This weeks Average Joe is a former undrafted quarterback Ray Lucas who parlayed hard work and injuries into a brief starting role for the New York Jets that made him look like he should be in the Hall of Fame compared to current/soon to be former signal caller Mark Sanchez. Sadly Lucas had developed an addiction to painkillers, using roughly 800 per month, luckily he conquered his demons before watching the 2012 edition of his former squad, the New York Jets.
A former star quarterback at Rutgers, Lucas was undrafted and stuck as a converted wide receiver in New England. The Big Tuna Bill Parcells brought him over to New York the following year in a move that would pay dividends like a Floyd Mayweather bet. Lucas was the jack of all trades special-teamer, wide receiver, and do whatever is asked journeyman who got his big break in 1999 due to injuries to Super Bowl hopeful Vinny Testaverde -yes you heard that right- and Rick Mirer. Being behind Mirer on the depth chart is the equivalent to riding pine to Browning Nagle and enough to want to make one run into the wall like Gus Frerotte.
Ray enjoyed his best success in that 1999 season when he salvaged the Jets season to help them to an average 8-8 record, going 6-3 as a starter. He threw fourteen touchdowns to six interceptions in nine starts, numbers that would quite possibly bring super-fan turned quitter, Fireman Ed back to the seats. Quite impressive when having to sling the pigskin to wide receivers such as Wayne Chrebet, Fred Baxter, and Quinn Early- men who were as shocked as Chad Johnson that they will never get bronze busts in Canton. Lucas lost the job back to Testaverde the next year but took his talents to South Beach in 2001 just like Matt Geiger, and joined the Miami Dolphins. What happened next was a performance Charlie Batch would be proud of.
In a heated division game against the chief rival Buffalo Bills in 2002, he accounted for six turnovers. Final stat line was a gunslinger like 13 of 33 for 165 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 fumbles, and 4 interceptions. The most important part of the game you need to know is that Lucas’ leading receiver was Buffalo Bills cornerback Nate Clements, who he found wide open 3 times. After the game Lucas dropped knowledge spitting out “The way I played today was probably the worst a quarterback has ever played in the history of the NFL.” Lucky for Lucas, Mark Sanchez upped the ante this past Monday with a performance even Lucas could not defend. Lucas, now a color analyst tweeted this gem: “I am really at a loss for words! Sanchez is just not good enough to play in this league”. Either the talent level in the NFL has gone up, or the 800 painkillers Lucas used to down a month did some serious damage upstairs because he clearly can not remember his award winning performance some ten years earlier.
Now recovering from an addiction to painkillers, Ray is an analyst for SNY for the Jets. He speaks his mind similar to the way Ozzie Guillen runs his trap, unfiltered like Pall Mall cigarettes. A must follow on Twitter @RayLucas06, this Average Joe crushed Sanchez with a “Are you @#$%&% kidding me???? How do you run into your own lineman and fumble? You can’t make this #$%* up”. Like Billy Graham, preach on brother, preach on.
If anyone still has or readily wears an Average Joe Ray Lucas jersey, Fireman Ed is willing to buy it and Rex Ryan may be willing to see if you are available this Sunday.
-This was written by Tom Hamm
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