Radar Weather Jacksonville Florida

Somewhere Back in Time: The 1978 NY Jets

SOMEWHERE BACK IN TIME WITH:

The 1978 NEW YORK JETS

By Don Stokes–Contributing Writer-Football Reporters Online/Pro Football NYC

 

(Editor’s note: This is the start of a series of articles about different New York Jet seasons in their 51 year history. They were randomly chosen with each reflecting the joy and frustration of being a Gang Green fan. Each story will have a Jet player of importance from that specific season).

With the NFL in a self imposed lockout at the present with Billions (yes BILLIONS) on the table. I wanted to reflect on a simpler time period.  While questions currently arise regarding a possible 18 game campaign in 2011, I recalled the last time the National football League changed the amount of their scheduled games: 1978. A thought occurred to me.  High on a shelf in my bedroom closet in my Ohio home a very old box dry but slightly water stained caught my eye. Along with dated important papers (I’ve away felt compelled to keep for reasons unknown) I found an old 1979 New York Jet Yearbook. Its cover page now bent and fading from prolonged sun exposure was no longer in mint condition. The faces on this now over 30 year old magazine were familiar to most Jet fans over the age of 30.

Head Coach Walt Michaels, WR Wesley Walker and QB Richard Todd were all featured prominently on the cover. All three have a big place in the 51 year history of the Jets. But in the bottom right corner of the cover was a player wearing jersey number 17 who would not be so familiar to most. But for one season he was very important. From what I personally recalled from that 1978 season is it was a watershed year for the New York Jets. At the conclusion of that season the club expectations rose. The Jets suddenly were expected to contend for a playoff position for the seasons to come. But for this number 17 in the 1979 yearbook he wouldn’t be around to be a part of it.  Flipping thru the old pages of auto dealership ads and 1978 team stats I noticed that one Jets player profile in particular.

Here is some of what the paragraph in the Jet yearbook read: “Brought energy and enthusiasm back to club not seen since the heyday of Joe Namath.”  “Led team with 2002 passing yards and 13 touchdown passes which were the most since 1975”  Another line went: “Formed a deadly combination with All-Pro Wesley Walker with a deep passing attack not seen since Namath to Maynard days”. I looked at the black and white photo of the long since retired former Jet quarterback. With a Tony Danza (From the show “taxi” not “Who’s the boss”) type haircut and sporting a thick Fu Manchu mustache was a smiling Matt Robinson.

Wisdom of Silver Eagle: Weather Radar

A dear friend of mine once said, "I've been around this rodeo enough, to enjoy life as it is dealt to me each day." It has given me an entirely new perspective on life. To describe myself, … I am an easygoing, very low maintenance, down to earth kind of person. Keywords are honesty, truth and integrity. What makes me tick? I guess you could say life. I am a spiritual, but not religious. I do not believe any one set of people, beliefs or teachings have the sole method of what is truth. I accept and respect all beliefs. I believe that is more important to walk your path, than it is to talk your path. Personally, I am more "aligned" with what can be called the "natural-way" or the Ancient and Olde Way.

View my complete profile

NEXRAD or Nexrad (Next-Generation Radar) is a network of 159 high-resolution Doppler weather radars operated by the National Weather Service, an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) within the United States Department of Commerce. Its technical name is WSR-88D, which stands for Weather Surveillance Radar, 1988, Doppler. NEXRAD detects precipitation and atmospheric movement or wind. It returns data which when processed can be displayed in a mosaic map which shows patterns of precipitation and its movement. The radar system operates in two basic modes, selectable by the operator – a slow-scanning clear-air mode for analyzing air movements when there is little or no activity in the area, and a precipitation mode, with a faster scan for tracking active weather. NEXRAD has an increased emphasis on automation, including the use of algorithms and automated volume scans. The next major upgrade is polarimetric radar, which adds vertical polarization to the current horizontal radar waves, in order to more accurately discern what is reflecting the signal. This so-called dual polarization allows the radar to distinguish between rain, hail and snow, something the horizontally polarized radars cannot accurately do. Early trials have shown that rain, ice pellets, snow, hail, birds, insects, and ground clutter all have different signatures with dual-polarization, which could mark a significant improvement in forecasting winter storms and severe thunderstorms.[8] The deployment of the dual polarization capability (Build 12) to NEXRAD sites will begin in 2010 and last until 2012. The Vance AFB radar is the first operational WSR-88D to be modified to Dual Polarization.

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