Sauer was the short to middle guy and Maynard was the deep threat. I wish we would give more love to Art Powell from the Titans days.
I never heard that one before. Al Toon was an amazing talent, but I still think Rice was better than him. Toon and Walker were probably the same as Clayton and Duper on Miami.
If you matched Toon and Walker with Dan Marino I don't think anyone would have ever heard of Clayton and Duper.
It was a bit of a homer statement. But think about this. In the years 87 thru 89 Toon averaged more catches per game and had he stayed healthy (and if there was not a strike in 1987) he would have put up the following numbers 1987 - 91 rec 1301 yds 7 TDs 1988 - 99 rec 1138 yds 5 TDs 1989 - 92 rec 1008 yds 3 TDs He wasn't the gamebreaker Rice was however. But he was certainly comparable. Injuries and not having an elite QB hurt him.
Toon and Rice came out in the same draft, so there were a lot of comparisons between the two early in their careers. Toon caught at least three passes in somethng like his first 57 games, something along those lines. He was a weapon, certainly comparable to Rice before getting all banged up. Keep in mind Rice got to play in SF with Joe Montana and later Steve Young in Bill Walsh's offense.
When Namath was the Jets QB they didn't throw short passes or even today what we call intermediate passes to the WR. Sauer 16.1 YPC average is only exceded by Maynard, Walker and Richard Caster. It's higher than Coles, Toons and Mosses when he was on the Jets. He was in the top 10 in the league for YPC 3 consecutive years.
I know that. I was trying to give the impression that Maynard was the deep threat and Sauer was not. I understand they were both downfield receivers, but not on the same level.
I would love to hear stat on this one. The reason I think Sauer was a better WR than Maynard was he had better hands, could catch the ball over the middle and could actually run great routes. Maynard was a fly pattern WR. The only reason Sauer had a lower YPC average than Maynard was that he could run a pattern and catch the ball in traffic.
We're not that far apart on this, although obviously I have to defend my boy Maynard. I think you underrate him slightly. Namath always said that he was a big key to that offense. Pretty much any time Maynard was single covered Namath would check off at the line of scrimmage and look for him long, since no one could cover him. It wasn't only speed, either; he ran terrific post and slant patterns as well. You don't get to be football's alltime leading receiver without a lot of talent and skills. On the other hand, while many underrate Sauer, I'm not one of them. He was the best receiver over the middle I've ever seen, both in terms of route running and hands. He and Namath would work on patterns for hours after practice, to the point where Weeb would chase them off - even including a 25-yard square-out (!) in the playbook (the Jets OL and RBs were terrific blockers). The precision they were able to show was a thing of beauty. And, as you say, we're not talking about 8-yard patterns over the middle, either; with Joe's arm and George's hands, they could get 15 yards at a pop in tight places. I vivdly remember the offseason after the 1970 season, when Sauer retired. It was very clear at that point that the good times of the 1967-1969 seasons (29-12-1) were gone for good.
2000's Decade team: QB-Peyton Manning RB-Ladanian Tomlinson FB-Mike Alstott WR: Randy Moss WR: Terrell Owens WR: Marvin Harrison TE: Tony Gonzalez TE: Jeremy Shockey LT: Jonathan Ogden LG: Alan Faneca C: Kevin Mawae RG: Randy Thomas RT: Willie Anderson DE: John Abraham DE: DeMarcus Ware DE: Jason Taylor DT: Kris Jenkins DT: Albert Haynesworth MLB: Ray Lewis MLB: Brian Urlacher CB: Champ Bailey CB: Ty Law SS: Brian Dawkins FS: John Lynch K- Adam Vinatieri P- Tom Tupa
LB's? Harris may eventually have the better career, but come on. Lance Mehl, baby. He was great. Buttle didn't exactly suck, either.
There are rare occasions these days when I wish I was about ten years older than I am, but reading this prompts one of them.
I think they were great, but I think the team of Pace, Harris and Scott will be better plus hopefully Gholston and Thomas can produce big games.
I won't fully get into all that. That's for another thread and another day. I have to comment on two of your selections, however. No offense, but you are way off with Shockey and Tupa. Gates and Lechler, respectively, are much better choices. I'm confident they will make the 2000 All Decade Team.
Tupa was a joke Cakes. I just made that list quick though. Gates hasn't been in the league as long though, but I guess you are right on him.
