PFT looks at the 2010 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
It seemed like a risk at the time, when the San Francisco 49ers took wide receiver Jerry Rice out of Mississippi Valley State with the 16th pick in the 1985 draft. Rice had rewritten the Division I-AA receiving record book, but some questioned whether he had the speed to compete at the next level.
That sounds ridiculous now that Rice has rewritten the NFL record book (the Wikipedia entry for “List of NFL Records held by Jerry Rice” is mind blowing), but make no mistake: Jerry Rice becoming the greatest receiver in football history wasn’t preordained. It was the result of a man who was blessed with extraordinary talents having an even more extraordinary work ethic.
When former teammates talk about what made Rice great, it’s that work ethic that they talk about. Rice trained like a madman in the offseason and insisted on nothing short of perfection in practice.
“I don’t think I’ve come across anyone in life who has a greater obsession with being perfect than Jerry,” former 49ers tight end Brent Jones recalled. “He wanted to be perfect in every single aspect of the game. It really drove him.”
Football fans know the incredible feats that Jerry Rice performed on the field: The NFL records for catches, receiving yards and touchdowns, the Super Bowl MVP award and the 13 Pro Bowls. But what separated Rice from the rest was about more than just what he did on Sundays.
He truly was the best! Bradford, Dez Bryant, and all the other rookies would be LUCKY to carry this man’s pads. None of these guys will ever be worthy. He truly is the greatest receiver ever! Congrats Jerry Rice!
maybe the most impressive:
most receptions in a season by a player age 40 or above (92)
G.O.A.T.
“Jerry Rice becoming the greatest receiver in football history”
FALSE. See Don Hutson.
Imagine if guys like Pacman Jones and Roy Williams and Chad Johnson had that kind of a work ethic. But I guess thats what seperates the good from the great..
Best receiver of all time.
and the fact that he had 2 Hall of Fame QB’s to throw him the ball didn’t hurt…
I remember hearing Steve Young tell a story about Rice (it’s on the Jerry Rice program that has been looping on NFL Network for the last week). Basically he stated a day or 2 after winning Super Bowl 29, Young went back to Santa Clara to pick up some things/clean up his locker, and Rice was out there on the field running wind sprints by himself…with nobody watching. That was unbeleivable IMHO…and why Jerry Rice is the greatest ever.
Jerry Rice played in an era where pass interference was a penalty, players played only offense or defense, and seasons were 16 games long instead of 12.
Jerry was a good receiver of his era in the late 80′s and early 90′s.
a) Jerry Rice is not the nfl’s best receiver of all time. Don Hutson was so voted by the NFL.
b) Let’s see if Jerry Rice’s records last as many decades as Don Hutson’s 18 records lasted (some still have not been broken).
http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.aspx?PLAYER_ID=104
Some guys set records that were double the nearest competitor. Jerry Rice was not one of them.
Jerry Rice, obsessed with perfection
Brett Favre, obsessed with Jenn Sterger
I get what Jerry is saying. You have to be driven to succeed, and keep you eyes on the prize. My obsession is with finding the the perfect footwear for my dong texts. Do you go for comfort, style..?
Jerry Rice can be summed up in two words:
The Best
I’ve been a Cowboy fan for about 40 years now, and make no apologies for that. But I lived in the Bay Area during Rice’s heyday, and got to watch him for practically every game in the late 80′s and early 90′s.
I say this without reservation: Jerry Rice was the greatest football player I’ve seen play. The man could just take over a football game. No one worked harder than him, or tried as much to improve himself on a continuous basis.
Congrats, Jerry! Your HOF place is richly deserved.
Jerry is the best of all time and some of his records will never be broken. His All-Time receiving record of 22,895 yards won’t even come close to being broken. He’s got almost 8,000 more yards than any other receiver.
If you don’t think Jerry was the best of all time your a fool, whether he had HOF QB’s or not.
On a day where Jerry Rice is going into the Hall . . . some are bringing up Don Hutson. Hilarious.
Jerry Rice was the best WR of the modern era and Don Hutson was the best of his era. You can really compare the two eras.
Congrats to Jerry Rice he has TRULY EARNED IT!
I wish current players worked like him and had a team first attitude.
