This is fueled by the Humble One's foolish comment that "Michael Irvin is arguable the best wide receiver of all time." Now, I love the Playmaker, but there is no argument for greatest wide receiver of all time... Clearly it is the great Jerry Rice. Anyone arguing otherwise is smoking crack. You can argue greatest QB, RB, Safety, LB, etc... but best WR is as clear as day.
The real debate is who is #2. I found this ESPN article where they polled a panel of experts back in 2008. Warren Moon, Mike Holmgren, Keyshawn, Raymond Berry (Baltimore Colts' great), Boyd Dowler (Packer's great), Ken Houston (HOF safety), and Ted Thompson (Packers GM). Basically guys that know the game. All agreed that Rice was the best. Interestingly they had 13 players in the second through fifth overall slots. They ranked seven others between sixth and 10th. So basicly there was a 20 player debate for the 2nd thru 10th best wideouts. Anyway based on their rankings and ESPN's methodology, they had Moss as #2 all-time. Here is the list.
1. JERRY RICE
Career: Played for 49ers, Raiders and Seahawks from 1985-2004. Holds NFL records for receptions (1,549), receiving yards (22,895), TD receptions (197), TDs (207).
Quick quote: "Jerry had a tremendous combination of speed, size, toughness, smarts." -- Holmgren, Rice's offensive coordinator in San Francisco
2. RANDY MOSS
Career: Set NFL record with 23 TD catches last season with Patriots.
Quick quote: "Randy Moss catches the ball so well almost without looking at it sometimes. He is scary physically." -- Boyd Dowler, retired scout and former NFL receiver.
3. DON HUTSON
Career: Played for Packers from 1935-45. Held 18 NFL records when he retired. Elected to Hall of Fame in 1963.
Quick quote: "Lean and swift, and boy, he could catch the heck out of it." -- Hall of Famer Berry, who studied films of Hutson in detail.
4. MICHAEL IRVIN
Career: Played for Cowboys from 1988-99. Had 750 career receptions for 11,904 yards. Elected to Hall of Fame in 2007.
Quick quote: "People might not like some of the other things, but when he was on those stripes, he was as competitive as there is." -- Hall of Fame QB Moon
5. PAUL WARFIELD
Career: Played for Browns, Dolphins from 1964-77. Averaged 20.1 yards per catch. Elected to Hall of Fame in 1983.
Quick quote: "Warfield was a lot like Charlie Joiner. Every step meant something to those guys. Warfield got into his route and it was like somebody falling off the face of the earth. That's how quick he could be into it." -- Hall of Fame safety Houston
6. CHARLEY TAYLOR
Career: Played for Redskins 1964-77. All-time leading receiver with 649 catches for 9,110 yards when he retired. Elected to Hall of Fame in 1984.
Quick quote: "Those types of athletes who played more than one position --- Charley Taylor -- are worth the price of admission just to see them line up. That is an athlete right there, a subject in itself." -- Berry
7. STEVE LARGENT
Career: Played for Seahawks from 1976-89. Had 819 catches, 13,089 yards, 100 TDs. Elected to Hall of Fame in 1995.
Quick quote: "He was as crafty as anybody I could recall. He wasn't a big guy, but he knew exactly how to lean on people and his hands were unbelievable." -- Packers GM Ted Thompson
8. CRIS CARTER
Career: Played for Eagles, Vikings, Dolphins from 1987-2002. Had 13,899 yards receiving, 130 TD receptions.
Quick quote: "I've never been around a guy as competitive as he is. He is so confident. He was a hard worker, which I enjoyed because whatever I got in practice, I knew that's I was going to get in the game." -- Moon
9. TERRELL OWENS
Career: Has 129 TD receptions in career with 49ers, Eagles, Cowboys.
Quick quote: "My biggest knock on him is he drops too many balls, but he makes a lot of big plays and he's as good as there is after the catch and he makes difficult catches." -- Moon
10. MARVIN HARRISON
Career: Has spent entire 12-yard career with Colts. Set NFL record with 143 receptions in 2002.
Quick quote: "Of all the things that impresses me, it's how he goes about his job, how he goes about his business. He's not a fanfare guy. He's just a football player." -- Holmgren
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=sando_mike&id=3309223
Monday, February 8, 2010
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Ace this is clearly an old article, the stats are incorrect. I will chalk up my not really knowing about Jerry Rice to age. You old people saw him play, I saw him hang on to pad his stats. I still don't believe he was a great blocker...
ReplyDeleteOn to the rest of the list. Anyone putting Moss at #2 is on crack, lack of effort, quiting on multiple teams, etc. Chris Carter was not a better receiver than TO... He had better hands but hell no.
Was Chris Carter better than Marvin Harrison? I don't think so but need to think about it.
If this is the list I'm definitely putting Michael Irvin hands down at #2. And if I am starting a team I want him over Jerry Rice for his competitiveness and leadership.
cris carter was money... as for guys i seen play my ranking is something like
ReplyDeleterice
irvin, carter, tim brown tied for second
moss, TO
harrison
tim brown's best Qb was an aged rich gannon when time was almost 40. i thought bilitnekov (sp?) should be on the list when we were arguing but in hindsight he will be linked to stick em' thru raider association so NO.
yes humble one, carter was nice... if you barely recall rice, carter's prime was also between rice and irvin. he was near done and BALLIN with the vikes if that is your reference.
the 2nd funniest thing stated while watching the super bowl after commenting on fox's thumbs was when we were arguing and a random dude tried to jump in...
the humble one said, "hey, wait THIS IS AN ALL WOLFPACK ARGUMENT!"
One comment. JERRY RICE is the best receiver of all time... Ask Michael Irvin. Chris Carter said Jerry Rice is the best receiver of all time on Mike and Mike this week... Deon, said on NFL network that Jerry Rice was the best receiver he'd ever played against with Michael Irvin sitting there... I agree with the GURU... Now the only thing about JERRY RICE that might be debatable is if he's the best football player of all time which some experts think he is... But there's surely no question that he's the BEST receiver of all time...
ReplyDelete