Who and Why? 1.Terrell Owens- I don't care about stats. He creates YAC, physically dominates, and is a gamebreaker. He also doesn't give up on plays. 2. Randy Moss- Attitude has improved. Put up impressive numbers, great athlete. Adjusts well to the ball making tough catches. 3. Marvin Harrison- Great route runner. I don't understand why people don't jam him more. He's so small, he can't get YAC. Others? I didn't get to see many games, but who are some up and comers other than Johnson and Boldin? Stallworth? Others?
Randy Moss is by far the best wide receiver in the game of football. He once boasted "They can't jump with me!" No, Randy, they can't. That guy is a bonafide freak of nature.
"Big Game" Torry Holt needs to be on that list. His stats last year were amazing, just ask my opponents in my fantasy football league. He is the go-to receiver over Bruce and his 12 TDs caught was second only to Randy Moss, not to mention his almost 1700 receiving yards.
Don't think so...Holt had a good year, but until he's consistently spitting out those numbers, try again... I think Andre Johnson could be there in a couple of years with the right O-Line...
Well, it depends on how you define "top" If you're going by pure talent, I have to say Randy Moss. But if you analyze all aspects of each individual, Moss drops because of his attitutde. If by "top" you mean the WR I would want if all WRs are FA's and available on the open market. I wouldn't nab Moss first b/c of character issues. Same with Owens. I'd go Harrison.
Disagree. Physically, Owens and Moss are the two best, in different ways. Moss has an incredible combination of speed, height, and leaping ability, and may be superior to Owens in getting open for deep passes along the sidelines, although the fact that Owens has played with weak armed QBs might be a factor. Owens in an unrivaled combination of size, strength, speed, and agility. He is superior with the ball in his hands, and in getting open in short routes or acorss the middle. Where Owens is better is this; he is bettter on deep and corener routes than Moss is over the middle and short, and in virtually every other area; blocking, toughness, attitude, competitiveness, breaking tackles, etc. he is much, much better. And he shows up to play every day.
Bill Belichek who never talks about players, ever, said "That Mason is something, isn't he. " when asked about the Titans.
I think Moss is the best. Owens is the nest closest physical speciman, but just doesn't have Moss' speed that seperates him from about any offensive football player other the Vick. Moss also has unparalled instincts to adjust to the ball in the air. For those that criticize Moss for character issues the same has to be said for Owens. Moss p*sses off the media/fans and sometimes some of his players. Owens may show up every day for his pay check, but IMO alienates players and coaches even more than Moss which actually has a more negative impact on on-field chemistry. Harrison is 3rd, maybe 2nd after Moss, but not the presence as either Moss or Owens. Holt is a fine receiver, but as his best will be equal to Harrison. Boldin and the ex-Cardinal, David Boston, also have the physical tools to rival Owens (though maybe not Moss). Boston can't seem to keep his head on strait or keep from injuries, but man can that guy be a load when healthy and focused. I look for Larry Fitzgerald to be a top 5 WR this year too. He seems to be a combination of Moss and Harrison. In addition to being kind of in between in phsycial qualities, he has Moss's incredible ability to adjust to the ball and natural instincts, but also solid routes and impeccable hands like Harrison. I think he is the most complete WR to come out in a long time and is the most talented WR to come out since Moss. I'd like to see what Rogers could do with good health and an offense who can get him the ball, I think he will be better than Andre Johnson.
I once saw TO drop 4 passes in 1 game. He doesn't have the hands to compare to Marvin Harrison. Harrison is on pace to break Rice's record for receptions. Harrison has 1500 more yards, 150 more receptions, and 2 more touchdowns than Owens in the same number of seasons. Moss is a great weapon for the big play, but I wouldm't try to use him as a possesion receiver because he doesn't go over the middle. He has the highest per reception average of the three, but doesn't catch as many passes (last season being the exception).
It has to be Marvin Harrison. This guy is just absolutely wonderful. Quiet, goes about his business, catches almost anything thrown towards him, runs crisp routes, has good breakaway speed. The argument that he has Peyton Manning throwing to him is sort of like the argument people used about Jerry Rice having Montana to throw to him. That's not the only similarity between them though. Like StupidMoniker said, he's on pace to break Rice's record for receptions, and I think he's a more complete WR than Moss and Owens.
I think Harrison is great, but IMO he does not change the way the defense has to play him like Moss. I might take my chances with a great NFL corner (Law, Bailey, McAlister) versus Harrison, there simply is no player I would allow to try to cover Randy Moss. Harrison is a great player who works fantastic within a system, but Moss makes plays even when the defense has the right system in place. Him and Vick IMO are the two guys the right scheme may still fail for on any given play.
If I had to rate them it would be 1.) Tie: Moss, Harrison 3.) Holt 4.) TO Like several previos posters have said, Moss is more of a game breaker than Harrison. Just look at how many times Culpepper threw it up and Moss either jumped over the defender and grabbed it or came back for it. Moss can completely change a game with what he does. On the other hand Harrison is much more of a complete reciever. You can throw it to him anywhere on the field and expect him to do something. Below these 2 is see TO and Holt. TO has great physical skills but tends to drop a hell of a lot of balls. This is part of the reason I think Holt is better. Holt runs some of the best routs i have seen besides rice. Plus he is very agile and has good hands. Its very underated to have a WR exactly were he is supposed to be when the QB throws.
Do not be too quick to dismiss Torry Holt. While he did have his best year last year, an average year by Holt fairs comparably to Moss, Harrison and Owens. Player---Catches---Yards----TDs-----20+----40+---First Downs Moss---- :87.50--1395.83---12.83---21.83---7.67---60.33 Harrison--:98.73--1310.18---10.28---17.04---3.90---65.69 Holt------:85.20--1356.80---7.00----22.20---5.20---60.60 Owens---:78.28--1133.49---10.45---16.93---3.57---54.21 (I took the number of games played & divided that number by 16; that number was used when figuring out the career stats divided by that number) The only category in which Torry Holt disappoints is receiving TDs, but if you factor in the other offensive threats of Marshall Faulk and Isaac Bruce, it can easily seen why his career TDs are relatively low.
For the same reason it is harder to seperate what is Tory and what is the system where for Moss, Harrison and TO they clearly do more than others players in the same system even when opponents defense specifically target them. Is Tory really that much better than Isaac Bruce? Not sure, maybe a little, but I think neither are quite in the group that we mention.
