Joe Namath adds to Rex Ryan criticism

[Doc]

And namath has credibility why?

I assume because he's a HOF'er. But why he is a HOF'er is anyone's guess.

[GG]

I assume because he's a HOF'er. But why he is a HOF'er is anyone's guess.

 

He wore a fur coat and pantyhose on the sidelines, and partied like mad with the sportswriters in the two largest media markets.

[LewPort71]

I love what Namath represents, but have you listened to him talk football on the radio? He's one drink away from actually sounding like Frank Caliendo doing John Madden.

 

I saw Frank Caliendo doing his stage show last Sunday here in Charleston WV.

Funny as all get out. I can highly recommend the show.

[Buffalo_Stampede]

 

 

As did 31 other coaches each year....

Let's not be those homer fans. Rex deserves criticism. Just like Belichick and Pete Carroll deserved criticism.

[Doc]

He wore a fur coat and pantyhose on the sidelines, and partied like mad with the sportswriters in the two largest media markets.

You know, I never watched Namath play, but I read about the SB guarantee and win and how he was a HOF'er and just accepted it. Then I looked at his stats about 5 years ago and especially his SB performance and neither was worthy of making the HOF. Unless I'm missing something, I guess he made it in based on the stuff you mentioned, i.e. his personality.

[Helpmenow]

Frank Reich looks pretty good right now. They knew what they were getting when they hired him. More press than ever now.

[GG]

You know, I never watched Namath play, but I read about the SB guarantee and win and how he was a HOF'er and just accepted it. Then I looked at his stats about 5 years ago and especially his SB performance and neither was worthy of making the HOF. Unless I'm missing something, I guess he made it in based on the stuff you mentioned, i.e. his personality.

 

Too bad this guy KRC doesn't post here too much anymore. He knows NFL football history more than most, and he'd probably say that Namath belongs in the Hall of Very Good, not Fame. When you compare Namath to contemporaries like Kemp & Lamonica his numbers don't jump out as superior, yet those guys didn't merit serious HoF consideration.

[Helpmenow]

Before Joe had knee problems he had it all.

[montanafan]

I agree, Kirby. Very often we forget the recruiting angle.

We also rely too much on a coach's record. The coach's record very often is determined by their QB. The GB coach has won a SB & has gotten far in the playoffs. After his disastrous coaching in the playoffs this year (kicking FGs twice on 4th & inches from the 1 yd line ), do we label him a great coach? I think that he has some good attributes but great - I don't think so.

Then there is my favorite "genius", Bill B. The "genius has won numerous SB's & undoubtedly is a good coach. People who label him a genius tend to forget that his record prior to Tom Brady was under .500.

Rex has a record of around .500, coaching with questionable QBs. Give him a top 10 QB & there is no doubt that his record would be admirable & one in which some people might even call him a great coach or "genius".

Just my random thoughts on coaches. For whatever it is worth, imo the best coach that I see is John Harbaugh of the Ravens.

 

I seem to remember in 1969 that the night before the Bills game, Marty Shottenheimer took Namath out & got him drunk at Brunners. We won the next day for our only win that year.

I remember being at that game. Namath through like six interceptions, a few were pick sixes, one was returned

about 98 yards. Still the Bills almost blew the game on a blocked punt late in the game. I think they won

37-35 if my memory serves me right.

[truth on hold]

Namath's hair looks terrible. Just for men on a shrively old face doesn't work. That said his criticism of RR is not so easily dismissed either

[QuoteTheRaven83]

Joe Namath is a drunk. A never was, and a has been that has no business in the hall of fame. Who cares what he has to say

[....lybob]

neither player coaches nor strict disciplinarians can hold a team long term...............unless they continue to win........ with Marvin Lewis being the freakish exception.

