Joe Namath vs Jim Kelly

[Roy Munson]

Who would you rank as the better quarterback?

Joe Namath won a championship but the remainder of his career seems inconsistent.

Jim Kelly did not win a championship but was at the helm of some very good teams.

Also, is it fair to compare QB's of different eras with rule differences being considerable?

Wow, thanks for posting this. I took a look at Joe Willie's career stats, and never realized how mediocre the numbers were. Only had a couple of seasons that he threw more TD's than INT's. Not sure if he'd amount to much more than a serviceable back-up these days. I say Kelly in a walk.

[jesusarenque]

Namath is one of the most overrated QBs ever. Kelly is way underrated underrated. This is mainly because people overrate Super Bowl victories when evaluating individual player worth.

[TheRover]

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Namath is one of the most overrated QBs ever. Kelly is way underrated underrated. This is mainly because people overrated Super Bowl victories when evaluating individual player worth.

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I agree with all of this.

[MCS]

Jim Kelly, and I don't think it's that close.

Also, please note that I understand the meaning of "not close" and actually mean it rather than using it solely to emphasize my point.

[McGahee]

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Namath is one of the most overrated QBs ever. Kelly is way underrated underrated. This is mainly because people overrated Super Bowl victories when evaluating individual player worth.

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I agree with all of this.

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Me too - Namath may be the most overrated player in the history of pro sports. If your entire career is going to be defined on 1 game, the least he could've done was lead the offense to more than 1 offensive TD. If the Bills defense picked off Hostettler 3-4 times like the Jets did to the Colts, it's not even a discussion. Kelly's biggest mistake was calling too many passing plays when Thurman was clearly the best player on the field, gashing the Giants defense. The Skins & Cowboys were just ridiculously good teams.

Edit: I'm focusing on the championship games because that's the only Pro-Namath argument anybody can make (as ridiculous as it may be). Re: careers as a whole, Kelly's vastly superior stats speak for themselves.

[hoopsie44]

[ QUOTE ]
Who would you rank as the better quarterback?

Joe Namath won a championship but the remainder of his career seems inconsistent.

Jim Kelly did not win a championship but was at the helm of some very good teams.

Also, is it fair to compare QB's of different eras with rule differences being considerable?

[/ QUOTE ]

I saw every game Namath ever played. He had a great arm and put up occasional great numbers but he was not a great QB. The guy was a statue with his bad knees which resulted in a ridiculous number of holding penalties by his offensive lineman. He was also incredibly stubborn in thinking that his great arm could thread the ball through defenders and the biting Shea Stadium wind. I believe Namath's Jets went 5 full seasons without beating a winning team. He only made the playoffs twice, playing 3 playoff games. That being said , as great as the Jets Super Bowl 3 victory was , the greatest game I ever saw was the AFL championship game with the Jets beating Oakland 27-23. Jets led all the way until Namath threw a late interception resulting in go ahead Oakland touchdown. Namath gets the ball back, 10 yds to Sauer, 57 to Maynard, 13 and a TD to Maynard.Hello Super Bowl.

[Roy Munson]

Hey Hoopsie. Do you remember a game early in the 1972 season when the Jets were playing the Colts in Baltimore? I was in attendance at this game. Namath and Unitas put on an offensive display that I have rarely seen since. The Jets ultimately won the game 44-34.

That was probably the last great game for either quarterback. Johnny Unitas was way over the hill at that point. At the time we did not realize that Namath was likely nearing the end as well.

[hoopsie44]

[ QUOTE ]
Hey Hoopsie. Do you remember a game early in the 1972 season when the Jets were playing the Colts in Baltimore? I was in attendance at this game. Namath and Unitas put on an offensive display that I have rarely seen since. The Jets ultimately won the game 44-34.

That was probably the last great game for either quarterback. Johnny Unitas was way over the hill at that point. At the time we did not realize that Namath was likely nearing the end as well.

[/ QUOTE ]

I remember that game well, Roy. Namath passed for something like 497 yds and Unitas 400. I recall Unitas taking the Colts on a couple of methodical, 10 play scoring drives and Namath responding with a couple of 80 yarders to Rich Caster. I remember John Riggins, who I believe was a rookie, also catching a long TD from Namath. And you're right, even at that point Namath's best days were behind him.