In Sports Illustrated's recent ranking of the top 500 NFL players, Peter King ranked Marvin Harrison 42nd and said that he's "slipping a bit and not as physical."
Two problems:
1. Harrison finished with 95 receptions for the Colts last year, third in the NFL, and also had 1,366 receiving yards, 2nd in the NFL.
2. Steve Smith was ranked 22nd on King's list, and had 83 receptions last season, tied for 14th in the League. Smith had 1,166 yards receiving for the Panthers, who always seem to have "experts" on television predicting them to make a Superbowl run. (And who won Superbowl XLI? Just thought I'd bring it up.) The last time that happened, as predicted by the ESPN football "gurus" in 2006, the Panthers finished 8-8, 2nd in the weak NFC South, while Harrison's Colts cruised to a 12-4 finish and won the Superbowl.
King notes that Smith is "Still the NFL's most complete receiver." Over the last 5 seasons, Harrison has caught 500 balls, and has had 6,619 yards receiving. Smith has caught 334 balls for 4,771 yards in the last five seasons. Harrison has had touchdown totals in the double digits in each of those years, while Smith has had just one double-digit touchdown total in his whole career.
Yes, Harrison has played for 5 years longer than Smith, but you can't say that Smith is "still" the most complete receiver in the NFL when Harrison has been the most complete wideout in the League for each year that Smith has played in the NFL. Harrison has averaged 102 receptions a year and 1,357 yards receiving a year since Smith entered the League in 2001. Smith has averaged 57 receptions and 821 receiving yards since entering the NFL. Smith is still one of the NFL's top 10 wideouts, but it's a stretch to say that he's number one.
Also worth mentioning is Torry Holt's ranking of 24th in King's top 500 list. Holt had 93 receptions in '06 along with 1,188 receiving yards, very similar with Harrison's stats. Both are getting along in years, so there is no apparent reason why King felt like mentioning that Harrison is 35 and that Holt, 31, is the "NFL's A-rod: 289 catches since '04." Harrison has had 263 receptions since '04, not much lower than Holt. May I remind you, Harrison had an NFL record 143 receptions in '02.
Comparing Harrison's ranking to Holt's and Smith's rankings, Harrison should be around 30th or better.
Esti Ginzberg
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Comments (6) Add A Comment
Marvin Harrison is STILL the best receiver in the NFL. He is 34, and he was only 3 YARDS away from leading the NFL in yards. Harrison will go down as the 2nd best ALL-TIME behind Jerry Rice.
Keysta
Haverford , PA
Total Comments (221)
Peter King is a clown. He knows as much about football as Mark May. And that's saying something
Good blog.
IrishR#1
Total Comments (8517)
Harrison is no doubt "AT LEAST" top 3 WR in the NFL
Good blog.
Denis24
Total Comments (2679)
I guess if that is slipping, a lot of players out there would like to slip.
He shares receptions with another 1300+ receiver.
Three very capable TEs
A RB with good hands.
I love having him on my fav team.
DC#44
Total Comments (1274)
i like it Harrison all the way
A* shizzle* BS
Pakistan, AZ
Total Comments (881)
i must of sent u guys all the link to your own blogs, i meant to send the link to this blog-sorry
OrangeFan
The 'Cuse, NY
Total Comments (161)
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