Word: namath
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...Colts nonetheless managed to stay within range of the Jets-largely through a stellar passing performance (26 completions for 376 yds. and two touchdowns) by their canny old craftsman Johnny Unitas-until the final quarter. It was then that Namath displayed his instinct for the jugular. First he wound up and heaved a 79-yd. touchdown pass to Tight End Richard Caster. A few minutes later, the Colts scored, narrowing the Jets' margin to three points. When New York got the ball again, Namath called a pass play that could have gone to one of three receivers. Meanwhile...
Those two plays sum up Namath's vital assets on the field: a bazooka arm, a trigger-quick release and an almost supernatural ability to read complex defenses in a matter of microseconds. As Namath explained to TIME Correspondent Marsh Clark last week: "Unless I have some sort of mental lapse, I know what they're doing on the defense every time." In the instruction booklet he is now writing on the art of passing, he gives his older brothers much of the credit for his proficiency: "They taught me a single motion-simply throwing from your...
Great as the veteran pocket passers are, their futures are uncertain. Brodie, 37, whom many pros rate directly behind Namath in passing ability, ranks third in alltime yardage statistics, has had 207 career touchdown passes and was 1970's Player of the Year. He threw a lot of interceptions (24) in 1971, though, and was taken out of the 49ers game with Buffalo this year with an injured wrist. With two touchdown tosses last week against New Orleans, he is still in better shape than Jurgensen, 38, who glowers on the bench (at $125,000 a year) while that...
While Miami Coach Don Shula readily concedes that Namath is "without equal as a passer," he feels that his team has the best all-round quarterback in Bob Griese (6 ft. 1 in., 190 Ibs.), who led the Dolphins to the Super Bowl last January. "He's become the team leader in a quiet, intelligent way," says Shula. "When he sticks his head in the huddle, everything he says is gospel." Griese demonstrated his poise in the final quarter against the rugged Minnesota zone defense last week, carefully picking it apart until he found Tight End Jim Mandich...
...their power and potential, most of the youngsters shooting for their first Super Bowl are mercurial performers who lack what Joe Namath has finally attained: maturity. It has not come easily. Says Teammate Larry Grantham: "It takes everybody a while to get his feet on the ground. I don't see how he handled it as well...