You probably know that Jerry Rice gained 1,139 receiving yards at age 39 with the Raiders in 2001, easily the most of any player at age 39. Only two other wide receivers (Charlie Joiner, 440 yards; Joey Galloway, 173 yards) gained any yards at all at age 39.

You probably know that the next year was Rice’s most remarkable feat. Nobody in NFL history other than Rice gained any yards at age 40 or later, but that year, Rice gained 1,211 yards in Oakland in 2002.

You probably also know that Rice didn’t stop there: he gained 869 yards in 2003 at the age of 41.

And you know that Rice also played at age 42, where he gained 429 yards.  By way of reference, Larry Fitzgerald will be 42 in 2025, by which point in time he may already have been in Canton for a year.

So yes, Rice gained more receiving yards at age 39, 40, 41, and 42 than anyone else in NFL history.  But you probably already knew that.  But did you know that three other times Rice gained more yards than anyone else at any age in NFL history?

Rice gained 1,499 yards in 1994 at age 32, the most in NFL history.  In fact, 1499 yards remains the most by by any player not named Rice at age 32 or older.

Rice then gained a whopping 1,848 receiving yards in 1995, at 33 years old, at the time an NFL record and still the most yards by any player older than 27 years of age.

Oh, and at 36, Rice picked up 1,157 receiving yards, the most of any player at that age, too.

So the single-season record holders in receiving yards at age 32, 33, 36, 39, 40, 41, and 42 are all Rice.

Only two other players hold the record for most receiving yards at age X for two different ages (no other player has done it for three).  Can you name them?  While you think about that, the graph below shows the receiving yards leaders by age:

[continue reading…]

Over the last three seasons, Calvin Johnson has caught 5,137 yards of passes. That’s an incredible amount, and the most by a player over any three-year span in NFL history. That stat by itself isn’t proof of Johnson’s greatness – after all, Detroit has thrown 2,040 passes over the last three years, also the most in any three-year span in football history. But records are not just about greatness: records are a function of era, teammates, and many more elements than pure ability.

So can Calvin Johnson break Jerry Rice’s career receiving yards record? The odds are very long that Johnson will go down in history as a better receiver than Rice, but his odds at breaking his receiving yards record – almost by definition – are a little higher. The man known as Megatron has 9,328 career receiving yards, the third most of any player through his age 28 season. That gives him a 1,462-yard lead on Rice at this age, although Johnson will have to keep up his outstanding pace for a very long time if he wants to capture the record. As the graph below shows, Johnson has had an edge on Rice in career receiving yards through every age of his career to date, but it was Rice’s work in his thirties that separated the GOAT from the pack: [continue reading…]

In his seven-year career, Calvin Johnson has already recorded 9,328 receiving yards. And for those curious about these sorts of things, he’s the career leader in receiving yards per game at 88.0, too. But Johnson has also benefited greatly from playing on teams that have thrown a weighted average of 635 pass attempts per season.

What is a weighted average of team pass attempts? I’m defining it as an average of pass attempts per season weighted by the number of receiving yards by that player. Why use that instead of a simple average? When thinking about whether a receiver played for a run-heavy or pass-happy team, we tend to think of that receiver during his peak years. If he caught 10 passes for 150 yards as a rookie on a very pass-happy team, that should not be given the same weight as the number of pass attempts his team produced in his best season. For example, here is how I derived the 635 attempt number for Megatron.

Twenty-one percent of his career receiving yards came in 2012, when Detroit passed 740 times (excluding sacks). Therefore, 21% of his team pass attempts average comes from that season, while 18% comes from his 2011 season, 16% from his 2013 season, and so on. In the table below, the far right column shows how we get to that 635 figure: by multiplying in each season the percentage of career receiving yards recorded by him in that season by Detroit’s Team Pass Attempts.

There are 121 players with 7,000 career receiving yards. Unsurprisingly, Johnson has the highest weighted average number of team pass attempts, which must be recognized when fawning over his great raw totals. Marques Colston is just a hair behind Johnson, but no other player has an average of 600+ team pass attempts.

The table below contains data for all 121 players (by default, the table displays only the top 25, but you can change that). Here’s how to read it, starting with the GOAT: Jerry Rice ranks first in career receiving yards, and he played from 1985 to 2004. Rice played in 303 games, gained 22,895 receiving yards, and his teams threw a weighted average of 547 passes per season. Among these 121 players, that rank Rice as playing for the 25th highest or most pass-happy team. Rice also averaged 76 receiving yards per game, which ranks 5th among this group. [continue reading…]

If you play with enough filters of the “my dad can beat up your sister” variety, you can get some pretty counter-intuitive results. For example, Jerry Rice and DeSean Jackson are the only two players in NFL history to catch 350 passes, gain 6,000 receiving yards, and average 17.1 yards per reception through their first six seasons. Here’s proof.

Here’s another one: Jerry Rice and Brett Favre are the only two players to ever catch a pass after turning 40 years old.

Like touchdowns? Rice and Cris Carter are the only two players to catch 35+ touchdowns from inside of five yards.

And one more: Jerry Rice and Doug Flutie are the only two players to ever score a touchdown after turning 42 years old.

But putting Rice in a group with Hall of Famer (or future Hall of Famer) isn’t very fun, and even Flutie and Jackson are good enough players that the trivia isn’t shocking. Hence today’s post: I want to see who can come up with the worst player to be in a bit of Rice trivia along these same lines. I will defer to mob rule to select a winning entry.

The rules:

1) The trivia must take this form: “Jerry Rice and [___] are the only two players…”

2) Everyone must be eligible, so no restrictions based on team. So it can’t be “Rice and Terrell Owens were the only two 49ers to… or “Rice and Deacon Jones are the only two players from Mississippi Valley State to….”. However, a “Rice and [__] are the only two players to [________] for two or more teams would be acceptable. Make sense? If not, hey, give it a shot and maybe the crowds will approve.

Fire away, and remember, the PFR play index is your friend. Multiple entries are not just permitted, but encouraged.

In November, I noted that Chris Johnson was the career leader in average length of rushing touchdown. Since then, he’s actually dropped to number two, as his six rushing touchdowns covered “only” 84 yards in November and December. But what about the career leader in average length of receiving touchdown?

That title belongs to former Giants wide receiver Homer Jones.  A star in the late ’60s, 19 of Jones’ 36 career touchdowns went for 50 or more yards. The table below shows all 413 players to record at least 35 receiving touchdowns (including the postseason) from 1940 to 2013.  While Jones leads in average touchdown length, I think it makes more sense to sort the list by median touchdown length, although that doesn’t matter much for Jones.  For each player listed, I’ve included both their average and median touchdown length, the years they played, and a best guess at their primary position.  The table by default shows 50 entries, but you can change that; in addition, the table is fully sortable and searchable. [continue reading…]

On its own, this week five game against San Francisco doesn’t stand out as anything special. The 0-4 Rams were traveling to San Francisco with Jamie Martin at quarterback, who led the team to just 10 points the previous week in Dallas after Kurt Warner broke his pinky finger. The 49ers were coming off of a bye week, and would send Jeff Garcia and Terrell Owens to the Pro Bowl, while Garrison Hearst and Kevan Barlow led a top-six ground game. San Francisco should have, and did, win convincingly.

