EAST RUTHERFORD http://www.coltsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-ben-banogu-jersey , N.J. (AP) — New York Jets teammates and was again — as always — the center of attention.Broadway Joe held court at MetLife Stadium on Sunday as part of the team’s 50th anniversary celebration of the franchise’s only squad to win the Super Bowl. And, the former Jets quarterback thinks the fans won’t have to wait another 50 years to see another title.Not even close.“I’m as optimistic as I could possibly be,” Namath said a few hours before the Jets’ game against the Indianapolis Colts. “Really, I think all of us are pulling for the Jets to win a championship, mainly for the fans, as well as the players and all. Over the years, players come and go, ownership changes, coaches change, but the fans have been there since ’63, and all of us would love to see the fans get another championship.”The Jets have been searching for a franchise-type quarterback since the glory days of Namath. Several players have had their moments over the years, but the team hopes it has its guy — finally — in rookie Sam Darnold.Namath has met Darnold and spoken to him a few times, and thinks the youngster has lots of promise. But, he warns, it’s not just about the quarterback.“I like what I saw of him in college and what the coaches have had to say about him and his teammates, yeah Khari Willis Jersey , I like him,” Namath said. “But you know it takes up front, outside, two sides of the ball. It’s a team game. Sam will be good. You just need all the pieces to fit, though. You’ve got to have a complete team.”When a reporter suggested that it takes time to build that for most teams, Namath laughed.“You know, 50 years is enough time,” Namath said. “Fifty-one, 52, they should be getting it done in the next few years.”The Jets are 2-3 and looking to win consecutive games for the first time in more than a year. They’re still building for the future, and Namath declined to give his full thoughts on this year’s squad.“If I really said what I thought, I would be misinterpreted, so I’m not going there,” he said. “I’m pulling for them. Let’s just leave it at that, you know? They’re going to keep improving and don’t say a team can’t beat another team. On any given day, the Jets can beat anybody. We’ve got to see what happens today.”Darnold and the Jets defeated the Colts 42-34 Josh Allen Jersey , with Jason Myers setting a franchise record by kicking seven field goals.Namath was also asked about the other quarterback in town, Eli Manning, who is struggling through a tough season as the Giants are off to a 1-5 start. There have been suggestions that the 37-year-old Manning could be nearing the end of his career. Namath, who spent his final NFL season with the Los Angeles Rams in 1977, knows what it’s like having to deal with the difficult decision of having to call it quits.“It depends on the guy, depends on the dude, you know?” Namath said. “Eli, if he’s coming to that time and they talk about it, I bet you he handles that better than 99 percent of the dudes that come to the end.”Namath, who famously delivered on his Super Bowl guarantee and beat the then-Baltimore Colts in 1969, was thrilled to be spending time with so many of his former teammates such as Don Maynard, Emerson Boozer, Earl Christy and John Schmitt who helped lead one of the biggest moments in pro football history.The team was honored during a halftime ceremony at midfield, and a green and white banner that reads “Super Bowl III Champions” was unveiled near one of the top sections of the stadium.“It’s a joy,” Namath said of being with some of his former teammates. “It’s sincerely a joy. It’s like you’ve not been apart. Guys you haven’t seen for years, it’s like normal. It’s Parris Campbell Jersey , like, comfortable.’ LATROBE, Pa. (AP) — James Washington needed a hard reset. His rookie year with the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t go as planned.And he knew it.So fresh off a frustrating indoctrination into the NFL in which the speedy but occasionally erratic wide receiver struggled to develop a rapport with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and felt burdened by the inevitable comparisons to teammate JuJu Smith-Schuster, Washington headed home to Texas in search of perspective.He found it in the cotton fields working alongside his father, James Washington Sr.Together father and son would head out by 7 a.m. game-planning on how to attack the 300-plus acres awaiting them. James Sr. would hop on a four-wheeler. James Jr. would strap a vat of weed killer to his back, jam his ear buds in, lace up his work boots and zone out.“It helps me clear my mind of any problems I’m having in the real world or football related or anything,” Washington said. “It gives me time to think about stuff.”There was plenty to think over.The Steelers grabbed Washington in the second round of the 2018 draft following a record-setting career at Oklahoma State, won over by his confidence and his athleticism. Yet Washington’s development lagged. The intricacies of offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner’s playbook didn’t come easy. Neither did the production.Washington caught just 16 passes for 217 yards and a touchdown in 2018, well off the pace set by Smith-Schuster, who hauled in 58 receptions and seven scores as a rookie in 2017. Roethlisberger offered very polite but very measured public criticism as the weeks passed and things didn’t quite click.The constant contrasting — in both production and temperament — between the reserved Washington and the eternally hyper Smith-Schuster didn’t help either. Asked if he could feel himself pressing, Washington nodded.“Oh for sure,” he said. “It wasn’t just me. It felt like coaches and fans and everybody, ‘Oh, he’s got to do what JuJu did.’ I’m like, ‘I’m not JuJu. You’ve got to realize that.’ We’re two different people. You know. Some guys run faster than others and some learn slower than others. It just takes time.”Space too. Something Stamford http://www.coltsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-bobby-okereke-jersey , Texas — about three hours west of Dallas — has in abundance.So rather than pout or hit the gym, Washington headed home and returned to his typical offseason routine. He’s been working out in the fields since elementary school. He didn’t see why this winter — even with a regular job that made him a millionaire before his 23rd birthday — should be any different.Sure, James Sr. would tell his son to stay home. And James Jr. would politely decline. Sitting around when there’s work to be done wasn’t how he was raised.“I don’t like my dad working by myself doing all that in the heat,” Washington said. “I want to help him.”And, just maybe, help himself in the process.Washington arrived for organized team activities a little thinner, a little faster and far more prepared, aware of not just his responsibilities on a given play but those of every other wide receiver on the field too.“I never really felt like I had to relearn football, but just learn the way they played here and everything,” Washington said.He also dropped the crutch of feeling the need to leap for every catch when sometimes just finishing his route and running through the ball was enough, a habit that drew a gentle rebuke from Roethlisberger last November after Washington unwisely laid out for a deep ball against Denver. The ball smacked off Washington’s hands and fell away. If he stays on his feet, maybe he hauls it in and trots into the end zone.Washington didn’t track any of the three passes Roethlisberger threw his way against the Broncos, one of six games last season in which he failed to record a single reception, something that happened just once in 51 games at Oklahoma State.It can’t happen again if the Steelers want to compete in the AFC North. Washington shouldn’t lack for opportunities. All-Pro Antonio Brown’s high-profile offseason exit to Oakland means, as fellow receiver Ryan Switzer put it, “170 targets that have been vacated.”How many Washington earns depends on a variety of factors Khari Willis Jersey , from how much attention defenses put on Smith-Schuster to how quickly free agent signee Dontae Moncrief fits. Washington understands those things are out of his control, so he left all the anxiety out there in the cotton fields.He’s also relying on a bit of personal history. Washington remembers being overwhelmed as a freshman at Oklahoma State. By his sophomore season, he was second-team All-Big 12. By his third, he was on his way to treating the Oklahoma State record book as his own personal dry erase board.“Second year came out and it was like, ‘I knew everything,'” Washington said. “It just felt natural to me.”He knows more will be expected this season. And yes, there’s pressure that comes with it. But it’s all in his head. If he needs a reminder of how different his life could be, he need only think about those long days in the sun with his dad, spraying cotton or fixing tractors. It helps keep him grounded even as he prepares to make an entirely different kind of leap.“You know, I’m just taking it day by day,” he said. “Trying to get better than I was yesterday. And that’s all I can really do at this point.”