Moss over Rice? I say yes. – CONTEST ENTRY

[Dhays12]

Moss over Rice? I say yes.
By Dalton Hays

Right off the bat I am going to admit that this is an opinion, and I anticipate many skeptics, but this is what makes sports amazing, the ability to debate. Randy Moss was drafted to my favorite team in 1998, when I was just five years old. Unlike some Minnesota Vikings fans, I am still a Moss supporter; in fact, he is my favorite athlete of all time. I became a Randy Moss fan when I was in 3^rd grade. Randy Moss was the type of athlete you wanted to play like. From eye popping catches to off field antics, he always kept it interesting.

A few days before the 49ers vs. Ravens game, Randy came out and declared himself the greatest of all time, which to say the least caused a huge media uproar. I am here to tell you why Randy is correct to make that assumption. To start off, I am going to address the topic that everyone jumps to first, compare the stats. It is true that Rice leads Moss in most stats, but the stat that matters most is that Rice played in the league longer, and is not far ahead of Moss in some categories. If Moss was given the chance to play as many years as Rice, then maybe the Moss supporters would be saying compare the stats to the Rice supporters. Stats are not everything, especially if you take a look at who is throwing them the ball.

Here is a list of the quarterbacks who have started a game with Moss, in oppose to quarterbacks who have started a game with Rice.

Moss:	Rice:
Brad Johnson	Rob Johnson
Randall Cunningham	Matt Cavanaugh
Spergon Wynn	Marques Tuiasosopa
Todd Bauman	Ty Detmer
Daunte Culpepper	Jeff Brohm
Andrew Walter	Mike Moroski
Aaron Brooks	Steve Stenstrom
Kerry Collins	Matt Hasselbeck
Vince Young	Rich Miner
Rusty Smith	Jeff Kemp
Matt Cassel	Steve Bono
Jeff George	Elvis Grbac
Tom Brady	Jeff Garcia
Brett Favre	Rich Gannon
	Trent Dilfer
	Kerry Collins
	Joe Montana
	Steve Young

As you can see, despite playing more than 5 seasons more than Moss, Rice has only 4 more quarterbacks on his list. Not to mention that Rice played with Joe Montana and Steve Young for the vast majority of his career. There is no arguing that Jerry Rice had a far superior supporting cast for the majority of his years in the NFL. With Joe Montana and Steve Young throwing to Randy Moss for the majority of his career, his numbers would have been unreal. With Tom Brady, he was able to catch 23 touchdowns in a single season, going up against Darrelle Revis twice that year.

Randy Moss was able to create nightmares for every defender in his way; he even had an entirely new defensive strategy created in hopes of covering him. Jerry Rice might have been a better leader than Moss, but he could not stack up to Moss’ hands, speed, agility, and vertical jump. Moss said it best in an interview in the early 2000’s, “If I can’t get to it, nobody can get to it!” I would even go so far as to say Randy Moss’ 1998 and 2007 seasons were more impressive than Jerry Rice’s entire career.

To say someone is better than another based off championship rings is not accurate and is being used way to often in today’s sports world. To claim that one is better than another based on rings is simply flawed. How many people think that Brandon Jacobs is better than Adrian Peterson, or that David Tyree is better than Larry Fitzgerald or Calvin Johnson? Should Jeremy Shockey be considered a greater tight end than Tony Gonzalez based on rings? I didn’t think so. It is funny how people can state who is better than who based on championship rings, are they trying to imply that football is an individual game? In order to get that ring you have to be with a supporting cast that is capable of winning the big one.

If I was given the choice to start a team with Randy Moss in his prime, or Jerry Rice in his prime, I would give the nod to Moss. Plenty more research can be done on this topic, and I could keep adding to this paper until it reaches hundreds of pages, but I’m not going to make anyone have to read for hours when they have other things important going on. Randy Moss is the definition of my childhood, and maybe that is why my opinion (or Rice supporters opinions) is how it is. I honestly believe Randy Moss is the greatest of all time, but everyone has the right to their own opinion. For me it is the impact left on the game that outweighs stats. Although stats are very important, they can depend on who is surrounding you during the time you spend in the league. I will end my rant with this simple math statement that just about sums everything up for me……… 84>80.

moss9ers.jpgmosscatch.jpg

[hooters517]

The thing about Randy Moss is that he was probably more talented than Rice ever was. The problem with him was that he was and is a clubhouse cancer. Winning championships does involve people putting their egos aside and working together. Rice could do that and Moss never did. That is why he doesn't have any rings and why he has bounced around the league so much, while Rice only played for a few teams, and only because he held on for so long. He played for the love of the game, while Moss' reasons for motivation are at best questionable. One of my favorite memories is of Charles "Peanut" Tillman's rookie season when he ripped a sure game-winning touchdown out of Moss' hands for an interception. That play is a great example of pure desire. Tillman simply wanted it more. Moss could have been the greatest, but he never wanted to do the little things necessary to win.

[NY Sports Teams]

I can't agree with Moss over Rice. Both tangibles and intangibles make up a player. As was stated by hooters517 Moss is a clubhouse cancer. That in itself makes Rice a better player in my eyes. Football is a team sport. If it was golf then I might agree, unless it was the Ryder Cup.

...Rick

[MarionAutos]

Moss over Rice no doubt

[Dhays12]

Thanks for the responses guys.

[indexed]

see the thing is that Rice was there every single last time for the big play, cant say that about Moss. He was primarily a down field target while Rice took the passes anywhere and anytime. No receiver is close to Rice IMHO.

[jrlebert]

Oh man... sorry. Can't agree here. But... rebuttal article coming!

[Pheebs888]

Good article, thanks for the entry! Published here: https://www.sportscardforum.com/artic...ice-i-say-yes/