LOL Sorry you got doomed (or damned) to be a Jets fan, but welcome to the misery! Thanks for sharing your story. Interesting.
I think it was the offseason following the 2003 season where CuMar's mom criticized him for not running hard enough. As a result, he ran in 2004 as he never had before. Too bad she didn't criticize him the first year he came to the Jets.
ROFLMAO!!!! I've sometimes felt like doing the same thing to Joe Willie Namath. It's his effing fault I became a Jets fan. LOL
I'm pretty sure she did all throughout his career! He had something to prove still. But honestly, I thought he was starting to wear down, but Martin proved me all wrong.
Joe signed a deal with the devil to win that SB. The garantee proves it. The jets will never win it again until the deal is voided .
Class personified. Humble, tough, reliable, all heart. While it's hard to look at an athlete and say to your son, "that is who to emulate, on the field AND off it" Curtis will always be that guy for me. I still wear my #28 with pride...
With regards to these types of post's in which I've quoted below. Just seeing the boldish words in which I've bolded... It just bothers me as a longtime fan of the game and quite frankly; it makes me sick when reading others "describe" #28 within that manner or that type of tone. Let me leave a little history lesson behind. But yet asking questions while doing so. ■ How can one make a claim that #28 "lacked killer instinct" when he's ranked 4th All-Time in rushing yards behind only the likes of Barry Sanders, Walter Payton & Emmitt Smith? How can you "lack killer nature" but yet still ranked top 5 All-Time in NFL rushing yards here in 2017? How? ■ How can one claim and also state that the real reason in which Curtis Martin ran for all of his yards is simply because of "volume of carries" and/or "3rd down draws"? When here in 2017 #28 still to this day ranks Top 10 All-Time in total NFL Yards From The Line Of Scrimmage (8th) behind only the likes of Marcus Allen, Barry Sanders, L.T, Marshall Faulk, Walter Payton, Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice. How? If as an NFL offensive player you're only making a living off of "3rd down draws" and a sheer "volume number of carries" well then I'm sorry; but you're not going to be... Rated and ranked right up there alongside of and amongst the likes of an All-Time great in Barry Sanders, a legend of his era Marcus Allen, an electric L.T, the greatest show on turf Marshall Faulk, Sweetness known as Walter Payton, #22 of the Cowboys in Emmitt Smith and the G.O.A.T Jerry Rice. Top 10. For All-Time NFL total yards from the L.O.S. Put some respect on Martin's name. Because it is not happening. And doesn't happen 'like so'. ■ What about remarks such as "too many times Martin did not punch it in at the goal-line"? First and foremost we all know that Martin was not a big/heavy Jerome Bettis type of smash mouth player but i find it hard to believe that #28 did not punch it in with greatness; when he's currently ranked Top 25 (23rd) All-Time amongst all former & current NFL HB's, FB's, TE, & WR's (combined) in total TD's (100). And we all know that Martin wasn't a breakaway back scoring from 80 yards out. Which means he did all of his damage from and between the 20-15-10 & 5 yard lines. Goal line? People are bringing up Goal Line situations? The man was one of the best scorers between the 20's that's ever lived to play the game. A top 25 All-Time scorer we're speaking about here. I've strongly disagreed. Curtis Martin is truly in a league of his own. With All-Time offensive NFL greats of his own kind. And not a bunch of 3rd down players taking "draws and handoffs". Don't disrespect the game, culture and it's history like that. Martin ranks 3rd All-Time in total touches because his Owners, Head Coaches, OC's, GM's, QB's, Teammates and Fan Bases all knew. That if you gave #28 the rock. No matter field conditions. He knew what to do with it. The man was a HOF great. The real reason why he gained so many yards (despite defenses putting 7-8 in the box due to Pennington's lack of arm strength or Vinny aging) was due to his his patience behind the L.O.S, elite field vision, ability to follow his lead blockers while reading opposing defenses, slashing defenses on the ground, the threat of a screen going his way, the ability to sell on a play action, rarely fumbled, threat to catch, run & score out of the backfield. All at the same time too. His toughness, heart and durability (an offseason animal) and talent is all of what made him great. Security blanket for both his QB's and offenses. The list goes on.
