New York, NY

The relationship between the New York Jets and their lone Super Bowl-winning quarterback Joe Namath has seen better days.

Harsh criticism from the latter has frayed the bond between Namath and Jets brass, owner Woody Johnson, General Manager Mike Tannenbaum and Coach Rex Ryan.

Though Namath is not happy with the current state of their relationship, he stands by his comments.

"I feel awful about it, I feel awful about my relationship with the Jets right now. I don't want them upset with Joe, but damn it, I have to say what I see, what I think, what I feel," Namath told the Star Ledger.

just one example of Namath's comments occurred speaking to reporters at the premiere of HBO's "Namath", where the 68-year old unloaded about quarterback Mark Sanchez, the Jets late-season collapse and the hiring of former Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano as the new offensive coordinator.

"Mark made some mistakes this year, no doubt, but he can play," Namath told ESPN New York's Rich Cimini. "It's only his third year, man. You see guys out there who have played longer than that, making those same mistakes."

"Hey, he's made it through three seasons now, and he's not a kid. He's a man out there. He's a man and, if they get the people around him, he's going to be fine."

Namath often tweeted the familiar phrase "they can do some things better, no doubt" a number of times during the season and never held back his views during a weekly radio show.

"With the current Jets situation the last few years, I just tried to explain how I felt about things, and when we talk about our head coach, the Jets head coach, he's unique. I've never seen that style in all the years I've been around football."

New York ffinished 8-8 and missed the playoffs for the first time in coach Ryan's three-year reign last season, but still finished in the top 5 in the league in defense (yards allowed per game).

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