For the second time in as many weeks, Joe Namath has ripped the New York Jets in the media. This time his venom isn't being spewed at head coach Rex Ryan, but rather WR Santonio Holmes, GM Mike Tannenbaum and the offensive line.
While Namath wasn't a fan of the Jets uninspired performance in their 34-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, it was Holmes' comments in the locker room after the game about the offensive line needing "to do a better job of protecting" Sanchez and that in turn the quarterback needs to get the ball "to where he needs to" that really set him off during an interview on 1050 ESPN radio.
"For Holmes, as a captain, to go outside, to the media, and start pointing fingers. . . . I mean, he's right about the ball getting out late to him [on Sanchez's third-quarter interception], and he's right about the offensive line, but that can create a problem in the locker room. . . . That divisiveness can bury a team. They've got to correct that right away."
So if you're keeping score at home, Namath believes that Holmes was totally out of line to say what he said, even though it was completely on point.
Does Namath believe that a team leader should be completely vanilla in his evaluation of what is wrong with the team? Maybe give an "aw, shucks we'll go get 'em next week" and be done with it? That would be disingenuous and it's not as if the offensive line doesn't know they need to improve.
Not only was the hall of famer quick to rip the offensive line and Holmes, but also Tannenbaum for refusing to move on from Vlad Ducasse.
"We picked some poor players and we're not owning up to it. ... You have to [say], 'Hey, I made a bad pick, a bad selection,' and move on. The Jets didn't do that and it's a little late for the season to get it righted."
Notice, he says "we picked some poor players". Maybe I missed the memo about Namath being in the room when the Jets selected Ducasse in the 2nd round of the 2010 draft. Former players -- and certainly great players -- have the right to say "we" when talking about the team, but not when trying to hand out blame for personnel decisions.
If the Jets go up to New England and lay another egg against the Patriots, I can only imagine who will be in Namath's crosshairs. Maybe the traveling secretary or the equipment manager.
Stay tuned!