Current:Home > StocksJoe Namath blasts struggling Jets QB Zach Wilson: 'I've seen enough' -Elite Financial Minds
Joe Namath blasts struggling Jets QB Zach Wilson: 'I've seen enough'
View
Date:2025-04-13 13:13:18
Joe Namath knows what it means to win with the New York Jets.
The Hall of Fame quarterback says that current quarterback Zach Wilson isn't the answer for the franchise he spent more than a decade with.
"I've seen enough of Zach Wilson, all right," Namath said Monday on ESPN New York's "The Michael Kay Show" after the Jets lost to the New England Patriots 15-10 at home. "I've seen enough. Has quick feet, can throw a little bit, but I don't believe what's going on up there."
Namath, who captured the Jets' only Super Bowl victory to cap the 1968 season, said that he is jaded by head coach Robert Saleh's continued belief in the third-year quarterback. Saleh expressed confidence in Wilson multiple times after four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers was lost for the season in Week 1 to a torn Achilles.
The Super Bowl 3 MVP suggested that Wilson should spend time as a backup learning the game and was not worthy of being the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, especially after a sack against the Patriots where he fell without being touched.
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
"I'm saying I don't believe in him," Namath said. "I don't believe he has a future as a good player and I think they made a wrong choice when they drafted him. I feel that way. He has some athletic ability, but you gotta have something up here that's going on whenever you're studying, reading, playing out there."
Namath also called out offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. Before the season started, the assistant coach was criticized by Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton for his one-season performance in the same role.
"How many months ago was that to learn the offense? How many months ago was that? C'mon. Now, Aaron, he got hurt. OK. Well, why do you think you have backups there for? They're ready to go." Namath said. "They're supposed to be ready to go. We're looking at an offense that just doesn't play well. You've got an offensive coordinator that doesn't seem to be calling the right plays. I just think for this fan, they need to make major changes from top to bottom."
He said that "top to bottom" would include firing Saleh. The third-year head coach has emphasized the strength of the team culture despite starting 1-2 and only scoring 10 points in each loss.
"How can a coach say, 'The locker room's together?'" Namath continued. "How many teams have we been on? You're telling me there aren't some cats on the defensive side saying, 'Whoa, man. What's wrong with you?' There's not all harmony in the locker roomm and if there is, they need to get rid of the people. You gotta get people in there that are competitors and wanna fight to win."
Namath said he hasn't met the 24-year-old Wilson, who last year Saleh said he'd develop "through hell or high water," but has made his conclusions anyways.
"I only know what I see out there," Namath said. "It's hard to tell what's going on between a guy's ears and the mind does play a major role on your team, in your team and every individual in your team. Whatever position they're playing, they have a duty, they have plays to carry out and they have to do them with regularity and he's far from that."
veryGood! (9615)
Related
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Authors' lawsuit against OpenAI could 'fundamentally reshape' AI: Experts
- A Drop in Emissions, and a Jobs Bonanza? Critics Question Benefits of a Proposed Hydrogen Hub for the Appalachian Region
- Steelers’ team plane makes emergency landing in Kansas City, no injuries reported
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
- Indictment with hate crime allegations says Hells Angels attacked three Black men in San Diego
- Hayden Panettiere Pays Tribute to Late Brother Jansen on What Would’ve Been His 29th Birthday
- Joe Burrow starts for Bengals vs. Rams after being questionable with calf injury
- Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
- Shooting kills 3 teenagers and wounds another person in South Carolina
Ranking
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Raiders QB Jimmy Garoppolo in concussion protocol, status for Week 4 uncertain
- Journey to celebrate 50th anniversary with 30 shows in 2024: See where they're headed
- Pretty Little Liars' Torrey DeVitto Is Engaged to Jared LaPine: See Her Gorgeous Ring
- Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
- Rare tickets to Ford’s Theatre on the night Lincoln was assassinated auction for $262,500
- India and US army chiefs call for free and stable Indo-Pacific as Chinese influence grows
- Hayden Panettiere Pays Tribute to Late Brother Jansen on What Would’ve Been His 29th Birthday
Recommendation
Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
MLB power rankings: Astros in danger of blowing AL West crown - and playoff berth
Artemis II: NASA pilot prepares for a trip around the moon and beyond | 5 Things podcast
Canada House speaker apologizes for praising veteran who fought for Nazis
A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
UN rights experts decry war crimes by Russia in Ukraine and look into genocide allegations
More charges filed against 2 teens held in fatal bicyclist hit-and-run video case in Las Vegas
First Black female NYPD police surgeon sworn in