Note to Randy Moss: "We Don't Believe You, You Need More People!"

So the blog title is the first of two quotes by my favorite rapper of all time, Jay-Z.  We’ll get to the other one later.  Anyways, I’m sure that most football fans by now have heard about those interesting comments from San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Randy Moss during Media Day for Super Bowl XLVII.  Just in case you’ve chosen to tune out the world for a few days, here’s an excerpt:

Now that I’m older, I do think I’m the greatest receiver to ever do it.  I don’t think numbers stand…this year has been a down year for me statistically, the year before I retired was a down year, and then Oakland was a down year.  So I don’t really live on numbers; I really live on impact and what you’re able to do out on that field.  So I really do think that I’m the greatest receiver to ever play this game.

When I first heard these remarks, I thought this ranked among the Top 5 Negro Please Moments ever.  I was totally on the side of Stephen A. Smith—as I typically am when it comes to ESPN’s First Take dichotomy of him and Skip Bayless—when he said, “What really bothers me about this is that he [Moss] did it [made his remarks] while wearing a San Francisco 49er uniform.  I mean, you’re wearing the same uniform that Jerry Rice did all of this in.”  'Nuff said.

For me—and for most football fans and aficionados—it’s not even close.  Jerry Rice has been affectionately termed by another great receiver in Michael Irvin as "Jesus in cleats".  In his prime, he could easily get behind coverages and beat defenses deep.  He arguably trained harder than anyone else on any team for whom he’s played.  Even before age and attrition caught up with him, he very rarely dropped the ball and he ran his routes almost better than Bill Walsh or George Seifert envisioned them on paper.  More than anything, he was the ultimate professional and did his job until his retirement, playing a total of 303 games and only missing ten regular season games in his 20-year career.  It’s like he said in response to Moss’ comments: “I never took any plays off and I always gave 100 percent.”

Now let’s do like Rice suggested to Moss and check the stats.  Rice has 1,549 career receptions, which is 445 receptions ahead of Tony Gonzalez—yeah, a tight end is the next best in that department.  Rice has 22,895 career receiving yards, which is 6,961 yards ahead of T.O.—a man who a lot of folks contend is better than Moss, too.  (I’m not one of those people, but I still respect T.O.)  Rice has 208 total TDs and 197 receiving TDs, which is 33 total TDs ahead of Emmitt Smith and 43 receiving TDs ahead of—wait for it—Randy Moss.  I think it’s safe to say that on a team with Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis as the primary targets of Colin Kaepernick, Randy Moss doesn’t stand a chance to catch Jerry Rice’s TD receptions record.  Oh yeah, and let’s not forget that all-important hardware.  Rice has three Super Bowl rings and a total of four Super Bowl appearances to his credit; Moss is on his 2nd appearance, but has no rings to date.  It could be argued that Joe Montana won two Super Bowls without Jerry Rice and that Rice benefited greatly from one of the best and most revolutionary offensive systems of all time.  However, the 49ers won Super Bowls in even more convincing fashion once Jerry Rice got there, who was Super Bowl XXIII MVP and even won a ring without Montana as his QB.  Perfect time for the second and final Jay-Z quote: “Men lie, women lie, numbers don’t.”  (For the record, there’s rarely a bad time for a Jay-Z quote, but I digress...)

Here’s a thought…maybe Randy Moss thinks of his football prowess and career in the same way that most rappers do: “If I don’t think I’m the best, then there's no point being in the game.”  I can’t knock Randy Moss for saying what he said; I still think it’s preposterous, but I respect his confidence.  I’ll even make somewhat of a case for him: without Randy Moss, the Minnesota Vikings’ offense wouldn’t have been potent enough to reach the 1998 NFC Championship game.  Though that offense was solid with Cris Carter—a receiver who should be the Hall of Fame and arguably has the best hands of all time—they were dynamic with Randy Moss.  See any game where the Green Bay Packers’ secondary was left dumbfounded when he caught passes that shouldn’t have been caught.  Without Randy Moss, the New England Patriots’ offense wouldn’t have been as explosive, as record-setting—including Moss breaking the single-season TD receptions record previously held by (of course) Jerry Rice—or as undefeated in the regular season.  Anybody that can make even the best shutdown corner in pro football, Darrelle Revis, look pedestrian has to be an absolute beast.  He’s the reason why the Patriots were able to go ahead with 2:42 left in Super Bowl XLII until Eli Manning played the ultimate spoiler to a perfect season.  He’s 6’4” and an athletic freak of nature.  In his prime, he was the real Keyshawn Johnson because all you had to do was give him the damn ball and he’d do the rest.  I mean, really…who wouldn’t want the ’98 or ’07 Randy Moss on their team?

However, as gifted and heralded of a receiver as he is, he’s not the same model of consistency that Jerry Rice was.  He’s had more infamous “down years” than Rice has—and Rice’s “down years” had more to do with not being the primary target in older age.  As mentor and former teammate Cris Carter once said, “And Randy, not like any other superstar I’ve met, he has more quit in him than any of those players.”  Ask the Oakland Raiders.  Ask the Minnesota Vikings the 2nd time around.  Ask the Tennessee Titans.  If I’m a head coach in need of a receiver, I want a player who can change the game and the culture of the team.  I want a guy who hustles every single play and pushes everyone else to hustle as hard as he does.  I want someone who can streak down the field with ease and run slants, curls and out routes so precise that even the best corners have issues keeping pace.  If I want someone that can put up ridiculous fantasy numbers or makes me think Madden NFL 99, then give me Randy Moss.  However, if I want the complete package of player, teammate and professional, Randy Moss can’t even dust Jerry Rice’s cleats from Oakland.

By 10:30 p.m. EST on Sunday, we should know if Randy Moss is finally a Super Bowl champion or a two-time heartbreak victim.  Either way, when Jerry Rice wore that 49ers uniform, he was not only a significant factor in their success, but you could pencil in that the 49ers would win the Super Bowl if they made an appearance.  As much as Randy Moss is a great receiver in his own right, he has to respect Rice’s legacy—one that was paramount in making the 49ers organization one of the most storied franchises in NFL history.  Although he has the 2nd highest yards per reception average on this year's team (15.5), Moss is the 4th leading receiver in yards, including trailing Mario Manningham (who ended up on IR and played three less games); tied for 3rd with Delanie Walker in TD receptions (three); and tied for 4th in receptions with Frank Gore (28).  Not really barn-burning numbers or impact, although it could be argued that he's mainly a decoy for defenses.  Although Rice was injured most of the 1997 season at the same age, he had another 1,000-yard receiving season in 1998 that led to his 12th Pro Bowl.  Yup...he was still a factor.  Now I have always enjoyed watching Randy Moss play and he should be in the Hall of Fame once his career is finally over, but bottom line: pump your brakes and respect that uniform, slim.  Brent Jones did more in an average season with his 49ers #84 than you have so far.