country, don’t you think? People associate our president with our country. You have a similar situation with sports teams, as someone always ends up being the face of the franchise. So today, as we celebrate the former faces of our nation, we look back at some of the faces of our franchise, starting with the guy to the right.

JOE NAMATH

As the man who led our team to their only Super Bowl title, and guaranteeing they were going to win it, makes him the George Washington of the team. He will always be the face of the team. Aside from winning the big one, Namath was also the first pro quarterback to throw for over 4,000 yards.

He didn’t have a huge game in the Super Bowl, and for his career, actually threw for more INTs than TDs. He was bothered by bad knees for the majority of his career, leaving us to only wonder how much better he could have been. But the bottom line is that there is no bigger face of the Jets than Joe Namath.

JOE KLECKO

Joe Klecko might be the finest defensive lineman not be enshrined in Canton, and he was one of the faces of our football team for several years. Being the only player to make the Pro Bowl at DE, NT, and DT defines greatness, and someone that is a face of your team. He led the famous “New York Sack Exchange” with 20.5 sacks in 1981, when that front four terrorized offenses with 66 sacks.

Beginning in 1982, knee injuries began to limit Joe Klecko, moving him from the outside to the inside, and eventually ending his career. Despite that, his is a career to celebrate as he was a well respected face of this franchise.

BILL PARCELLS

Another face that could certainly be qualified as “presidential”, as far as the Jets are concerned, is Bill Parcells. Despite the fact that he only coached the team for three years, he had a profound effect on the team as we all know. Taking the team from 1-15 to 12-4 in only two seasons is nothing short of remarkable.

What he brought back to the New York Jets, which they had lacked for several years leading up to his arrival, was credibility. The Jets were the laughingstock of the sport, but then Bill Parcells arrived. Everyone took notice of the New York Jets. Turning things around to that degree is a very presidential thing to do, and that is why he gets noticed here.

CURTIS MARTIN

One year after Bill was Curtis. All he did was stabilize the credibility of this team, and rush for over 1,000 yards every season he was here until he suffered his career ending knee injury. When you bring in a pro like Curtis Martin, the lineup gains credibility, just as the Mets lineup did when they added Keith Hernandez in 1983.

Curtis Martin, in a very professional, stately manner, went about his business. We never heard a peep out of him, but he got the job done, each and every time he was called upon.

Forget hail to the chief. Hail to Curtis.

Finally, there is one more face that needs to be recognized here. It is one that needs no words, nothing to describe. Just a face, so here it is:

Jan 8, 2013; Florham Park, NJ, USA; New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan reviews the 2012 season and address changes for 2013 at the New York Jets Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Jim O

Happy President’s Day!