Calvin Johnson is the greatest WR of all time.

[TaxCollector13459]

His rookie year and first season with the Pats were

He had Culpeper looking like a top 5

 

[The Devil's Advocate]

Imagine Jerry Rice’s career if he spent it all in Detroit and not playing with two all time HOF QB’s including the GOAT Montana

we don't have to imagine...

No one questions Rice’s legitimacy as a Hall of Famer. But when it comes to Rice’s ultimate legacy, the question is whether he was one of the greatest players ever, or the greatest player ever. And there will be some who think Rice’s otherworldly numbers (aka Parts I and II) need to be discounted because he benefited so much from playing with Joe Montana and Steve Young for the majority of his career. Clearly, Rice was fortunate to play with Montana and Young. No one disputes that. The question is: by how much? That’s an impossible question to answer, but what we can do is look at the seasons during which Rice was working with a non-Montana/Young QB for a substantial amount of time:

• In Rice’s rookie year, Montana missed one game. Matt Cavanaugh started against the Eagles, who had one of the best pass defenses in the league. Rice caught 3 passes for 71 yards and a score.

• In 1986, Rice’s second season, Montana suffered a severe back injury in week one that nearly ended his career. Jeff Kemp (6) and Mike Moroski (2) started half of the season before Montana came back. In those eight games, Rice caught 40 passes for 820 yards and 9 TDs. Over sixteen games, 80 receptions, 1640 yards and 18 TDs would have been the most impressive season by any receiver in the league. Excluding Rice (who had 86-1570-15), Stanley Morgan had the second most receiving yards (1491) and Wesley Walker was second in receiving touchdowns (12). And yes, to those observant readers, Rice’s numbers that season were better without a gimpy Montana than with one.

• Montana and Young would start every non-strike game over the next four seasons, so let’s skip ahead to 1991. Montana had a season-ending elbow injury in the pre-season and Young injured his knee in mid-season. Steve Bono started six games for the 49ers, and Rice caught 33 passes for 415 yards and four scores playing with Bono. After losing their first start under Bono, the 49ers would win their next five games. Pro-rated over 16 games, Rice (88 receptions, 1107 yards, 10.7 TDs) would have ranked 4th, 8th and 5th in receptions, receiving yards and receiving TDs with Bono.

• In 1995, Young went down again, and this time Elvis Grbac took over. In five starts, Rice put up an absurd 31-550-4, for a pro-rated 99-1760-12.8 (actual 122-1848-15). Those 1760 receiving yards would be good enough for #2 all-time on the single-season list.

• Young missed four more starts in 1996, with Grbac again picking up the slack. Rice scored in every game, and caught 27 passes for 322 yards and 5 scores. The pro-rated Rice would have led the league with his 108 catches and ranked 4th with his 1288 yards; his 20 TDs would outpace the #2 man by six scores. The actual Rice had 108-1254-8.

So for 5 seasons, Grbac (9), Kemp (6), Bono (6), Moroski (2) and Cavanugh (1) started 24 games for the 49ers. In exactly a year and a half’s worth of games, Rice caught 134 passes for 2,177 yards and 23 TDs, and ran for one score as well. That’s an average season of 89 catches, 1451 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns, or roughly the career best season for nearly every WR who has ever played the game. And, of course, only 25% of those games came during what we would typically call a wide receiver’s prime. Eighteen of those 24 games that he played without Montana or Young came during Rice’s first or second season, or when he was 33- or 34-years old. In ’95 and ’96, playing at an age when most receivers start slowing down, catching passes from Elvis Grbac, and playing with Derek Loville and Terry Kirby at RB, Rice put up numbers that could arguably pass for the best season of Cris Carter’s or Steve Largent’s career.

And then there are the Jeff Garcia and the Rich Gannon years.

Rice’s two worst seasons in San Francisco (ignoring 1997, when he missed most of the season with a torn ACL) were the two seasons when Garcia was the 49ers primary QB. In 1999, he had 830 receiving yards and 5 scores, and the next season he had 805 yards and seven touchdowns. Far from great numbers, but he had a good excuse: Rice was 37 and 38 years old. Only two players in NFL history, Rice and Charlie Joiner, have caught even 600 yards worth of passes at age 37 or older. Only a handful of receivers in NFL history have caught any passes at age 37 or older. It’s easy to be blinded by the standard Rice set for himself, but apart from one Charlie Joinerseason, those two disappointing seasons were the best in NFL history for a man of his age. [Since I originally wrote this, Terrell Owens gained 983 yards at age 37, but no other receiver that age had even 200 yards. Owens did not play at age 38 or 39.] And then he moved to Oakland and blew those seasons away.

