RevWarRifleman Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 My wife and I watched HBO's profile of Namath's career last night. Was one of the more interesting stories about him. Well done. Another great football player from from western Pa. Beaver Falls, East Brady, there all the same, blue collar towns where sports was the big thing. I'd like to see HBO, or some other network, do a similar documentary on Jim. I think it would be interesting. Any thoughts/comments? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 IMO, the irony in comparing Kelly to Namath is that Kelly had a much greater career… except for the lone fact that Namath guaranteed a victory in the Super Bowl and then delivered, whereas Kelly was on a team which lost 4 straight Super Bowls. Aside from this single but huge point, Kelly accomplished way more during his NFL career than Namath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 My wife and I watched HBO's profile of Namath's career last night. Was one of the more interesting stories about him. Well done. Another great football player from from western Pa. Beaver Falls, East Brady, there all the same, blue collar towns where sports was the big thing. I'd like to see HBO, or some other network, do a similar documentary on Jim. I think it would be interesting. Any thoughts/comments? I haven't seen it yet...maybe today, if they have it on HBO on Demand. HBO does a great job with their documentaries, as far as I am concerned. I watched the Lombardi doc a few weeks ago, really good too. They also did and AFL documentary a few years ago, which was terrific...though not as good as the 6 part Showtime series on the AFL. Thanks for the heads up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbash Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 I watched and even though I read the recent Namath biography (a good read, FYI) seeing the story really reminded me of what a huge icon he was in my youth. Simply put, Namath was the coolest football player ever -- took the game from Johnny U crew cuts and black high tops to the modern world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eSJayDee Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Aside from this single but huge point, Kelly accomplished way more during his NFL career than Namath. Kelly may have been more productive, but Namath was FAR more significant. His (HUGE) signing was a major coup for the AFL. (Now if the USFL succeeded, maybe we'd be talking a different tune.) He was the 1st QB to throw for 4000 yards. He was also the 1st real "superstar", at least in football. He may have only had a few really good years,but he was far bigger than Kelly or pretty much anyone since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vorpma Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 As a old, die hard, American Football League fan I am happy to hear of the documentary and definitely want to see it. Totally agree Kelly had a much greater career than Namath, but never underestimate his Super Bowl win -it was huge. Hard to explain the rivalry back in those days, but it added to the greatness of the game. The flashy, hip Namath facing off against the old school, crew cut Colts. Bills fans cheered the Jets as much as they did the Bills during the Super Bowl, it was emotional. During several Bills Jets encounters during the mid 60's when Buffalo had a dominating Defense, I remember players like Rom McDole and Tom Day sacking Namath is a very gentle manner due to his knees. I attended the home opener in 1969, and when the PA announcer introduced the World Champion New York Jets, War Memorial Stadium exploded in a standing ovation. Of course 1969 was the last year for the AFL; what a fantastic era of football. What great players with character and class! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WVUFootball29 Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Cool dude that personified what it meant to be a NY QB, but other than his Super Bowl win one of the most overrated QBs of all time. I mean seriously a 173/220 TD/INT ratio and 65.5 career QB RTG gets you into the HoF? Lets compare that with other QBs of his day: Len Dawson 239/183 82.6, Fran Tarkenton 342/266 80.4, Unitas 290/253 78.2, Griese 192/172 77.1, Jurgensen 255/189 82.6, Starr 152/138 80.5, Staubach 153/109 83.4 Not even close, but man could he smile for the camera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HurlyBurly51 Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Yes, it was a good show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcali Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Namath wasn't overrated at all.Those who put down his QBing either aren't old enough to have seen him play or are ignorant of the circumstances he played under. He was playing on one leg most of his career.His knee was completely trashed--and they didn't have the medical ability to repair it back in those days. He had possibly the most compact/quick release of any QB til Marino came around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vorpma Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Cool dude that personified what it meant to be a NY QB, but other than his Super Bowl win one of the most overrated QBs of all time. I mean seriously a 173/220 TD/INT ratio and 65.5 career QB RTG gets you into the HoF? Lets compare that with other QBs of his day: Len Dawson 239/183 82.6, Fran Tarkenton 342/266 80.4, Unitas 290/253 78.2, Griese 192/172 77.1, Jurgensen 255/189 82.6, Starr 152/138 80.5, Staubach 153/109 83.4 Not even close, but man could he smile for the camera. Len Dawson was phenominal - coupled with Hank Stram they were offensive masterminds. I read they used 18 different offensive formation when they beat the Bills in 1966 to go to the first SB; 26 when they beat the Vikings. Dawson was not known for a great arm but he was an extremely accurate QB. True, Joe Willie gained fame on his big win over the Colts but I would take all the above mentioned QBs over number 12. Great post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcali Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 IMO, the irony in comparing Kelly to Namath is that Kelly had a much greater career… except for the lone fact that Namath guaranteed a victory in the Super Bowl and then delivered, whereas Kelly was on a team which lost 4 straight Super Bowls. Aside from this single but huge point, Kelly accomplished way more during his NFL career than Namath. True...Kelly accomplished waay more. But he had better talent around him and he wasn't QBing on one leg. I would take Namath at his peak(however brief) over Kelly at his peak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffaloed in Pa Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 If only his knees held up. He would have been really something. He could run before his knees got wacked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF Bills Fan Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 I met Namath years ago. He was