Namath confident about Revis, Jets' Super Bowl chances
New York Jets Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath, left, chats with Jets coach Rex Ryan during training camp. (Aug. 5, 2010) Credit: AP
CORTLAND, N.Y. - Joe Namath didn't make one of his famous guarantees, but he came pretty close.
Namath said he's virtually positive the contract stalemate between star cornerback Darrelle Revis and the Jets will be resolved soon, and he expects Revis to arrive before the Jets wrap up training camp.
"Not worried at all," said Namath, who dropped by SUNY Cortland to watch practice yesterday. "I'm confident he's going to be here. I know Mr. [Woody] Johnson wants him, I know Rex [Ryan] wants him. We all want him here.
"Just my experience of being around here the last day or so, my confidence is growing tremendously in believing we'll have Revis."
Perhaps Namath, 67, got that feeling when he had dinner with Ryan, general manager Mike Tannenbaum and other members of the Jets' staff Wednesday night.
Maybe the meeting also was where Namath caught the franchise's Super Bowl fever.
Namath, of course, presided over the Jets' lone Super Bowl championship in 1969. It's been a long time coming for another, and he thinks the Super Bowl XLV hype is warranted.
"It's justified," Namath said, evoking a few memories of his Super Bowl III guarantee. "This is what I'm saying. This team that I'm looking at today is more suited to be able to follow through with a championship, or to get a championship, than what we've had out there."
He also said this year's squad exhibits a level of brashness that wasn't matched by any of his Jets teams.
"They have more swagger than we had. That's for sure," Namath said. "This team is out there more. It's a reflection of Rex and his style. Rex has a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of confidence. Being able to win is the only thing that continues that kind of confidence."
And it's that confidence that has Namath thinking that yes, this could finally be the year.
"This training camp, to me, we've had the most legitimate contender we've had," he said. "That's as simple as I can put it.
"My outlook for this season is a real serious contender given the fact that [quarterback Mark] Sanchez is so much further ahead than he was last year with the knowledge of the offense, his teammates and then the addition of new players.
"The defense now knowing so much more about Rex Ryan and the team's wishes . . . We have a team we're expecting a lot out of this year."
