Chew on this fact - it makes a fan scratch their head

[Jolly Blue Giant]

 

Joe Namath was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after he threw more interceptions (220) than touchdowns (173), had a 48% winning percentage (going 62-69), and completed only 50.1% of his passes
 

[AYM]

On one hand, Namath might be the most overrated athlete in the history of sports.

On the other hand, it is the Hall of Fame and he was famous, and his one big win might have been the most important win in the history of football.

[Giant Jim]

Defenses have a lot to do with QB's winning percentages so they don't really mean much. QB gets a win or loss, but he's only on the field about half of the game.

Namath threw long balls which accounts for the low completion % and interceptions. He never played in a dink & dunk offense. Ben McAdoo and Pat Shurmur improved Eli Manning's completion % and cut down on his interceptions by having him throw a steady diet of short dump offs and short high % passes but they didn't win games either. Daniel Jones threw all those short passes and improved those stats about halfway thru his 2nd season but his total yards were too low.

[kartanoman]

Heck, Broadway Joe is STILL on the air selling everything from insurance policies to hearing aids to the little old ladies who used to gawk at him, and probably still do. That he had the cojones to wear pantyhose for a commercial, get down and dirty with Ann Margaret in C.C. and Company, and try to play one more year of football in L.A., when he should have retired, and got the living daylights beaten out of him, give the man his due.

He's had his issues to deal with (alcohol) but has worked through them. I see him as a larger-than-life figure who was on center stage when the single-most significant event of its day came to pass; that is, the AFL stood tall and proud in beating the NFL in the third Super Bowl. Its historical magnitude of importance is such that Broadway Joe gets the vote right there and then. The stats have little meaning but his impact on the game itself has been stamped forever and that's why he's in the Hall.

Folks who suggest that he is overrated absolutely have a justifiable point if you look at his contribution from merely a numbers standpoint. He was a revolutionary icon of the game at the most pivotal point in the league's history. You look at the critical point where the NFL and AFL agreed to their merger, you cannot visualize that event without Broadway Joe somewhere in that picture. You cannot write the story of the integration of the two leagues without mentioning Namath and that has long been held a criterion for admission.

I know we're discussing this within the greater context of whether Eli Manning will be a first-time candidate selection into the Hall of Fame. Suffice it to say, you cannot mention the greatness of Tom Brady without pointing to the "BUT if not for Eli Manning and the Giants." We, Giants fans, can certainly rewrite that sentence in a far different context, of course! There are many deserving candidates worthy of selection this year. If he doesn't make it this year, then next year might be a much easier route.

We shall see.

Peace!

[LennG]

 I know all the stories about why Namath shouldn't be in the HOF., but my memories of him area bit different. In his time, he was the most electric player in the game. When he trotted out onto the field, all eyes were on him, and there was just a certain electricity there. Only a few players in the history of the game have this certain something, LT being another.
Maybe Joe doesn't belong in the HOF but sometimes numbers just don't tell the entire story.

[coggs]

Rules were VERY different back then.  DB's got away with A LOT more and what qualified as a legal hit on the QB back then would get you suspended today.

[Trench]

Rules were VERY different back then.  DB's got away with A LOT more and what qualified as a legal hit on the QB back then would get you suspended today.

To your point, correct me if I'm wrong and we can probably have a good thread on it - but I kinda remember in the 80s and 90s the DBs had a MUCH harder job and almost any "touch" after 5 yards was an automatic "pass interference".....today it is ridiculous how much contact (and interpretation) they allow

[BlueMoshik]

Joe Namath is in the HOF because of The Guarantee and his place in football history as the first AFL Super Bowl win over the NFL which led to the big merger. That's it. And it's enough, because in NFL history it was huge. It wasn't about the numbers back then. 

[andrew_nyGiants]

By a lot of the logic offered in support of Namath;

One can offer Simms as a QB who brought the flagship franchise in NY its first championship in 35 years.

He was embattled by the fans and media alike for his many freak injuries, and forcing the game because he had limited offensive weapons early in his career.

He still owns the best completion percentage in SB history.

In short, if Namath deserves the HOF Phil absolutely deserves it by now.


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[LennG]

By a lot of the logic offered in support of Namath;

One can offer Simms as a QB who brought the flagship franchise in NY its first championship in 35 years.

He was embattled by the fans and media alike for his many freak injuries, and forcing the game because he had limited offensive weapons early in his career.

He still owns the best completion percentage in SB history.

In short, if Namath deserves the HOF Phil absolutely deserves it by now.




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Andrew

Probably correct about Phil and him being in the Hall, but Phil had a team full of great players, some already in the HOF. Namath, yes had some terrific players but none were even a thought to be in the HOF. As I said before, whenever Joe trotted onto the field there was a certain electricity about him, all eyes instantly went to him, you just can't say that about Phil. Phil was a team player, and Namath WAS the team.

[andrew_nyGiants]

Lenn,

The first time I saw Phil take the field in Giants blue, it was electric for me. Think about the QB's we had from '70 until '80. Phil was head and shoulders above them all after Tark went back to Minny.

Phil had no HOF players on offense while Namath had Maynard.

Phil had a much better statistical career than Namath including his role in 2 SB winning teams vs one. Admittedly he was out with an injury after leading them to a 10-1 start that year.

If memory serves Broadway Joe won is only SB on the back of the Jets defense and a strong running game. Great prediction off the field, but limited impact on it. IMHO


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[Giant Jim]

Folks who suggest that he is overrated absolutely have a justifiable point if you look at his contribution from merely a numbers standpoint. He was a revolutionary icon of the game at the most pivotal point in the league's history. You look at the critical point where the NFL and AFL agreed to their merger, you cannot visualize that event without Broadway Joe somewhere in that picture. You cannot write the story of the integration of the two leagues without mentioning Namath and that has long been held a criterion for admission.


Peace!

Namath's original contract in 1965 was one of the big things to get the leagues talking.

The most important play of Namath's super bowl was an incomplete pass. Don Maynard was hurting with a bad hamstring. The Colts didn't know it. Somehow, Maynard blew past the Colts defense one time and Namath just missed him. After that, the Colts played a sefety back, which helped Matt Snell to run all over them.

[ralphpal1]

He is still remembered after  50 years

[uconnjack8]

I wasn't around for it, but wasn't the Jets win big not just for being underdogs, but for showing the AFL could compete with the NFL in the Super Bowl?

[Giant Jim]

I wasn't around for it, but wasn't the Jets win big not just for being underdogs, but for showing the AFL could compete with the NFL in the Super Bowl?

Yes. The merger was agreed on a couple of years earlier, but they were still playing as 2 separate leagues with the Super Bowl as the championship game. Green Bay won the first 2 super bowls decisively and the Colts were like 18 point favorites for that 3rd one.