Say what you will about Namath’s reputation–relishing the spotlight, guaranteeing the win against the Colts, spending late nights with the ladies, wearing those white shoes, having long hair, and wearing mink coats.īut when it came time to play, nobody took it more seriously. That’s not something you would expect from a player who some said had an inflated ego, but Joe cared about winning more than his stats, and he was a team player. He saw early on that the Jets were having success running the ball, so he held his ego in check and called a conservative game.
There is also something else to remember about Namath’s performance in that Super Bowl game.
The only reason the MVP did not go to the winning quarterback in Super Bowl 5 was that Earl Morrall, who replaced an injured Johnny Unitas, only completed 7 of 15 passes for 147 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. None of them did anything out of the ordinary to warrant winning the award. It was almost a given that the MVP would go to the winning quarterback.īart Starr won the first two, Namath the third, Len Dawson the fourth, and Roger Staubach the sixth. Looking at early Super Bowl history, you’ll see that the winning quarterback won the MVP award in five of the first six Super Bowls. Namath’s detractors say that, while Namath played a good game, he did nothing out of the ordinary–completing 17 of 28 passes for 206 yards with no touchdowns. He also caught four passes for another 40 yards, which gave him 161 total yards.
Snell carried the ball 30 times for 121 yards and scored the Jets’ only touchdown. Some fans say the ‘real MVP’ was Jets’ running back Matt Snell. But they DID win! And it was the biggest upset in Superbowl history! Opinions are opinions, and facts are facts.Īnother argument against Namath is that he shouldn’t have won the MVP award in that Super Bowl. If the Jets hadn’t won Super Bowl 3 against the heavily favored Colts, Namath would not be in the Hall of Fame. (John Riggins made it, too, but that accomplishment had more to do with the nine years Riggins spent with the Redskins). And only two other Jets players from that era made it to the Hall of Fame–Don Maynard–Namath’s favorite receiver, and offensive tackle Winston Hill. The Jets had only three winning seasons from 1965–76. Remember that Namath didn’t play on a good team for most of his career.
0 kommentar(er)
