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To compare the two is a major reach, a reach of biblical proportions, but we are in an era loaded with narratives that are major reaches.
Headline – “Mo Wilkerson pulls a Joe Namath, Joe Namath not so sure.”
Wilkerson said, “The team will definitely be positive and do more things better than we did last year, I can guarantee that,” Wilkerson said to ESPN. “We’ll have more wins than we did last year and that’s a fact.”
Wilkerson said this at an event that Namath was also at.
“You have to earn respect and that’s by going out and winning some games, showing something, and getting some teams wary of you,” Namath told ESPN. “Right now, I don’t think there are many teams wary of the Jets. . . . Until they start playing well, who’s going to respect them?”
In 1969, Joe Namath guaranteed that the Jets would beat the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. They did.
How is guaranteeing a win in a Super Bowl akin to a player saying his team will be better than last year, and win more than five games like they did last year?
What a reach.
I happen to agree with Wilkerson saying, “The team will definitely be positive and do more things better than we did last year, I can guarantee that.”
I think he’s on to something.
This Jets off-season has been all about changing the culture.
Whether it was adding some assistant coaches with perhaps a little more energy, and bringing in players in free agency and the draft with great character and leadership ability.
You can make a strong argument the Jets added the best leader available in free agency (Josh McCown) and the draft (Jamal Adams).
Jets QB coach Jeremy Bates and personnel executive Rex Hogan were in Chicago with McCown, and pushed hard for the Jets to sign him. He’s a great locker room guy, one of the best in the league.
No player in the draft received more plaudits for his leadership skill set than Adams.
So to get a quarterback on offense (and I do think he will be the QB in Week 1) and get a quarterback in the secondary, who have off-the-charts leadership skills, will help the Jets’ culture immeasurably.
I’m not going to go over all the Jets off-season moves, but I think they are in a much better place right now than last year.
I suspect the 2017 Jets are going to be a lot more united and have a lot better chemistry than the 2016 team.
I understand what Wilkerson is saying. He’s not making a Namath guarantee by any stretch.
As for Wilkerson saying the Jets will win more than the five games they won last year, I will simply say, if McCown is the quarterback and stays healthy, yes, I think they will. If he’s not, all bets are off.
Getting back to Namath for a second, you can tell there is a little edge to his comment about the Jets. He’s on very bad terms with Jets owner Woody Johnson, so he’s not in much of a loving mood towards his former team.
The Jets need to fix this Namath problem. To me, that should be part of the culture fix. To be on bad terms with the most iconic player in team history is bad for their organizational karma. If Woody goes to London, Christopher Johnson, Todd Bowles and Mike Maccagnan should fly down to West Palm Beach and meet with Namath and fix this thing.
And Wilkerson didn’t make anything close to a Namath guarantee.
May 10, 2017
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