Tom Brady is pretty good. He's a future first-ballot Hall of Famer and could continue to impress as the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Jerry Rice was pretty good too and is already in the Hall of Fame. He is considered to be the greatest receiver ever to play the game. Is he, not Brady, the greatest player in NFL history, though? Shannon Sharpe made the case this week to his Undisputed co-host, Skip Bayless, who scoffs at the idea. It was in response to this article from NBC Sports Boston, where Tom E. Curran makes a case for Rice over Brady, which is probably seen as blasphemous in the Northeast.
Sharpe isn't necessarily dismissing Brady as the GOAT. He is just stating that, to him, an argument can be made in favor of Rice and Lawrence Taylor.
"Jerry was a guy, not only could he get deep," Sharpe explained, "but Jerry was one of the first guys that could take a five-yard route and turn it into an 80-yard spectacular. In the true West Coast (Offense), it's about getting the ball in the guys' hands, and running after the catch.
"You look at the guys that played. I'm talking about the really good receivers that played in the West Coast — Jerry, my brother (Sterling Sharpe), [Terrell Owens] — all of them could do what? Run after the catch. They ran angry.
"For me, Skip, I don't think anybody's going to touch his record(s). I don't see anybody getting 22,000 yards. That 197 receiving touchdowns, Skip, that ain't happening. It's over; forget it. I mean, let that sink in.
"Larry Fitzgerald is like 70 touchdowns (away). He's never going to get it. He's like 8,000 yards away. He's never going to get it. So for me, Tom Curran is right. I could make the argument for either one (Brady or Rice), but if he says Jerry, I don't fight it. If he said Lawrence Taylor, I wouldn't have fought it. I just will fight you if you say you know who (Brady)."
The argument, of course, wasn't enough to convince Bayless, who points to Brady's MVP awards and six Super Bowl wins as enough to cement him as the greatest ever. In response to Sharpe, he adds that a case could be made for Taylor but not Rice.
You can watch the entire exchange below.