Overrated?

goodriddance189

here are the career stats for a certain HOF QB, many of whom consider one of the greats of the game. please tell me if you think this guy is overrated, based on the stats (i'm sure you can figure out who it is yourself)-

Comp Att PCT YD Y/A TD INT
1886 3762 50.1 27663 7.4 173 220

this player also has one Super Bowl Ring

carew4me

Ye, but its Broadway Joe we are talkin.

And the prediction, the fur coats....the panty hose.

"I wanna kiss yew......"

Dont make em like that anymore.

SDSportsFan

Yes, IMHO, Joe Namath is overrated when looking only at his stats.

When you consider the "NY Mystique", guaranteeing the SB win, and then doing so against a supposedly superior team from the supposedly superior league, and all the other "intangibles", I'm not so sure he's overrated. Also, remember that if it hadn't been for his chronic knee problems, he would have had even better stats (similar probably to Kirby Puckett in BB)


Steve

goodriddance189

yup. i guess i would've had to be alive during Namath's career to appreciate him. looking at him from a purely historical perpective, he appears to be an overrated QB with one shining (i consider it lucky) moment. his unspectacular stats and high card values makes me think he's overrated.

CON40

Will;

Broadway Joe is just another example of a typical star being annointed with super star status by the rabid Noo Yawka fans who spend so much money on sports cards... he's no different than Phil Rizzuto, Frank Gifford, Phil Simms, Elston Howard, Billy Martin, Whitey Ford, and Thurman Munson... stars all, but put move them to professional teams from East Overshoe, and you end up with a bunch of minor stars with common card collectability (i.e. Al Oliver, Bill Buckner, Steve Bartkowski, Joe Theisman, Bert Blyleven, Mike Flanagan, and a hundred other stars who are now almost forgotten).

NickM

CON - you underrated Whitey Ford. Pitching for the Yankees inflated his winning percentage, but that's not what gave him a 2.75 career ERA (3rd best, behind only Hoyt Wilhelm and Pedro Martinez, among pitchers whose careers were primarily after WWII). As to everyone else you mentioned, I agree.

I would also point out in Namath's defense that passing stats were very different in those days.

Nick

highend

nick- i agree Ford would be a hall of famer no matter what team he pitched for.
what's particulary painful about CON'S post is that my childhood idol, thurman munson would have been LONG forgotten if he played for the indians or the pirates...something i hadn't pondered before.

does anyone think BILL MADLOCK ( easily one of the best hitter's of his day) would be in the HOF if he played his entire career in yankee pinstripes?

CON40

After I posted I did go and look at Whitey's 67 Topps card and his numbers are pretty good... at least as good as Don Drysdale and he's in the HOF, so I stand corrected on him... but think of it, Thurman Munson was in the same league as other star catchers of the '70s like Darrell Porter and Ted Simmons and those two are absolutley forgotten today... here in Boston, I grew up thinking guys like Dwight Evans, Fred Lynn, Jim Rice and George Scott were the best... they were All Stars, statistical league leaders, batting champs, HR champs, Gold Glove winners, and in a couple cases MVPs and ROY... today, all but Rice are completely overlooked and banished to the common box... for better or worse, the Yankee stars (and all New York sports stars) really get a spotlight shone on them that just makes them shine a bit brighter than their peers.

WinPitcher

Keith you forgot Horace Clarke, Jake Gibbs, and Joe Pepitone.

highend

i think JIM RICE will one day be enshrined in cooperstown. i hope he is alive to see that day.
while i was growing up and hating all things redsox i always admired rice and liked seeing him do well as long as it wasn't against the yanks. i even put his cards in the "good pile".....FISK was another story

Stone193

On Joe Namath - it's been so long but I am going to give you what I remember from news reports on him in the 70's - you are right Keith, his stats stink. But, perhaps, the stats belie what is underneath a true "winner" - he can lead a team to victory and as a quarterback 'influence' his group to be more than they thought they could be - he had an incredible arm with bad legs - but got the job done.
He was a winner in Alabama also to my recollection - he wasn't a Heisman man but was well scouted as a senior with the tide. His influence and style in Superbowl III with respect to getting parity status for the AFL also has to be considered in the collective achievements of a player IMO. To see him quarterback a team was something to behold.
Now having said that - I do see how many can attribute the "team" and "area" as contributing factors in his selection. But, gee, Superbowl III was something really special.
thanx
Mike