The reason that’s a notable game is precisely because the 49ers were six-point favorites. That marked the first time since week 2, 1999 — when the Rams had not yet been recognized as the Greatest Show on Turf — that St. Louis was not favored to win a game. For the final 14 regular season games and the three playoff games in 1999, all seventeen games in 2000, all 19 games in 2001, and the first four games in 2002 — a stretch of 57 straight games — the Rams took the field as favorites. That’s the longest streak since 1978, and perhaps ever. And I’m not sure if this makes that fact more of less impressive, but all things considered, the Rams’ record wasn’t that great during the stretch. Part of the reason for the streak was that St. Louis generally had a weak schedule those years, but continually being favored to win games without a great record is an interesting (and rare) sign of respect.

[continue reading…]

On Wednesday, I looked at the players who threw for the most yards and touchdowns against each franchise. Yesterday, I did the same with rushing statistics. Today we will close out the series with a look at the key receiving stats.

Let’s again start with some trivia.

Which player has the most career receptions against one franchise?

What about the most receiving yards?

And finally, any guesses as to the most receiving touchdowns?

Now that the most obvious trivia of the day is out of the way, let’s get to the career lists. Let’s start with the career receptions list.
[continue reading…]

Jerry Rice’s records are essentially unbreakable. Over a marvelous twenty-year career, Rice caught 41 more touchdowns than Randy Moss, 44 more than Terrell Owens, and 67 more than every player other than Moss and Owens. He also holds the overall touchdowns mark, with 33 more touchdowns than Emmitt Smith, 46 more than LaDainian Tomlinson, and over 50 touchdowns more than every other player in NFL history. If you check the NFL records books, no player has finished his career with more than 16,000 receiving yards and fewer than 22,895 receiving yards: that’s how wide the gulf is between @JerryRice and the rest of the great wide receivers.

But there is one record that possibly, maybe, hey you never know could be broken. Jerry Rice is the career leader with 1,549 receptions. For some perspective, Steve Largent was the first player to reach the 800 receptions mark, and Art Monk passed Largent in 1992. Rice caught the still-active Monk in the final game of the 1995 regular season. Monk would retire after the season with 940 catches to his name; as he laced up his cleats for the last time, he was the career leader in receptions. When he came off the field that day, he had been relegated to number two. That’s because 700 miles away, Rice caught 12 passes against the Falcons, bringing his career total up to 942. Oh, and Rice also set the single-season record for receiving yards that day, too. Rice turned 34 in 1996; up until that point, only Charlie Joiner (325) had recorded more than 300 receptions after his age 33 season. Even though Rice missed nearly the entire 1997 season due to injury, he still caught 607 passes after 1995. Which is why we always assumed this record was unbreakable.

However, as teams began passing more frequently (and more conservatively) than ever before, some modern receivers have compiled massive receptions totals. Did you know that Tony Gonzalez is number two all-time in career receptions? With 1,242 catches, Gonzalez has a 140-catch lead on #3 man Marvin Harrison, but Gonzalez still trails Jerry Rice by 307 catches.

But what about Gonzalez’ statistical doppelganger, Jason Witten? Four years ago, I wrote that Witten was going to find himself in the Hall of Fame because of his massive numbers:

Jason Witten entered the NFL at age 21. That’s very young for a player at any position, let alone tight end. So how has he done?

• Through age 21, he had more receptions than any other tight end through age 21, and was second in receiving yards (Tony Gonzalez).

• Through age 22, he had more receptions and receiving yards than any other tight end.

• Through age 23, he had more receptions and receiving yards than any other tight end.

• Through age 24, he was second in receptions (Tony Gonzalez) and second in receiving yards (Gonzalez) among tight ends.

• Through age 25, he had more receptions and receiving yards than any other tight end.

• Through age 26 (the 2008 season), he had more receptions and receiving yards than any other tight end.

• With 40 receptions and 472 receiving yards in 2009, he will have more receptions and more receiving yards than any other tight end through the age of twenty-seven.

Witten hasn’t slowed down since I wrote that article. With 806 receptions, he has the most catches of any player through age 30 in history (although Larry Fitzgerald should catch him next year). I thought it would be interesting to chart the career receptions totals of Rice, Witten, and Gonzalez. The graph below shows the career receptions of each player at the end of each season, with age on the X-axis and career receptions on the Y-axis. Witten is in Cowboys blue and silver; unfortunately Chiefs fans, I chose to reserve red and gold for Rice, leaving Gonzalez in Falcons black and red.

Even now, Gonzalez has a lead on Rice, and he’ll be 36 catches ahead of Rice after 2013 even if he doesn’t catch a single pass. Of course, Rice went (literally) off the chart in his final years, making it essentially impossible for Gonzalez to catch him.

But Witten has basically had the same career as Gonzalez but with an even larger buffer against Rice. Witten’s lead on Gonzalez grew significantly this year thanks to a 110-catch season at age 30 (the year Gonzalez had just 73 catches), but ages 31 to 33 were ridiculous years for both Gonzalez and Rice. The odds are very much against Witten getting to 1,549 catches, but becoming the second player to hit the 1400-catch mark is a realistic (and incredibly impressive) goal.

The left columns in the table below shows the number of career receptions through each age for each of Rice, Gonzalez, and Witten. The right three columns show the number of catches by each player at each age.

Witten has a nearly 200-catch lead on Rice through age thirty. If we assume Witten can stay healthy in each of the next five years, he’ll get an even bigger buffer when he hits age 35. If we give Witten 351 catches over the next five years, he’ll be at 1157, giving him a 100-catch lead on Rice. Based on what Rice did after age 35, that’s not going to be anywhere near enough. If Witten wants a realistic shot, he’s going to need to keep pumping out 90-100 catch seasons for the next four years, at least. In any event, Witten will be able to keep this dream up for awhile: he needs just 38 catches in 2013 to end the year with the most receptions of any player through age thirty-one.

I was planning on ignoring the latest Randy Moss news, using that word liberally as it applies to things said on media day. In case you missed it, Moss said yesterday that he believes he is the greatest receiver of all time. Moss is an obvious future Hall of Famer, but Jason Lisk gave Moss’ comments the appropriate treatment yesterday.

Today, though, Moss upped the ante by noting that “Jerry Rice had two Hall of Fame QBs his whole career. Give me that and see where my numbers are.” Yes, Rice was fortunate to play with Joe Montana and Steve Young, , but there is a pretty simple response to that. I wrote that response when Rice was a finalist for the Hall of Fame three years ago. You can read the full HOF profile I wrote on Rice, but I’ve reprinted Part III below:
[continue reading…]

Last weekend, I looked at career rushing stats in wins and losses, and yesterday, I did the same for quarterbacks. Today we will check out the splits for receivers.

