radio@spuxll.UUCP (Rick Farina) (08/26/85)
[...wide to the right Maynard...wide to the left Sauer... back to pass goes Namath...] So how come nobody is picking the Jets for the AFC East Title? C'mon folks, AT LEAST a puny Wildcard?? Simple. Because the Jets are "rebuilding" this season. If "rebuilding" is a euphemism for a 7-9 season, then the Jets are "rebuilding" all the time. How long are we long-suffering Jets fans gonna be told that this is a "rebuilding" year. In fact, I submit that 1985 is NOT a "rebuilding" year for the Jets. As in the past two seasons -- beginning with Walt Michaels "retirement" press conference and Joe Walton's hiring -- this is a "dismantling" year for the Jets. That is, Joe Walton continues in earnest to dismantle the team that Michaels painstakingly built and took to the AFC Finals just a few years ago. Last Year: Richard Todd, Chris Ward, Jerome Barkum, Abdul Saalam, Kenny Neil, etc, etc This year: Greg Buttle, Bruce Harper, John Woodring, Darrol Ray, Mike Augustyniak, etc, etc The irony is that by the time the Walton-era "rebuilding" is completed, he will be fired by a tempestuous management impatient with a string of 7-9 finishes. A new coach will then be installed, and unless he's Knox or Noll or Shula, he'll embark on a three-year "rebuilding" plan after which he'll be fired, and on and on and on... raf ---