Guy, I'll simply say that you need to get the stars out of your eyes. Just because we're fans of a team and/or players for that team doesn't mean that we have to turn a blind eye to their weaknesses or failings, and only speak about their strengths, or make them out to be better than they actually were. You viewed CuMar at a time when you were an impressionable adolescent. At that age, we tend to glamorize players and think that they're better than they are. Conversely, many of us viewed him as an adult older than you are now. We have seen a lot more games and players than you, and have better perspective on the situation. I appreciate the fact that you like Curtis. He was a great Jet, but the TRUTH is that he probably never would have had the longevity that he did if he didn't run out of bounds so much or go down at first contact. That saved him a lot of big hits. If he didn't have the longevity that he did, and if most of the Jets offense didn't go through him, he never would have racked up all the stats he did. I guarantee you that if you went back and went through every game he played for the Jets play-by-play, you'd find that Curtis picked up a LOT of yards over the years on 3rd down draw plays. You'd also see how many runs he had for 0 yards and/or negative yards. He did NOT have elite vision. If he did, he wouldn't have needed to line up 8 yards deep in order to "better see the holes developing" (his own words). He also wouldn't have cut back right into tacklers, which he did with some regularity.
It's funny that you say those things NC. It doesn't matter the era in which you come from. I'm a grown man myself. 32 years of age. Now a 6 year old daughter named Kloe. I'vev been around the block since the early 90's football wise. And I didn't learn the game through your eyes neither. So how about stop pulling the age card, acting if you're better due to age and start talking facts? Like I'm about to do. All real deal football facts NC. None of this he say, you say, she say, i say... B.S. I respect the history of sports and the culture of football first and foremost. Let's get that part out of the way right here, right now. I've also done my fair share of research. I've taken the time to study up on lots of the All-Time greats. From watching film. Hearing them talk about the game. To watching old footage of live games. Having my older brother in my ear since birth etc. You see. I'm a football junkie myself. Have floated around those 3 NYJ forums of JI, JN & TGG for literally 15+ years now. I've seen some of the same plays same players and have seen some of the same things in which you have. Many of us here have. And nothing you tell me can actually change the facts that Martin is 4th All-Time in rushing yards behind only Barry Sanders, Walter Payton & Emmitt Smith. I know exactly what it means to be mentioned alongside of the top five greatest RB's of All-Time in terms of rushing yards. My generation grew up watching both Barry & Emmitt play football. Martin as well. For crying out loud my generation has even played with these RB's on Madden dating back to since the early 1990's. Have you? And no. I'm not using Madden as a way to make a point either. Just as an example of my generation; we know about our greats and I really couldn't care less what your age is in regards to that aspect of knowledge. But what i do know, is that HB's from my generation have provided the NFL with 3 of the top 4 RB's in rushing yards ever ala in #22, #20 & #28. I've also studied the greatness of Sweetness and yes, he was one of them who was actually before my time but i know enough to know that between Curtis Martin's time with both N.E & NY, that #28 is now right behind Barry, Walter & Emmitt in rush yards (4th to be exact). Your years of being a fan and/or me being a Jets fan has nothing to do with any of the above. As strictly students of the game none of us can mention the NFL's Top-5 rushing yards leaders without also mentioning Curtis Martin. Any fan of the game would tell you the same. No? I've also been around the game long enough to know that in total yards (All-Time) from the L.O.S (both rushing and receiving) almongst all NFL HB's, FB's, TE's and WR's combined; that Curtis Martin ranks Top 10 All-Time. 8th to be exact. And there's nothing that you can tell us. That will change the fact about Martin being an All-Time great offensive weapon. Just stop your acting and pretending that #28 is not 8th All-Time behind only Walter Payton, Marcus Allen, Barry Sanders, L.T, Marshall Faulk, Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice for All-Time yards from the L.O.S. Stop it already. I know enough to know that if you're ranked 8th All-Time in offensive yards from the L.O.S? Well then I'm sorry but you are to now be considered as a top 10 NFL offensive great. Especially after also ranking top 23 All-Time in Offensive scoring TD's with exactly 100 while ranking top 8 in overall yards from the L.O.S at the same time. You see NC. Not too many HB's, FB's, TE's & WR's have ever done it better than #28 as an offensive Hall of Famer. And your words, compared to my historic football facts; doesn't change a thing in regards to #28's greatness when compared to other All-Time greats. Jets fan or not. The history of the game does not lie. People do. I know about Jerry Rice and Joe Montana and Steve Young and Ronnie Lott and #21 Sanders (my FSU). And i remember those 49er teams of the 90's. I remember back in 1994 to be specific the following day of the SB one of my Gramp's passed away. The very next day. The 49ers vs. The SD Chargers was the 94' SB. Jerry Rice. The G.O.A.T. And I was there to see. Rooting for the Chargers all because my older brother said we are to pull for the AFC. I remember SF's greatness (maybe even more than you) on that day. Kids are like Elephants. And they don't forget. I seen Barry play live against TB only 20 minutes away from my place over the Tampa bridge from St.Pete. I've never been able to stand the Bucs & their fan base so me and my older brother simply got tickets to see and watch #20 run all over TB's young but tough defense. Barry made one of his top 10 Highlights that day. Ran behind the L.O.S for 5 seconds, made 5-7 players miss and cut up field for a big gain. Back in 1997 i seen him crack over 2,000 yards week 17 vs. our Jets defense. Barry came alive late 3rd and dominated the entire 4th. I seen #20's greatness live & in person. I know all about #22 Emmitt Smith as well. #8, #22 & #88 was an All-Time great NFL offensive trio with Aikman, Emmitt & Irvin. Poor Buffalo. My family got together for every Cowboys/Bills SB and remember like yesterday my family rooting for the AFC (and New York) over Dallas. The same goes for both L.T and his Charger days. Still to me he's the closest thing to Barry I've seen since. Marshall Faulk was something else alongside of Kurt Warner, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Hakim and Orlando Pace who'm formed the greatest show on turf. I seen. I've seen them first hand. As have you. Where have i been going with this? I've seen 6 of the games top 8 players regarding most All-Time NFL Total Yards from the L.O.S take the field in Rice, Barry, Emmitt, L.T, Marshall Faulk and #28 Martin. I got to see all of them perform. On multiple occasions too. These were my generational greats. Who all kids from my generation followed and loved. I know what having Curtis Martin ranked 4th All-Time in Rushing Yards, 8th All-Time in total Yards from the L.O.S & 23rd All-Time in overall Offensive TD's amongst all former and current HB's, FB's, TE's & WR's means... but do you?
