But, How Good Was Joe Namath?

Ever since the New York Jets traded for Brett Favre, much has been said that this gives the Jets their best quarterback since Joe Namath. Joe Namath is a borderline mythical figure in football history. His prediction of a Super Bowl win and then following through with it went a long way in establishing the legitimacy of the old AFL teams. But, how good was Joe Namath?

Joe Namath is a five time Pro Bowler and a member of the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame. 1968 was Namath’s best year, in that year he was the Super Bowl MVP, the player of the year, and also was a 1st-team All-Pro selection. He would go on to win the 1969 player of the year award and the 1974 comeback player of the year.

But, Joe Namath wasn’t the picture of success that history now seems to paint him to be. The Jets record in games started by Joe Namath was exactly .500, sitting at 61-61-0. In his 13 seasons in professional football, Namath only had four seasons in which he led his team to a better than .500 record (1967, 1968, 1969, 1972).

Some other facts about Joe Namath:

-He led the league in interceptions on four different occasions, and was only the league leader in touchdown receptions one time.

-Though he did throw 173 touchdowns in his career, he also threw 220 interceptions.

-In only two of his 13 professional football seasons did he throw more touchdowns than interceptions.

It is quite possible that Brett Favre is not the best quarterback the Jets have had since Joe Namath, but simply the best quarterback that the Jets have ever had.