From Bad To Good

As an eager, more like impatient, "J! E! T! S! JETS! JETS! JETS!" fan, I am trying to be realistic about my chances of having a happy football season in 2008.

So, I decided to go back a few years and find some teams that have had rocky (OK, abysmal) prior seasons and were able to have successful years following. 

First, let me explain that I did not go back prior to free agency. In the free agency era of football, the name of the game is parity. No longer will a player the caliber of Archie Manning be stuck on the 1980 Ain'ts, where he passed for over 3,700 yards and they went 1-15. Long story short (too late), I did not look past 1992.

Here is the list.

Pittsburgh Steelers: 2003—6/10, 2004—15/1

New England Patriots: 2000—5/11, 2001—11/5

St. Louis Rams: 1998—4/12, 1999—13/3

It should be noted, that in each of these examples, the turnaround was done on the shoulders of an unknown behind center. Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady, and Kurt Warner to be exact (God, please enter Kellen Clemens).

I can also add that the Patriots and Rams won the Super Bowl that year. The Steelers waited only one more year to lift the Lombardi trophy.

Now, before I get 40 hate comments, I am not suggesting that the Jets will win the Super Bowl this year. I'm not even going to predict a winning season.

But for all of you fans of teams that performed below average in 2007, I hope this article will lift your spirits and outlook for the start of the 2008 season. That is, until your team starts 0-4.