And yes. I find it pretty funny how when you mention your time as a fan and how long you've truly been around the game. That you forget, that here in 2017... That after all of these years, generations and football era's later that Curtis Martin still ranks 4th in NFL rushing yards (top 5), 8th in career yards from the L.O.S (top 10) and 23rd All-Time in offensive TD's (top 25) Key word being "still". It's telling. And in closing let's not forget that #28... Ranks 3rd All-Time in offensive touches of the football (4,002). Behind only Walter Payton (4,347) and Emmitt Smith (4,924). 1.) Jerry Rice only had 30 career fumbles although with not as many touches as Martin. But nonetheless still amazing on Jerry's behalf. So why is it that even after Curtis Martin ranks 3rd All-Time in offensive touches, he only had 32 career fumbles when compared to the All-Time offensive greats such as... 2.) L.T (who had less touches) also had 32 career fumbles (same amount as Martin) despite opposing D's having to worry about both prime Rivers & Gates. 3.) Marshall Faulk had 36 career fumbles with fewer carries and was surrounded by the likes of Warner, Bruce & Holt on offense. 4.) Barry Sanders #20 as the All-Time G.O.A.T HB still even had 41 career fumbles. With fewer carries. His line was awful though. 5.) Frank Gore with 43 career fumbles (fewer touches). 6.) Thurman Thomas with 59 career fumbles (despite fewer touches) while being surrounded by great Buffalo players. 7.) Emmitt Smith while surrounded by Aikman, Irvin and an O-Line in which #28 could only dream about... still had more than double Martin's fumbles; with 65 career fumbles. 8.) Marcus Allen despite fewer touches had 72 fumbles (40 more fumbles than Cumar) 9.) Walter Payton had 90 career fumbles (almost triple that of Martin's 32 career fumbles). But wait. No mention of Martin's elite, top of the line, strong, tough and damn near perfect ball carrier ability when mentioning stone cold facts? So out of all Top 10 NFL Players of All-Time in Total Yards from the Line of Scrimmage; you mean to tell me that one of either Jerry Rice or Curtis Martin was the greatest ball carrier of All-Time in terms of protecting the football when compared to opposing Top 10 Players with the most yards from the L.O.S? That's impressive & nice to know. You guys use words like "durable". No guy. Martin was simply one of the best offensive players to ever do it and an amazing ball carrier both during and after the catch at the same time. Just funny how you leave these facts out. While letting us know all about #28 Curtis Martin. Thank you NCJetsFan. Thank you for all the throwback & old school insight in regards to Martin's overall NFL resume.
It's funny that Curtis gets knocked for not being a big play guy, even though he's 4th all time in rushing, top 25 all time in TDs, etc. It's true that Curtis was not the big play back that could carry the offense on his own. I wouldn't put him in the same class as Sanders, Sweetness, Jim Brown, Sayers, Earl Campbell, Dorsett, O.J., Tomlinson, Marion Motley, or Dickerson. He WAS, however the kind of player who could serve as a centerpiece for an offense, one that a good coach could build a whole offensive playbook around. He did exactly what the Jets offense needed him to do, which was to protect the ball, get at least 3.3 yards per carry, and carry the ball 20+ times per game for all 16 game. Oh yeah, and provide excellent pass protection and also contribute 3,329 yards and 10 TDs as a safety valve for various QBs. And throw two TD passes. I think his closest comparisons are Thurmond Thomas and Marcus Allen. All three were on good, bad, and in-between teams, they all ended up in the top 20 in all-time all-purpose yards. They were all good receiving threats out of the backfield, but they were primarily between the tackles runners, so they were not Marshall Faulk/Warrick Dunn type guys who, run or pass, were primarily outside threats. Forte and Frank Gore have been similar type of guys over their careers. Thomas Jones was, too.
