Then you have the storyline concerning 49ers wide receiver Randy Moss and his pursuit for a Super Bowl ring. 14 seasons in the NFL and he still has no Super Bowl ring to show for it. Still, Moss has amassed a Hall of Fame-type career: Seven-time Pro Bowler, Five-time All-pro, 2003 NFC Player of the Year, 2007 Comeback Player of the Year, NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, and many more accomplishments. He also holds many NFL records: The NFL touchdown reception record for a rookie (17 in 1998) and the NFL single season touchdown record (23 in 2007), to name a few. But is it possible to say that Randy Moss is better than former 49ers wide receiving great and Hall of Famer Jerry Rice?
The reason why I bring this up is because on Tuesday at Super Bowl Media Day in New Orleans, Moss proclaimed himself to be "the greatest receiver ever".
"Now that I'm older, I do think I'm the greatest receiver to ever do it." Moss said.
This statement surprised Rice, who was chosen by NFL Films as the greatest player in NFL history.
"I impacted the game by winning Super Bowls." Rice replied. "Randy is still trying to win his first one. I wish him the best of luck, but I was very surprised that he said that he's the best receiver to play the game."
Jerry Rice is the NFL's all-time leader in many categories concerning wide receivers including receptions (1,549), touchdown receptions (208), and receiving yards (22,895). He also has three Super Bowl rings compared to Moss having none and played more games than any non-placekicker or punter in NFL history (303). Randy Moss may have been selected to the Pro Bowl seven times, but Mr. Rice has gone to the Pro Bowl 13 times in his career while being selected as an all-pro 12 times. In fact, Rice was the MVP of Super Bowl XXIII. Did I mention that Jerry is a two-time (two-time!!) NFL Offensive Player of the Year, a three-time NFC Offensive Player of the Year, and is on BOTH the NFL 1980s and 1990s all-decade teams?
Randy Moss may be one of the best deep threats to play the game while being one of the most dynamic receivers ever, but the fact that Moss has no Super Bowl ring brings him down in my book (Although that could change on Sunday). Therefore, I personally believe that Randy Moss is in fact not the greatest receiver ever. However, there is a certain receiver for the Detroit Lions that is on his way to claiming that honor...
Work Cited:
ESPN., com. Randy Moss: I'm greatest WR ever. Los Angeles: ESPN, 2013. Web.
<http://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2012/story/_/id/8893843/super-bowl-2013-randy-moss-says-
greatest-wr-ever-play>.
