Randy Moss - Most Complete Receiver In Football In His Prime

[JordanTaber]

Originally Posted by G Mobile

Or I'm confused on the premise of this thread. Is it saying that Moss at his prime was the most complete WR ever or he was the most complete compared against his peers in the years of his prime? All time or just during his prime year?

You can call Moss a 1 trick pony with his deep ability, but that 1 trick is better than everyone else but Rice.

I meant of his era.

The Moss vs. Rice debate is kind of tricky. I go back and forth on it.

[Guru]

It's really hard to label someone the most complete at the WR position because of all the shapes and sizes. WR is so versitile that defining just one is a futile exercise. You have guys like Rice, Moss, Owen, and Megatron that are all probably going to be HOFERs. That said, what is the definition of most complete? If attitude and work ethic are included I think the only two left from this list are Rice and Megatron, then you have an untold story because Megatron is still working through his prime years. For me the most complete during his prime is Rice, but given time could prove to be CJ. No doubt Moss and Owens were great but neither were complete players/leaders/workaholics like Jerry and still with their physicality they couldn't match Jerry's ability on the field.

Rice seems like the best choice given that logic with Megatron on the upswing imo.

[Iamcanadian]

Jerry Rice by a mile IMO. Today's WR's play in a soft league where head hunting is no longer permitted, many, many of them wouldn't even have made a team from the past because it used to take real guts to play the position especially to go over the middle of the field for a reception.

Today's rules have eliminated the toughness from the game and made it easy for modern receivers to look good especially with QB's throwing the ball as many as 700 times a season, it just shows how ridiculously easy the passing game has become under current rules.

[Monomach]

Originally Posted by Iamcanadian

Jerry Rice by a mile IMO. Today's WR's play in a soft league where head hunting is no longer permitted, many, many of them wouldn't even have made a team from the past because it used to take real guts to play the position especially to go over the middle of the field for a reception.

Today's rules have eliminated the toughness from the game and made it easy for modern receivers to look good especially with QB's throwing the ball as many as 700 times a season, it just shows how ridiculously easy the passing game has become under current rules.

You're such a dick for bringing a dead JordanTaber thread back to life.

[Ness]

Originally Posted by Monomach

You're such a dick for bringing a dead JordanTaber thread back to life.

LOL hilarious.

[JordanTaber]

Originally Posted by Iamcanadian

Jerry Rice by a mile IMO. Today's WR's play in a soft league where head hunting is no longer permitted, many, many of them wouldn't even have made a team from the past because it used to take real guts to play the position especially to go over the middle of the field for a reception.

Today's rules have eliminated the toughness from the game and made it easy for modern receivers to look good especially with QB's throwing the ball as many as 700 times a season, it just shows how ridiculously easy the passing game has become under current rules.

I agree with most of this, but Moss was dominating before it got to this point. I consider Moss and Owens legitimate carry overs from a prior era.

On the other hand, while I consider Calvin and Andre Johnson great receivers, their numbers don't mean a whole lot to me in comparison to past greats. You can only compare athletes from the same era.

And there were always plenty of niche receivers in the NFL in the past. The difference is, their careers wouldn't have lasted as long. I think that has more to do with less developed surgical techniques to repair injuries, as well as lower grade performance enhancers, than how much more physical the sport was, though. But the sport was definitely much more physical before. Most modern receivers are pussies by comparison. There have been so many guys masquerading as "technicians" with "intangibles" when they're really nothing more than a product of their system.