Tag: Joe Namath

1968 Jets named SI’s most influential team in NFL history

The Super Bowl-winning Jets gave the AFL credence and helped the NFL become a more competitive league once the merger finally happened.

There have been many great teams over the 100-plus years the NFL has been in existence. While some teams have been great on the field in a moment in time, others were great in the sense they helped the game become what it is today.

Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame, with a 31-person panel of NFL media, analysts and former front office members, recently created a list of the 50 most influential teams in the history of the NFL. The Jets found a place on this list — right at the very top.

Specifically, the 1968 New York Jets, the team that quarterback Joe Namath guaranteed would defeat the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III as 18-point underdogs. The Jets would win 16-7, marking the first Super Bowl victory for the AFL after the Green Bay Packers knocked off the Kansas City Chiefs (35-10) and Oakland Raiders (33-14) in the first two Super Bowls.

The merger between the NFL and AFL has already been agreed to, but this win for the Jets helped prove the AFL could compete with the NFL. The following year, the AFL won its second straight Super Bowl when the Chiefs defeated the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 in Super Bowl IV, their lone Lombardi Trophy before Super Bowl LIV.

Here’s Verderame on why the 1968 Jets mattered:

In 1965, Alabama quarterback Joe Namath was selected with the No. 1 pick in the AFL draft and the No. 12 selection in the NFL draft, spurning the NFL for the riches of Sonny Werblin’s Jets, taking an eye-popping $427,000 contract.

In his fourth year with New York, Namath and a ferocious defense led the Jets to an AFL title and were 18-point underdogs to the one-loss Colts in Super Bowl III. To the shock of almost everyone—except Namath, who guaranteed they’d win the game—they won, 16–7, giving the upstart league its first victory in three tries over the established NFL.

While the 1970 AFL-NFL merger had already been agreed upon, the Jets’ victory is the most important in pro football history. The Jets showed the AFL was on par, something hammered home the following year by the ’69 Chiefs, who pummeled the Vikings—13-point favorites—in Super Bowl IV. Instead of the merger being seen as a necessary business decision that could hurt the sport from a competition standpoint, it established the AFL’s superiority over the best the NFL had to offer for the second consecutive year.

Moreover, the upset in Super Bowl III sparked additional interest in the AFL and the merger, giving a boost to a sport that was taking over the country by the late 1960s.

WATCH: Joe Namath discusses the difficulties of replacing Nick Saban

Joe Namath understands the challenge of replacing Nick Saban

Nick Saban’s retirement as the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide has sent shockwaves across the nation and with an empty office in the Mal Moore Athletics Complex, everyone is weighing in on who could potentially replace the GOAT in Tuscaloosa.

Even legendary Alabama quarterback Joe Namath is discussing Coach Saban’s retirement and how difficult it will be to replace the man who has won more national championships than any other head coach in college football history.

Namath joined CNN’s Kaitlan Collins (an Alabama alumn) to offer up his thoughts on the groundbreaking news out of Tuscaloosa and what type of person will have to step into the spotlight left by Coach Saban.

Stay connected to Roll Tide Wire for continuous coverage of Coach Saban’s retirement as well as the search for his replacement as the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on X (Twitter) @Blackwood89.

Joe Namath now supportive of Zach Wilson following QB’s performance vs. Chiefs

Broadway Joe has changed his tune on Zach Wilson.

It looks like Jets quarterback Zach Wilson has gained a new legendary fan. Just about a week ago, Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath appeared on The Michael Kay Show and said he had “seen enough” of Wilson after his poor outings against the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots.

Wilson’s performance was far from poor against the Kansas City Chiefs and now Namath is no longer done with Wilson. He’s ready for Wilson to be around for a long time.

“I said it. I take it back. I hope he stays for 10 years,” Namath said Monday on Kay’s show, via the New York Post. “As a fan, you get really frustrated. I didn’t think for a minute they were going to get rid of him. Of course, they’re gonna stick with him. And he’s going to improve. Hopefully he’ll keep improving, and hopefully we’ll start winning games.”

Namath said his rant last week was just a case of him being a “PO’d fan” as he changed his tune on the current Jets quarterback and commended Wilson’s game Sunday night in the Jets’ close 23-20 loss to the Chiefs.

“He played well. He played pretty darn good, and that’s what we want to see,” Namath said. “Believe me, I am a Jet fan. I want us to do well. I get fed up when something goes wrong, of course. And I’m tired of losing.

“Zach did some positive things, and we know he has athletic ability. We know he has good feet, and can run around, and we know he has a strong arm. He showed it [Sunday]. But it’s the mistakes that hurt us a bit.”

It has to feel good for Wilson that he now has the support of Broadway Joe on a week when he also received a message of support from LeBron James. Confidence is a huge factor for a quarterback. You have to think his confidence is growing after this.

Joe Namath has seen enough of Zach Wilson, calls performance ‘disgusting’

Joe Namath has had enough of Zach Wilson.

Many in the football world have seemed to turn on Jets quarterback Zach Wilson following yet another disappointing performance in New York’s 15-10 loss in Week 3 against the New England Patriots. But maybe none bigger than Broadway Joe.

Legendary Jets quarterback Joe Namath seemingly has had enough of the former No. 2 overall pick. Namath appeared on “The Michael Kay Show” on ESPN 98.7 FM and shared his thoughts on Wilson, and they aren’t great.

