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Covering his greatness: who better to explain the dominance of Jerry Rice than the cornerbacks who tried and tried to stop him?

Sporting News, The, Sept 23, 2005 by Phil Barber

The roster of NFL cornerbacks changed over entirely between 1985 and 2004, the span of Jerry Rice's career. Even the seemingly ageless Darrell Green couldn't quite persist.

Back in 1985, the elite corners besides Green included Raymond Clayborn, Everson Wails, Mike Haynes and LeRoy Irvin. They gradually gave way to Deion Sanders, Eric Allen and Aeneas Williams, who gave way to Samari Rolle, Chris McAlister and Champ Bailey.

There were dozens of other notable corners, of course. And most of them had a single common trait: At one time or another, each was beaten by Jerry Rice, the greatest wide receiver--and perhaps the greatest player--in NFL history. He finally retired last week at 42, leaving the game with 1,549 catches for 22,895 yards and 197 touchdowns--all of them dwarfing the numbers of the next guy on each list.

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For most of Rice's career, cornerbacks rarely could get a handle on him. But no players are more qualified to cover his greatness.

Darrell Green (Redskins, 1983-2002)

I always talk about the four attributes I consider necessary to be a great wide receiver. No. 1 is speed, No. 2 is hands, No. 3 is heart and No. 4 is route running. If you score each attribute 1 to 10, there will be guys who score a 10 somewhere. Like Michael Irvin got a 10 for heart. You know, "Give me the ball!" Charlie Joiner got a 10 for route running. But somewhere along the line, they'd get a 5 somewhere. Jerry Rice may not have had a 10 on all of them. But he'd consistently score 8, 9 or 10. Compare the numbers across the board, and he was pretty superior.

I was proud to be able to compete with him. It's like when people used to laugh at Gerald Wilkins because he'd try to take on Michael Jordan. I used to tell people, "The greatest thing was that he had the opportunity to take on Michael Jordan." One time, he might block his shot. And if not, he was there. Well, I was there. I was there to compete with Jerry Rice. It was a privilege.

Jerry Gray (Rams, Oilers, Bucs, 1985-93)

Jerry didn't look like the fastest guy, but when the ball was in the air, he was. That was the most deceiving thing as a defensive back. You could run beside him, but when the ball went into the air, he'd get by you. You look at guys like Randy Moss--they're really fast. You know they can run. Rice, his 40-yard time said 4.6 seconds, and you'd think, "That's nothing special." But he would run like Randy Moss when the ball was in the air. And he was pretty much never caught from behind. To me, that's rarer than a guy who can flat-out run.

He never took a lazy step on the football field, even blocking on cutback runs. Good players don't take lazy steps. That's why you put guys like Jerry in the Hall of Fame.

Tim McKyer (49ers, Dolphins, Falcons, Lions, Steelers, Panthers, Broncos, 1986-97)

It was his ability to finish the play that separated him from most receivers. He'd go up and make a one-handed catch, or he'd catch the ball in a crowd, catch balls across the middle--it didn't matter. There were faster guys in the league, but his ability to finish plays and run routes set him apart.

Eric Davis (49ers, Panthers, Lions, 1990-2002)

There was no wasted motion with him. It was hard to get someone to understand what it was like to cover Jerry Rice until you actually did it. You'd watch the film and say, "He doesn't seem to be running that fast," or, "He isn't running that route any differently from anyone else." But on the field, face to face, that was exactly the problem. He didn't run anything any differently. They all looked the same--a 10-yard out, a 10-yard in or when he'd run right by you.

When I was in Carolina, if there was a younger corner who would be covering Jerry, I would mess with the guy. I'd get a bucket, put it next to his locker and say, "Go ahead and throw up now. It'll be embarrassing if you do it on the field." I'd mess with him all week.

Toward the end, he lost some explosion in his breaks. But his level was so much higher at the position, he could take a step backward and still be better than most.

In the end, Jerry is the guy to measure everyone against. You talk about a receiver's hands, his route running, his quickness, his smarts--you have to measure it against Jerry. And the record book states that.

Covering his greatness: who better to explain the dominance of Jerry Rice than the cornerbacks who tried and tried to stop him?

Sporting News, The, Sept 23, 2005 by Phil Barber

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