[Kelly the Dog]

IMO Namath belongs to be in the Hall of Fame, but based on a confluence of factors. He was probably the single biggest factor in the merger, counting players, between the AFL and the NFL. He signed with the AFL out of Alabama where he was a huge name and gave the AFL a huge amount of legitimacy. When healthy, he threw a prettier pass than anyone in history. He had an incredible arm. The first win against an NFL team for the AFL, even though he wasn't dominant (the game plan was to rush and pound it down their throats), was a huge moment in the history of the NFL. The flamboyance and popularity of Namath was also a big factor in the rise of the NFL from being second or third banana to baseball and maybe basketball during the 60s to the biggest sport in the game.

 

He was a great, great player who only had a couple good seasons due to serious knee injuries. Stats and play alone he doesn't deserve to be close to the HoF. As a figure in the history of football and the success of the NFL not in the NFL, he was massive.

[Dr. Who]

Really well said, Kelly the Dog.

 

Judgement requires more than stats. There is an element of artistry or a sense of the qualitative that mere numbers can't capture.

[nonprophet]

Rex Ryan failed in NY the last 3 years. With that comes criticism.

He wasn't getting much help from the team's GM.

[K-9]

Namath is a Hall of Famer because he was a great QB in an age when being a QB meant much more than it does for all but a handful of QBs today. People who never saw him play just look at stats and are too ready to dismiss him out of hand. Nobody called a better game than Namath and the one he called in the SB remains a masterpiece. He had a great defense on its heels all day.

 

It's a shame his career was ruined by injuries because he never really got to showcase his athleticism like he did at Alabama before his first knee injury.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[KD in CA]

IMO Namath belongs to be in the Hall of Fame, but based on a confluence of factors. He was probably the single biggest factor in the merger, counting players, between the AFL and the NFL. He signed with the AFL out of Alabama where he was a huge name and gave the AFL a huge amount of legitimacy. When healthy, he threw a prettier pass than anyone in history. He had an incredible arm. The first win against an NFL team for the AFL, even though he wasn't dominant (the game plan was to rush and pound it down their throats), was a huge moment in the history of the NFL. The flamboyance and popularity of Namath was also a big factor in the rise of the NFL from being second or third banana to baseball and maybe basketball during the 60s to the biggest sport in the game.

 

He was a great, great player who only had a couple good seasons due to serious knee injuries. Stats and play alone he doesn't deserve to be close to the HoF. As a figure in the history of football and the success of the NFL not in the NFL, he was massive.

 

Completely agree with all of this -- good summary and worth reading for the "what, only 51% completion rate??" crowd. Guy is probably the biggest cultural icon in football history, except maybe for Red Grange. But I still don't give a flying !@#$ what he thinks about Rex.

[JohnC]

Namath is a Hall of Famer because he was a great QB in an age when being a QB meant much more than it does for all but a handful of QBs today. People who never saw him play just look at stats and are too ready to dismiss him out of hand. Nobody called a better game than Namath and the one he called in the SB remains a masterpiece. He had a great defense on its heels all day.

 

It's a shame his career was ruined by injuries because he never really got to showcase his athleticism like he did at Alabama before his first knee injury.

 

GO BILLS!!!

What Sandy Koufax was for baseball in his throwing motion Namath was in the same category in the football realm. He threw a magnificent ball. He had a star quality that forced you to focus on him whenever he was on the field. If he would have played in the era of arthoscope surgeries instead of the full zipper surgeries his career would have been better.

 

One of our qbs who had a terrific natural throwing motion and threw a terrific ball was James Harris. I got the impression that the "times" and that particular less than enlighted racial "era" had a negative affect on him and the lack of him playing up to his potential.

[RuffMuff]

Funny how players complained that back in the old days they were practially treated like slaves. No F/A, no agents reps, all at the mercy of owners/coaches. Now they get respectability and some equality and they complain.

[The Real Buffalo Joe]

I can't say I didn't have the same concerns when I first read about the signing. Great football mind with discipline issues. I'd like to hope that I'm wrong though. Not that I don't like the signing, but everybody knew what we were getting into when we signed up.