He is not the best Jet ever by any means. But wins and losses always fall on the quarterback. Add in the fact that he guaranteed the win....inturn he recieves a TON of credit. As Jets fans sometimes we forget how EPIC that win truly was. The Jets were in a david vs. goliath type matchup, and the win brought together the powerhouse league that we have today. Although personally I believe that Namath was an average quarterback with a larger than life personality, he still played really well those few years in the late 60's. That being said, most of the credit needs to go to the Jets Defense, kicker, Matt Snell, and the OL. Namath played very conservative in that SB, but the gameplan as a whole and the collective effort of the team won it! On Namaths comments: I dont know if anyone else has noticed this, but Namath has become a much bigger part of the media surrounding the Jets since Rex Ryan was hired. In the years prior he was kind of just seen at games and occasionally interviewed, but showed little interest or connection with the team. I think it has to due with that fact that between Rex, Sanchez, and the recent success, Namath is acting similar to the "undefeated Dolphins" teams. Its almost as if Namath knows how good of a coach Rex is, he knows how the team is on the cusp of a title, and he knows that by winning a Super Bowl the Jets organization will have someone else to praise rather than simply Namath. Even in his old age, Namath is still about himself and his legacy. He thrives on the fact that when he has been introduced over the past 50 years each and everytime it comes along with "Joe Namath....only Jets QB to ever win a super bowl". I know it might sound silly because of the fact that all Jets fans want to view our hero as the biggest Jets fan, but the truth of the matter is Joe Namath is the biggest JOE NAMATH FAN and thats it. Any success by the franchise is seen as a threat to what he accomplished, when we finally do win one, people will have another QB or HC (REX) to credit for bringing us to the glory land. Its unfortunate but deep down I know that Namath secretely grinned when the Jets lost in the AFCCG each of the past 2 years. Call me crazy....but the evidence is there.
Hey with the shit that gets said here who can blame me for clarifying. I know ur better than that I jus wanted to make the post idiot proof. But I existed when electricity was invented so that makes me an electrical engineer. How dare we discuss namath in anything less than a glowing light
Namath is just worried his only SB win for the Jets is going to come to an end, and he will be forgotten about. If I had to choose between Namath and Ryan for our team. Ryan leaves Namath in a shallow grave. If Namath were playing today, he wouldn't even be on a practice squad. Who cares?
Coach K, Its funny you write that because my OJ post, which I figured would be taken as the obviously absurd post that it is, I said to myself, you know, I better say that it was sarcasm before someone actually thinks I'm serious.haha, i was right.
Even though these aren't modern day stats, http://www.nfl.com/player/joenamath/2521943/careerstats Would any team have a QB that has a 13 year career 50% completion average? Regardless, I don't care what happened last year or 50 years ago. I care about now.
Obviously, you have no idea how different the game was when Namath played. Defensive backs could mug and rape WR's all the way down the field. Namath also played in an offense with a vertical passing game. 7-step drops and throwing the ball 20 or 30 yards downfield. Namath did not play in a dump and dink offense where the primary passing play is a 4-yard slant.
I said it wasn't modern day, and I am an advocate of real football. There is no way to accurately depict the differences. If Namath didn't guarantee the win the Jets would have won the game instead of "Namath". How does that game go if Snell doesn't rush the way he did? Why isn't he idolized like Namath?
I apologize then, I didn't realize that if its true. It just never fails to amaze me that I have to defend Joe Namath on a JETS MESSAGE BOARD! Hell, I don't agree with everything he says, but its Joe Namath, and if you call yourself a Jet fan and don't realize what he ment to the team, the NFL, and New York City, well, I really am at a loss.
The thing is it shouldn't be an age thing, which I think is what you are saying. Here's an analogy - as an American I have read about American history and not just in school. It's an interest of mine. I want to try and better understand how this country came into being. Just because Lincoln lived a hundred years before me... Well you get the point. Now despite that analogy, I get taht some people couldn't care less about history. But then if you don't KNOW about history, don't start spouting off about it as if you do know history. There are obviously people posting here who have become fans in the recent period, which is fine. And maybe some of them actually have taken the trouble to learn something about the history of the franchise. But if you don't know about it, if you didn't live it or have not taken the trouble to learn about it, shut the fuck up already.
Because Namath came through on many things. Not only the guarantee but on a $427,000.00 contract, which was astronomical at the time, and on which the future of the AFL rode. I'm not arguing how good a player he was. He was unquestionably the most important. I cannot see anyone who lived through that era feeling any differently. As for Joe's actions today, it could possibly be jealousy, like the '72 Dolphins, as one poster put it. It could possibly be that that's what sleazy, slimy ESPN is paying him to do.
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS!!! No, not what Rex said or what Namath said but the fact that some of you are allowing the media to play you like fukin puppets! Stop buying into this Bullshit already, it's absolutely ridiculous for you to take any of this BS seriously.... Big shit, he wore a Jersey, big shit, he said blah blah... There is nothing there but because the Media puts it out there you eat it like pacman dots...wtf?
I just like stiring the pot. Few QB stats for 1969 Regular Season Namath: 19 TDs 17 INTS 2700 yds Roman Gabriel: 24 TDs 7 INTS 2600 yds Frank Tarkenton: 23 TDs 8 INTs 2900 yds Namath wasn't even a top 10 ranked QB that year (by QB rating). He made a great claim on a HUGE stage and won the game. He had a pretty good game in the SB, but not great by any standards. Should the Giants proclaim Eli Manning the greatest QB ever because he had a average/below average regular season and great playoffs when they won their SB?
I heard this the other day when Michael Kay was interviewing Joe Namath on his show. Kay told him that Rex had been spotted wearing a Namath jersey and asked him to comment on it. Namath expressed a lot of appreciation that Rex would wear his jersey and made a little joke afterwards. This is the perfect example of having something being blown out of proportion when taken out of context.
