And while looking through stacks of poor old football cards yesterday, I noticed that his cards are not cheap.
This was by far the most inexpensive of the bunch.
I always thought Namath was one of the game's greatest. But am I basing that on his personality or his ability?
I read an online poll placing the Jets QB as the 100th greatest pro football player ever. Is that accurate? Was he better? Was he worse?
If the price of his cards alone would make you believe that ranking was low.
I think Namath's plusses (in no order) were his personality, being in the right place at the right time (vis-a-vis Super Bowl III), playing in the glow of New York, and he had a good arm.
ReplyDeleteTo hear former teammates tell it on these NFL retrospective shows, Namath was NOT a leader.
"100th best ever" is probably being overly generous. In my opinion, he wasn't even in the top 8 or 10 QBs of his era. I would rank Unitas, Starr, Dawson, Jurgensen, Staubach, Tarkenton, Griese, and even Bradshaw ahead of him in combined terms of skill and "MVP-ness" to his team. Jack Kemp and John Brodie would also be right up there after the top 8, with Namath.