I am seriously trying to think of a time I heard Rice bitch and moan about holding out or the contract HE signed lol. Even when TO was pushing him out of the door in San Fran.
I would have loved to see Hutson play as from all the things I’ve heard, he was the Rice of his era.
I think you can certainly make a case for Rice being the best football player to ever play the game. It’s very difficult to compare and contrast players from different eras because the rules have changed so much.
“I don’t think I’ve come across anyone in life who has a greater obsession with being perfect than Jerry.”
=================================
Well, that makes for being a great football player. It also explains his personality, which is about as dull as watching paint dry.
Hutson had his best years in a league that was decimated by the WWII draft. The Packers had the fewest players in the league drafted, and most importantly they retained their star QB and their star receiver. With the other teams unable to run the same vertical offense and certainly unable to field competitive defenses, of course Hutson put up unmatchable numbers. Imagine the numbers Rice would have put up if he had played against the replacement teams of the 80s for four seasons.
As a Raiders Fan, I use to say if Jerry Rice and Tim Brown switched places and Timmy B got to play with Montana and Young, he would have put up similar numbers.
But, honestly JR was not only the greatest Receiver to ever play, but in my opinion he was the best player to ever play at any position.
And that was all a result of his Drive for Perfection.
# Bob Nelson says: August 7, 2010 10:51 AM
Jerry Rice played in an era where pass interference was a penalty, players played only offense or defense, and seasons were 16 games long instead of 12.
Jerry was a good receiver of his era in the late 80′s and early 90′s.
a) Jerry Rice is not the nfl’s best receiver of all time. Don Hutson was so voted by the NFL.
b) Let’s see if Jerry Rice’s records last as many decades as Don Hutson’s 18 records lasted (some still have not been broken).
http://www.pr ofootballhof.com/hof /member.aspx?PLAYER_ ID=104
Some guys set records that were double the nearest competitor. Jerry Rice was not one of them.
====================================
C’mon Bob!! Put the homer-ism away for once! Jerry is the best WR to play the game!! In Bob’s book, the best players of all time would be all Packers…….for God sakes put the bottle down!
to me he is the best player to ever put a helmet, he was that good and in 2 decades no one came even close and not because of his talent but because of his incredible work ethic his wife once said he didnt had a vacation in 15 years, he was always hungry… he is the GOAT and his records will last 50 more years…
Yep, you’ve all nailed it – he had immense talent but you don’t become the best on talent alone. The fact that the guy worked harder than anyone else is why he’s standing up there today.
Congratulations to the greatest of all time.
1) Jerry Rice is the greatest football player ever.
2) Thank you for at least going ahead and calling World the greatest receiver ever. I’ve heard a few people say things like, “arguably the best WR ever” and it’s absurd. Arguably? The tails side of a quarter arguably has more birds on it than the heads side, then.
Jerry Rice was not only the greatest receiver, his blocking is totally underrated. If you remember the 49ers of that era, and being a Saints fan I do, we were in the same division, the long touchdowns that Rice did not score, he often had the down field block that sprang the touchdown. I don’t think he gets nearly enough credit as a blocker GOAT, greatest player to ever lace them up.
Jerry Rice was not only the greatest receiver, his blocking is totally underrated. If you remember the 49ers of that era, and being a Saints fan I do, we were in the same division, the long touchdowns that Rice did not score, he often had the down field block that sprang the touchdown. I don’t think he gets nearly enough credit as a blocker GOAT, greatest player to ever lace them up.
Jerry Rice was a very great player but no one is the greatest ever in a Team sport. No one scores a TD by himself. It take 10 others.
Just be happy he is in the Hall of Fame and he deserves it
“Jerry was a good receiver of his era in the late 80′s and early 90′s.”
Don Hutson was a good receiver of his era… the 30′s and the 40′s… years before true integration in the NFL and a time where many, many of this country’s best were off fighting in a war.
Congrats Jerry! Simply, the greatest football player ever.
I enjoyed watching Jerry from the start. Your Stats are GREAT but my MEMORIES of your exploits are far more enjoyable to me! And for you, your favorite Stat will be the same as the one, Gene Upshaw wrote on the back of his business card when I met him……HOF 87.
Congrats Jerry, on your GREATEST STAT that will NEVER get BROKEN.