It’s been long, strange trip since Namath

IHAVE seen every one of The Quarterbacks Who Would Be Joe Namath, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly since the first torch was passed in 1977.

The Good: Four AFC Championship appearances. The Bad: Sorry, we don’t have the time. The Ugly: Mud Bowl, Buttfumble, IK Enemkpali.

Forty-nine years after Super Bowl III, Mike Maccagnan and the Jets, with the third pick, will be drafting their next franchise quarterback Thursday night (Broadway Baker Mayfield anyone?). The Jets are beyond due. Maccagnan, who drafted Christian Hackenberg after drafting Bryce Petty, is beyond due.

Jets fans, pray for the end of Broadway Woe:

RICHARD TODD: The worst quarterback he could have followed was Namath, and the worst place he could have followed Namath was New York. Just because you too are a first-round draft pick from Alabama doesn’t guarantee you anything. And flipping fans the bird is never the way to win friends and influence people, according to a source familiar with the thinking of a former beat reporter Todd smashed into a locker. Neither is throwing five picks in the Mud Bowl. In eight seasons as a Jet, he threw 110 TDs and 138 INTs.

MATT ROBINSON: Teammates and reporters (yours truly) responded to his charisma and moxie, but hiding a thumb injury suffered during off-the-field horseplay from the head coach (Walt Michaels) is the quickest way to lose the job you took from Todd as a ninth-round draft choice, especially when you lack arm talent. In three seasons as a Jet, he threw 15 TD passes and 26 INTs.

KEN O’BRIEN: Tall, smart and California cool, his biggest crime was he was not Dan Marino, drafted three spots later in the first round of the 1983 draft. He had his moments, but was eventually beaten to a pulp behind a sad-sack offensive line. In 10 seasons as a Jet, he threw 124 TDs and 95 INTs.

BROWNING NAGLE: They called him The Browning Rifle, but he quickly learned that reading defenses is a huge part of the job description. In three seasons as a Jet, he threw 7 TDs and 17 INTs.

BOOMER ESIASON: A shame that the quarterback who grew up on Long Island and was a natural-born leader was sum- moned to rescue head coach and pal Bruce Coslet in 1993 when he was 32. The firing of Coslet following the ’93 season angered Esiason, who found himself playing for Rich Kotite by 1995 because Pete Carroll was one-and-done. In three seasons as a Jet, he threw 49 TDs and 39 INTs.

NEIL O’DONNELL: The $25 million free agent never should have left the Steelers. He wasn’t Keyshawn Johnson’s idea of a quarterback and he wasn’t Bill Parcells’ idea of a quarterback. Never a good thing when you tear a calf muscle slipping on the Jets logo in the end zone during warm-ups. In two seasons as a Jet, he threw 21 TDs and 14 INTs.

GLENN FOLEY: A red-haired backup whose feistiness and moxie intrigued Parcells, until he couldn’t stand up to the physical demands of the job. In five seasons as a Jet, he threw 10 TDs and 16 INTs.

VINNY TESTAVERDE: His experience comforted Parcells, and the Jets took flight, all the way to the 1998 AFC Championship game, after he arrived as a free agent to replace Foley early in the season. Parcells reminded Testaverde of his father, and he flourished (29 TDs, 7 INTs) playing for his hometown team. Alas, he tore his Achilles in the ’ 99 home opener, and was never the same, and neither were the Rick Mirer-Ray Lucas Jets. In seven seasons as a Jet, Testaverde threw 77 TD passes and 58 INTs.

CHAD PENNINGTON: The 18th pick of the 2000 NFL Draft benefitted from sitting behind Testaverde until early in the 2002 season, and he was The Natural. He was smart and accurate and a fiery leader who would bang helmets with teammates during introductions. A series of injuries and lack of arm strength derailed him. In eight seasons as a Jet, he threw 82 TDs and 55 INTs.

KELLEN CLEMENS: The secondround pick the year Vince Young, Matt Leinart and Jay Cutler were first-rounders. Never resembled anything more than a backup. In five seasons as a Jet, he threw five TD passes with 11 INTs.

BRETT FAVRE: Woody Johnson sacrificed Pennington for the star power that Favre offered, and everything went swimmingly until Favre’s 38-year-old right arm betrayed him in December. Pennington returned to beat him for the division title in the regular-season finale, and head coach Eric Mangini’s as well. Favre was a hired gun who never warmed to the area — Jenn Sterger aside — and plotted an escape to Minnesota the following season. In his one season as a Jet, he threw 22 TDs and 22 INTs.

MARK SANCHEZ: Thrown to the wolves and coddled by the front office, the Sanchize nevertheless reached AFC Championship games his first two seasons supported by Ground & Pound and Rex Ryan’s defense. Santonio Holmes did him no favors after that, and things deteriorated so dramatically it gave us the ill-fated Buttfumble. In four seasons as a Jet, he threw 82 TDs and 80 INTs.

GENO SMITH: IK Enemkpali. Down goes Geno ... down goes Geno ... down goes Geno. In four seasons as a Jet, Smith threw 28 TDs and 36 INTs.

Namath never sold his soul to the devil to win a Super Bowl.

Right?