Monday, January 8, 2007
COMIC RELIEF...
UPDATE....In two playoff games this season Harrison has a staggering six catches for 93 yards and no touchdowns. The Patriots Jabar Gaffney who had 11 catches during the regular season has 18 playoff catches and two touchdowns. Wow! Harrison really is backing up Demasio's ridiculous claim!
Congratulations to Sports Illustrated's Nunyo Demasio for being the latest in a line of instant historians these days.
In an SI article last week, Demasio suggested that Marvin Harrison might be the best receiver ever. Even better than Jerry Rice.
Stop laughing everybody. I know it's hilarious, but I think the guy was actually serious. Come on. Try and stop laughing. The guy probably thinks he knows something about football and really believes he might be on to something.
Okay laugh away because suggesting what he does is pretty funny.
Marvin Harrison the best receiver ever? Are you kidding me? This guy is not even in the same league as Jerry Rice.
Unfortunately, Demasio does a poor job of backing his claim as he only cites a stat about Harrison catching his 1,000th pass in 14 fewer games than Rice. Wow, that convinces me!
And yes Harrison has some impressive statistics but being the best isn’t just about how great your stats are. Being great and being the best is about when you play your best and what you do when you are on football's biggest stage.
Jerry Rice played his best in the biggest games possible. In three Super Bowl wins with the 49ers, Rice had at least seven catches and 148 yards. He scored a Super Bowl record three touchdowns twice and set the all-time receiving yardage mark against the Bengals, catching 11 passes for 215 yards. And Rice also had two huge catches on that legendary game-winning drive that helped the Niners rally past the Bengals. It also was Rice who caught the game-tying touchdown after the Bengals had taken a 13-6 third-quarter lead.
But when it comes to Harrison, he mirrors his teammate Peyton Manning and saves his best games for the regular season. When it comes to the postseason, Harrison has been a dud.
In his latest clutch playoff performance, Harrison caught an astronomical two passes for 48 yards and zero touchdowns against the vaunted Chiefs defense. Talk about a living legend.
The headline of the story "The marvelous and mysterious Marvin Harrison" could also apply to how he magically disappears every postseason.
Entering next week's divisional playoffs, Harrison had topped 100 yards in just one out of 11 playoff games. He also has scored a touchdown in just one playoff game.
Rice topped 100 yards in eight playoff games, caught at least one touchdown in 14 different games and topped five receptions (something Harrison has done just twice) 11 times.
To put it in a way Demasio can understand, look at what Rice did in his first 10 playoff games compared to Harrison. Rice won two super bowls, catching 56 passes for 915 yards and 12 touchdowns. In his first 10 playoff games, Harrison has caught 45 passes for 642 yards and two touchdowns. During that same time Harrison’s teams have won a whopping three playoff games while failing to top 20 points in any of their seven postseason losses.
And Demasio might want to watch some film before he makes outlandish statements about Harrison possibly being better than Rice again. Rice was a complete player. He caught big passes in big games, but he also was a great blocker. Watch Steve Young’s game-winning 1988 49-yard touchdown run against the Vikings and you see Rice throwing the final block. Watch John Taylor score on two 90-yard touchdowns against the Rams in 1989 and you see Rice throwing key blocks to spring him each time.
Rice also could take a pounding running the football. The greatest of all time ran for 645 yards and 10 touchdowns. Harrison?...10 carries for 28 yards. And last time I checked, Harrison still trails Rice by 85 career touchdowns, 105 if you count the playoffs.
That's right, Rice caught 22 career touchdown passes in the playoffs, while Harrison is stuck on two. And eight of those touchdowns came in the Super Bowl as he caught at least one (and three twice) in his four appearances.
Demasio might also want to watch film of the 2004 AFC championship. The game in which the Patriots defensive backs, specifically Ty Law, manhandled Harrison and limited him to three catches for 19 yards. The Patriots provided the blue print for slowing Harrison down and that is getting physical with him.
Try doing that to Rice and he would either overpower the corner or out-maneuver him. Rice was one of the strongest players in the game, but Harrison can’t handle the physical corners.
And unlike Harrison, Rice did not have the rules changed just so corners couldn’t muscle up on him the following year, the way the league did in 2004 after the Colts post-Patriots loss hissy-fit. The Colts Bill Polian was on the competition committee and magically the rules were changed the following year, making it easier for receivers to get open and catch passes.
So Demasio might also want to think about what Rice would have done if he had these pansy coverage rules in effect when he played. Chances are he would have had 250 touchdowns instead of 207.
Harrison is a gifted receiver but I also doubt he will have a 1,000-yard season and lead his team to the Super Bowl when he’s 40, the way Rice did with the Raiders in 2002. I also doubt Harrison could come back from a torn ACL to post three more 1,000-yard seasons after he hits 35 the way Rice did.
Harrison is an outstanding receiver and one of the best in the game today. But Demasio falls into the trap of immediately thinking that quantifies one as being the best of all time.
The bottom line is this: Somebody should buy Demasio some film and some history books because when it comes to studying NFL greats he fails miserably...
