On opening day in Houston a lot was made my the media of the presence of the great Joe Namath. The fact that he gave Mark Sanchez a motivational talk just before coming into the game. Regardless of whether Sanchez wants to be compared to Namath, it's inevitably going to happen, he has the ability, the looks, the charisma, however I just can't see Sanchez coming out and saying something like:
I like my Johnny Walker red and my women blonde
Tim Bontemps of the NY Post caught up with Namath to ask him about his innitial opinion of Sanchez, post the Texans and Patriots games. While he had a glowing reference, the message was clear, this is two games don't get carried away, you still have to prove yourself.
"He impressed me for the first time when I saw him against the Giants in the first series," Namath said. "He showed some things there that were outstanding, and he has these last two games."
"I’m pulling for him, I promise you, I’m pulling for the Jets. Everything that I’ve heard from people close to the scene — players, coaches — they’re impressed with him. I was taken by his excitement. He was really fired up. That’s what I was taken by, his youthfulness, his excitement."
"But again, talking with Rex and talking with some players, the guy is working, and if the players know what kind of player you are, it seems like Mark has had some good training. There’s only been two guys in recent history that have been successful at his size — Drew Brees and Jeff Garcia," he said. "So, you know, Drew Brees is a special animal, Garcia is a special animal, and Mark’s still got to prove it ... He’s got to prove he can survive ... survival is a major key, and it’s gonna be tough."
Over the past week we have heard comparisons from several different media sources, he looks like Joe Namath, he moves like Dan Marino, he has the characteristics of Joe Montana. For me, why don't we just let him be Mark Sanchez.