Namath rips Jets' game preparation
Former New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath smiles on the sidelines before the Jets face the Houston Texans. (Sept. 13, 2009) Credit: AP
It's been a difficult couple of days for Rex Ryan. His defense was torn apart by the Raiders' ground attack. Then his team's game preparation was ripped on the air by Jets legend Joe Namath.
Ryan said Monday that neither occurrence will change the way he views the Jets, adding he still has great confidence in his 2-1 team despite its troubles in a 34-24 loss at Oakland on Sunday.
"I welcome Joe to come out here and watch our guys prepare," he said. "He'll see a team that prepares as well as any team I've been a part of. I'm confident with our football team. There's no question about it. I've never gotten into a game I didn't think I could win.
"I'm not going to change who I am because Joe Namath said something. He can come in here and if he can still throw, he's the backup quarterback."
Namath, as a guest Monday on "The Michael Kay Show," ESPN/1050, questioned why Ryan constantly tells his team how good it is.
"If you keep telling [an athlete] 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," Namath said. "He may be losing some respect for the other team."
One got the feeling that Ryan didn't spend a lot of time in Monday's team meeting telling the Jets how great they were.
"It was typical ---- coachspeak," Brandon Moore said when asked about the meeting. Ryan also said there have been only a few times in his 15 years as an NFL coach that he can "remember a game like that."
Yet it's possible that the Jets did overlook the Raiders. Darrelle Revis said Monday that there is no excuse for the way the defense played. The Raiders had the most productive rushing day against the Jets in Ryan's three seasons. Oakland piled up 234 yards on the ground, 171 by Darren McFadden, who ran for two touchdowns.
"You always get mad because no question we feel like we're the better team," Revis said. "Up and down the roster, we're the better team, and we believe that. It's very frustrating. We should feel upset. There's no way to be happy or joyful about what happened."
The Jets certainly won't be able to overlook their next two opponents -- the Ravens on Sunday night and the Patriots the next weekend, both on the road.
"We're going to find out about ourselves big time the next couple of weeks," said Ryan, a Ravens assistant coach before coming to the Jets.
The Jets had the NFL's top-ranked defense in 2009 and the third-best last season. But this year, their run defense ranks 31st.
Revis said the Jets must use the next two weeks to re-establish who they are and cement their reputation as a team with which to be reckoned.
"This one hurt, but we have to move forward,'' Revis said. "This is a great opportunity to bounce back and show this league that we are not just a trash-talking team."
