There was no ceremonial passing of the mink coat when Joe Namath finally met the rookie quarterback that the Jets are hoping -- praying -- will fill with massive shoes.
Namath, to no one's surprise, did most of the talking during a brief encounter on the field between the annual Jets-Giants preseason slog. Sam Darnold, who had wandered over with the two other Jets passers to greet the 75-year-old legend, just listened, and smiled, and laughed.
Then, when the game started, Namath made his way up to the radio booth where, for the next couple hours, he saw glimpses of the future.