Where would missing out on Trevor Lawrence rank among Jets’ disappointments?

The New York Jets missing out on Trevor Lawrence would be a severe blow, but where would it rank among the all-time disappointments? Get off the train tracks if you're not ready to take the pounding, for the train is coming through. The Trevor Lawrence-to-the-New York Jets momentum has reached an epic level. All of the losses, all of the pain (oh, the pain, says Joe Benigno from a golf course in Florida) and all of the jokes (the last one courtesy of the once-great Saturday Night Live) can only be justified in the mind of a Jets fan if No. 16 comes to town. There's simply no stopping this train, and there's simply no outcome that's acceptable other than the player the kids call T-Law making his professional home in Northern New Jersey. In a world that sees the Jets miss out on the top pick, the level of disappointment among the organization's fan base will be something not of this world. The devastation might not compare to anything that's happened over the course of this organization's 60-plus-year history. Obviously, Joe Douglas isn't and the organization isn't thinking along the same lines. Douglas, a man who values culture and value itself, as it relates to the salary cap, understands there are several routes to get the Jets to the promised land. By no means is he unaware of how critical a part Lawrence can play in the franchise's eventual turnaround, but it's not an all-or-nothing proposition for the big front office boss. There's just no way the fans can follow the same logic---not after the months of hoopla leading to this very moment in time. The Jets not landing Trevor Lawrence could only be described as a flat-out disaster, a disappointment of the highest order. But where exactly would it rank? That's the question we tackle today as we rank the most disappointing moments in New York Jets history. https://www.youtube.com/watch?vfq-eZ1vVAJ0 Notables: 2009 AFC championship game 1997 Week 17 vs. Detroit Lions 1994 Fake Spike game The Keyshawn Johnson trade The Darrelle Revis trade Al Toon's shortened career The Kyle Brady selection The Doug Brien game The Mark Sanchez failure The notables include tough moments, yet don't fit into the top 11. Bill Parcells's first season provided disappointment in the final week, but hey, the team was coming off a dreadful 1-15 season. Finishing 9-7 was a solid showing, all things considered. Everybody remembers Dan Marino's fake spike with Pete Carroll at the helm, Al Toon's shortened career via injury and the Kyle Brady selection. Mark Sanchez's failure as the team's franchise quarterback still stings for fans to this day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?vAkcKAPdNbto 11. The Belichick spurn Remember, when Bill Belichick spurned the Jets close to 21 years ago, it wasn't that big of a deal. He was a failed head coach looking to change that perception the second time around. Only after the fact has it become a bitter disappointment. Two decades of Belichick and Tom Brady tormenting Jets fans make what happened in January 2000 devastating, but it can only rank 11th thanks to the slow burn of it all. 10. The first Namath injury The 1968 Super Bowl champion Jets had the guy in the sport. Joe Namath was more than just an athlete; he was a societal superstar. The first real celebrity athlete (save for Muhammad Ali) suffered his first devastating injury in the NFL in 1970 and Jets fans couldn't believe it. Sure, everybody knew about the knee injury that took him out while at Alabama, but it never stopped him in the NFL. Playing 13 games his rookie season and 14 the following five years, his five games played in 1970 was the first major disappointment of the Namath era, courtesy of a broken wrist. Namath was never quite the same after that initial injury. https://www.youtube.com/watch?vsQpHjx1YhZg 9. The failed repeat A year prior, Namath and the Jets had a shot for a repeat title. Trailing 6-3 late in the fourth quarter, the Jets were set up at the Kansas City Chiefs' 1-yard line with a first down. New York failed to cross the goal line and its field goal knotted the game up at six apiece. Kansas City scored and moved on to the AFL championship game against the Oakland Raiders where they'd emerge victoriously. For many old-school Jets fans, this loss still burns the most. https://www.youtube.com/watch?vUmWaYFl75s4 8. The Favre injury Going into Tennessee to knock off the previously unbeaten Titans in order to improve to 8-3 on the season had Jets fans going bananas. Brett Favre's one and only season looked to be golden at this point of the season. Then, reality struck. A torn biceps tendon forced Favre to play horribly down the stretch. Eventually, New York lost four of its last five games, culminating in a home defeat at the hands of Chad Pennington and the Miami Dolphins. While the fans didn't know the extend of Favre's injury until after the fact, the entire stretch run was bitterly disappointing. To see Pennington cap it off really cemented the misery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?vZ6jEVpXoga4&t 7. Double-overtime misery All the Jets had to do was play a little defense. Leading by two possessions late in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Browns, the 1986 season was as crazy as it gets in the NFL. A Mark Gastineau personal foul coupled with Bernie Kosar magic helped propel the Browns to the AFC championship in miraculous fashion (double overtime). 6. The Peyton Manning miss Rumors have run rampant on this topic since the 1997 NFL draft happened. Bill Parcells claims he knew Peyton Manning was going to return to school for a senior season, while others believe if the Big Tuna had just committed to the kid, he would have entered the draft. Instead, Manning returned for a senior season at Tennessee and the Indianapolis Colts snagged him first overall a year later. The Jets, on the other hand, passed on Orlando Pace by trading out of the No. 1 pick. They would ultimately land James Farrior at No. 8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?vDrNSzhosmbg 5. A.J. Duhe There are several curse words in the Jets fan's football bible. Kotite is one, Belichick is another, but perhaps nothing surpasses Duhe. Miami Dolphins defender A.J. Duhe had collected just two interceptions in his six-year career up to that point. He picked off Richard Todd three times in the 1982 AFC championship game. Making matters worse is the idea Don Shula allowed the field to become a complete mess, thus limiting the Jets' speed advantage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?vqnFCAbR84RA&t 4. Vinny's Achilles No one season came and went quicker than the 1999 campaign. Never had there been higher expectations. The Jets were the preseason favorite to win the Super Bowl after a splendid 12-4 season the year prior. Vinny Testaverde's torn Achilles put an end to any Super Bowl dreams in Parcells's final season as Jet head coach. 3. Missing out on T-Law The Jets missing out on generational prospect Trevor Lawrence would rank third on the team's all-time disappointment list. They don't need Lawrence to build a successful program, but it would sure be nice. It would rank so highly purely due to the idea that the momentum is overwhelming. An 0-13 record cannot be justified without Lawrence, and it's a tricky thing when considering the Jacksonville Jaguars are theoretically just a half-game behind (thanks to the strength of schedule tiebreaker). Missing out on Lawrence surpasses the Testaverde injury thanks to recent history. Never has it been this bad for Jets fans, and something is needed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?vyscwYcprcUo 2. The Pittsburgh letdown The 2009 season was a pleasant surprise. The 2010 season was Rex Ryan's year. The 11-5 Jets did it again: They won two road games to open the playoffs for the second-straight season. For some reason, the team completely laid an egg to open the contest, and the comeback attempt fell short in the end. https://youtu.be/XqHpi6wcsYM?t7193 1. The Mile High disaster When Blake Spence blocked a Denver Broncos punt early in the third quarter, Jets fans everywhere could taste it. Fireman Ed was hugging fans in the Mile High Stadium stands. Leading 10-0, New York just needed to run out the clock. Then, craziness ensued. John Elway burnt Victor Green deep and a Jason Elam kickoff took a bounce nobody has ever successfully duplicated in the history of football (with the help of the Mile High wind). The 1998 AFC championship loss has to be No. 1 on the list for a variety of reasons. Parcells led them just one game away from the big game after the Rich Kotite era, and after a home playoff victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars, it had been exactly 30 years since the team's last and only Super Bowl victory.