Is Randy Moss the best receiver ever?

[primetime]

Cunningham won at least 1 MVP before he got to Min. despite not playing with a 1,000 yard receiver or rusher till his 8th year

He played with Cris Carter in Philadelphia for 3 years. Despite the fact Carter wasn't yet the hall of famer he would become, he was still Cris Carter, so it isn't really a fair argument. And Fred Barnett made the Pro Bowl in 1992.

 

[RayClay]

Jerry rice had a great work ethic, but I've seen plenty of "better" receivers than him.

Paul Warfield, Lance Alworth (I liked Otis Taylor too) and more were better receivers but didn't have the work ethic and consistency year after year and didn't play as long.

Rice has earned every accolade he's received but, he's more a Hank Aaron than a Willie Mays. Aaron maintained a high standard for years and piled up the numbers, but no one thought he was better than his contemporary Mays as a baseball player.

I'll go out on a limb and say Randy Moss is the greatest receiver I've ever seen. I wasn't happy with his attitude or incidents prior to this year, but was always amazed with his athleticism.

Having watched football since 1960-61 or so, I can say I have not seen a receiver that can do what he does, not even very close.

He's smooth, he's fast and the adjustments he makes to catch balls are pretty much ridiculous.

 

[wpdougie2180]

He played with Cris Carter in Philadelphia for 3 years. Despite the fact Carter wasn't yet the hall of famer he would become, he was still Cris Carter, so it isn't really a fair argument. And Fred Barnett made the Pro Bowl in 1992.

5 rec. 84 yds.
39 rec. 761 yds.
45 rec. 605 yds.
Those are Cris Carter's the three years he played with Cunningham like I said earlier under 1,000 and 1992 was Cunningham's 8th year like I also said.

Jerry rice had a great work ethic, but I've seen plenty of "better" receivers than him.

Paul Warfield, Lance Alworth (I liked Otis Taylor too) and more were better receivers but didn't have the work ethic and consistency year after year and didn't play as long.

Rice has earned every accolade he's received but, he's more a Hank Aaron than a Willie Mays. Aaron maintained a high standard for years and piled up the numbers, but no one thought he was better than his contemporary Mays as a baseball player.

I'll go out on a limb and say Randy Moss is the greatest receiver I've ever seen. I wasn't happy with his attitude or incidents prior to this year, but was always amazed with his athleticism.

Having watched football since 1960-61 or so, I can say I have not seen a receiver that can do what he does, not even very close.

He's smooth, he's fast and the adjustments he makes to catch balls are pretty much ridiculous.

This is not the same as Aaron and Mays people always considered Rice the best(since he was 12-time All-Pro) because he had the numbers to back it up. What everyone forgets is to put up the numbers that he put up you can't be simply good you have to be great. The reason Rice is considered the greatest is he did it at every level he played at whether it was college, pros, and the postseason it's not a coincedence he holds all the records at every level and he did it longer than anyone at that high level.
For an example:

Randy Moss 2001-82 1233 15.0 10
__________2002-106 1347 12.7 7
Age 24-25

Jerry Rice 2001-83 1139 13.7 9
_________2002-92 1211 13.2 7
Age 39-40

This is why Rice will always be considered the best WR ever.

 

[patsfanofNC12]

I think Moss is the most phisicaly gifted receiver ever. IMO no one before him had the same combination of size speed and body control. Like what has been said before he's a freak. But that being said it doesn't make him the best. If he stays with the Pats and Brady I think he will be considered the best ever. He needs the discipline, and the QB. In minn. he had the QB. and some discipline from Carter. In Oakland he had neither, here he has both.

Is Calvin Johnson anything like a young Moss???

 

[jmt57]

You may be able to make a case for Moss having the best single season ever, but that doesn't make him the best receiver ever. At this point in time it would be very tough to say that Moss has had a better career than Rice.

 

[DaedalusX]

This is a stupid discussion unless you're willing to establish a definition for what you mean as "best receiver ever."

In my mind, that means that at his peak, this receiver performed higher than any other receiver could, ever. And for my money, there is no one even close to Randy Moss. Jerry Rice will come up in discussions for decades, but Moss is the one who will have hours of jaw-dropping highlight reels playing for decades.

If you want to go by the definition of who has had the better career, in total, then yes it is Rice.

But I think given Randy's circumstances and the real point of such a debate, that's a piss-poor definition to work with.

 

[DisgruntledTunaFan]

Skip Bayless said today that he thought Wes Welker SHOULD have been on the AP All Pro First team-for the reason being he leads the lead in 4th quarter 1st down conversions, which is the BEST stat, even more so than TDs.

 

[since67]

I think that to consider who is the best receiver ever implicitly denotes a bias to the perspective chronology that one has experienced. With this consideration it may be possible to vote for Randy. In another era it may mean Jerry. In yet a further era it may point to yet another name.

 

[sanvara]

Jerry rice had a great work ethic, but I've seen plenty of "better" receivers than him.

You have got to be kidding me. Jerry Rice dominated games in his prime. He was unreal. Nobody has been better than Jerry Rice. And the fact that at age 40 he was putting up 1000+ yards is simply incredible. Jerry Rice was a freak of nature.