I looked at all games, including playoffs, from 1960 to 2011, for all players with at least 4,000 receiving yards over that time period. The table below lists the following information for each player:

– His first year (or 1960, if he played before 1960) and his last year (or 2011, if still active)
– All the franchises he played for (which you can search for in the search box)
– His number of career wins, and his career receptions, receiving yards, yards per reception, and receiving yards per game in wins
– His number of career losses, and his career receptions, receiving yards, yards per reception, and receiving yards per game in losses

You might be surprised to see Andre Johnson at the top of the list, but his career average should decline the longer he plays; that said, 2012 didn’t drop his numbers. On the flip side, Calvin Johnson moves up into the #2 slot; part of that was due to a great season (although Detroit didn’t get many wins) and part of that was due to Randy Moss slipping. Larry Fitzgerald comes up high on the list for the same reason as both Johnsons, although it’s often easy to forget how great Fitzgerald can be thanks to his current situation.

The table is sorted by receiving yards per game in wins:

Rk	Player	Years	Teams	Pos	Win	Rec_W	Yd_W	YPR_W	Y/G_W	Loss	Rec_L	Yd_L	YPR_L	Y/G_L
1	Andre Johnson	2003--2011	htx	WR	52	325	4739	14.58	91.1	72	394	5118	12.99	71.1
2	Randy Moss	1998--2010	min-rai-nwe-oti	WR	114	597	9960	16.68	87.4	93	404	5763	14.26	62
3	Michael Irvin	1988--1999	dal	WR	106	560	9133	16.31	86.2	62	277	4086	14.75	65.9
4	Larry Fitzgerald	2004--2011	crd	WR	59	352	5021	14.26	85.1	71	383	5299	13.84	74.6
5	Calvin Johnson	2007--2011	det	WR	23	113	1929	17.07	83.9	54	265	4154	15.68	76.9
6	Lance Alworth	1962--1972	sdg-dal	FL-WR	83	360	6872	19.09	82.8	42	172	3094	17.99	73.7
7	Jerry Rice	1985--2004	sfo-rai-sea	WR	207	1099	16909	15.39	81.7	118	598	8173	13.67	69.3
8	Art Powell	1960--1968	nyj-rai-buf-min	SE-WR	51	244	4160	17.05	81.6	45	215	3477	16.17	77.3
9	Jimmy Smith	1995--2005	jax	WR	96	512	7829	15.29	81.6	80	390	5105	13.09	63.8
10	Torry Holt	1999--2009	ram-jax	WR	93	486	7416	15.26	79.7	89	481	6596	13.71	74.1
11	Charley Hennigan	1960--1966	oti	WR	44	209	3501	16.75	79.6	40	201	3213	15.99	80.3
12	Steve Smith	2001--2011	car	WR	75	390	5898	15.12	78.6	84	356	5162	14.5	61.5
13	Del Shofner	1960--1967	ram-nyg	E	41	165	3213	19.47	78.4	31	86	1224	14.23	39.5
14	Dwayne Bowe	2007--2011	kan	WR	25	118	1948	16.51	77.9	49	238	2979	12.52	60.8
15	Don Maynard	1960--1973	nyj-crd	WR-HB	79	298	6150	20.64	77.8	76	305	5091	16.69	67
16	Terrell Owens	1996--2010	sfo-phi-dal-buf-cin	WR	131	655	10127	15.46	77.3	95	477	6558	13.75	69
17	Marvin Harrison	1996--2008	clt	WR	125	723	9649	13.35	77.2	81	444	5814	13.09	71.8
18	Sterling Sharpe	1988--1994	gnb	WR	52	292	3937	13.48	75.7	62	314	4426	14.1	71.4
19	DeSean Jackson	2008--2011	phi	WR	39	149	2934	19.69	75.2	25	93	1364	14.67	54.6
20	Wesley Walker	1977--1989	nyj	WR	73	272	5485	20.17	75.1	71	185	3195	17.27	45
21	Herman Moore	1991--2001	det	WR	63	314	4712	15.01	74.8	77	383	4936	12.89	64.1
22	Charlie Brown	1982--1987	was-atl	WR	42	177	3134	17.71	74.6	21	71	1014	14.28	48.3
23	Sonny Randle	1960--1968	crd-sfo-dal	E-WR	45	178	3330	18.71	74	45	155	2187	14.11	48.6
24	Greg Jennings	2006--2011	gnb	WR	61	279	4493	16.1	73.7	34	151	2243	14.85	66
25	Reggie Wayne	2001--2011	clt	WR	122	639	8938	13.99	73.3	63	306	3898	12.74	61.9
26	John Jefferson	1978--1985	sdg-gnb-cle	WR	54	238	3953	16.61	73.2	44	131	2091	15.96	47.5
27	Terry Glenn	1996--2007	nwe-gnb-dal	WR	79	379	5686	15	72	61	246	3574	14.53	58.6
28	Darnay Scott	1994--2002	cin-dal	WR	40	171	2852	16.68	71.3	77	237	3341	14.1	43.4
29	Buddy Dial	1960--1966	pit-dal	SE-FL	35	112	2494	22.27	71.3	31	110	2050	18.64	66.1
30	Isaac Bruce	1994--2009	ram-sfo	WR	114	529	8119	15.35	71.2	110	539	7848	14.56	71.3
31	Gary Clark	1985--1995	was-crd-mia	WR	107	484	7609	15.72	71.1	66	273	4073	14.92	61.7
32	Carl Pickens	1992--2000	cin-oti	WR	39	212	2746	12.95	70.4	84	328	4383	13.36	52.2
33	Homer Jones	1964--1970	nyg-cle	SE-WR	32	91	2240	24.62	70	47	131	2573	19.64	54.7
34	Marques Colston	2006--2011	nor	WR	61	313	4260	13.61	69.8	32	181	2608	14.41	81.5
35	Cris Carter	1987--2002	phi-min-mia	WR	132	701	9185	13.1	69.6	101	463	5584	12.06	55.3
36	Al Toon	1985--1992	nyj	WR	48	251	3336	13.29	69.5	58	287	3551	12.37	61.2
37	Anquan Boldin	2003--2011	crd-rav	WR	65	332	4482	13.5	69	67	405	5188	12.81	77.4
38	Pete Retzlaff	1960--1966	phi	WR-TE	42	155	2889	18.64	68.8	42	181	2807	15.51	66.8
