re: Joe Namath was a very, very overrated quarterback in the 60's and 70's...

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Fox Mulder That's not how stats translate...sorry.

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A lot of the stat comparison is difficult due to different rules/styles of plays in different eras. So we have to judge him by his peer group. And this stat from the OP is damning:

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Lead the league in interceptions 4 times

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That's pretty hard to defend. He's not just near the bottom of his peer group, he's AT the bottom four times.

Also, I found an interesting article that (ironically) was trying to defend Namath by "modernizing" his stats. They looked at his average among his contemporaries and put him among fellow QBs he played against.

Gang Green Nation

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Completion percentage: In an average prime year, Namath's completion percentage was about 105.14% of the league average. In 2012, that would have been a completion percentage of 64.0%.

Yards per attempt: In an average prime year, Namath's yards per attempt average was about 113.71% of the league average. In 2012, that would have equated to an average of 8.07 yards per attempt.

Touchdowns: In an average prime year, Namath's touchdown pass rate was 103.28% of the league average. In 2012, that would have equated to a 4.44% touchdown rate.

Interceptions: In an average prime year, Namath's interception rate was 96.71% of the league average. In 2012, that would have equated to a 2.51% interception rate.

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If Namath threw the average number of passes in 2012, his rates come out like this.

355/552; 24 TD; 13 INT; 4454 yards; 89.9 rating

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As you can see, being at 105% means he was about 5% above the league average. In these critical stat categories, Namath was very average. Good? Maybe. You might could make that case. But HOF worthy? No way.

Look at his adjusted stat line for 2012. That's a little better than average for the modern era. Namath of the 1960s equals Jay Cutler of 2012.