New York Jets Independence Day Celebration

Jan 31, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Jets owner

y Johnson attends the press conference for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell at Rose Theater in advance of Super Bowl XLVIII. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Happy Independence Day, Jets fans. Today is a day to make sure we give thanks to those who have defended our right to write blogs, talk football, and genuinely be free and do as we please. To any of our readers that have served for us, we give a heartfelt thank you and hope you enjoy your day as well. Thanks for taking the time out of your holiday to spend some time at the Jet Press.

Today, we are going to take a look at Independence Day from a Jets point of view. Specifically, we are going to give thanks for some specific players, and non-players, that fought to put the Jets in the position that they are in today.

(Note: This is not to make light of any veterans or what they have done, just to give holiday a team spin.)

WOODY JOHNSON: We definitely need to start at the top here. Since purchasing the team in 2000, the team has made two AFC title game appearances, and many playoff appearances. The Jets have been a team that has never given up and been in the playoff race nearly every season, and we have to thank the owner, in part, for that.

We may not like it when he speaks, I certainly don’t. I have talked about that many times on here. But, he does have the team’s best interest in his heart, and that is all we can ask.

REX RYAN: There is no way we can’t say thank you to the big guy. From the moment Rex Ryan entered the building, there was a different attitude about the Jets. The Jets were to be noticed, not laughed at. When Rex says, “Here come the Jets”, it means something. That would have been a joke in years gone by. Not now, thanks to Rex fighting every day to make this team the best it can be.

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MO WILKERSON: We have to give thanks to the on-field big guy, Mo Wilkerson. Over the last year and a half, Wilk has become a dominant leader on the Jets defense, leading a defensive front that hasn’t looked this good in thirty years. Thanks Mo.

CURTIS MARTIN: Why Curtis Martin? We all know how great he was. He was by far the best running back ever to put the jersey on, with Freeman McNeil and John Riggins a distance second and third place. But that all is not why Curtis makes this group.

Bill Parcells arrived in 1997, and the Jets improved. Yet, they still didn’t have a player that anyone took notice of. Wayne Chrebet, and that point didn’t scare anyone, and neither did Keyshawn Johnson at the time. But Curtis Martin came to town, and all of a sudden, the Jets meant something. Thanks Curtis.

I was considering putting John Idzik on this list, but it is too soon. I need to see his program get the job done over a few seasons first.

That’s just a partial list, there are many others out there. Who are some other players/coaches/administrators that should be on this list?