Is Jerry Rice the greatest to ever play the wide receiver position? According to Randy Moss, the answer is "no." The longtime Minnesota Viking who bounced around late in his career, including a final season with the San Francisco 49ers, recently raised eyebrows when he declared himself the greatest receiver of all-time.
Embarrassing himself further in the eyes of fans and many experts, he ranked Terrell Owens at No. 2 and then Rice at "third or fourth."
Yikes.
Moss wasn't basing his claim purely on statistics. He felt he had more of an impact on the game than Rice did.
"I'm talking about dominating the game and changing the game of football," Moss said on Owens' podcast. "I don't live on statistics because if you live on statistics and live on championships, that's all political."
Rice didn't seem too concerned with Moss' ranking. Why should he be when most don't see it that way?
"[Moss] continues to say it's political or whatever, but if Randy wants to be No. 1, that's fine," Rice responded. "There are so many G.O.A.T.s. If T.O. wants to be No. 2, that's fine. But my main thing is it was all about the rings, the championships, and that's why we play the game."
While current Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill also feels Moss is the best, another Hall of Fame receiver with plenty of experience watching Rice embarrass opposing defenses, Michael Irvin, states that anyone declaring a player other than Rice as the best ever should have his head examined.
"None of those other guys have three Super Bowls," Irvin told Damon Bruce, Ray Ratto, and Matt Kolsky on 95.7 The Game (h/t to Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports) last week. "... Jerry Rice is the greatest of all-time. If anybody says anything other than that, (he) needs to go see some kind of doctor to examine his cranium. Period."
To take things further, Irvin didn't necessarily limit Rice to being the best wide receiver ever. He couldn't believe that winning championships and playing longer has been devalued by so many in this social-media age. Irvin went as far as to say that he wouldn't trade his own career for those of a Moss, Owens, or any other receiver. The one exception would be Jerry Rice's career.
Irvin does not doubt that Moss feels he's the best and isn't just making a claim to boost his brand. Still, to declare anyone other than Rice as the G.O.A.T. is absurd to Irvin.
"You've gotta pay homage to what this man has done," Irvin said. "That record the Randy Moss broke of Jerry Rice, the touchdown record, does he know how many games Jerry got that in? Those are the things that you have to sit back and say, 'C'mon, man. C'mon, let's be real here now.'
"This shouldn't even be a discussion. I got Jerry Rice up there for the greatest player — period — of all-time. I don't want to hear wide receiver. I'm talking about, period, of all-time. So, this discussion should not be a discussion.
"And those guys (Moss and Owens) were great players, and they had fabulous careers, but they were not Jerry Rice. That's just the reality."