 

[Joker]

well...if anyone knows about freaks of nature it's definitely Sanvara

 

[sanvara]

well...if anyone knows about freaks of nature it's definitely Sanvara

Wrong thread. Feel free to start a sanvara thread in the off-topic forum.

 

[djmika760]

I think that to consider who is the best receiver ever implicitly denotes a bias to the perspective chronology that one has experienced. With this consideration it may be possible to vote for Randy. In another era it may mean Jerry. In yet a further era it may point to yet another name.

Best analysis yet! Good post!

 

[ddotderek]

Statistically, Rice has had a better 10years slightly..but that is due to many reasons..Moss really screwed himself with Oakland, he should clearly have better stats then rice through 10yrs if it wasnt for the horrible raiders team with a horrible oline,qb,coaching..injuries have also slowed down his career. Rice has had HOF QB's throwing to him for his 10years..
Rice has Joe Montana from 85-92..and Young from late 92 to 1999...he only had a non-HOF QB in Gannon from 2000-2002..but even Gannon isnt that bad..he had a arm...Can you guys possibly imagine if Moss had been playing with a Manning/Brady/Favre since 1998? Moss's stats would be out of this world..he probably would be sitting on 160-180TD's right now. Moss's best years are behind him but he is STILL the best WR in the game no question..you gotta compare apples with apples..Rice is the best WR in his era, mid 80's and 90's..Moss is the best from 98 and on..Period. Terrell Owens and Marvin Harrison are the only two other wide recievers with stats comparable to MOSS/RICE through 10yrs, but they arent even close..



Rice through 10yrs in the league. 1985-1994
Recieving Touchdowns 131
Recieving Yards 13275
Receptions 820
*Games Missed* 4 (strike season)
Yards Averaged 14.8

Randy Moss through 10yrs in the league. 1998-2007
Recieving Touchdowns 124
Recieving Yards 12,193
Receptions 774
*Games Missed* 8 (injury)
Yards Averaged 15.8
note: only started 11 out of 16 games in rookie year.

 

[sanvara]

Statistically, Rice has had a better 10years slightly..

But the thing is Randy has to have another 10 years similar to first 10 years to match Rice's career. Not going to happen.

 

[RayClay]

You have got to be kidding me. Jerry Rice dominated games in his prime. He was unreal. Nobody has been better than Jerry Rice. And the fact that at age 40 he was putting up 1000+ yards is simply incredible. Jerry Rice was a freak of nature.

I'm not kidding at all. I watched his whole career and years before also.

I shouldn't have said plenty. I meant receivers who could distort defenses by their talent.

Rice had a great quarterback, an incredible work ethic and was an all time great. There were other receivers teams needed to game plan around more than they did Rice IMO.

Jerry Rice did not draw triple and quadruple coverage and still make catches. He just didn't.

The only human to get that attention and the ability to totally distort a defense is Randy Moss.

Period.

Jerry Rice deserves all the honors and praise he has received.

Moss is on another planet.

 

[Satchboogie3]

I consider Moss the best WR in his prime. Moss in his prime was better than Rice in his prime. Moss has redefined offense too, making defenders commit 2-3 guys to him at all times. He stretchs the field like no WR ever has. Rice wasn't the type of vertical deep threat that Randy is. Moss was statistically a bit better than Rice (not counting the injury riddled OAK years) while having to deal with the most double/triple coverage any WR has ever seen.

It comes down to this. Who would you rather have in their prime, Moss or Rice? I would easily pick Moss. He's simply the better athlete.

 

[RayClay]

But the thing is Randy has to have another 10 years similar to first 10 years to match Rice's career. Not going to happen.

No one is arguing the incredible career and amount of statistics that Rice has piled up. That would be foolish.

In any one playoff game you don't get to bring 20 years worth of statistics. I'm talking about the ability to change one game.

 

[DaedalusX]

I'm not kidding at all. I watched his whole career and years before also.

I shouldn't have said plenty. I meant receivers who could distort defenses by their talent.

Rice had a great quarterback, an incredible work ethic and was an all time great. There were other receivers teams needed to game plan around more than they did Rice IMO.

Jerry Rice did not draw triple and quadruple coverage and still make catches. He just didn't.

The only human to get that attention and the ability to totally distort a defense is Randy Moss.

Period.

Jerry Rice deserves all the honors and praise he has received.

Moss is on another planet.

Well said.

 

[Satchboogie3]

I also don't understand why everyone says he took 2 years off in OAK. HE WAS INJURED. If you are the best WR in the game, why the heck would you push yourself on a ****ty team and risk agrivating your injury? If he was healthy, then I would agree, but when you have nagging injuries and your team has no shot at making the playoffs, the smartest thing would be to keep yourself healthy and hope you get an opportunity to play on a good team.

Just think of it this way, if Moss had pushed himself in OAK and ended up making his injury worse, or not recovering fully, he might not have had the season he just did. You can say all you want about OAK, but in the end, he kept himself healthy and ready for a great opportunity.

 

[RayClay]

Well said.

If we're talking career, I obviously can't dispute Rice. He's got the stats and proved it on the field and in the clutch many times.