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Joe Namath's 'Outside' Criticism Irks Jets' Rex Ryan

NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) — Rex Ryan isn't too pleased with Broadway Joe's opinion that the Jets coach is making his team overconfident.

"I'm not going to change who I am because Joe Namath said something," Ryan said Monday.

The Hall of Fame quarterback said in an interview that "it's rather alarming" Ryan allows his players to think "they're better than they are." While he acknowledged that Ryan is doing "a great job" and cited the consecutive trips to the AFC championship game, he added that if the coach keeps telling his players how good they are, they might not prepare correctly.

And it's that type of approach, Namath said on Monday, that leads to letdowns such as the one the Jets had in Oakland.

"I welcome him to come out here and watch our guys prepare," a miffed Ryan said. "He'd see a team that, in my opinion, prepares as well as any team I've been around. I disagree with him."

The brash Ryan insists he's still confident in his team, and always believes the Jets will win every game they play.

"Namath can come in here, and if he can still throw, we'll have him as a backup quarterback. But you know what? He doesn't know our team. He's on the outside," said Ryan. "Even though he's a Jet, and once you're a Jet, you're always a Jet, but he's on the outside."

Ryan said Namath, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title in 1969, would be "shocked" at how his team prepares.

"He's not in these meetings," said Ryan.

Do you side with Rex or Broadway Joe? Fire away in the comments below...

(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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