39	Chad Ochocinco	2001--2011	cin-nwe	WR	74	350	5084	14.53	68.7	89	419	6049	14.44	68
40	Steve Largent	1976--1989	sea	WR	99	419	6797	16.22	68.7	106	423	6726	15.9	63.5
41	Raymond Berry	1960--1967	clt	E	57	263	3911	14.87	68.6	32	149	1978	13.28	61.8
42	Gary Garrison	1966--1977	sdg-oti	WR-SE	55	192	3764	19.6	68.4	63	201	3557	17.7	56.5
43	Darrell Jackson	2000--2008	sea-sfo-den	WR	61	282	4147	14.71	68	63	258	3488	13.52	55.4
44	Mike Quick	1982--1990	phi	WR	39	142	2645	18.63	67.8	57	216	3664	16.96	64.3
45	James Lofton	1978--1993	gnb-rai-buf-ram-phi	WR	109	395	7387	18.7	67.8	115	402	7254	18.04	63.1
46	Rob Moore	1990--1999	nyj-crd	WR	59	269	3998	14.86	67.8	94	374	5572	14.9	59.3
47	Fred Barnett	1990--1997	phi-mia	WR	59	243	3977	16.37	67.4	38	136	1668	12.26	43.9
48	Kellen Winslow	1979--1987	sdg	TE	58	320	3908	12.21	67.4	55	249	3213	12.9	58.4
49	George Sauer	1965--1970	nyj	SE-WR	45	172	3019	17.55	67.1	30	137	1977	14.43	65.9
50	Joe Horn	1996--2007	kan-nor-atl	WR	71	319	4739	14.86	66.7	77	285	4055	14.23	52.7
51	Otis Taylor	1965--1974	kan	WR-FL	75	265	4985	18.81	66.5	41	146	2323	15.91	56.7
52	Mark Duper	1983--1992	mia	WR	88	324	5839	18.02	66.4	55	219	3625	16.55	65.9
53	Bob Hayes	1965--1975	dal-sfo	SE-WR	87	268	5679	21.19	65.3	41	126	2128	16.89	51.9
54	Steve Watson	1979--1987	den	WR	63	223	4112	18.44	65.3	39	147	2314	15.74	59.3
55	Roddy White	2005--2011	atl	WR	62	296	4032	13.62	65	53	256	3535	13.81	66.7
56	Rod Smith	1995--2006	den	WR	121	575	7865	13.68	65	64	323	4384	13.57	68.5
57	Flipper Anderson	1988--1995	ram-clt	WR	34	99	2204	22.26	64.8	58	175	3323	18.99	57.3
58	Eddie Brown	1985--1991	cin	WR	53	175	3431	19.61	64.7	51	197	2802	14.22	54.9
59	Wes Welker	2004--2011	sdg-mia-nwe	WR	86	509	5554	10.91	64.6	45	194	2110	10.88	46.9
60	Derrick Alexander	1994--2002	cle-rav-kan-min	WR	48	167	3092	18.51	64.4	69	251	3909	15.57	56.7
61	Andre Reed	1985--2000	buf-was	WR	134	599	8621	14.39	64.3	106	437	5806	13.29	54.8
62	Antonio Gates	2003--2011	sdg	TE	80	375	5124	13.66	64.1	53	257	3108	12.09	58.6
63	Wes Chandler	1978--1988	nor-sdg-sfo	WR	61	234	3894	16.64	63.8	84	348	5419	15.57	64.5
64	Anthony Miller	1988--1997	sdg-den-dal	WR	71	272	4512	16.59	63.5	82	332	4773	14.38	58.2
65	Al Denson	1964--1971	den-min	WR-TE	25	89	1581	17.76	63.2	49	163	2608	16	53.2
66	Antonio Freeman	1995--2003	gnb-phi	WR	95	375	5978	15.94	62.9	41	155	2096	13.52	51.1
67	Lee Evans	2004--2011	buf-rav	WR	51	174	3203	18.41	62.8	67	211	2874	13.62	42.9
68	Plaxico Burress	2000--2011	pit-nyg-nyj	WR	95	385	5923	15.38	62.3	57	202	2969	14.7	52.1
69	Santana Moss	2001--2011	nyj-was	WR	74	285	4606	16.16	62.2	88	387	4963	12.82	56.4
70	Brandon Marshall	2006--2011	den-mia	WR	43	214	2676	12.5	62.2	48	280	3571	12.75	74.4
71	Keyshawn Johnson	1996--2006	nyj-tam-dal-car	WR	92	447	5691	12.73	61.9	82	406	5449	13.42	66.5
72	Joey Galloway	1995--2010	sea-dal-tam-nwe-was	WR	85	321	5205	16.21	61.2	107	393	5904	15.02	55.2
73	Muhsin Muhammad	1996--2009	car-chi	WR	105	477	6407	13.43	61	96	413	5589	13.53	58.2
74	Henry Ellard	1983--1998	ram-was-nwe	WR	99	343	6040	17.61	61	125	492	8079	16.42	64.6
75	Tommy McDonald	1960--1968	phi-dal-ram-atl-cle	WR-HB	49	166	2979	17.95	60.8	61	222	3493	15.73	57.3
76	Anthony Carter	1985--1995	min-det	WR	80	293	4853	16.56	60.7	62	233	3535	15.17	57
77	Art Monk	1980--1995	was-nyj-phi	WR	142	631	8609	13.64	60.6	95	378	5174	13.69	54.5
78	Red Phillips	1960--1967	ram-min	E	24	94	1455	15.48	60.6	53	214	3147	14.71	59.4
79	Roger Carr	1974--1983	clt-sea-sdg	WR	40	110	2425	22.05	60.6	60	163	2681	16.45	44.7
80	Paul Flatley	1963--1970	min-atl	WR-FL	34	117	2061	17.62	60.6	55	179	2742	15.32	49.9
81	David Boston	1999--2005	crd-sdg-mia	WR	27	109	1626	14.92	60.2	47	206	3073	14.92	65.4
82	Ernest Givins	1986--1995	oti-jax	WR	75	320	4516	14.11	60.2	80	311	4473	14.38	55.9
83	Dwight Clark	1979--1987	sfo	WR	81	343	4872	14.2	60.1	46	216	2648	12.26	57.6
84	Santonio Holmes	2006--2011	pit-nyj	WR	57	211	3425	16.23	60.1	38	152	2212	14.55	58.2
85	Paul Warfield	1964--1977	cle-mia	WR-SE	115	340	6892	20.27	59.9	47	132	2497	18.92	53.1
86	Laveranues Coles	2000--2009	nyj-was-cin	WR	71	323	4253	13.17	59.9	81	378	4638	12.27	57.3
87	Jimmy Orr	1960--1970	pit-clt	WR	73	219	4372	19.96	59.9	38	119	2119	17.81	55.8
88	Elbert Dubenion	1960--1967	buf	WR-HB	53	159	3172	19.95	59.8	42	127	2075	16.34	49.4
89	Ken Burrough	1970--1981	nor-oti	WR	67	222	3977	17.91	59.4	80	204	3230	15.83	40.4
90	Stephone Paige	1983--1991	kan	WR	57	180	3361	18.67	59	63	203	3089	15.22	49
