Better Late Than Never? Can Peyton Manning Change Jets History 14 Years Later?

The New York Jets were coming off a woeful season even by their standards in 1997. They were 1-15 but there was hope. Bill Parcells was taking over as coach and the Jets had the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. And they could hardly wait to take Peyton Manning, everyone's quarterback of the future.

Manning, however, never gave the Jets a chance. He announced that he was returning to the University of Tennessee for his senior year. He enjoyed being in college, he said. Probably more than the prospect of being a Jet.

A year later, Manning posed with commissioner Paul Tagliabue after being picked by the Indianapolis Colts. While Parcells took the Jets to the AFC championship game with Vinny Testaverde at quarterback, no one confused Vinny as the long-term answer at quarterback.

All these years later, the Jets are still searching for a franchise quarterback. It was supposed to be Mark Sanchez and still might, but what damage is being done to Sanchez' fragile psyche with the rumors that the Jets will try to sign Manning after he is expected to be released by the Colts? 

No matter what management says publicly, the Jets may be willing to sacrifice Sanchez for a future Hall of Fame quarterback who has undergone four surgeries on his neck and still hasn't convinced anyone he can play again.

Sometimes it seems that the Jets made a Faustian bargain when Joe Namath led them to that shocking 16-7 victory over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III...the game that changed the landscape of pro football. And even though Namath's stat sheet would not impress anyone grading quarterbacks today, the Jets have never really found his successor.

Here are a few who tried:  

If Ken O'Brien Had Been Drafted Only a Year Later

Ken O'Brien was drafted in 1983 and ranks as the longest-tenured quarterback after Namath. He played nine seasons and put up respectable numbers, completing 58.8 percent of his passes with 124 touchdowns and 95 interceptions.

The Jets were 50-55-1 with O'Brien under center, but he did lead them to the playoffs and by all rights should be remembered as having a solid career.

There is only one problem: The Jets were one of the teams in need of a quarterback who bypassed a guy named Dan Marino. At least it wasn't as bad as the Kansas City Chiefs who had the second overall pick in the draft and chose Todd Blackledge over Marino and Jim Kelly. 

A Distinctive Name, but an Ordinary Quarterback

Browning Nagle had a distinctive name, but that covers just about all of his attributes as quarterback.

He played three seasons for the Jets and was the starter only in 1992, when he had seven TD passes, 17 interceptions and a quarterback rating of 55.7.

The Jets selected Nagle in the second round of the 1991 draft, way too high for a marginal quarterback.

The Boomer Years

After nine years in Cincinnati, Boomer Esiason came to New York in 1993 and picked up where everyone else had failed. In three seasons with the Jets he was 15-27 and threw for 49 touchdowns with 39 interceptions.

Perhaps frustrated in their attempts to develop a young quarterback, he was symbolic of the Jets' decision to pursue experienced quarterbacks with a track record.

After Esiason, the Jets turned to Neil O'Donnell who had taken the Steelers to the Super Bowl but spent two mostly forgettable seasons in New York. Vinny Testaverde came to the Jets as a journeyman in 1998 but he put in six solid seasons and took the Jets to the AFC championship game in '98.

Testaverde even had a winning career record as Jets QB, finishing 65-61. He also epitomized the Jets' fascination with homegrown quarterbacks. Ken O'Brien, Esiason and Testaverde were Long Island boys.

A Pennington for His Thoughts

If Chad Pennington only had Peyton Manning's arm, the Jets would have had their quarterback of the future. Pennington was smart as a whip and the most accurate passer the franchise has ever had. 

The problem was that Pennington did not have a strong arm and suffered season-ending shoulder injuries that robbed him of any ability to throw downfield.

But in eight seasons with the Jets, five of which he was the starter, Pennington completed 65 percent of his passes and passed for 82 touchdowns with 55 interceptions. He also was 69-61 as a starter and led the Jets to a resounding 41-0 Wild Card playoff victory against Peyton Manning and the Colts.  

The Pennington era came to an end when the Jets began name-dropping and signed Brett Favre.  

Favre Wears a Different Shade of Green

The Jets were trying to catch lightning in a bottle when they signed Brett Favre in 2008. He was 39 years old but still had a strong arm, boyish enthusiasm and was durable. Perhaps he had enough to get the Jets to the Super Bowl.

There was no mistaking that he was the most charismatic Jets quarterback since Broadway Joe.

After a great start in which he looked like the vintage Favre, an arm injury that was never disclosed ended a season in which the Jets at times looked like the class of the NFL.

They finished 9-7, and although Favre played all 16 games, he ended up with 22 touchdowns and 22 interceptions.

The experiment had failed, exacerbated by some off-the-field issues that cast Favre in a new and unflattering light.   

Is Mark Still the Sanchise?

In three seasons, Mark Sanchez has helped lead the Jets to the AFC championship game twice. He has not had a losing season with the Jets and has four playoff victories, all on the road.

In most cities, fans would be excited about the future of a young quarterback who started as a rookie after only one year as a starter in college. They would probably overlook last season's 8-8 record as a glitch and say that Sanchez still has plenty of upside.

Joe Flacco, Matt Ryan, Josh Freeman, Sam Bradford and Matthew Stafford have had their ups and downs with inconsistency and injuries. But Sanchez plays in New York, and it can be an unforgiving place when expectations are not met.

If the Jets make any overtures to Peyton Manning, they might as well trade Sanchez and look to draft another quarterback of the future. It is ridiculous to think he would be willing to sit for a couple of years and then take over at quarterback again.

Fans say he would learn watching Peyton. really? How did that work out for Curtis Painter?

No quarterback in Jets history has had a more successful start than Sanchez. And this is while playing for a coach who lives and dies defense and insults his quarterback by insinuating that he doesn't want the offense to lose the game.

Unlike some of his teammates and coach Rex Ryan, Sanchez has been silent so far during the off-season. Peyton Manning would appreciate that.