Alan Faneca, a Member of the Best Offensive Line in Jets History, Retires

This week, veteran offensive lineman Alan Faneca announced his retirement. The former Pittsburgh Steeler and New York Jet played 13 seasons in the NFL, making nine Pro Bowls. In 2009, Faneca (#66) played left guard for the Jets in what was one of the best run-blocking lines in modern NFL history. That was a unit that also included D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Nick Mangold, Brandon Moore and Damien Woody, and the Jets rushed for a franchise record 2756 yards, (4.5 yards per carry) and 21 touchdowns. What is incredible about that is the fact that they had a rookie quarterback in Mark Sanchez, and were facing eight-man defensive fronts on a lot of downs, yet still managed to run through defenses with their punishing rushing attack, eventually reaching the AFC Championship game. The Jets decided to let him go after the 2009 season, and he finished his career with one final season with the Arizona Cardinals. Faneca was an integral part of the development of Ferguson and Mangold, who have...