91	Todd Christensen	1980--1988	rai	TE-FB	66	306	3888	12.71	58.9	41	186	2342	12.59	57.1
92	Louis Lipps	1984--1992	pit-nor	WR	48	169	2827	16.73	58.9	63	204	3376	16.55	53.6
93	Jeff Graham	1991--2001	pit-chi-nyj-phi-sdg	WR	57	222	3345	15.07	58.7	85	335	5064	15.12	59.6
94	Harold Jackson	1969--1983	phi-ram-nwe-min-sea	WR-FL	100	296	5864	19.81	58.6	84	292	4835	16.56	57.6
95	Tim Brown	1988--2004	rai-tam	WR	135	562	7907	14.07	58.6	127	577	7608	13.19	59.9
96	Tony Martin	1990--2001	mia-sdg-atl	WR	103	369	6031	16.34	58.6	76	267	3732	13.98	49.1
97	John Stallworth	1974--1987	pit	WR	103	361	6023	16.68	58.5	58	230	3687	16.03	63.6
98	Eric Martin	1985--1994	nor-kan	WR	85	315	4969	15.77	58.5	68	253	3396	13.42	49.9
99	Stanley Morgan	1977--1990	nwe-clt	WR	99	298	5787	19.42	58.5	86	278	5250	18.88	61
100	Alfred Jenkins	1975--1983	atl	WR	50	170	2903	17.08	58.1	60	196	3571	18.22	59.5
101	Jason Witten	2003--2011	dal	TE	77	381	4457	11.7	57.9	67	343	3745	10.92	55.9
102	Kellen Winslow Jr.	2004--2011	cle-tam	TE	34	153	1967	12.86	57.9	58	284	2869	10.1	49.5
103	Braylon Edwards	2005--2011	cle-nyj-sfo	WR	48	172	2759	16.04	57.5	57	184	2884	15.67	50.6
104	Cris Collinsworth	1981--1988	cin	WR	60	216	3446	15.95	57.4	48	222	3606	16.24	75.1
105	Gene A. Washington	1969--1979	sfo-det	WR-SE	60	178	3445	19.35	57.4	69	210	3535	16.83	51.2
106	John Gilliam	1967--1977	nor-crd-min-atl	WR-FL	69	206	3947	19.16	57.2	70	176	3017	17.14	43.1
107	Chris Burford	1960--1967	kan	SE-WR	52	205	2971	14.49	57.1	38	157	2292	14.6	60.3
108	Max McGee	1960--1967	gnb	E	57	177	3244	18.33	56.9	19	56	1067	19.05	56.2
109	Charlie Joiner	1969--1986	oti-cin-sdg	WR	114	404	6476	16.03	56.8	114	375	6132	16.35	53.8
110	Tony Hill	1977--1986	dal	WR	97	335	5508	16.44	56.8	46	190	3098	16.31	67.3
111	Bernie Casey	1961--1968	sfo-ram	FB-WR	45	162	2547	15.72	56.6	44	160	2331	14.57	53
112	Charley Taylor	1964--1977	was	WR-RB	87	341	4918	14.42	56.5	70	297	4071	13.71	58.2
113	Javon Walker	2002--2009	gnb-den-rai	WR	45	157	2537	16.16	56.4	38	123	1760	14.31	46.3
114	Jerry Butler	1979--1986	buf	WR	38	139	2139	15.39	56.3	47	146	2285	15.65	48.6
115	Carlos Carson	1980--1989	kan-phi	WR	50	147	2809	19.11	56.2	63	203	3444	16.97	54.7
116	Webster Slaughter	1986--1998	cle-oti-kan-nyj-sdg	WR	76	276	4265	15.45	56.1	84	314	4243	13.51	50.5
117	Hines Ward	1998--2011	pit	WR	145	684	8129	11.88	56.1	83	393	4996	12.71	60.2
118	Gail Cogdill	1960--1970	det-atl	SE-WR	54	172	3023	17.58	56	53	164	2431	14.82	45.9
119	Johnny Morris	1960--1967	chi	FL-HB	51	189	2847	15.06	55.8	37	141	1794	12.72	48.5
120	Chris Chambers	2001--2010	mia-sdg-kan	WR	74	273	4127	15.12	55.8	76	291	3928	13.5	51.7
121	Cliff Branch	1972--1984	rai	WR	129	401	7184	17.92	55.7	49	170	2739	16.11	55.9
122	Andre Rison	1989--2000	clt-atl-cle-jax-gnb-kan-rai	WR	92	361	5120	14.18	55.7	92	411	5500	13.38	59.8
123	Reggie Rucker	1970--1981	dal-nyg-nwe-cle	WR	70	235	3890	16.55	55.6	79	215	3234	15.04	40.9
124	Eddie Kennison	1996--2007	ram-nor-chi-den-kan	WR	75	245	4163	16.99	55.5	102	306	4232	13.83	41.5
125	Antonio Bryant	2002--2009	dal-cle-sfo-tam	WR	40	148	2217	14.98	55.4	64	225	3472	15.43	54.3
126	Donald Driver	1999--2011	gnb	WR	115	471	6368	13.52	55.4	76	313	4367	13.95	57.5
127	Marty Booker	1999--2009	chi-mia-atl	WR	57	242	3153	13.03	55.3	85	299	3568	11.93	42
128	Yancey Thigpen	1992--2000	pit-oti	WR	67	227	3701	16.3	55.2	33	121	1800	14.88	54.5
129	Tony Gonzalez	1997--2011	kan-atl	TE	122	562	6723	11.96	55.1	116	603	6772	11.23	58.4
130	Vance Johnson	1985--1995	den	WR	70	269	3856	14.33	55.1	51	183	2520	13.77	49.4
131	Curtis Conway	1993--2004	chi-sdg-nyj-sfo	WR	61	232	3359	14.48	55.1	97	369	4952	13.42	51.1
132	Roy Jefferson	1965--1976	pit-clt-was	WR-SE	78	251	4265	16.99	54.7	72	217	3494	16.1	48.5
133	Fred Biletnikoff	1965--1978	rai	WR-FL	136	475	7424	15.63	54.6	46	148	2137	14.44	46.5
134	Lionel Taylor	1960--1968	den-oti	WR	31	136	1691	12.43	54.5	71	405	5153	12.72	72.6
135	Vincent Jackson	2005--2011	sdg	WR	63	194	3429	17.68	54.4	33	107	1828	17.08	55.4
136	Jim Colclough	1960--1968	nwe	E	49	148	2666	18.01	54.4	45	112	1874	16.73	41.6
137	Carroll Dale	1960--1973	ram-gnb-min	WR-TE	91	245	4949	20.2	54.4	73	211	3660	17.35	50.1
138	Dave Parks	1964--1973	sfo-nor-oti	WR-TE	31	107	1681	15.71	54.2	67	215	3424	15.93	51.1
139	Shannon Sharpe	1990--2003	den-rav	TE	131	534	7100	13.3	54.2	69	343	3774	11	54.7
140	Ben Hawkins	1966--1973	phi	WR	28	75	1517	20.23	54.2	57	171	2945	17.22	51.7
141	Eric Moulds	1996--2007	buf-htx-oti	WR	89	344	4803	13.96	54	100	435	5512	12.67	55.1