one of the nicest coolest guys you could ever meet. His body is definitely broken down from his career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevWarRifleman Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 IMO, the irony in comparing Kelly to Namath is that Kelly had a much greater career… except for the lone fact that Namath guaranteed a victory in the Super Bowl and then delivered, whereas Kelly was on a team which lost 4 straight Super Bowls. Aside from this single but huge point, Kelly accomplished way more during his NFL career than Namath. SJBF, you're one of the several posters that I like reading on the message board, good, intelligent, insightful posts on a LOT of different Bills topics. Ain't trying to butter up with that, either. But I've got to take exception w/ you a bit on this one. I wasn't trying to compare the football careers of the two, just the fact that they were two, of the many, HOF-ers that grew up in that region from similar towns & environments.I got the impression from your post that you were more into their stats on the field. And therefore, there's little comparison to Kelly. Well, sure, in that sense alone, yes. Don't know how old you are, but if you are old enough to remember pro football from the middle 60's on, Joe Namath was an Icon even before that Super Bowl (III). In '65 the HUGE (for those days) contract he got helped to put the AFL on the map. The guy had literally a large national following from coast to coast. Anything Joe did, on or off the field drew national attention- especially if it was off the field. This was further enhanced because he played, on and off the field in the Big Apple. NYC had way more lustre then than I think it does today. The guy was clearly the first Rock Star football player. His helping the Jets to win the AFL's first Super Bowl cemented his career and paved the way to his HOF enshrinement. Great football stats? No. But Namath had a huge impact on shaping the American sports culture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 There was nothing over-rated about Joe Namath. It's just too bad his best got robbed due to injury. His great arm and release aside, he was a QB's quarterback, something no QB in today's game can claim. We talk about "managing the game" like it's a bad thing. Well, it certainly wasn't when you called your own plays which was something Namath was great at. I'm glad they made the point about how he didn't attempt one pass in the fourth quarter of SB III. Matt Snell was great in that game and Namath will tell you that Snell should have received the MVP instead but Snell doesn't have that great game without Namath having the ability to call the game the way he did. It was masterful. It's too bad Kelly didn't do the same with TT in SB XXV. Sure, he was primetime before there was a primetime but he had the respect of everyone in the league. Probably because there has never been anyone tougher at the QB position. People will look at his stats and say he just wasn't that good. But he was, in every sense of the word. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevWarRifleman Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 I haven't seen it yet...maybe today, if they have it on HBO on Demand. HBO does a great job with their documentaries, as far as I am concerned. I watched the Lombardi doc a few weeks ago, really good too. They also did and AFL documentary a few years ago, which was terrific...though not as good as the 6 part Showtime series on the AFL. Thanks for the heads up! Buftex, you're welcome. Back in the late 80's - early 90's HBO did a documentary on the AFL called "Rebels With a Cause: The Story of the AFL" I think you might like. It told how the AFL got started & its early years of existance, which was the bulk of the story, I believe, and progressed it through the years, to its merging w/ the NFL. They used old news clips, comments from former players, coaches, and owners of how things were in those early years. The things they remember and told about, gives you a better sense & appreciation for what they did and, the AFC today. They had Nick Bounoconti when he was a Boston Patriot, telling about the conditions of Buffalo's War Memorial Stadium (I watched Namath play there) & saying "it looked like something that was built during the Dark Ages." LOL Ya can't beat that! I don't know if you could get a copy of that documentary, thru Amazon?, or Google it?, Wikipedia??? I don't know. But I think you'd enjoy it. There was nothing over-rated about Joe Namath. It's just too bad his best got robbed due to injury. His great arm and release aside, he was a QB's quarterback, something no QB in today's game can claim. We talk about "managing the game" like it's a bad thing. Well, it certainly wasn't when you called your own plays which was something Namath was great at. I'm glad they made the point about how he didn't attempt one pass in the fourth quarter of SB III. Matt Snell was great in that game and Namath will tell you that Snell should have received the MVP instead but Snell doesn't have that great game without Namath having the ability to call the game the way he did. It was masterful. It's too bad Kelly didn't do the same with TT in SB XXV. Sure, he was primetime before there was a primetime but he had the respect of everyone in the league. Probably because there has never been anyone tougher at the QB position. People will look at his stats and say he just wasn't that good. But he was, in every sense of the word. GO BILLS!!! Well put. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trader Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Cool dude that personified what it meant to be a NY QB, but other than his Super Bowl win one of the most overrated QBs of all time. I mean seriously a 173/220 TD/INT ratio and 65.5 career QB RTG gets you into the HoF? Lets compare that with other QBs of his day: Len Dawson 239/183 82.6, Fran Tarkenton 342/266 80.4, Unitas 290/253 78.2, Griese 192/172 77.1, Jurgensen 255/189 82.6, Starr 152/138 80.5, Staubach 153/109 83.4 Not even close, but man could he smile for the camera. Yeah, It's so not about stats. I guess you had to be there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gray Beard Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Yeah, It's so not about stats. I guess you had to be there. Totally agree. Full length fur coats, a gorgeous woman on each arm. It's so not about stats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 I've only seen the beginning so far, and his hair dye is distracting me. His older brother looks better than him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Joe Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 I don't have the exact quote, but when sitting at his locker after the SuperBowl victory the reporter said "Joe, you were the best player out there today". Namath replied, No we were the better team'. Class act. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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