BleacherReport
Let’s play a game: I am going to give you two quarterbacks from the mid 60s to the late 70s and I want you to guess which one is the Hall of Fame QB.
Player A. Career Stats: 19 Seasons, 145 Starts, 183 TD, 187 INT, 27,908 Passing Yards, 81-62-1 Career Record, 54.2 Completion Percentage, 73.5 QB Rating, Lost 2 Super Bowls,
Player B. Career Stats: 13 Seasons, 130 Starts, 173 TD, 220 INT, 27,663 Passing Yards, 62-63-4 Career Record, 50.1 Completion Percentage, 65.5 QB Rating, Won 1 Super Bowl,
Neither is probably jumping out at you. In fact, neither of the QB’s probably seem like Hall of Fame material, but I promise one is.
If I had to guess just by looking at the info above, I would have to go with Player A. More wins, better TD/INT ratio, better completion percentage, and better QB ranking. The only down side is he lost two Super Bowls whereas Player B won a Super Bowl.
I think any reasonable football fan would agree that Player A seems like a more deserving Hall choice.
Now let’s find out if we’re right.
It’s true: Joe Namath’s stats sucked that bad. From the stats above he just looks like another run-of-the-mill quarterback. Craig Morton had better stats then him, and he definitively hasn’t received Hall of Fame consideration.
From the praise Namath has received over the years (not much from Suzy Kolber though), you would think he had better stats then he does.
The reality of those stats is a huge reason why Joe Namath is the most overrated quarterback in the history of the NFL.
Yeah I said it New York; what are you going to do about it?
The truth is that Namath wasn’t a very good quarterback, he was just in the right place at the right time. That place being New York City of course. If Namath played in Chicago, Houston, or Buffalo he would of been just another QB that didn’t reach his full potential.
The New York media loved his charisma and playboy lifestyle, so they hyped him up to a player he never was.
I will say that Broadway Joe did guarantee to win one of the biggest games in NFL history and put the AFL on the map; but Super Bowls aren’t always won just by quarterbacks.
Plenty of other okay/mediocre quarterbacks have won Super Bowls too: Jim Plunkett, Jim McMahon, Doug Williams, Jeff Hostetler, Mark Rypien, and Trent Dilfer all won at least one.
Plus Joe didn’t win that game by himself; Matt Snell and the Jets defense won that Super Bowl. Snell had 121 yards and 1 TD while the Jets D caused 5 turnovers and only allowed 7 points. Joe did have a solid game completing 17 out of 28 passes and throwing for 206 yards, but nothing spectacular.
For his career, Namath’s QB rating was a pathetic 65.5 even while spending 5 years in the pass happy AFL. Some other quarterbacks from that era had far more respectable numbers: Roger Staubach 83.4, Len Dawson 82.6, Sonny Jurgensen 82.6.
The 173 TDs to 220 INT ratio is terrible. Namath led the league in INTs 4 times and there were only two seasons during which he threw more touchdowns then interceptions.
He has a 50.1 career competition percentage, which is way too low for a “Hall of Fame” quarterback. His best season was in 1967 which he threw for 4,007 yards, completed 52% of his passes, and threw for 26 TDs and 28 INTs. That’s not a very impressive year, even for back then.
Also it’s not like Joe Willie had bad players around him. Matt Snell and Emerson Boozer were both quality running backs. George Sauer went to 4-Pro Bowls and Don Maynard is a Hall of Famer.
The stat that hurts Joe the most is his career record. 62-63-4 is a mediocre record for a quarterback. Add in that he only has two playoff appearances and it shows that Joe did not do the most important thing a quarterback can do. win consistently.
I think that there is enough evidence here to prove that Joe Namath was one of – if not the – most overrated quarterbacks ever; the evidence also proves that Namath never belonged in the Hall of Fame either
Let’s play a game: I am going to give you two quarterbacks from the mid 60s to the late 70s and I want you to guess which one is the Hall of Fame QB.
Player A. Career Stats: 19 Seasons, 145 Starts, 183 TD, 187 INT, 27,908 Passing Yards, 81-62-1 Career Record, 54.2 Completion Percentage, 73.5 QB Rating, Lost 2 Super Bowls,
Player B. Career Stats: 13 Seasons, 130 Starts, 173 TD, 220 INT, 27,663 Passing Yards, 62-63-4 Career Record, 50.1 Completion Percentage, 65.5 QB Rating, Won 1 Super Bowl,
Neither is probably jumping out at you. In fact, neither of the QB’s probably seem like Hall of Fame material, but I promise one is.
If I had to guess just by looking at the info above, I would have to go with Player A. More wins, better TD/INT ratio, better completion percentage, and better QB ranking. The only down side is he lost two Super Bowls whereas Player B won a Super Bowl.
