Originally posted by SunDevilNiner79:
I think certain eras, due to rules and design, do inflate some stats. But also some eras just produce better players due to better training and more competitive field.
The NFL in the 70s was played by guys happy to make $100k or less and they didn't have half the training science that goes into athletes these days. They grew up playing football that was pre-dominantly rushing attacks, wishbone offenses etc. So I think it compeltely logical WRs weren't as exceptional in say the 70's as they are now.
You also have to account for the fact of the quality of QB throwing to them and the design of the offense.
Jerry Rice's numbers are inflated because he played for a brilliant offensive mind and had 2 HOF QBs throwing to him. If Jerry Rice spent his career playing for the Atlanta Falcons, the fact is Jerry Rice wouldn't have his numbers.
Marvin Harrison IMO probably isn't a top 10 WR in our minds if he doesn't spend his career with Peyton.
TO may not have had a HOF qb throwing to him, but Jeff Garcia IMO played pretty well during those peak years. And I think its odd the pro-TO bandwagon doesn't remember all of his dropped passes suddenly....
You could go on forever about saying this guys stats were lower/high because of X,Y, Z.
Yet I'm still waiting for what attribute Megatron doesn't have. He is one of the fastest players at WR, one of the biggest, some of the best hands etc. If you were to rate players on a 1-10 scale for each skill, Megatron scores extremely high in all of them. He is a completely unique and rare athletic talent.
I don't really want to get too involved in this one because I see the different sides. But regarding Rice, if you are downgrading his numbers because of the brilliant offensive mind and the HoF qb's I would suggest you should also take into account the other weapons that he had competing with him for the ball. John Taylor, Brent Jones, Roger Craig, TO, Tom Rathman, Ricky Watters, to name just the first few who spring to mind. He would not have faced that sort of competition or anywhere near it at Atlanta. So there are swings and roundabouts to this argument.
