Randy Moss Declares Himself Greatest Receiver of All Time: Not Even Close

There were times, such as 10 years ago during his prime, when Randy Moss was unstoppable and capable of putting fear in every opponent and stretched the field so deep and beat a defender in coverage. He reminded us that he was respectively one of the greatest deep-ball receivers of our generation. But when Moss candidly was asked about his place in football history at Super Bowl Media Day on Tuesday, he went a bit too far. Moss, 35, declared himself as the greatest wide receiver of all time, and certainly is taking a beating by some while others have let it slide.

“I do think I’m the greatest receiver ever to play this game,” Moss said.

Is he the best receiver of all time, or is someone else just that much better? The answer is surely not a brainteaser but a no-brainer, and even if he claims he’s the best ever to play the game, he’s way off the mark. Not to break Moss’ heart, but it’s not even close. Just a decade ago Jerry Rice, a three-time Super Bowl champion with the 49ers and the NFL’s all-time leader in receptions, touchdowns and yards, awed fans by his brilliance and magnificent performances on the field. So it was just the sort of remark Moss should not have made, and must take heed that Rice is widely viewed as the greatest wideout.

If somebody does surpass him in every category, it won’t be for a very long time. Moss or anybody else won’t break his unreachable, untouchable records. Maybe years from now a crafty receiver will come along and shatter Rice’s records, as records are meant to be broken. It’s not happening in this generation, even when Moss considers himself the most superlative talent to emerge in the league, even when he’s a genuine prodigy and even when he has the pedigree to be a primary target.

“Now that I’m older, I do think I’m the greatest receiver to ever do it,” Moss said, as you can see in the NFL Network clip above. “I don’t think numbers stand. Because you can talk about this and this, I think I’ve had … this year has been a down year for me statistically. The year before I retired was a down year, and Oakland was a down year. I don’t really live on numbers I really live on impact and what you’re able to do on that field.

“So I really do think I’m the greatest receiver to ever play the game.”

What he’s created in Super Week is nothing more but publicity only surrounding him and nobody else, and he’s done exactly that throughout his career of turbulence and monumental achievements, the one man who is hated or loved by his peers, fans and coaching staffs, the one man who is not fitted to play in every city around the league. While it is true that he’s an otherworldly talent and frequently speaks without thinking clearly before he utters something foolish that catches folks off guard, at a time when he has set sights on his first Super Bowl victory in Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, Hall of Famer Michael Irvin insisted that there is no argument about who holds the greatest of all time title.

“Randy’s done a wonderful job in the NFL. He’s done some wonderful things,” Irvin said. “Numbers do count and especially when they lead to victories. That’s why I think everybody has to capitulate when it comes to talking about greatest receiver. Bar none, nobody’s having a conversation. It is Jerry Rice, period.”

Let’s look at the numbers shall we?

Numbers don’t lie.

As things stand, Rice completed his 20-year career with 1,549 catches for 22,895 yards and 197 touchdown receptions. That alone is the best among all receivers in NFL history in all three categories. And really, to be a realist and speak the truth regarding an unnecessary debate, there is no argument, especially when the facts speak louder than Moss’ loud mouth. In contrast he’s definitely tallied the numbers to be mentioned in the same breath as Rice, but he’s not even in the same conversation when it comes to greatness and likely won’t ever be eulogized like the undisputed receiver in the history of the NFL. It’s been something of a roller coaster throughout his erratic career, which Moss has been known for quitting on teams, walking out on his teammates and not having the same kind of work ethic as Rice.

You can easily make the case that he’s been an asset in his first season with the 49ers (28 catches, 434 yards, three touchdowns), but he’s never done it consistently and has had flaws in his game because of his badass attitude and cockiness that ended his brief stints nearly everywhere he’s played. But over the last decade, when he was a star in Minneapolis and continued the Moss Tour of America by making himself feel right at home in two other American cities, he’s compiled impressive numbers no one ever imagined. This might explain why he avers that he’s better than Rice: 982 receptions for 15,292 yards and 156 touchdowns. More recently, Moss is ninth in NFL history with receptions, trailing — among others — Hines Ward, Isaac Bruce and Tony Gonzalez. At this time, as well, he is third in receiving yards behind Terrell Owens and Rice.