142	Isaac Curtis	1973--1984	cin	WR	79	226	4263	18.86	54	75	203	3022	14.89	40.3
143	Brian Blades	1988--1998	sea	WR	66	268	3556	13.27	53.9	78	318	4142	13.03	53.1
144	Lynn Swann	1974--1982	pit	WR	94	302	5054	16.74	53.8	32	80	1300	16.25	40.6
145	Deion Branch	2002--2011	nwe-sea	WR	94	367	5048	13.75	53.7	51	197	2383	12.1	46.7
146	Sammy White	1976--1985	min	WR	68	211	3646	17.28	53.6	61	188	2893	15.39	47.4
147	Kevin House	1980--1987	tam-ram	WR	30	89	1608	18.07	53.6	70	218	3693	16.94	52.8
148	Haywood Jeffires	1987--1996	oti-nor	WR	65	272	3483	12.81	53.6	68	304	3364	11.07	49.5
149	Roy Green	1979--1992	crd-phi	WR	76	239	4066	17.01	53.5	104	318	4826	15.18	46.4
150	Ahmad Rashad	1972--1982	crd-buf-min	WR	71	271	3769	13.91	53.1	67	236	3295	13.96	49.2
151	Amani Toomer	1996--2008	nyg	WR	110	403	5831	14.47	53	89	307	4232	13.79	47.6
152	Bobby Mitchell	1960--1968	cle-was	WR-HB	52	175	2750	15.71	52.9	62	263	4192	15.94	67.6
153	Bill Brooks	1986--1996	clt-buf-was	WR	74	278	3910	14.06	52.8	85	332	4403	13.26	51.8
154	Harold Carmichael	1971--1984	phi-dal	WR-TE	82	279	4306	15.43	52.5	99	333	5001	15.02	50.5
155	Drew Pearson	1973--1983	dal	WR	121	391	6350	16.24	52.5	50	165	2577	15.62	51.5
156	Lance Rentzel	1965--1974	min-dal-ram	WR-FL	66	180	3458	19.21	52.4	42	94	1544	16.43	36.8
157	Irving Fryar	1984--2000	nwe-mia-phi-was	WR	119	398	6230	15.65	52.4	135	477	6845	14.35	50.7
158	Bert Emanuel	1994--2001	atl-tam-mia-nwe-det	WR	44	158	2300	14.56	52.3	52	202	2683	13.28	51.6
159	Keenan McCardell	1992--2007	cle-jax-tam-sdg-was	WR	123	495	6428	12.99	52.3	87	443	5567	12.57	64
160	Aaron Thomas	1961--1970	sfo-nyg	TE-SE	35	87	1828	21.01	52.2	55	170	2665	15.68	48.5
161	Mark Clayton	1983--1993	mia-gnb	WR	102	336	5303	15.78	52	65	278	4178	15.03	64.3
162	Jake Reed	1992--2002	min-nor	WR	72	251	3742	14.91	52	62	225	3666	16.29	59.1
163	Roy E. Williams	2004--2011	det-dal-chi	WR	46	161	2388	14.83	51.9	66	237	3386	14.29	51.3
164	Henry Marshall	1976--1987	kan	WR	58	188	2982	15.86	51.4	84	234	3635	15.53	43.3
165	John Taylor	1987--1995	sfo	WR	94	302	4825	15.98	51.3	35	91	1507	16.56	43.1
166	Ricky Sanders	1986--1995	was-atl	WR	80	286	4105	14.35	51.3	57	228	2889	12.67	50.7
167	Alvin Harper	1991--1997	dal-tam-was	WR	56	139	2871	20.65	51.3	29	76	1257	16.54	43.3
168	Frank Clarke	1960--1967	dal	E	37	112	1887	16.85	51	51	149	2959	19.86	58
169	Marcus Robinson	1998--2006	chi-rav-min	WR	47	160	2394	14.96	50.9	55	172	2441	14.19	44.4
170	T.J. Houshmandzadeh	2001--2011	cin-sea-rav-rai	WR	57	253	2893	11.43	50.8	81	370	4286	11.58	52.9
171	Drew Hill	1979--1993	ram-oti-atl	WR	103	334	5220	15.63	50.7	105	339	5152	15.2	49.1
172	Michael Jackson	1991--1998	cle-rav	WR	39	127	1969	15.5	50.5	62	234	3556	15.2	57.4
173	Willie Davis	1992--1998	kan-oti	WR	61	183	3073	16.79	50.4	44	119	1669	14.03	37.9
174	Boyd Dowler	1960--1971	gnb-was	FL-SE	102	324	5112	15.78	50.1	40	119	1600	13.45	40
175	Derrick Mason	1997--2011	oti-rav-nyj-htx	WR	141	542	7053	13.01	50	97	450	5609	12.46	57.8
176	Johnnie Morton	1994--2005	det-kan-sfo	WR	75	267	3746	14.03	49.9	97	368	5092	13.84	52.5
177	Mark Carrier	1987--1998	tam-cle-car	WR	64	212	3188	15.04	49.8	102	366	5668	15.49	55.6
178	Danny Abramowicz	1967--1974	nor-sfo	E	30	97	1494	15.4	49.8	74	255	3884	15.23	52.5
179	Wayne Chrebet	1995--2005	nyj	WR	69	263	3435	13.06	49.8	81	336	4199	12.5	51.8
180	Dave Kocourek	1960--1968	sdg-mia-rai	TE-FL	55	157	2727	17.37	49.6	37	98	1509	15.4	40.8
181	Ed McCaffrey	1991--2003	nyg-sfo-den	WR	106	380	5212	13.72	49.2	58	227	2764	12.18	47.7
182	Michael Westbrook	1995--2002	was-cin	WR	39	135	1914	14.18	49.1	42	144	2361	16.4	56.2
183	Lionel Manuel	1984--1990	nyg	WR	50	143	2444	17.09	48.9	33	103	1740	16.89	52.7
184	Gary Collins	1962--1971	cle	WR	80	240	3877	16.15	48.5	42	95	1497	15.76	35.6
185	Robert Brooks	1992--2000	gnb-den	WR	67	226	3244	14.35	48.4	36	128	1683	13.15	46.8
186	Frank Sanders	1995--2003	crd-rav	WR	48	178	2323	13.05	48.4	80	336	4528	13.48	56.6
187	Jerry Porter	2000--2008	rai-jax	WR	38	116	1839	15.85	48.4	62	197	2573	13.06	41.5
188	Mel Gray	1971--1982	crd	WR	65	167	3113	18.64	47.9	78	188	3545	18.86	45.4
189	Tim McGee	1986--1994	cin-was	WR	53	145	2526	17.42	47.7	69	183	2737	14.96	39.7
190	Frank Lewis	1971--1983	pit-buf	WR	86	229	4098	17.9	47.7	58	190	3114	16.39	53.7
191	Bernard Berrian	2004--2011	chi-min	WR	58	178	2761	15.51	47.6	52	143	1827	12.78	35.1
192	Sean Dawkins	1993--2001	clt-nor-sea-jax	WR	54	173	2566	14.83	47.5	78	290	3960	13.66	50.8
193	Willie Gault	1983--1993	chi-rai	WR	98	227	4653	20.5	47.5	58	127	2479	19.52	42.7
