What does Joe Namath think of Sam Darnold, nine games into a career that Jets fans hope will produce the next Joe Namath?
"I think the same thing I believe most everyone thinks of him," Namath said Tuesday before being honored at the annual March of Dimes Greater New York Market sports luncheon in Manhattan.
In short: cautious optimism.
"You watch him in college, you see a guy that can play," said Namath, who 50 years ago quarterbacked the Jets to their only Super Bowl. "You watch him in pro ball, especially that first game (against the Lions) _ regardless of the first pass (a pick-6) _ you see a guy that can play. He can move around. He can throw.
"You talk with him and he carries himself well. Keeping your poise, what you have between your ears, is important in any walk of life. And Sam has the endorsement of the people he works with, from the players and coaches. They believe in him.
"We're talking about a team effort, though. We're talking sports, and it takes a collective good effort to come out on top. So the team needs to improve, and Sam needs to improve. He knows that. He can improve his passing accuracy. He can improve anticipation."
The biggest question looming over the Jets is whether Todd Bowles is the coach to lead Darnold there.
"I like Todd Bowles," Namath said. "I don't know about being the right guy. I haven't been that close to the situation. The fact of the matter in sports is if things aren't going well, you can't get rid of 53 players and change, so what do you do?
"I don't want to sound negative in any fashion about the Jets, but we need to keep our chins up. You know damn well every player is trying. At least I believe every player is trying. I don't know every player. If every player is giving 100 and that little bit more percent, that's up to the people there that are observing them, coaching them, teaching them, to decide."
While Darnold is ascending toward what he hopes will be a Super Bowl someday, the only New York-area quarterback to win two is winding down his career with the rival Giants.
Before Super Bowl XLVI, Namath told Newsday that if the Giants won, it would stamp Eli Manning as the greatest quarterback in New York history. What does Namath think of Manning's legacy as he nears leaving the stage?
"I wish I'd have been a part of two Super Bowl championships and led a team to two Super Bowl championships," Namath said. "I wish I could have played as long as Eli has played and contributed. I remember Eli's first year ... Boy, they were on him heavy, man. But I thought I saw something in him. You had to be patient. It's a team effort.
"You look at the way he played last week and he threw a lot of strikes out there, too. I think he's done better than 90-plus percent of the quarterbacks that have ever played. He won two Super Bowls!"
Namath was honored with the Legend Award, and the U.S. Olympic women's hockey team with the Sportswomen of the Year Award. Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred was given the Sports Leadership Award.
Namath, 75, said his involvement with the March of Dimes dates to the late 1940s and early '50s, when his parents encouraged him to collect dimes in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, where he grew up.
"It starts at home," he said. "Your parents point out something to you that there are some children who can't play like we can play, that can't walk like we walk. They can't run ... That's when I got started, because of my mother and father."
