Joe Namath, the Hall of Famer and legendary former New York Jets quarterback, issued a strong endorsement of current Jets starting quarterback Mark Sanchez Friday morning during an appearance on ESPN Radio with Colin Cowherd.
"Yes, I do believe Mark can win big in this league. It's gonna be predicated on the rest of the team. I know he has good feet, I know he can move around, I know he can throw the ball," Namath said. "He's got three good years under his belt of learning, You've gotta have the entire team to be successful."
"I think Mark can be a championship quarterback, yes."
Sanchez, of course, is heavily scrutinized because of the shortcomings of the Jets offense and the presence of Tim Tebow as his backup.
Cowherd asked Namath about the reaction to some of his criticism of the Jets organization in the past. Namath did not apologize for it, and admitted there is some friction between himself and the Jets leadership.
"I don't work for the New York Jets. I am very respectful of our Jets fans, that's why I'm a real fan of the Jets. I want them to win, but I also will express my honest opinion of a situation, and that's not going to please everyone all the time," Namath said.
"I see things going on that I don't particularly like in the past and currently, and when I do express those opinions it does rub some people the wrong way."