http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Namath Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh stated that Namath was "the most beautiful, accurate, stylish passer with the quickest release I've ever seen." Hall of Fame coach Don Shula stated that Namath was "one of the 3 smartest quarterbacks of all time." Either these quotes are made up, or Bill Walsh & Don Shula don't know what they're talking about, or Namath was a great qb or another possibility which I can't even think of but would gladly listen to.
Not sure if this was posted, interesting article if you're anti-Joe. http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com/Articles/11_2285_The_5_most_overrated_quarterbacks.html I often wondered would Joe have made into the HOF without that SB win. Just comparing him to one QB of his time Bart Starr. Completion %- BS- 57.4, JN- 50.1 TDs/INTs - BS- 152/138, JN- 173/220 QB Rating- BS- 80.5, JN- 65.5 Finally Sonny Jurgensen, 57.1 Copletion %, 255 Tds, 189 INTs, QB rating of 82.6 Just basing off stats which is what the HOF is mostly all about it's hard to believe Joe is in. I love Joe Namath, I wish he'd keep some of his negative tweets to himself but I love watching th4 history and reading about Broadway Joe. Looking at some of his contemporaries wouldn't you say that without SB III he most likely would not be in?
That means absolutely nothing. Namath was a beautful looking passer, not many have ever thrown a nicer ball but there's alot more to this game than that and you can find great quotes about tons of players. The bottom line is he didn't do enough on the field to be up there w/ the all time greats.
Well, if the words of Bill Walsh of the dominant 1990's Niners & the words of Don Shula who's also known as a legendary coach himself don't mean anything then there's no point moving on w/ this. You admit that you didn't see Namath play in his prime. You saw a handful of games & stare @ the stats. Yet you believe your ability to interpret stats & handful of games is worth more than the opinions of legenday NFL coaches who saw him play.
What do you want them to say? he was overrated? show me coahces that will say that about players from their eras? Did either one of those coaches call him one of the best QBs? One said he had a beautiful throwing motion- what does that tell us? the other said he was one of the smartest QBs- what does that tell us? Using those quotes we can say Vinny and Chad were 2 of the best of all time as Vinny threw a ball as beautiful as any QB ever and Chad was as smart as any QB ever. It's silly taking quotes, the bottom line is he doesn't have the individual #s or the team #s.
There's no doubt that Namath is in the HOF more because of what he meant off the field and the SB III win than what he did on the field. And that's okay. He moved both leagues forward and turned the Super Bowl into the grand spectacle it is today. He was definitely one of the great throwers this league has ever seen, and had he stayed healthy probably would have put up records that would have lasted a long time. I don't look down on him for his stats. A majority of his career was spent throwing to mediocre players while he himself was only a shell of what he used to be. I thank him for the Super Bowl and love that he loves the Jets.
The fact that Joe Montana is on this list invalidates this entire thing for me. That man is the greatest QB that ever lived and ever will live.
I love it when fans pretend that they know more than the likes of Bill Walsh and Don Shula. LOL. Your comments indicate that you have absolutely no fucking clue what you are talking about.
+1 Joe Montana was the greatest QB of all time. Any list that has him as overrated is by definition Bullshit and anything else this idiot has to say about QBs is clearly meaningless since he obviously has no clue whatsever what he is talking about.
Where have I ever said I know more football than Shula or Walsh? I apologize if my reading comprehension is better than yours in this case. Please show me where either said Namath was one of the greatest QBs ever?
Just b/c there is a BS name or 2 on the list does not invalidate the list. Some belong and some do not, unfortunately Namath belongs.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/318394-why-joe-namath-is-the-greatest-quarterback-of-all-time I realize that Walsh & Shula aren't enough to impress you. How about additional quotes from Lombardi & Madden ? A couple of facts: Vince Lombardi said that he was a perfect passer. Bear Bryant said that he was the best athlete he ever coached. John Madden put him on his All-Superbowl Team along with Joe Montana and Roger Staubach. Don Shula(Coach of the Colts in Supebowl III said that all of the other teams that they played could not handle the Colt Blitz. Shula said that Namath picked it up and because of his quick release , he was able to capitalize. Bill Walsh said that he was the most gifted QB he had every seen Or perhaps: Bear Bryant + Lombardi + Madden + Shula + Walsh = less football knowledge than junc w/ a stats book who didn't watch the games live. Or how about you find quotes from football people in Joe's era that say he's over rated. All you've got is a stats book & you've yet to find any football people in Namath's era to back you up. === Before 16 games in a season & 1978 rule changes, there's been only one qb to pass for 4000 yards. I'm at a loss. Usually throwing out the opinions of multiple legenday HOF coaches on a players should be enough to settle such a disagreement. Especially when there's no football minds in the same era to say otherwise. What are you looking for to prove Namath isn't overrated & worth of the HOF? What is the evidence or whose football mind is superior to the names I've given that you that can possibly sway you. Seems to me you're refusing to budge no matter who has positive things to say about Namath.
