Former Jets SB QB "Joe Namath" Invited To Compete For Back-up Role

[RävNsfän ®]

By Mike Mazzeo
Special to ESPNNewYork.com

http://espn.go.com/

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Rex Ryan says he isn't going to change who he is just
because Joe Namath criticized his team's preparation, and the New York Jets
head coach welcomes the franchise's only Super Bowl winning quarterback to
watch his team practice and see how they prepare first-hand.


In fact, Ryan jokingly said he might even let the long-retired Namath
participate in practice and compete to be Mark Sanchez's backup -- that is,
if the 68-year-old can still sling it.

"I'm not gonna change who I am because Joe Namath said something," Ryan said
Monday. "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 at the preparation.

"I'm confident with our football team. There's no question about it. And,
I've told you this many times, I've never gone into a game that I didn't
think I'd win. I haven't won them all, but I certainly think we can and
will."

Namath had said he was alarmed by the way the Jets lost to the Oakland
Raiders on Sunday afternoon, and questioned Ryan's team's preparation during
a Monday interview on ESPN 1050's "The Michael Kay Show."

"It wasn't disheartening so to speak," Broadway Joe said of the Jets' 34-24
setback in Oakland on Sunday, their first loss of the season. "It's rather
alarming is the way I'm looking at it.

"It starts at the top. Coach Rex Ryan I think has been doing a great job
getting the team to two (AFC) Championship Games. But if there's one thing
about the athlete, if you keep telling him how good he is, he's going to
start believing it, to the point that he may not be preparing not quite the
way he should. He may be losing some respect for the other team."

After hearing Namath's disparaging comments during his weekly segment on the
radio show, Ryan said he disagreed with Namath assessment... "I'd welcome
Joe out here anytime he wants to see this team prepare, because this team
prepares as well as any team I've ever coached and ever been a part of,"
Ryan said. "So I totally disagree with him.

"But hey, I'm not apologizing for anything. This is a bend in the road, but
it's not the end of the road, and we get to prove it."

Ryan said he understands if his 2-1 team has its detractors, but he wants
them to know that they're going to turn it around.

"If there's detractors out there that don't believe, I can understand that,
especially after that type of performance," Ryan said. "But I believe we'll
get this team fixed, and I know I'm the right guy for the job, so I get to
prove it."

The Jets, who sported the top-ranked defense in the NFL in 2009 and the
third-best defense last season, surrendered 383 total yards to Oakland,
including 234 on the ground -- 171 of those courtesy of Darren McFadden. New
York's run defense currently ranks 31st in the league.

--
~Drew

[RävNsfän ®]

Article courtesy of:

The Shadow

alt.sports.football.pro.oak-raiders

[oldn...@mindspring.com]

Rex is right that Namath doesn't know what goes on behind the team's closed doors.

Namath is right that over-praising your guys to boost their morale can backfire badly.

The "self-esteem movement" of the past generation in education -- which held that if you kept telling kids how good they are then they'd feel good about themselves tand his (somehow) would lead to higher achievement -- has totally blown up. In reality kids aren't stupid, and the message they get is "if I can get praise and 'be great' by doing nothing, then I'll do nothing!".

Namath is right that if this is what Rex is doing it's a mistake.

But Rex is right that Namath doesn't know that Rex is doing this.

I have a very hard time believing that any coach named "Ryan, son of Buddy" could be such a candy-butt.

And after watching him this long I am *very* sure that Rex is *very* manipulative of the press in getting out the public story lines he wants to see in the media while hiding what's going on for real in private -- the best manipulator of the press in NYC since Tuna.

That being an important skill for a HC that Buddy never learned.

[Papa Carl]

<oldn...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:28043129.523.1317179166162.JavaMail.geo-discussion-forums@yqmw31...

Can I remind you of how Buddy created and pampered the Hell out of William
Perry? He made Perry. Buddy is an old school coach...he knows who to
coddle and who to kick ass with....a lot of the older coaches were better at
that...and there was more of a separation between them and players too.
Proably can't do that much today.

[RävNsfän ®]

<oldn...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:28043129.523.1317179166162.JavaMail.geo-discussion-forums@yqmw31...

--
Rex learned a lot while coaching under Brian Billick, the "ultimate" players
HC. He witnessed first-hand Billick's mishandling of player personnel, the
media, referees and the league president himself. Smug and arrogent were
terms associated to Billick more so than genius and guru ever were.

A stint in any other organization outside of NY was not likely to have
prepped Rex for NY, however, watching Billick definately exposed him to the
pitfalls of believing in your own media hype and coddling his players etc..
--
~Drew

"Talk is cheap, ...lets just play"
Johnny Unitas - Baltimore Colts