194	Dallas Clark	2003--2011	clt	TE	88	358	4175	11.66	47.4	36	133	1559	11.72	43.3
195	Jessie Hester	1985--1995	rai-atl-clt-ram	WR	49	133	2318	17.43	47.3	73	241	3548	14.72	48.6
196	Michael Haynes	1988--1997	atl-nor	WR	52	155	2459	15.86	47.3	81	280	4288	15.31	52.9
197	Haven Moses	1968--1981	buf-den	WR-SE	82	199	3856	19.38	47	90	253	4425	17.49	49.2
198	Jackie Smith	1963--1978	crd-dal	TE	84	226	3950	17.48	47	77	235	3696	15.73	48
199	Mark Jackson	1986--1994	den-nyg-clt	WR	74	205	3472	16.94	46.9	53	159	2491	15.67	47
200	Terance Mathis	1990--2002	nyj-atl-pit	WR	86	299	4002	13.38	46.5	114	419	5206	12.42	45.7
201	Bob Chandler	1971--1981	buf-rai	WR	48	145	2233	15.4	46.5	67	229	3058	13.35	45.6
202	Milt Morin	1966--1975	cle	TE	56	165	2599	15.75	46.4	46	117	1710	14.62	37.2
203	Reggie Langhorne	1985--1993	cle-clt	WR	63	205	2923	14.26	46.4	59	229	2874	12.55	48.7
204	Pat Tilley	1976--1986	crd	WR	61	189	2830	14.97	46.4	74	280	4186	14.95	56.6
205	John Mackey	1963--1972	clt-sdg	TE	89	253	4128	16.32	46.4	33	77	1133	14.71	34.3
206	Michael Timpson	1989--1997	nwe-chi-phi	WR	41	137	1900	13.87	46.3	61	164	2154	13.13	35.3
207	Bill Schroeder	1997--2004	gnb-det-tam	WR	50	150	2311	15.41	46.2	47	159	2342	14.73	49.8
208	Chris Cooley	2004--2011	was	TE	48	187	2211	11.82	46.1	60	252	2635	10.46	43.9
209	Brett Perriman	1988--1997	nor-det-kan-mia	WR	74	258	3390	13.14	45.8	72	294	3522	11.98	48.9
210	Dave Casper	1974--1984	rai-oti-min	TE	70	230	3202	13.92	45.7	44	175	2377	13.58	54
211	Dave Logan	1976--1984	cle-den	WR	47	133	2147	16.14	45.7	47	133	2166	16.29	46.1
212	Bobby Joe Conrad	1960--1969	crd-dal	WR-HB	62	191	2830	14.82	45.6	55	192	2563	13.35	46.6
213	Koren Robinson	2001--2008	sea-min-gnb	WR	51	159	2325	14.62	45.6	46	150	2063	13.75	44.8
214	Bobby Engram	1996--2009	chi-sea-kan	WR	80	301	3641	12.1	45.5	101	384	4586	11.94	45.4
215	Gary Ballman	1962--1973	pit-phi-nyg-min	WR-TE	35	89	1565	17.58	44.7	68	212	3451	16.28	50.8
216	Nat Moore	1974--1986	mia	WR-RB	119	363	5315	14.64	44.7	55	163	2312	14.18	42
217	Duriel Harris	1976--1985	mia-cle-dal	WR	68	185	3037	16.42	44.7	44	133	2284	17.17	51.9
218	Jack Snow	1965--1975	ram	WR-SE	85	214	3773	17.63	44.4	42	115	1978	17.2	47.1
219	Freddie Scott	1974--1983	clt-det	WR	36	95	1592	16.76	44.2	58	173	2766	15.99	47.7
220	Ray Butler	1980--1988	clt-sea	WR	34	90	1503	16.7	44.2	64	152	2543	16.73	39.7
221	Devery Henderson	2005--2011	nor	WR	64	150	2828	18.85	44.2	47	104	1697	16.32	36.1
222	J.J. Stokes	1995--2003	sfo-jax-nwe	WR	66	238	2913	12.24	44.1	49	141	1812	12.85	37
223	Charlie Sanders	1968--1977	det	TE	60	174	2643	15.19	44.1	50	151	1995	13.21	39.9
224	Kevin Johnson	1999--2005	cle-jax-rav-det	WR	38	133	1672	12.57	44	63	255	3063	12.01	48.6
225	Donte Stallworth	2002--2011	nor-phi-nwe-cle-rav-was	WR	61	164	2656	16.2	43.5	55	170	2372	13.95	43.1
226	Freddie Solomon	1975--1985	mia-sfo	WR	83	214	3595	16.8	43.3	63	191	2788	14.6	44.3
227	Ben Coates	1991--2000	nwe-rav	TE	70	276	3019	10.94	43.1	70	249	2794	11.22	39.9
228	Vernon Davis	2006--2011	sfo	TE	42	150	1811	12.07	43.1	45	164	2284	13.93	50.8
229	Rocket Ismail	1993--2001	rai-car-dal	WR	61	168	2617	15.58	42.9	65	204	2865	14.04	44.1
230	Qadry Ismail	1993--2002	min-mia-nor-rav-clt	WR	83	228	3544	15.54	42.7	58	143	1880	13.15	32.4
231	O.J. McDuffie	1993--2000	mia	WR	71	248	3005	12.12	42.3	52	217	2672	12.31	51.4
232	Mark Bavaro	1985--1994	nyg-cle-phi	TE	77	239	3254	13.62	42.3	40	142	1845	12.99	46.1
233	James Jett	1993--2001	rai	WR	55	127	2322	18.28	42.2	53	142	2269	15.98	42.8
234	Brent Jones	1987--1997	sfo	TE	113	366	4769	13.03	42.2	33	111	1166	10.5	35.3
235	Jeremy Shockey	2002--2011	nyg-nor-car	TE	82	309	3450	11.17	42.1	61	260	2918	11.22	47.8
236	Chris Calloway	1990--2000	pit-nyg-atl-nwe	WR	64	170	2691	15.83	42	72	223	2891	12.96	40.2
237	David Patten	1997--2008	nyg-cle-nwe-was-nor	WR	77	200	3236	16.18	42	63	144	1739	12.08	27.6
238	J.T. Smith	1978--1990	was-kan-crd	WR	64	211	2671	12.66	41.7	91	323	4172	12.92	45.8
239	Brandon Stokley	1999--2011	rav-clt-den-sea-nyg	WR	80	226	3295	14.58	41.2	49	156	2005	12.85	40.9
240	Calvin Williams	1990--1996	phi-rav	WR	58	184	2381	12.94	41.1	41	141	1744	12.37	42.5
241	Nate Burleson	2003--2011	min-sea-det	WR	64	210	2626	12.5	41	60	204	2576	12.63	42.9
242	Ron Jessie	1971--1981	det-ram-buf	WR	74	181	3031	16.75	41	43	96	1431	14.91	33.3
243	Keith Jackson	1988--1996	phi-mia-gnb	TE	87	288	3560	12.36	40.9	47	204	2557	12.53	54.4
244	Jeff Chadwick	1983--1992	det-sea-ram	WR	44	103	1799	17.47	40.9	62	191	2750	14.4	44.4