I wouldn’t call that great.

Sorry, Moss. That’s not good enough, not to surpass the rightful emperor of all receivers, mind you.

And while he’s no longer a defiant individual who was a toxic waste on nearly every team he’s played for during a rebellious period in all cities that gave him a shot to be the best receiver all time, his persona and Hall of Fame status remains the same. For someone who won’t stop whining and gripping, he has not changed a bit and is unhappy with his role in the 49ers offense. But he is, no matter what a person thinks of him making these statements, standing by his claim that he’s the greatest to ever play in the National Football League.

“What I said is what I felt, and I don’t want to get into a shouting match with Jerry Rice or anybody,” Moss said Wednesday during the 49ers’ media access for Super Bowl XLVII. “It’s my personal opinion. (Rice) has the numbers but I don’t believe in numbers.”

The hyperbole is just now heating up in New Orleans, and Moss is spewing not only trash talk but that he’s the great one. Moss is a man of prestige and has a certain cachet, who in 14 seasons has spent time in Minnesota (twice), Oakland, New England and Tennessee, before calling San Francisco home where he’s finally the happiest he’s been and not turning his back on the 49ers, a team that is well-coached by Jim Harbaugh. He is, as a disciplinarian, intolerant and doesn’t take kindly to players who are not on their best behavior, and Moss knows his limits and how far he can take his coach. It was arrogance, as we all know by now, that delayed success and nearly doomed his career and defiance recklessly bruised his reputation, before he finally matured into a man and settled down in the late stages of his career.

It’s OK, Moss — really — to tell America how you truly feel and give your honest answer. He isn’t, without much thought, shy to boldly lash out and alienate his ex-teammates, a defiant trait that has led to trouble over the years with prior teams he’s played for during the course of his magnificent but cancerous career. If he can disagree with a man who ridiculously thinks he’s not the best wideout to ever play the game, just so he could draw attention to himself, it would be the time to beg to differ with his bold statement — one that stunned the world.

It shouldn’t surprise no one that Moss is so cocky and self-absorbed, that he would make a loud proclamation to raise many eyebrows. By now, you and I should know the way he behaves and thinks — too much of a big-headed know-it-all and an egotist, foolishly sometimes not realizing that football is a team sport.

He isn’t just valiant and undaunted, he is misinformed and way off on this one. As he could possibly win his first Super Bowl ring, maybe he can go down as one of the instant heroes in this particular game. You never know. After all, that would make more sense. Hey, as long as Rice is not on the field.

The Latest Reality Show: Terrell Owens Drama Airing in Cincinnati

The latest reality show called T.O. Drama hijacks the airwaves in Cincinnati. Under these circumstances, Terrell Owens is known for dividing a team, as a bonding core plunges mightily at the earliest of September and becomes the epicenter of arguably the biggest tragicomedy in sports.

It’s risky and the most perilous experiment in football, assembling together diva-like receivers with cancerous symptoms that could dismantle a franchise’s morale and chemistry. As the most despised NFL star, Owens is the most controversial receiver with an egomaniacal behavior, demanding the football and crying when he doesn't get enough touches.

It’s baffling that the Cincinnati Bengals are getting the popcorn ready, to witness the most dangerous reality show, to witness a temperamental receiver cause confrontation and isolate a franchise with his self-centered attitude. In the meantime, Owens and Chad Ochocinco’s relationship is unconditional love, of course, as neither have played their first game together, but evidently are close friends and have an amiable bond.

At some point, realizing that Terrible Owens is a curiosity in football whether he’s unemployed or emerging as the famous nuisance on reality shows, we can revisit the previous teams that corroded because of Owens’ dysfunction and development as a saboteur. It’s a marriage of controversy, a relationship expected to weaken early in the regular season as mood swings and infighting chaos loom ever so quickly.