UPDATE....In two playoff games this season Harrison has a staggering six catches for 93 yards and no touchdowns. The Patriots Jabar Gaffney who had 11 catches during the regular season has 18 playoff catches and two touchdowns. Wow! Harrison really is backing up Demasio's ridiculous claim!
Congratulations to Sports Illustrated's Nunyo Demasio for being the latest in a line of instant historians these days.
In an SI article last week, Demasio suggested that Marvin Harrison might be the best receiver ever. Even better than Jerry Rice.
Stop laughing everybody. I know it's hilarious, but I think the guy was actually serious. Come on. Try and stop laughing. The guy probably thinks he knows something about football and really believes he might be on to something.
Okay laugh away because suggesting what he does is pretty funny.
Marvin Harrison the best receiver ever? Are you kidding me? This guy is not even in the same league as Jerry Rice.
Unfortunately, Demasio does a poor job of backing his claim as he only cites a stat about Harrison catching his 1,000th pass in 14 fewer games than Rice. Wow, that convinces me!
And yes Harrison has some impressive statistics but being the best isn’t just about how great your stats are. Being great and being the best is about when you play your best and what you do when you are on football's biggest stage.
Jerry Rice played his best in the biggest games possible. In three Super Bowl wins with the 49ers, Rice had at least seven catches and 148 yards. He scored a Super Bowl record three touchdowns twice and set the all-time receiving yardage mark against the Bengals, catching 11 passes for 215 yards. And Rice also had two huge catches on that legendary game-winning drive that helped the Niners rally past the Bengals. It also was Rice who caught the game-tying touchdown after the Bengals had taken a 13-6 third-quarter lead.
But when it comes to Harrison, he mirrors his teammate Peyton Manning and saves his best games for the regular season. When it comes to the postseason, Harrison has been a dud.
In his latest clutch playoff performance, Harrison caught an astronomical two passes for 48 yards and zero touchdowns against the vaunted Chiefs defense. Talk about a living legend.
The headline of the story "The marvelous and mysterious Marvin Harrison" could also apply to how he magically disappears every postseason.
Entering next week's divisional playoffs, Harrison had topped 100 yards in just one out of 11 playoff games. He also has scored a touchdown in just one playoff game.
Rice topped 100 yards in eight playoff games, caught at least one touchdown in 14 different games and topped five receptions (something Harrison has done just twice) 11 times.
To put it in a way Demasio can understand, look at what Rice did in his first 10 playoff games compared to Harrison. Rice won two super bowls, catching 56 passes for 915 yards and 12 touchdowns. In his first 10 playoff games, Harrison has caught 45 passes for 642 yards and two touchdowns. During that same time Harrison’s teams have won a whopping three playoff games while failing to top 20 points in any of their seven postseason losses.
And Demasio might want to watch some film before he makes outlandish statements about Harrison possibly being better than Rice again. Rice was a complete player. He caught big passes in big games, but he also was a great blocker. Watch Steve Young’s game-winning 1988 49-yard touchdown run against the Vikings and you see Rice throwing the final block. Watch John Taylor score on two 90-yard touchdowns against the Rams in 1989 and you see Rice throwing key blocks to spring him each time.
Rice also could take a pounding running the football. The greatest of all time ran for 645 yards and 10 touchdowns. Harrison?...10 carries for 28 yards. And last time I checked, Harrison still trails Rice by 85 career touchdowns, 105 if you count the playoffs.
That's right, Rice caught 22 career touchdown passes in the playoffs, while Harrison is stuck on two. And eight of those touchdowns came in the Super Bowl as he caught at least one (and three twice) in his four appearances.
Demasio might also want to watch film of the 2004 AFC championship. The game in which the Patriots defensive backs, specifically Ty Law, manhandled Harrison and limited him to three catches for 19 yards. The Patriots provided the blue print for slowing Harrison down and that is getting physical with him.
Try doing that to Rice and he would either overpower the corner or out-maneuver him. Rice was one of the strongest players in the game, but Harrison can’t handle the physical corners.
And unlike Harrison, Rice did not have the rules changed just so corners couldn’t muscle up on him the following year, the way the league did in 2004 after the Colts post-Patriots loss hissy-fit. The Colts Bill Polian was on the competition committee and magically the rules were changed the following year, making it easier for receivers to get open and catch passes.
So Demasio might also want to think about what Rice would have done if he had these pansy coverage rules in effect when he played. Chances are he would have had 250 touchdowns instead of 207.
Harrison is a gifted receiver but I also doubt he will have a 1,000-yard season and lead his team to the Super Bowl when he’s 40, the way Rice did with the Raiders in 2002. I also doubt Harrison could come back from a torn ACL to post three more 1,000-yard seasons after he hits 35 the way Rice did.
Harrison is an outstanding receiver and one of the best in the game today. But Demasio falls into the trap of immediately thinking that quantifies one as being the best of all time.
The bottom line is this: Somebody should buy Demasio some film and some history books because when it comes to studying NFL greats he fails miserably...
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