Now you are posting bleacher report articles?:rofl: All thiose quotes are great but none of them say he was one of the greatest QBs ever. They are praising different aspects of his game and his ABILITY. I have NEVER questioned his ability but b/c of injuries he was unable to play at a high level long enough to be considered an all time great. yep, he threw for 4,000 yards in a 14 game season which included more INTs than TDs and finihsing in 2nd out of the playoffs. The evidence is glaring why Namath is overrated, people act like he was an all-time great and he was not. 47 MORE INTs than TDs, 2 playoff apps, 2 playoff wins, under .500 career record as a starter. You need to win or have great #s(the best usually have both), he had NEITHER. Was he a great QB? yeah bit for too short a period of time to be considered an all time great. I am not insulting Namath saying he doesn't belong up there w/ the Unitas', Marino's, Montana's, Brady's, Graham's, etc... He simply wasn't grat long enough and some people(many Jet fans) act like he is in the company of those other QBs.
Why don't you find quotes from someone that watched Namath play to back you up. Surely, with such great football insight, there must be at least one respectable football mind with the same thoughts. Namath's greatness is only questioned by people that didn't see him play.
Quotes tell us nothing, especially the ones you guys are posting. Not one of them called Joe a great QB or said he was one of the best ever. Players, coaches, etc.. protect guys from their eras anyway. Do you expect Shula to start bashing Namath? I think Shula is overrated, do you think Namath would call out Shula? Looking at the guys picture in the orignal article from this thread I think it's safe to say he saw Namath play: http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/alltimeoverrated.html http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com/Articles/11_2285_The_5_most_overrated_quarterbacks.html http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/20/overrated-football-players/
First article is written by this Jeff Merron, right? http://www.unc.edu/~jmerron/461website/resume.html I have doubts that someone who watched Namath play in his prime is currently working on his masters. But he did copy & paste a pic of Namath into his article, so that counts for something. Second article, writer never claims he saw Namath play in his prime. Third article, GREGORY COWLES saw Namath & Starr & feels Namath is overrated. Finally, you've listed someone who saw Namath play & thinks he's overrated. Unfortunately, I never heard of Mr. Cowles & not going to accept his opinion over multiple coaches in the HOF but at least you finally a source. I was kind of hoping you'd find a source more important than a no-name writer. Like perhaps a player or coach who made it to the HOF also. To offset the thoughts/opinions of the multiple HOF coaches I've listed. There's your ammunition when people tell you Namath was a great qb. When people throw out Shula, Lombardi, Bear Bryant, Madden you can counter them by stating MR. Cowles also agrees Namath isn't a great qb.
I was just posting some articles, again this entire topic was born from an article where someone that did watch him play called him #1 most overrated. Why do we have to have seen the guy play? Did we see babe Ruth play? No but we know he's one of the greatest baseball players of all time. I have seen enough, read enough, heard enough to give an educated opinion. Isn't it funny how whenever one of these overrated lists come out Joe is always near the top? Show me other supposed great QBs that didn't put up big #s and didn't win much?
I've seen 3 entire games, with "snippets" from others. Watching any more "snippets" would only make Joe look worse so be thankful that I don't have enough free time on my hands to watch more of his INTs. How many times have you seen P. Manning or Favre "live & in person", champ? And how is JWNs 1 SB title a larger amount than P. Manning's 1 or Favre's 1? Answer: it isn't. It's a better indicator since everyone's comp % was low, but JWN's TD/INT ratio was way fuckin' worse than those other guys I mentioned, but now you're using the "system" as an excuse for Joe. Face it, the guy has gotten way more credit than he was ever due because of SBIII. And I love him for SBIII, but by definition he is clearly overrated.
I don't think you're opinion is educated. I would think when someone is forming an educated opinion about a player they haven't watched, they'd be willing to consider the opinions of highly respected people who have first hand knowledge which you're lacking. You gloss over Shula, Walsh, Madden opinions & then use the opinions of football nobodies to back you up. Usually when people form educated opinions, there are sources which are indisputable sources acknowledged in the field. You have none of those. You don't have any legit, highly respected coaches, players, GM to back you up. === Nobody with any football rep that watched Namath played has ever stated he didn't belong in the HOF. Those statements come from stat watchers with no first-hand knowledge or people with no football rep. The problem here is you didn't see players in their prime but took out a stats book & pass judgement on careers. Then when asked to produce names to back you up, you produce nobodies. === Isn't it funny how whenever one of these overrated lists come out Joe is always near the top? It's even funnier how none of these articles are ever written by anybody worthwhile from Namath's era.
