Let’s hear it for Wayne Chrebet. You won’t hear it from him.
The guy isn’t just a clutch receiver, he’s a great clutch receiver. A good receiver makes clutch catches by accident; a great one does it over and over again.
Chrebet is a star no matter what Keyshawn Johnson thinks. Let’s hear it for the New York Jets and new coach Al Groh. They knew what they were doing when they traded Johnson and turned to Chrebet. The little guy is better than the big guy. The question was whether Chrebet could fill Johnson’s shoes. It turns out Johnson can’t carry the mascot’s shoelaces.
That’s what Johnson once labeled Chrebet–the team mascot, the coach’s pet. He sure is. Chrebet embodies the hard-working, unselfish, never-say-die attitude that has turned the Jets into this season’s feel-good story.
“You’re losing sight of what’s important here,” Chrebet said after beating Johnson and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a last-minute catch.
To Chrebet, the game is not about individuals, whether they are flashlights or stars. It’s about the light. Chrebet sees the light, not the source.
“How would I describe our team?” said Curtis Martin, answering the question. “That’s the word that I would use–team. You know, I think we are a team, first and foremost. I feel that we don’t rely on one individual. We’re not individuals, good individuals. I believe that we’re just a good team. I think we play together well. I think that’s what our strength is and our togetherness and our one heart, our one mind, our one focus. I believe that’s our strength.”
Running back Martin is the player quarterback Vinny Testaverde labeled the team’s best when the subject came up after the Johnson trade last April.
And what does Martin think of Chrebet?
“Toughness. Overcoming the odds. Relentless. Heart. If there was one word to describe him, it would be heart,” Martin said.
Game 1. Jets come from behind to beat Packers in Green Bay. Behind 7-0, Chrebet makes a key third-down catch to enable Jets to tie. Behind 10-7, Chrebet makes three catches, two on third down, to enable Jets to tie again.
Game 2. Jets trail Patriots 19-7 with 6 minutes 45 seconds left. Chrebet catches a 2-yard touchdown pass to make it 19-14. With 1:55 left, Chrebet catches a 28-yard touchdown pass for a 20-19 victory.
Game 4. Chrebet catches only two passes against Johnson and the Bucs. The second is an 18-yard touchdown pass from Martin with 52 seconds remaining to win 21-17.
Game 7. The Jets are behind 30-7 to Miami entering the final quarter. They score 30 to tie it at 37 and win in overtime. Who makes the diving catch to tie it at 30? Chrebet. Who makes a 24-yard catch in overtime to set up the winning field goal? Chrebet.
After Johnson said he was a star and Chrebet was only a flashlight, somebody got a Green Lantern T-shirt for Chrebet to wear. There is something going on in New York beyond baseball.
No way the Jets should be 6-1. But they beat Green Bay, Tampa Bay and New England on the road. After the opener against the Packers, Groh said: “As I spoke to the team during the week, this had the potential to be one of those games that can really bring a team together and create a team for the rest of the season. It really has the potential to really create an identity of a team with a lot of heart.”
At the time, nobody knew what he was talking about.
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“Coach Groh insists on one heart, one mind,” said fullback Richie Anderson. “Every day he is talking about that, and when he drills that into you, it rubs off.”
Groh got so angry at halftime of the Monday night game against Miami he had to deny a report that he had called his team “a pathetic bunch of losers.”
“He said some strong things . . . but not that,” center Kevin Mawae said.
Groh also flung a metal stool across the room.
“He got our attention. I never saw him so mad,” cornerback Marcus Coleman said.
No way the Jets can last. Their schedule is brutal. They have to play Buffalo, Indianapolis, Miami, Oakland and Baltimore on the road, plus Denver, Indianapolis and Detroit at home. They also get the Bears at home.
“We’re not the most talented team. We’re not a St. Louis by any stretch of the imagination,” Testaverde said. “But when we play hard for four quarters, good things will happen for us.”