Why is it that Jerry Rice is considered the greatest receiver of all time? Is it because he had the best quarterbacks? They were pretty good. Is it because he has the most natural-born talent? He has quite a bit of that, too. Or is it just because he wanted it more than everyone else? According to Rice, that’s the thing that separates him from a guy like Randy Moss.
As Pro Football Talk pointed out, Rice joined ESPN Radio Tuesday morning and shared some thoughts about the recently-retired Moss. Rice said he believes Moss could have been one of the greatest receivers in football history had he just tried harder.
“It was hard for me to swallow because I was not as talented and I had to work harder,” he said. “To see a guy with that much talent not give it 100 percent, it was almost like a little slap in the face. But Randy was Randy.
“He could have been one of the greatest if he had worked just a little bit harder. I don’t think he wanted to give it 100 percent. You never knew what you were going to get with Randy. Sometimes you’d get the unbelievable guy, the amazing guy. Other times you’d get the guy that took a couple plays off.”
For many of us, Rice is simply stating the obvious. Moss was accused of quitting when Matt Cassel took over for New England and has given up various times throughout his career. Members of the media have always criticized Moss for being a quitter, but it sounds a little better coming from the greatest receiver in NFL history. Moss had the tools to be even better than Rice, but he always lacked the heart.