LOL Typical. Am I surprised that a young person thinks he knows more than someone who is older and more experienced? No. Carry on with your hero worship. You just lose credibility with those who know better. Your posts show how young and naive you are and what a homer you are.
It works both ways, you said your bit quite early and then again and then again, we understood you the first time and we agreed but you have felt the need to continue disparaging a hero, of course you are going to get a bit of conflict, it isn't about having stars in our eyes but at the end of the day every man and his dog is giving the jets a damned good kicking, we don't need to read it over and over on our own site by one of our own
+1. Always there. Played healthy, played hurt...ALWAYS gave 150%. Never shit talked, not a bad word to say about anyone. Class act on, and off, the field. The kind of athlete you point to and tell your son or daughter "want a role model ?...there you go. Be like this guy..." Him and Wayne Chrebet are my two favorite Jets ever.
To be honest, I expected more push back from others. My intent was and is not to disparage Curtis. As I said in my initial post (which wasn't "early" in the thread), I liked him and think he was a great Jet and a very good player for us. IMO we ought to be able to look at players realistically and discuss their merits, pro and con, without feeling the need to defend the player or taking umbrage. I've responded to different posters about different aspects that have been mentioned. That's natural imo. The poster I made that comment to has been ALL positive and spoken in reverent, glowing terms of all things Jets, and said he was going to give us a "history lesson" as if he knew more/better than those of us who were older, who saw more great RBs and have better perspective. IMO he has a homeristic, unrealistic perspective. I'm sorry if that offended him or you. It isn't personal with me, but rather trying to get at the truth. I like that poster fine and he's made some good posts that I've agreed with and liked, but he's over the top imo with his homerism and youthful enthusiasm. A top 10 D? Playoffs? If I'm not mistaken he has said that both will happen or things along those lines. IMO this franchise deserves some criticism. It's one thing when it's an outsider. It's another when Jets fans do. IMO long time Jets fans have the right to criticize. We aren't pointing out negatives just to be negative, and our criticism is not to just tear down, bt in hopes that things will get better. We're tired of the same old BS.
You can keep and have your players of your era such as Joe Namath & Jim Brown etc. Good for you. Stick to talking about those guys. But players such as Jerry Rice, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Thurman Thomas, Curtis Martin, Marshall Faulk, LaDainian Tomlinson and most recently Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Adrian Peterson etc are all generational greats of my era. Not your era. But my era's All-Time greats. And a poster such as yourself (of all people) can not tell me about the greatness of my era's generation. Do you understand? Am i understood? O.K. Good. I think that you're going a little senile and if you can not actually remember #28's (overall) greatness, well then I'm sorry but I'm now under the assumption that you could be suffering from a case of early alzheimer's disease. And calling me a "homer" during a thead topic that's directed towards an All-Time top 3 N.Y Jet is pretty funny (joke being on you). Resorting to 'personal attacks' by calling me a "homer" all because you can not (and have not) changed the fact(s) that Curtis Martin (here in 2017) is still... ■ Ranked Top-5 (4th) All-Time amongst all former and current HB's & FB's in rushing yards. Right behind only the likes of Barry Sanders, Walter Payton & Emmitt Smith. #28 is one of the greatest pure NFL RB's of All-Time. ■ Ranked Top-10 (8th) All-Time amongst all former and current Offensive HB's, FB's, TE's & WR's in Total Yards From The Line of Scrimmage. Right behind the likes of only Walter Payton, Marcus Allen, Barry Sanders, L.T, Marshall Faulk, Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice. #28 is one of the greatest overall NFL Offensive Weapons of All-Time. ■ Amongst the NFL's Top-10 All-Time leaders in offensive yards from the L.O.S; Curtis Martin protected the football and was the best ball carrier of them all when compared to the likes of Walter Payton, Marcus Allen, Emmitt Smith, Thurman Thomas, Frank Gore, Barry Sanders, Marshall Faulk, LaDainian Tomlinson & Jerry Rice (including the playoffs Curtis Martin combined for 4,221 touches with only 32 career fumbles ala only 1 fumble per every 131.9 touches). #28 is one of the greatest Offensive Ball Carriers of All-Time. ■ Ranked Top-25 (23rd) amongst all former and current NFL great HB's, FB's, TE's & WR's datingback to 1920 (96 years ago) in Offensive Touchdowns (100). #28 is one of the greatest Offensive Scores in NFL history. It's hard to argue against Curtis Martin as a top-five running back in NFL history. Nice try though.