I think any reasonable football fan would agree that Player A seems like a more deserving Hall choice.
Now let’s find out if we’re right.
- Player A. Craig Morton
- Player B. Joe Namath
It’s true: Joe Namath’s stats sucked that bad. From the stats above he just looks like another run-of-the-mill quarterback. Craig Morton had better stats then him, and he definitively hasn’t received Hall of Fame consideration.
From the praise Namath has received over the years (not much from Suzy Kolber though), you would think he had better stats then he does.
The reality of those stats is a huge reason why Joe Namath is the most overrated quarterback in the history of the NFL.
Yeah I said it New York; what are you going to do about it?
The truth is that Namath wasn’t a very good quarterback, he was just in the right place at the right time. That place being New York City of course. If Namath played in Chicago, Houston, or Buffalo he would of been just another QB that didn’t reach his full potential.
The New York media loved his charisma and playboy lifestyle, so they hyped him up to a player he never was.
I will say that Broadway Joe did guarantee to win one of the biggest games in NFL history and put the AFL on the map; but Super Bowls aren’t always won just by quarterbacks.
Plenty of other okay/mediocre quarterbacks have won Super Bowls too: Jim Plunkett, Jim McMahon, Doug Williams, Jeff Hostetler, Mark Rypien, and Trent Dilfer all won at least one.
Plus Joe didn’t win that game by himself; Matt Snell and the Jets defense won that Super Bowl. Snell had 121 yards and 1 TD while the Jets D caused 5 turnovers and only allowed 7 points. Joe did have a solid game completing 17 out of 28 passes and throwing for 206 yards, but nothing spectacular.
For his career, Namath’s QB rating was a pathetic 65.5 even while spending 5 years in the pass happy AFL. Some other quarterbacks from that era had far more respectable numbers: Roger Staubach 83.4, Len Dawson 82.6, Sonny Jurgensen 82.6.
The 173 TDs to 220 INT ratio is terrible. Namath led the league in INTs 4 times and there were only two seasons during which he threw more touchdowns then interceptions.
He has a 50.1 career competition percentage, which is way too low for a “Hall of Fame” quarterback. His best season was in 1967 which he threw for 4,007 yards, completed 52% of his passes, and threw for 26 TDs and 28 INTs. That’s not a very impressive year, even for back then.
Also it’s not like Joe Willie had bad players around him. Matt Snell and Emerson Boozer were both quality running backs. George Sauer went to 4-Pro Bowls and Don Maynard is a Hall of Famer.
The stat that hurts Joe the most is his career record. 62-63-4 is a mediocre record for a quarterback. Add in that he only has two playoff appearances and it shows that Joe did not do the most important thing a quarterback can do. win consistently.
I think that there is enough evidence here to prove that Joe Namath was one of – if not the – most overrated quarterbacks ever; the evidence also proves that Namath never belonged in the Hall of Fame either
It's not how you win ................... it's JUST WIN! He was one of the greatest football leaders of all time!
"of course he is not in for his stats...............he almost singlehandedly made the game of today what it is............his called shot(superbowl 3) showed that "inferior" AFL could compete and that the merger would work...........his nightlife antics tapped into half the population that didnt watch football, women.....he was more of a cartoon type pioneer character that came along at the perfect time and won the biggest game in NFL history....for this alone he is a HOF'er"
Steak Tartar
RIGHT ON!!
^!:
RIGHT ON!!
^!:
John Huarte
Huarte was drafted in 1965 by both pro football leagues: he was the twelfth overall selection of the AFL draft and the 76th pick of the NFL draft. He signed with the AFL's New York Jets over the NFL Philadelphia Eagles, He signed with the Jets, but was beaten out for the starting position by fellow-rookie Joe Namath, the first pick of the AFL draft. who had finished eleventh in the Heisman voting as a senior at Alabama. The AFL Jets thus signed both the Heisman Trophy winner and the Alabama star away from the NFL. Huarte was third on the depth chart behind co-starters Namath and Mike Taliaferro and was on the taxi squad. Following the 1965 season, Huarte was traded to the Boston Patriots for Jim Colclough and the draft rights to Wichita State linebacker/center Jim Waskiewicz.
Subsequently Huarte did see action as a back-up quarterback for several other professional teams from 1966-1972. Out of football in 1973, he played his final two seasons of professional football as the starting quarterback of the Memphis Southmen of the World Football League, which folded before the completion of the 1975 season.
joe is part of sporting history. he doesn't have to be an all time great based on body of work to be relevant. he took a moment in time and did what they said couldn't be done on the biggest stage there is. that's enough for me. joe will always be remembered as a football hero. not a damn thing wrong with that
