Over the course of the week, since the New York Jets lost to the New England Patriots on Sunday, legendary NFL and Jets quarterback Joe Namath decided he would put it all out there.
Namath, as you might have heard, blasted not only quarterback Zach Wilson (“I’ve seen enough of Zach Wilson,” Namath was quoted as saying on The Michael Kay Show on ESPN 98.7-FM), but also whomever was in charge of the Jets’ draft, as well as coach Robert Saleh (Joe Namath has seen enough of Zach Wilson, calls performance ‘disgusting’ ), the story from the USA Today’s Jets Wire.
“I don’t believe in him. I don’t believe he has a future as a good player,” Namath said. “And I think they made the wrong choice when they drafted him.”
Namath, who is one of the NFL’s icons for several reasons (making the guarantee before Super Bowl III over the Baltimore Colts and then winning the game in a huge upset, dynamic charisma and the ability to own every room in which he walks into), is now 80, but his name, and nickname – “Broadway Joe” – still carries a lot of weight, not only in the Big Apple, but in NFL circles and the sports world, quite frankly.
And in spite of the fact that it’s early in the NFL season, just three games have been played and the Jets did beat rival Buffalo, Namath also criticized the Jets’ leadership, even calling on them to be dismissed.
“These guys aren’t picking the right players,” the Pro Football Hall-of-Famer said. “They aren’t doing a good job of coaching. It’s evident. I mean, you’ve got to look and see. If you have an eye for football at all, you see things are haywire. It’s too crazy. They need to fix it, and that’s getting rid of a lot of people and bringing new ones in. They need to make major changes, from top to bottom.”
On Thursday, both Saleh and Zach Wilson responded to Namath – I mean, what do you say to a legend, and how do you actually defend Wilson’s performance so far, at least since the win over the Bills?
Saleh tried to soften the impact with this diplomatic answer: “”Joe is an icon, a Hall of Famer and a well-respected individual in this organization,” the coach said, in various media reports, including this one from FoxSports.com: Robert Saleh, Zach Wilson respond to Joe Namath’s Jets comments: ‘Agree to disagree’
“Door’s always open for him to walk in,” Saleh said. “My office is always open for him. We’ll agree to disagree with his comments, but he is entitled to those comments.”
For his part, Wilson, also quoted in the story, tried to be respectful in his answer. “”He’s passionate,” Wilson said. “He’s obviously one of the greats. As an offense, we’ve got to do everything we can just to try and prove him wrong.”
The best way to do that?
Win.