Of all the unbreakable records set by Rice, what he did in Oakland may be the most impressive. At age 40, he caught 92 passes for over 1200 yards. No other player in NFL history has gained a single yard receiving while in his 40s.

Randy Moss: Jerry Rice had two HOF QBs his whole career

 

[The Devil's Advocate]

Don’t got a dog in this but Megatron and Moss are physical monsters on a scale that it doesn’t seem Rice touches

and yet they can't even touch his numbers.. neither did anyone else who played with the niners or any other hall of fame qbs or ever played the game

so what that tell you? there's more to the game than being a freak. did they run crisper routes? did they outwork him on every play? did they stay healthy? did they stay in shape? did they always give effort?


that's their own fault they ain't the greatest... we ain't giving out what if prizes

 

[InstantKlassik]

Those numbers are insane

 

[Self_Born7]

dude was nice.. b.u.t I take Randy Moss over him... he still top 5 easy

 

[DropTopDoc]

I’d take megatron over rice

 

[Reggie]

Larry Fitzgerald is getting hardly any love in this thread. But the fact that he is about to be number two in receptions and yards while being top 10 in touchdowns says it all. Not to mention he has shined on the big stage in the playoffs on multiple occasions. His 2008 run might have been the greatest ever for a receiver in the playoffs. And he could easily do this for at least 2 more years. Not to mention he had mediocre QB's for the majority of his career. I think he's got a solid case to be number 2 all time after Jerry now that I think about it.

 

[itsyoung!!]

I hate you young mafukkas so much

 

[chowism]

Bro Calvin was 6’5, 230+, ran a 4.4 & had a 45 inch vert.

You really taking Rice over CJ?

CJ didn’t have to slave for 20 years he said fukk that and left when he wanted. His numbers would be better than Rice if he played till he was 40 & wore hair extensions like Rice did

You're arguing athleticism over skill. Rice does everything skill wise better than Calvin and overtime athleticism fades bruh.

 

[chowism]

Either him or moss. Rice got a better resume but he ain’t touching either of them at their best.

Stop smoking

 

[chowism]

When you burnt someone for a TD you didn't say they got riced.......you said they got mossed.

CJ no.2 behind moss

No actually getting Mossed was when you jumped up and snagged on a nikka.

 

[chowism]

@ anyone taking athleticism over skills. Rice was the GOAT easily. He could run any route, had great hands, could get separation, and was unstoppable. Moss was only the GOAT DEEP THREAT. Moss barely ever went across the middle and only played when he felt like it TO>Moss. 1. Rice 2.T.O.

 

[TaxCollector13459]

You're arguing athleticism over skill. Rice does everything skill wise better than Calvin and overtime athleticism fades bruh.

Facts

If we wanna keep it a stack
My nikka Agent 89 physical combine numbers were similar to CJ and he a whole 8 inches shorter and at least 40 pounds lighter

 

[Rigby.]

and yet they can't even touch his numbers.. neither did anyone else who played with the niners or any other hall of fame qbs or ever played the game

so what that tell you? there's more to the game than being a freak. did they run crisper routes? did they outwork him on every play? did they stay healthy? did they stay in shape? did they always give effort?


that's their own fault they ain't the greatest... we ain't giving out what if prizes

Most I know about Randall is that he had an incredible peak that just couldn’t last for his own reasons. Like OP said, Calvin def could’ve put up comparable numbers if it was his desire to just put up #s. He didn’t feel like playing extra years for that nonsense tho

 

[FabTrey]

Facts

If we wanna keep it a stack
My nikka Agent 89 physical combine numbers were similar to CJ and he a whole 8 inches shorter and at least 40 pounds lighter

you know big dude ain't supposed to run 4.3 40s especially at that weight, right? megatron is lebron of football


but having said that megatron can't touch rice's route running ability, hands, and just being able to make plays in a critical time.


it's

1. rice
2. moss


megatron is fringe top 5