Should Mo Lewis be in the Ring of Honor?

Edition #149

☀️ Good Morning!

I hope everyone had a good weekend and for everyone in the UK, I hope everyone had a good 4-day weekend. We’re back with another week of TJW, kicking things off today with some news and notes and a topic inspired by some Twitter conversation.

🙏 Unfortunately, we have to start with some sad news with the passing of former Jet Bob Talamini, a member of the Jets Super-Bowl winning team in 1969. Talamini only played one year for the Jets, but it was the most important year in our history. He played in every single game in that 1968 Championship season and started at left guard against the Colts in the Super Bowl. Joe Namath once said that without Talamini the Jets won’t win the big dance and they probably don’t even get there. Rest easy Bob.

🛑 PFF released their list of the top 15 TEs in football and CJ Uzomoah and Tyler Conklin missed out. Tyler Higbee was the last name on that list, hopefully, the Jets will have someone listed in 2023. PFF may not feel too bolshy on the Jets TE room but it’s been a long time since I felt this confident with that room. I can’t wait to see how Ruckert develops with the Jets.

👊 It was revealed recently that the Jets and Giants would hold their first joint summer practice since 2005, that practice that was hotly contested with multiple confrontations and a few punches thrown. Last season the Jets held a joint practice with Green Bay, unfortunately, it was that session that saw Carl Lawson tear his Achilles and miss the 2021 season. I love the joint sessions, it’s a good tune-up and injuries can happen at any point…the coaches just need to make sure the players are ready for the step-up in intensity.

💰 I’ve seen multiple people say the Jets are still in contact with Kwon Alexander and Larry Ogunjobi and that they’re still very open to bringing both into the building. I don’t have any real sources here but I’ve spoken with a couple of people who are closer to the team than I am who I trust and they’ve all said the same thing, Jets are very interested and both players have been open to the move, but both are willing to be patient to make sure the right decision is made for the right price.

Mo Lewis

Today’s post is inspired by GreenBean and a comment he made after the 2022 ring of honor members were mentioned and it got me thinking. (As an aside head over and follow GB on Twitter and subscribe to his channel on YouTube, great content)

GreenBean @beanthejetsfan

@OldBigBiker Right on. No gripe about the guys who got selected, but they passed over Mo Lewis who was literally the best LB we’ve ever had. And a stud when compared to his peers. Almost Completely ignored. It’s terrible.

Mo Lewis was the Jets 3rd round pick in the 1991 draft, in fact, that off-season the Jets added a number of linebackers to try and bring some steel to the middle of Bruce Coslet’s defense. They picked up Bobby Houston, drafted Rocen Keeton, and picked up Pepper Jenkins, Bruce Holmes, and Dannie Lockett. Jets GM Dick Steinberg was looking under every single rock to try and find the answer to the Jets’ issues at LB, someone to play with Kyle Clifton who had 199 tackles in 1990.

Lewis should never had been available in the 3rd round, he was an accomplished linebacker at a powerhouse school, but he late revealed what led him to drop down. "A lot of people don't know this, but Cleveland was looking at me," Lewis recalled of his predraft experience. "They flew me up and they said their could take me in the first round. But then they found out I had a hollow bone in my thigh and they left me at the airport.

The Jets didn’t really expect Mo Lewis to start in 1991, Lewis himself said as much during pre-season - "I'm just a rookie and Joe Mott has two years in front of me. With his experience and his know-how, I feel the Jets are going to let him start and that doesn't bother me at all. I'd rather learn from someone who's already there instead of putting me in there and letting me learn on my own." - Yet the rookie ended up starting 15 games and appearing in all 16. He finished that rookie season with 76 tackles, 1 sack, and 3 forced fumbles, and then didn’t look back.

It’s incredibly unfortunate and let’s be frank a little ridiculous that some fans only think of “The Hit” when thinking about Mo Lewis. Yes, it was Lewis’s hit that took Bledsoe out of the game and brought in Tom Brady, which in turn started the New England Patriots dynasty, but his job was to go out there and hit QBs and he did it as well as any linebacker in Jets history has ever done it. He played 100 miles an hour 100% of the time. And do we really think that Tom Brady wouldn’t have eventually beat out Drew Bledsoe? Over the two years before that 2001 season, he had thrown 36 touchdowns to 34 interceptions.

But let’s just take a look at Lewis’s complete body of work. He was a Jet his entire career which ran from 1991 through 2003…that’s 13 years of service. He was incredibly durable, he started 199 games and the only year where he missed more than one game was 1996. He finished with 1,232 tackles, 52.5 sacks, 14 interceptions, and 26 forced fumbles. He was the leader and captain of that defense throughout his time with the team and was named captain from 1997 to 2003. He made three pro bowls, and two All-Pro teams, and was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 1991, he was also named team MVP on two different occasions.

He. Was. A. Stud.

Not only was he a stud, but he was a tough SOB as well. Back in a week 3 game against the Dolphins during the 2002 season, Lewis heard a crack when he was tackling Ricky Williams, it was later revealed that he had three bone fragments in his hip that gouged cartilage whenever he raised his knee at a 45-degree angle…he didn’t miss a single play the rest of the season and the Jets went to the playoffs.

After the season Lewis had to have 5 hours of surgery to remove the fragments and repair the cartilage, but you’d never heard him complain about anything, he loved football and he loved the Jets. Even when the Jets drafted Victor Hobson to replace him, Lewis took to mentoring like an old college professor: ''I want to teach him everything I know so he can come up and teach the next player,'' Lewis said. ''Some guys aren't here for four years, so I'm not going to be bitter because they drafted somebody.''

Back in 2010 when the initial class of Weeb Ewbank, Winston Hill, Joe Klecko, Curtis Martin, Don Maynard, and Joe Namath were unveiled, Woody Johnson said: "This organization has always had a deep appreciation for and admiration of those who have worn this team's uniform, These six men span generations of Jets football, all embodying the best of this game and what it means to truly be a Jet. With this new stadium, we now have a proper way to salute those who have helped make this franchise what it is today."

If the Jets do have a deep appreciation and admiration for those who wore the uniform, for those that “embody the best of this game and what it means to truly be a Jet” then there are zero reasons why Mo Lewis should not be in the ring of honor. If being a Jet means being loyal, productive and a leader then Lewis should be there. If being a Jet means putting the team ahead of yourself then Lewis should be there. If the ring is about honoring the best Jets to ever suit up…then Lewis should be there.