For all the abuse San Francisco, Philadelphia, Dallas, and somewhat Buffalo took, fans in any other town than Cincinnati are laughing at the clowns of the league for gambling on a dangerous and worthless S.O.B. Once, he was allowed numerous chances to enrich his psyche and polish as the most talented wideout, gifted at running routes and physically bringing in an astonishing catch. But he’s a declining receiver with a knack to launch reality shows on VH1 and be represented as a celebrity bust, rather than a football bust.

So now, it’s simple to discern that bringing in Terrible Owens are signs of trouble, and it was the most horrific blunder by reaching an agreement with a mischief-maker. If you don’t think Owens agreeing to a one-year, $2 million contract with a potential $2 million more in incentives is crazy, well, you obviously haven’t seen him yelling at teammates, or throwing hissy fits with coaches on the sideline, or haven’t seen him generating tirades and blaming all his foolish stunts on the media.

When it comes to Terrible Owens, the arrival of an uncivilized star spells trouble. When it comes to Terrible Owens, reaching a deal is a warning sign of a hazard and the demise of one troubled superstar, engulfed by madness, drama and baggage to reduce a team’s assurance. By now, we are burnt out on Owens’ me-myself-and-I practices, irritating our consciousness and the way we perceive a petulant veteran who usually at times conduct himself as an inexperienced rookie, as if he’s still finding his way in the league.

As usual, Owens will drain the executives, coaching staff, and teammates in the Bengals organization, particularly if the team doesn’t compromise with his stingy and greedy demands. Why is he worth the hassle? By entering his 15th NFL season, he has accomplished unforeseen feats, an explosive receiver with inconceivable agility and crafty footwork, ranking third in career receiving yards and touchdowns and sixth in receptions.

The best-case scenario is that he provides veteran leadership and performs at the highest level alongside teammate Ochocinco to form a receiver tandem in limbo. But the worst-case scenario is that he tears down chemistry and spirit by initiating rampages and havoc inside the locker room because of jealousy and insecurity of his peers and teammates for accumulating more touches and regards.

“It’s really, really interesting we can be on the same team and work together,” Ochocinco said Tuesday on ESPN’s SportsCenter.

To refresh everyone’s memory, he lasted two seasons in Philadelphia and always had heated feuds with quarterback Donovan McNabb by verbally attacking his teammates and throwing tantrums on the sidelines. Remember, he cried and created a ruckus in Dallas, initiating tiring feuds that were advertised publicly when he feuded with quarterback Tony Romo, irritated because he wasn’t getting enough touches or participating in a high-powered offense.

Remember, his disturbing antics forced loyal owner Jerry Jones to release a problematic Owens, whose disruptions were very ravaging and babyish for a franchise. Remember, he spent eight seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, and exploded when he attacked Jeff Garcia and insulted his quarterback by calling him gay.


As a well-known diva, it was a risky move for the Bengals, who advanced to the playoffs last season and had enough talent and problems. It’s bad enough that owner Mike Brown is a dauntless businessman willing to take gambles and lobby for rebellious players. If anything, he’s not concerned on building a depleted franchise with unlawful players, but prefers to win a significant amount of games and advance to the playoffs, having a troubled Larry Johnson and Matt Jones, including a mobile running back Cedric Benson, who benefited on the field while running into unlawful troubles off the field.

Without carefully considering, Brown accepts a mystic Terrible Owens and welcomes the wideout to the Bengals family, based on talent and not a poor reputation. All of which quarterback Carson Palmer, who has worked with Owens and has been “highly impressed,” is the victim of T.O. attacks if Owens loses his mind and self-control.

It figures that Cincinnati is Owens' last franchise before he announces his retirement, with the aging receiver’s style suddenly declining and approaching the late stages of his disillusioned career. It’s a tremendous opportunity for Terrible Owens to mellow as the innocent sports figure and prove to all populace that he’s not such a villain of franchise suicide, garnering a sense that the world doesn't revolve around him.

He must discard all the diva acts, an annoying trend needless for a franchise on a mission, so maybe it’s his last resort for avoiding unemployment and salvaging his job security. And maybe it’s his last resort at thriving with a championship-caliber team in effort to win a title.

