January 22, 2010

Pete Pool

Pete Pool

Quick, name the best quarterbacks of all time. Undoubtedly, the list includes names like Dan Marino, Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, Brett Favre, Peyton Manning and John Elway, among others. None of those names seem out of place, but thinks differently if I put Rex Grossman on that list? As a result, Grossman deserves to be on that list much as Joe Namath. Heck, their rate of quarterback race is 5 points higher than Namath. So why Namath is one sure-fire hall of Fame, while Grossman nothing in the crowded pool of mediocrity?

One can not ignore the fact that most of the race Joe Namath's statistics are at best average. Nothing in his career said that "Superstar". Sure, it was a big figure in New York, wearing a fur coat, and wore white cleats when all players Jet others wore black, but actually turn into a Broadway Joe average Joe? As a result, absolutely not. Joe Namath was a terribly inaccurate quarterback. Their percentage career completion of 50.1 is below average, as is his 173 touchdown passes compared with 220 career interceptions.

All Joe Namath made no other quarterback on the list of all time was the promise that his team would win the Super Bowl against a huge favorite and go forward with that promise. Some might argue that this game should only give Namath Hall of Fame his credibility, but it's important not to accept things at face value. Namath made that promise, and did play for the Jets team that won the game, but not "led" the team to victory. The Jets continued through his game plan of running the ball right through defense of the Baltimore Colts and worked perfectly. Joe Namath did not even throw a touchdown pass in the game. Basically, the Jets won by keeping the ball from the hands of Joe Namath.

Joe Namath was no running game to help with your computer either. Unlike other quarterbacks at the time, Joe Namath almost never ran the ball. He finished with 140 yards rushing. He played in 140 career games. Should not have done the mathematics of elementary school, which is 1 yard for game running for Namath. Opposing defenses knew that when Joe Namath on the ball, he was going to happen. That's probably why their teams were .500 in the games he began. It did not win another playoff game after their famous Super Bowl.

If anyone wants an example of a quarterback who was better than Namath, but receives no credit as being an "all-big", how about Doug Williams. He changed the game as much as Namath, being the first black to become a quarterback in the NFL, and also had a big Super Bowl win. The difference between the two is that Williams Super Bowl performance was one of the best for a quarterback in the history of Super Bowl, while Namath generosity can only be described as average.

Nothing against Namath, but the statistics clearly show that he did not not only was among the greatest quarterbacks of all time, but he did not really deserve to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

Daniel is an editor and frequent critic at New York Jets Football Blog, among other sports websites.