Don’t be hating…
Don’t be hating…
I’m going to show you a stat line:
190 games played- 1,102 catches-14,580 yards-128 touchdowns
I’m going to break it down even further:
16 games played- 93 receptions-1,225 yard-11 touchdowns per season.
Who do these numbers belong to? Do they belong to Randy Moss? Terrell Owens? Calvin Johnson? Antonio Brown? No. They’re too small to be Jerry Rice’s numbers and too large to be Don Hutson’s. They don’t belong to Steve Largent, Cris Carter or Michael Irvin either. So who does that leave? It leaves the most disrespected and underrated football player of all time if you ask me.
They belong to Marvin Harrison.
Now, to the lover of American Football, I’m sure we can agree that Marvin Harrison is one of the greatest receivers of all time. He has the numbers, the accolades and even the Super Bowl ring that so many great receivers are without.
Yet, when I speak to the average consumer of what was America’s toughest sport, they seem confused and angry when I suggest Marvin Harrison might be the best receiver ever. The argument they use is that Peyton Manning was throwing him the ball for most of his career. While this is true, I find this to be a stupid and baseless argument.
Let’s not forget that Marvin Harrison was a Colt for two seasons before Peyton came to town and in that time, put up decent numbers. He caught 14 touchdowns for a team that sucked worse than the Cardinals did this year. Also, it’s not like Peyton Manning was Peyton Manning from the gecko.
It took time and development for Manning to grow into what he is today. So much of that process had to do with having someone like Marvin Harrison to throw the ball to. Take Harrison out of the equation and who’s Peyton throwing to? Aaron Bailey? Freddie Scott? Torrance Small and Marcus Pollard? Not exactly the best options for a rookie QB.
It also leads to wonder how Ryan Leaf’s career would’ve been different had the Colts selected him instead of Peyton. I’m glad they didn’t because there’s no better duo than Manning to Marvin. I still look at the man’s 2002 season and wonder how he pulled it off. He snagged 143 catches for 1,722 yards and 11 touchdowns. I mean, gol-ly.
Marvin Harrison stood at just 6’0 and 185 pounds but the guy was the best receiver in Football for a good 7-8 year stretch. The consistency, the way he caught the balls and the way he was there for one of the games greatest offenses put him into the Hall of Fame. I’m saying that he led the league in receptions, yards, and touchdowns so that puts him into that very rare circle of truly great receivers. So many disagree with me and I don’t understand why.
Is it because he didn’t have the lanky super hops of Randy Moss or the nasty muscle of Terrell Owens? Is it because he didn’t have the little speed of Steve Smith or the funny producer that was Chad Ocho-cinco? Are we really going to use the fact that Peyton Manning was throwing him the ball against him? All right, let’s take away that 23-touchdown season by Moss and that ’98 season by T.O. because Steve Young and Brady were the QBs there. It’s the same thing.
The league has evolved into a passing game but Marvin Harrison joined elite clubs at a time when the game was still evolving into that. By the time he retired, only Jerry Rice finished with more receptions. Marvin Harrison was second only to Jerry Rice but not even Jerry Rice could touch Marvin’s eight straight double-digit seasons.
So why doesn’t Marvin get the recognition he deserves? I don’t know. Maybe it’s because he played during the era of big receivers with big egos. Fans like players who are flashy. TO, Randy Moss, Chad Johnson, they all did things with more pizazz than Marvin did. Marvin was simple. Make the play and move on.
People will point to him “only” having two receiving touchdowns throughout his playoff career. That might be another part of it. So are we going to gloss over his contributions to win a championship? Can Randy Moss or TO claim to have done such a thing? No.
Another reason might be that compared to other receivers, Harrison’s career was on the brief side. When talking about Moss, Rice, and Owens, that’s around a combined 50 total seasons or 16 for each. Harrison played twelve but was amongst the elite right up until the tail end. Some receivers died off but Marvin Harrison went at the right time.
There’s also the fact that the Colts, and Peyton Manning, continued to have great success without him. Marvin Harrison got lost in the rise of Reggie Wayne and the Colts trip to the Superbowl in 2009. Peyton continued his mammoth success in Denver while Harrison got himself into some trouble around the end of his career.
He also narrowly escaped death in 2014 and was recorded holding a bat in 2018 but I don’t know the specifics of that. It appears that some in the world look at Harrison as more of a gangster than an NFL legend. Does holding a bat make one a criminal? Then all of Cooperstown is guilty!
It doesn’t matter. In my eyes, Marvin Harrison is among the top three receivers of all time. His numbers, his ring, his eight postseason all-star teams. What else needs to be said? Yes, Peyton Manning was throwing him the ball. Who was throwing Jerry Rice the ball? That’s right, to hell with that argument.
A great receiver is a great receiver and that’s Marvin Harrison. When only Jerry Rice stands between you and NFL history, that’s saying a lot. I wish more people would learn and embrace the greatness Marvin Harrison brought to the table. Peyton might not have a ring without him and wouldn’t have been the same without him either.
So stop disrespecting Marvin.
-By: Thomas P. Braun Jr.