Joe Namath Criticizes Rex Ryan, Jets Preparation
New York Jets legend “Broadway Joe” Namath has had some critical things to say about his former team and their bigger than life head coach Rex Ryan.
Following the Jets’ 34-24 loss to Oakland on Sunday, Namath went on “The Michael Kay Show” on ESPN Radio to voice his disappointment of Ryan’s coaching methods.
“I think these guys might be believing that they’re better than they are,” the 68-year-old Hall of Fame QB told Kay. “Rex has been the only coach that we know, in maybe the history of the game that I’m familiar with, that keeps continually telling his guys how good they are. And they have been pretty good – pretty good – but they haven’t won a championship yet.”
Namath continued, “There’s one thing about the athlete. You keep telling him how good he is, he’s going to start believing it to the point that he may not be preparing quite the way he should. He may be losing some respect for the other team.”
Unsurprisingly, Joe’s harsh critique was not welcomed with enthusiasm in camp Ryan. Via Conor Orr at The Star-Ledger, Rex voiced his disagreement with Namath’s assessment.
“I welcome him to come out here and watch our guys prepare,” Ryan quipped. “He’d see a team that, in my opinion, prepares as well as any team I’ve been around. I disagree with him.”
“I’m not going to change who I am just because Joe Namath said something,” said Ryan, adding, “Joe Namath can come in here and if he can still throw, we’ll have him as a backup quarterback. He doesn’t know our team, he’s on the outside. Even though he’s a Jet, and once you’re a Jet you’re always a Jet… but he’s on the outside. He’s not in these meetings. I think if he was, he’d be shocked with our preparation.”
While Rex is right in saying that Joe isn’t “there” (at every practice and meeting) and thus he doesn’t “know” what truly goes on, Namath’s critical comments may provide a needed spark to the Jet’s struggling run defense – 2009’s top-ranked in the NFL – which currently ranks 31st in the league.
via ESPN
