All time great Seahawk WR Steve Largent has been included in ESPN's
top 10 wide receivers of all time. The article was written by Mike Sando, and is a pretty good piece. He used a variety of panelists to come up with the rankings. Largent ranked 7th. The article states some panelists had him at 4, and others at 8. We can debate it, but I wonder how Largent would have faired in todays NFL. Would he have been just as dominant, or just another receiver? My guess is he would have been pretty damn good, but I doubt he would have gotten 100 TD receptions. Too many receivers on the field and teams spread it around. You can debate, but he is defintely deserving of a top 10 nod of all time. END
I for one think Largent would have had a hell of a lot more receptions in todays NFL. Back in the Ground Chuck days, he sometimes got a first and 10 pass, but usually his chances came only on third down. He was lucky to get 5-7 balls thrown his way per game.
ReplyDeleteHe would have caught over 100 passes a year, especially in a west coast offense.
As for him being anything other than number 1, those guys didnt watch enough film. Largent actually liked playing against double-coverage, as he found it was easier for him to fake two guys out than one...
Largent did everything well, despite being small and merely quick. He was the most consistent wr ever, he could take hits over the middle, he made acrobatic catches, he went deep, AND he BLOCKED really well, something that is almost a lost art among wr's today.
Largent got open even when everyone in the whole stadium knew he was gonna get the ball.
His problem is he played for Ground Chuck, and most of todays writers were pretty young when he was playing.
Rice dropped so many balls it wasnt even funny. He wasnt a great blocker, and he played for the 9ers with Montana. Of course his stats were better. After him, the dropoff is severe. No one even comes close to Largent.
My favortie story is that Largent said if he ran his route, and watched the ball leave the qb's hands, he could watch the ball travel halfway to him, then close his eyes and finish the route and catch the ball--with eyes shut. Thats how hard he concentrated. I guess he used to do this with qb's after practice. amazing!
-SlaveToTheBusinessman
Sheesh, they barely mention Largent. They dont mention Rices drops, and gloss over Owens behavior, team disruption, and drops. East Coast Bias?!
ReplyDeleteLargent is by far my Favorit Seahawk. Hands down
ReplyDeleteSlave got it spot on. In today's pass happy NFL vs. Ground Chuck Largent's numbers would be stagering.
ReplyDeleteSome want to argue different because today's WRs are faster than previous genrations. Well, Largent wasn't fast in his day either and in a run first, run second and run third style of offense where passing was not so much an option but a neccessity (third and long), he still got it done when everyone knew it was coming his way.
I can't knock Rice because I have seen him do too much that no one else could do, but being in the first version of the West Coast Offense when defenses were geared to stop Air Coryel or Joe Gibbs style offenses certainly helpped his numbers.
Largent was so consistant with up and down Kreig and no consistant threat opposite him. They didnt run a very creative passing offense with ground knox calling the shots and he still posted amazing numbers. I always wondered what kind of numbers he would have had in San Francisco if he had played there, with the offense made for a guy with his talent and skills. Timing routes, run with percision, catching everything. But I am sure glad he was here, cant imagine where the Hawks would be (Anahiem, probably) had he not been here. My Favorite Seahawk all time by a landslide.
ReplyDeleteLook at the panel, Mike Holmgren, Ted Thompson, and Warren Moon. With those guys, you Steve Largent was going to be in the top ten.
ReplyDeleteYou cannot knock Jerry Rice for dropping balls because he only had the dropsies in the last season of his career, unfortunately it was for us. I would have Marvin Harrison above TO and Randy Moss. Is there a better route runner in history?
Look at the panel, Mike Holmgren, Ted Thompson, and Warren Moon. With those guys, you Steve Largent was going to be in the top ten.
ReplyDeleteYou cannot knock Jerry Rice for dropping balls because he only had the dropsies in the last season of his career, unfortunately it was for us. I would have Marvin Harrison above TO and Randy Moss. Is there a better route runner in history?
Why did it show up twice? Well Dave Krieg will have a word with you for calling him inconsistant. haha
ReplyDeleteandrew--Rice dropped a lot of balls throughout his career, its just that few noticed or cared because he was gonna get the ball thrown his way 10 times a game, and he was gonna catch at least 1 TD. Even that hack from the Sporting News admitted Rice dropped more balls than any other elite wr--his point was it didnt matter due to Rices stats and performance.
ReplyDeleteRice really wasnt very good for his last several years, and should have retire much sooner. He just couldnt let go...Largent went out mostly on top. His last year was a disappointment too, but partially due to injury.
Holmgren and Thompson probably only saw Largent play a couple times late in his career. I guess its human nature, but folks tend to weight guys who were in thier prime when they were watching...and I suppose I'm not much different.
Jerry Rice played at the same time as Largent. And Rice said he would watch Largent to learn some moves, so I don't know why you think he wouldn't have gotten as many TDs.
ReplyDeleteLargent should have been ranked much higher considering the all the records he held when he retired. As for Rice Having Montana and Young (both Hall Of Famers) as his QBs inflated his numbers. Krieg did lead in all time fumbles at one point (only to be surpassed by Moon. I still hold a grudge for Rice's DISGRACE of the #80 during his time in Seattle - Retired numbers should stay Retired.
ReplyDeleteLargent is actually a solid second, all time. If you look at the rest of the list, all played on teams much more successful than the Seahawks were with Largent. That brought down Largent's stats big time. If you look at how Moss did on a poor team, for example, you see what I mean. Largent kicked his ass. Largent was better at getting open and better at catching the ball than all of them except Rice.
ReplyDeleteI love to watch old highlights of Steve Largent, but then again what Hawks fan doesn't? Rice had a few great quarterbacks throwing to him, and yeah he dropped a lot of passes. But nonetheless he was in the NFL for quite a while, so he apparently was doing something right. He worked hard, and he broke the NFL record for receptions in a season in 12 games, took Moss (with Tom CryBrady throwing to him) all 16. Here are my top 5 in order...
ReplyDelete1) Jerry Rice - He had longevity, countless records, and class.
2) Steve Largent - If Hasselbeck was throwing to him, who knows.
3) Art Monk - Washington had a fantastic reciever
4) Randy Moss - Not for character, but 6'4 and ran a 4.25 40. Doesn't run routes, but can still outrun almost any CB.
5) Chris Carter - 3-15, 3-25? Doesn't matter, get it to Carter see what happens.
That of course is opinion, but based on my perception of the world, this is top 5
Greg from Portland