“I don’t believe in him. I don’t believe he has a future as a good player,” Namath said. “And I think they made the wrong choice when they drafted him.”

In discussing Wilson’s performance Sunday, in which he completed just 18 of 36 passes for 154 yards and was sacked three times, Namath called it “disgusting.”

“I didn’t take anything positive out of it. It was awful,” he said. “You sit down? You sit down on a play? You go right down? What happened? I thought you’re trying to win and make plays. You quit on a play? What is going on? It’s disgusting.”

“I wouldn’t keep him. I’ve seen enough of Zach Wilson,” Namath added.

Namath didn’t just stop at Wilson. He also believes head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas also need to go.

“These guys aren’t picking the right players,” Namath said. “They aren’t doing a good job of coaching. It’s evident. I mean, you’ve got to look and see. If you have an eye for football at all, you see things are haywire. It’s too crazy. They need to fix it, and that’s getting rid of a lot of people and bringing new ones in. They need to make major changes, from top to bottom.”

When you’ve lost Broadway Joe as a supporter, you know you’re in big trouble.

The Jets continue to say Wilson is their quarterback. But the team is now 1-2 and has the Kansas City Chiefs coming to town Sunday. The Jets are coming to a major crossroads of the season and need to figure out something before it gets worse.

You can listen to the full Namath interview here.

New York Jets legend Joe Namath: ‘I’ve seen enough of Zach Wilson’

Joe Namath absolutely blasted Zach Wilson on ‘The Michael Kay Show’

The best quarterback in Jets history, Joe Namath, unloaded on a quarterback who is trending to be one of the worst in the New York team’s history, Zach Wilson.

Broadway Joe was on “The Michael Kay Show” on Monday and absolutely crushed the former second-overall pick out of BYU.

When Namath was asked what he would do with Wilson, the Pro Football Hall of Famer said, “Send him to Kansas City to back up somebody like Mahomes. Maybe he’d learn something.

“I wouldn’t keep him. I’ve seen enough of Zach Wilson. I’ve seen enough.”

Joe Namath, Jets fans are all over struggling Zach Wilson

Joe Namath did not like what he was watching with Zach Wilson at QB

The New York Jets and their fans were expecting a season of Aaron Rodgers. Instead, they have Zach Wilson and they aren’t happy with the way the former second overall pick is performing.

It wasn’t only the crowd at MetLife on Sunday. Iconic Joe Namath was all over the QB, too, as was the New England Patriots’ defense.

Broadway Joe:

This fan was so upset he almost lost his teeth!

ESPN College GameDay makes their picks for Week 2 including ND at NC State

Do you agree with their picks this week?

[autotag]ESPN College GameDay[/autotag] follows the biggest games of the college football season and although [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] visiting [autotag]NC State[/autotag] is a big game, they aren’t on location with the Irish.

The crew is in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where the Crimson Time are hosting the Texas Longhorns in one of the biggest games of this young season. The regular analysts were back, [autotag]Desmond Howard[/autotag], [autotag]Lee Corso[/autotag], [autotag]Pat McAfee[/autotag], and [autotag]Kirk Herbstreit[/autotag] make their picks for the biggest Week 2 contests.

They were joined by former Alabama and NY Jet quarterback [autotag]Joe Namath[/autotag] to help choose who was going to win this week. Check out below who they believe is going to come out victorious this weekend.

ESPN ‘College GameDay’ crew picks winner between Oregon and Texas Tech

ESPN College GameDay picks are in for Oregon vs. Texas Tech.

Oregon Duck fans might have felt a bit left out in Week 1 of the college football season. While it was nice to have a full slate of games back in front of our eyes after a long offseason, the Ducks weren’t being talked about very much. Because of the opponent, Portland State, the point spread was astronomically large, and there was no talk about Dan Lanning and his Ducks.

That changed this week, though. With Oregon flying to Lubbock to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders, the Ducks are back in the conversation. All week, we have seen predictions set and picks be made. Finally on Saturday morning, the ESPN “College GameDay” crew broke things down and gave their opinions on the matchup, making ultimate picks for the outcome.

Take a look at who they picked:

Alabama legend Joe Namath selected as College GameDay picker

College GameDay selects Joe Namath as Alabama’s guest picker

This Saturday the Alabama Crimson Tide will host the Texas Longhorns in one of the marquee match-ups of the 2023 season. On top of the Longhorns football team, Tuscaloosa will also be the host of College GameDay this weekend as well as a handful of other broadcasting shows.

Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide are no strangers to hosting GameDay, but every single time it is special nonetheless. There are plenty of storylines that make this game so intriguing for even the casual college football fan.

Quinn Ewers played the best ball of his collegiate career in the first half against the Tide a season ago before suffering an injury, can he pick up where he left off?

Steve Sarkisian returns to Tuscaloosa for the first time since helping guide Alabama to a national title in 2020. Saban has been dominant against former assistants throughout the entirety of his career.

How will Alabama quarterback, Jalen Milroe, look in his first start against a top-15 team?

There is nobody better to have in town for this kind of monumental weekend than Broadway Joe! Joe Namath will be the guest picker for the Tide this weekend on College GameDay as Tuscaloosa is going to be BUZZING!

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