Jets Rookie Is Undeterred by the Crowd at Tight End Rookie Dustin Keller caught 68 passes for 881 yards last season for Purdue. But he will face increased pressure to develop his blocking skills in the N.F.L.

A New Jet Will Try to Outrun His Height No matter how many touchdowns he scores, there is one statistic that Danny Woodhead, who signed with the Jets last week as an undrafted free agent, cannot escape. He is 5 feet 7 inches.

Note Spells Out Dream for a Jets Draft Choice On the draft?s second day, the Jets addressed many needs, adding cornerback Dwight Lowery, quarterback Erik Ainge, and a big receiver in Marcus Henry of Kansas.

N.F.L. DRAFT; Jets' Picks ROUND: 4 (113th OVER ALL) Dwight Lowery DB, San Jose State Height: 5-111/2 Weight: 200 Had 13 interceptions at Cabrillo (Calif.) College, but arrived at San Jose State as an unknown free safety. There he intercepted another 13 passes at cornerback. ROUND: 5 (162ND OVER ALL) Erik Ainge QB, Tennessee Height: 6-6 Weight: 225 Scouting reports on Ainge, the nephew of the Celtics executive Danny, questioned his toughness and pocket presence. But Ainge said on a conference call he played hurt most of ...

Jets Pick Two From the Big Ten, and One?s a Big Surprise Vernon Gholston, a defensive rush end from Ohio State, was the expected pick in the N.F.L. draft. Dustin Keller, a tight end from Purdue, was the day?s surprise.

NEW YORK JETS LINKS

Hamilton Puts 13th Season on the Front Burner Bobby Hamilton will turn 36 in two weeks, but he still can cook."Glenn Foley had a recipe book when he was here," the ageless defensive end said, recalling the charity venture of the Jets' red-headed quarterback of the late Nineties. "All the players put their recipes in, and I had my deep-fried turkey recipe. It's a great feeling to have one of those in a book like that."

Jets, Soldiers Join Forces Pockets of New York Jets fans thrive all over, in southern Florida and northern California and even in red-white-and-blue Patriots country in the middle of Massachusetts.

Pennington Progress Continues atMinicampChad Pennington has looked very sharp in minicamp. His impressive play has been a byproduct of both an entire off-season to work on his body and his familiarity with the Jets’ offensive system.

New York Jets

The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. They are members of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The team plays their home games in East Rutherford, New Jersey at Giants Stadium, which is named after another NFL team that plays there, the New York Giants. The Jets officially refer to the venue as "The Meadowlands," a name used on all official NFL and team game notes regarding Jets' home games.

The club's headquarters and training facility are located at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York on Long Island. They are constructing a new training facility and corporate headquarters in Florham Park, New Jersey.[1]

The team began in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League under the name New York Titans. It was renamed after Sonny Werblin bought the team in 1963. The Jets later joined the NFL as part of the AFL-NFL Merger.

The Jets hold the distinction of being the first AFL team to defeat an NFL club in an AFL-NFL World Championship Game when they defeated the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

Originally known as the New York Titans, the team played home games at the Polo Grounds. But they had trouble attracting crowds despite fielding respectable teams that finished .500 (7–7) during their first two seasons. After a 5–9 season in 1962, the team's future was in doubt. It was saved from bankruptcy by a group headed by MCA head Sonny Werblin and Leon Hess, who bought the team from Harry Wismer on March 13, 1964. Hess eventually bought out his partners, and retained sole ownership until his death. His estate then sold the team to Johnson & Johnson heir Robert Wood Johnson IV in 2000.

After Werblin and Hess took over, the team was renamed the New York Jets as they planned to relocate from the Polo Grounds to the New York Mets' Shea Stadium one year later. Shea Stadium lies so close to LaGuardia Airport that the sound of jets roaring overhead was a common sound heard during games played there. The team's colors were also changed from blue and gold to kelly green and white, which also were the colors of Hess' gasoline stations.

Exactly one month after the sale of the team, the Jets hired Weeb Ewbank as head coach. Ewbank had won back-to-back NFL championships in 1958 and 1959 with the Baltimore Colts, and was one of the most respected coaches in the game.

Glory years: 1965–1969
In 1965, the Jets signed University of Alabama quarterback Joe Namath, who chose to sign with the Jets over the St. Louis Cardinals, the team that held his NFL rights. Namath's contract was for a then-record $427,000 annual salary. The confluence of signing Namath, as well as the Jets' moving into brand-new Shea Stadium, the Giants' poor performance since 1964, and the AFL's brand-new deal with NBC, helped to make the Jets the hottest football team in New York and one of the most popular teams nationwide. The Jets drew spectators both at home and on the road (in fact, they outdrew their entire 1962 season attendance in their first game at Shea Stadium alone) and, perhaps as much as any other factor, Namath's undisputed success with the Jets led to the landmark merger of the AFL with the NFL, to finally be consummated in 1970.

The Jets improved steadily on the field after Namath's arrival. In 1967, Namath led the Jets to an 8–5–1 record, their best record yet. Namath reached a milestone by passing for 4,007 yards in 1967, a 14-game season, making him the first-ever professional quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards in a season. This was especially remarkable considering that at the time, 3,000 yards passing was considered an excellent year.