Then again, maybe he’ll be the crybaby that will mope over the amount of touches and receptions. Then again, maybe at the end of the season Marvin Lewis, who is responsible for babysitting Terrible Owens, will have to stroll to the nearest Babies “R” Us and stick a pacifier in Owens’ mouth for weeping and bickering.

“Yes, people can make mistakes,” said Brown. “It doesn’t mean that they go on the rest of their lives making mistakes. They can get their ship pointed in the right direction. This is a 36-year-old man. He’s been through a lot. He’s proven as a player and as a person.”

He’s a little baby and cries out loud. It’s common that he’ll excel and blend in well at the beginning, but as time carries on, he could become the attention-seeker and create havoc, especially when the team is performing poorly and losing a critical amount of games.

Oftentimes, he has blamed ESPN for defaming his troubled reputation and exposing erroneous images. Now it’s the worldwide leader in sports fault if he acts like a foolish dimwit, unwilling to accept the truth and blinded by reality. It’s Owens' actions, not a television network or Internet source that he deeply targets and holds accountable.

“The teams I’ve been on, if you ask in that locker room how I’ve been as a teammate and as a person, it’s contradictory to what’s been displayed out there,” Owens said. “I’ve never been in any trouble. I know right from wrong. I try to make the right choices and judgments when I’m out in the public.

“It’s not like I can’t play. There is some type of influence that they’re making in the minds of teams and owners and GMs. I feel like I have enough talent to be a starter on any team. That’s what’s so frustrating.”


At anytime, he could lose his mind, throw a hissy fit, and verbally attack teammates. At anytime, Owens’, Ochocinco’s and Palmer’s egos may helplessly collide. With the poor character of Terrible Owens, anything is possible. You never know.

If you are tuning in to the latest reality show, your regularly scheduled program could be cancelled, allowing Terrible Owens to return to “The T.O. Show,” or Oprah or even Dr. Phil for some advice on how to avoid dysfunction. As we all know, Ochocinco appeared on “Dancing With the Stars” and currently stars in a dating show called “Ochocinco: The Ultimate Catch." It’s easy to postulate that they are obsessed with popularity and attention, but also have mental and personal issues.

There’s a reality show in Cincinnati. It’s called the "Team of Dysfunction."

Oh, Lord…

Terrible Terrell Owens Unemployed As No One Cares: It's Come To Backfire | It's Karma

Let us never, ever forget that he’s the most annoying athlete in sports, wastefully discarding his talent by becoming the famous nuisance in sports.

His name is Terrell Owens, a gifted wide receiver who has fully jeopardized a once monumental career before it plunged drastically due to his psychotic behavior.


It’s not very often that we witness a mentally disturbed athlete, especially one with much talent and marveled deeds, unless he created T.O. drama and disrupted an entire team with his frequent outbursts and silliness.

For the first time in a problematic career, he won’t have the popcorn ready, still unemployed and unwanted, as most franchises believe he’s more of a troublemaker and wannabe celebrity than a primary star on turf.

As he tends to spend ample time acting on reality TV, becoming Hollywood’s hilarious celeb bust, he’s a bust on the field as well, a worthless tragicomedy that no team wants to take a risk on signing even a multi-year deal. There were times, of course, when he was an unattractive problem child with a disturbing mood that gradually dragged down morale and divided a cohesive locker room.

Knowingly, he always thought every team he played with disowned or picked on him. Turns out he wasn’t the victim, guilty of staining a spirited franchise and elicited diversity, with all his infantile cries and presumptions that all his former teams pointed the finger at him when the team faltered and faded out of contention.

Owens had a perspective that he was never the chemistry saboteur, but the innocent receiver who convincingly tried to help his team win. He had a viewpoint that he was never the agitator, but the impeccable paragon all of us admired.

The most explosive part of an overexposed story is that he’s a risky addition and older, having the audacity to tell the nation that he’s a misunderstood athlete and despised because of his physical capabilities and talent.

In the aftermath of all his fallouts with former franchises, at least for now, all teams are leery and unsure of his morals and actions. In other words, any team is handling his availability with precautionary measures, not in a hurry to sign a cancerous star.


