Show C 1111 tc m T 4 x y yBy By Eric Bresee Columnist So Jerry Rice broke another record Big deal This new record however is for most consecutive consecutive consecutive con con- games with at least one reception So what's all the fuss Rice has been breaking records for four years now and every fallen record seems to further solidify his spot as the greatest receiver in NFL history Im I'm going to flashback four years in personal history to a little commentary I supplied my high school newspaper Rice is NOT the greatest wide receiver of all time I know in an area reverberating with fans this will sound like blasphemy and offend some fans Since when do I care The gist of the column insinuated Rice would have to reach nearly unattainable statistics before receiving the moniker greatest of all time timet So who is the greatest of all time None of you probably have heard of him and that is a shame Those of you who have heard of him undoubtedly will agree with me The greatest wide out of all time is none other than Steve Largent from the Seattle The reasoning is simple Largent did more with less than any other receiver in history Case in point if you compare Largent's speed with Rices Rice's you'll know w what I mean Largent was slower than molasses in January He never flashed past He never turned on the afterburners once he caught the pass Chances are you could count the number of 70 plus yard receptions he had in his career on one hand On the other hand Rice had the ability to do so He routinely turns yard 10 receptions into yard 80 touchdown catches That's his trade trade- mark Another item that was detrimental to Largent's career was the quality of the quarterbacks quarterbacks quarterbacks quarter quarter- backs throwing to the receiver Im I'm guessing Jim Zorn Dave Kreig and Kelly Stouffer arent aren't striking fear into opposing defenses as say Joe Montana and Steve Young have Call me crazy its it's just a thought When you compare Rices Rice's 80 TD receptions from Montana and 79 from Young with Kreig's status as the all time leader in fumbles I think its it's obvious Finally Largent was the only receiving threat Seattle had during his year 13 career In Rices Rice's year 13 career hes he's had Dwight Clark Roger Craig John Taylor Terrell Owens shall I go goon goon goon on If my scientific calculations are correct Largent's numbers should be somewhere around r 1000 receptions yards and TD s. s r Now Rice has 1092 career receptions so he J has surpassed that mark He has yards well within reach of Largent's vicarious record next year if he returns However Rice only has TD's TOs compared to Largent's alleged r record cord j of It would take him two more seasons to J break that record tf Now Im I'm not saying Rice is not a great wide out hes he's just not the greatest yet |