Joe Namath will always be remembered as the man who quarterbacked the greatest upset in football history when his AFL New York Jets defeated the NFL’s Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. That victory, combined with his flamboyant personality getting maximum exposure in the nation’s largest city, led to create a legend that many still consider to be one of the better quarterbacks in the sport’s history. In 1985, Namath was inducted into the NFL’s Hall of Fame.
But was Namath really that good, that he not only deserves enshrinement in Canton but also deserves to be placed on the short list of all-time greats?
Namath’s does boast a long list of accomplishments: first man to pass for over 4,000 yars, AFL Rookie of the Year (1965), AFL’s MVP (1968), four AFL All-Star games and one Pro Bowl to go along with his Super Bowl MVP. But while these awards are impressive, his numbers are far less so:
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YEAR TM ATT COM YRDS TD IN RTNG
1965 NYJ 340 164 2220 18 15 68.8
1966 NYJ 471 232 3379 19 27 62.6
1967 NYJ 491 258 4007 26 28 73.8
1968 NYJ 380 187 3147 15 17 72.1
1969 NYJ 361 185 2734 19 17 74.3
1970 NYJ 179 90 1259 5 12 54.7
1971 NYJ 59 28 537 5 6 68.2
1972 NYJ 324 162 2816 19 21 72.5
1973 NYJ 133 68 966 5 6 68.7
1974 NYJ 361 191 2616 20 22 69.4
1975 NYJ 326 157 2286 15 28 51.0
1976 NYJ 230 114 1090 4 4 39.9
1977 LAR 107 50 606 3 16 54.5
TOTALS 3762 1886 27663 173 220 65.5 The numbers are mind-blowing. Namath is the only quarterback in the Hall of Fame with more interceptions than touchdowns (at –47). His 65.5 career rating is almost ten points lower than Gus Frerotte’s career mark of 75.3. His best rating (1969’s 74.3) would have only qualified for 25th in the league last season, right between Josh McCown and Michael Vick.
Even his Super Bowl MVP is questionable. Namath finished with a very pedestrian line (17-28, 206 yards, 0/0 TD/INT, 83.33 rating), while Matt Snell finished with 121 rushing yards, 1 TD and 40 receiving yards.
So what happened? How is this guy in the Hall of Fame when it’s arguable that he isn’t even the best Jet quarterback ever? (I’d take Ken O'Brien.) And let's try to keep the Suzy Kolber jokes to a minimum...just kidding, those never get old.
), I hope that they put his bust right next to Namath's.