For raising mischief, his disruptive stance allows general mangers and owners to overlook abilities on what he can deliver as a prolific wideout. But the truth is Owens, once widely regarded as the most talented receiver at his position with incredible size and athleticism, is a renegade because of his personal feuds with teammates and coaching staff, the one rebellious buffoon no one prefers taking a gamble on.

According to several executives, he’s abandoned and ignored for poisoning a dysfunctional unit by selfishly yelling during sideline altercations. Will he ever sign, eventually? Given his history in the past, he is a cancer within any organization, but surely someone is courageous enough to take possession of a player with baggage.

For now, he doesn’t even exist in the league whatsoever, patiently waiting for a phone call from team executives. Until then, he’s foolishly adored to some degree for exposing himself as a publicity clown on television in the new season of his VH1 reality show, a full-blown spectacle that started earlier this week.

Maybe he meant to get the popcorn ready for his reality stunt. It’s appealing, in a way, that he’s suffering bad karma with all the executives rebuffing interest and carefully considering before offering a contract. This isn’t so surprising, especially when Owens has a slew of enemies and lost all trustworthiness for harassing former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb with unbearable feuds on the sidelines.

This isn’t so stunning, as usual, when he indiscreetly prompted troubles as a member of the San Francisco 49ers and called then-quarterback Jeff Garcia gay. This isn’t so overwhelming or jolting as the troubled receiver is jobless until a team is desperately depleted in the receiving corps and badly in need of an explosive wideout to solidify an impoverished department.

He certainly isn’t avoided for competence or toughness, but rejected by the league for insecurities and jealousy in many ways, including outbursts on the sidelines that he generates any time he’s not getting enough touches.

While he’s waiting for his phone to ring, at every level of every organization, each is reflecting and weighing options on whether to engage in negotiations and offer a fittingly short-term contract to a destructive, megalomaniacal jackass.

Throughout his merciless career, he has played with four teams without winning a championship but came very close to fulfilling triumph. In those days, he served as a member of the Eagles and rehabbed religiously to heal quickly from a damaging ankle injury and played in Super Bowl XXXIX for Philadelphia, a team he verbally had callous feuds with and fell short of winning a championship with.

If he vows to ripen as a matured teammate and secure the role of a veteran leader, he could be a potential suitor for the New England Patriots. Very fittingly, the Patriots can groom and influence a rebellious Owens after grabbing obliterating receivers.

It’s still easy to envision T.O. drama harming a revamping franchise and quickly irritating teammates with crybaby antics and outrageous stunts as Owens becomes discontent with not getting enough touches. That is exactly how he reacted in a powerful Dallas offense when Tony Romo failed to toss passes in his direction and instead connected with tight end Jason Witten.

That is exactly how he reacted in Philly when McNabb refused to design routes. That is exactly how he responded in San Francisco when Jeff Garcia discovered other routes and threw it in the favor of Owens’ teammates.

He somewhat learned a valuable lesson, I assume, when he signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills before last season. Pressured by the nonstop shouts and temper flares of Owens, Trent Edwards, a young and unproven quarterback, fortunately wasn’t harassed or verbally insulted.

Everywhere he has been affiliated with, Owens has dragged down unity with a disruptive and destructive psyche, one no team could stomach obviously as he sits and waits. He’s currently playing the sit-and-wait game, a hapless game as no one has interest in the one receiver who sabotages chemistry and divides a dispirited locker room on the possible verge of new heights.

So with Terrible Owens jobless, maybe he has learned an important message. Be careful what you wish for, refrain from the toughest ass attitude, and have gratitude for peers and ownership. Hopefully, Owens understand, he has no I in Terrell Owens and must share the wealth unselfishly.

Portrayed as a pompous demon or, even worse, an invincible ghost, he’s not jobless because of his declining talent, but because of his foolish and unnecessary troubles. He’s a quality player for someone, but it’s his acts that matter. He told the Associated Press that he’s a changed man and he’s not a bad guy, blaming ESPN for labeling him as a demon.

Sorry Owens, but you are a bad guy.