245	Curtis Duncan	1987--1993	oti	WR	58	210	2368	11.28	40.8	42	146	1841	12.61	43.8
246	Mike Sherrard	1986--1996	dal-sfo-nyg-den	WR	62	162	2528	15.6	40.8	32	104	1476	14.19	46.1
247	Shawn Jefferson	1991--2003	sdg-nwe-atl-det	WR	96	253	3914	15.47	40.8	88	244	3390	13.89	38.5
248	Marshall Faulk	1994--2005	clt-ram	RB	99	422	4022	9.53	40.6	89	397	3372	8.49	37.9
249	Jabar Gaffney	2002--2011	htx-nwe-den-was	WR	66	199	2681	13.47	40.6	82	269	3223	11.98	39.3
250	Willie Green	1991--1998	det-tam-car-den	WR	55	147	2233	15.19	40.6	35	117	1844	15.76	52.7
251	Todd Heap	2001--2011	rav-crd	TE	83	273	3369	12.34	40.6	63	250	2791	11.16	44.3
252	Mike Ditka	1961--1972	chi-phi-dal	TE	80	239	3240	13.56	40.5	54	184	2416	13.13	44.7
253	Torrance Small	1992--2001	nor-ram-clt-phi-nwe	WR	51	141	2053	14.56	40.3	71	213	2624	12.32	37
254	Peerless Price	1999--2007	buf-atl-dal	WR	54	159	2158	13.57	40	67	254	3244	12.77	48.4
255	Mike Renfro	1978--1987	oti-dal	WR	53	140	2117	15.12	39.9	60	190	2759	14.52	46
256	Quinn Early	1988--1999	sdg-nor-buf-nyj	WR	73	203	2914	14.35	39.9	76	278	3790	13.63	49.9
257	Chris Burkett	1985--1993	buf-nyj	WR	41	110	1635	14.86	39.9	66	185	2772	14.98	42
258	Ike Hilliard	1997--2008	nyg-tam	WR	79	258	3148	12.2	39.8	85	312	3534	11.33	41.6
259	Drew Bennett	2001--2008	oti-ram	WR	44	116	1752	15.1	39.8	53	205	2868	13.99	54.1
260	Jerricho Cotchery	2004--2011	nyj-pit	WR	62	206	2461	11.95	39.7	58	199	2761	13.87	47.6
261	Mike Pritchard	1991--1999	atl-den-sea	WR	58	172	2297	13.35	39.6	67	263	3043	11.57	45.4
262	Nate Washington	2005--2011	pit-oti	WR	55	139	2175	15.65	39.5	45	137	1892	13.81	42
263	Riley Odoms	1972--1983	den	TE	83	220	3279	14.9	39.5	61	176	2379	13.52	39
264	Sam McCullum	1974--1983	min-sea	WR	51	131	2003	15.29	39.3	63	150	2128	14.19	33.8
265	Jay Novacek	1985--1995	crd-dal	TE	84	298	3281	11.01	39.1	52	186	1994	10.72	38.3
266	Ozzie Newsome	1978--1990	cle	TE	102	324	3977	12.27	39	98	365	4376	11.99	44.7
267	Bob Trumpy	1968--1977	cin	TE-WR	60	147	2331	15.86	38.9	58	147	2103	14.31	36.3
268	Raymond Chester	1970--1981	rai-clt	TE	80	199	3099	15.57	38.7	63	172	2146	12.48	34.1
269	Travis Taylor	2000--2007	rav-min-rai-ram	WR	52	153	2013	13.16	38.7	50	172	2162	12.57	43.2
270	Joe Jurevicius	1998--2007	nyg-tam-sea-cle	WR	68	195	2629	13.48	38.7	51	145	1832	12.63	35.9
271	Wesley Walls	1989--2003	sfo-nor-car-gnb	TE	68	206	2604	12.64	38.3	81	253	2766	10.93	34.1
272	Ricky Proehl	1990--2006	crd-sea-chi-ram-car-clt	WR	112	299	4279	14.31	38.2	117	393	4962	12.63	42.4
273	Bob Tucker	1970--1980	nyg-min	TE	56	161	2129	13.22	38	82	255	3187	12.5	38.9
274	Steve Jordan	1982--1994	min	TE	86	255	3269	12.82	38	81	269	3381	12.57	41.7
275	Leonard Thompson	1975--1986	det	WR-HB	52	116	1976	17.03	38	80	169	2868	16.97	35.9
276	Charles Johnson	1994--2002	pit-phi-nwe-buf	WR	69	204	2616	12.82	37.9	49	173	2283	13.2	46.6
277	Jerry Smith	1965--1977	was	TE-WR	75	206	2841	13.79	37.9	60	190	2344	12.34	39.1
278	Rich Caster	1970--1981	nyj-oti-nor-was	TE-WR	58	123	2197	17.86	37.9	76	207	3385	16.35	44.5
279	Michael Jenkins	2004--2011	atl-min	WR	52	144	1954	13.57	37.6	54	184	2168	11.78	40.1
280	Alge Crumpler	2001--2010	atl-oti-nwe	TE	73	196	2740	13.98	37.5	68	191	2168	11.35	31.9
281	Paul Coffman	1979--1987	gnb-kan	TE	49	145	1838	12.68	37.5	62	196	2489	12.7	40.1
282	Courtney Hawkins	1992--2000	tam-pit	WR	55	170	2059	12.11	37.4	70	204	2572	12.61	36.7
283	Russ Francis	1975--1988	nwe-sfo	TE	96	277	3587	12.95	37.4	55	151	2149	14.23	39.1
284	Billy Cannon	1960--1970	oti-rai-kan	TE-RB	80	174	2986	17.16	37.3	31	81	945	11.67	30.5
285	Jimmie Giles	1977--1989	oti-tam-det-phi	TE	50	122	1861	15.25	37.2	88	232	3306	14.25	37.6
286	Brian Brennan	1984--1992	cle-cin-sdg	WR	61	172	2267	13.18	37.2	62	184	2378	12.92	38.4
287	Eric Green	1990--1999	pit-mia-rav-nyj	TE	55	167	2017	12.08	36.7	57	200	2488	12.44	43.6
288	Troy Brown	1993--2007	nwe	WR	120	392	4392	11.2	36.6	81	223	2668	11.96	32.9
289	Gino Cappelletti	1960--1970	nwe	FL-SE	63	132	2305	17.46	36.6	70	139	2037	14.65	29.1
290	Justin McCareins	2001--2008	oti-nyj	WR	61	145	2230	15.38	36.6	53	118	1806	15.31	34.1
291	Rick Upchurch	1975--1983	den	WR	67	151	2439	16.15	36.4	53	117	1939	16.57	36.6
292	Frank Wycheck	1993--2003	was-oti	TE	86	299	3129	10.46	36.4	67	243	2310	9.51	34.5
293	Heath Miller	2005--2011	pit	TE	80	239	2863	11.98	35.8	39	138	1498	10.86	38.4
294	Floyd Turner	1989--1998	nor-clt-rav	WR	46	129	1638	12.7	35.6	54	167	2382	14.26	44.1
295	Mark Ingram	1987--1996	nyg-mia-gnb-phi	WR	65	153	2301	15.04	35.4	47	128	1815	14.18	38.6
296	Ken Dilger	1995--2004	clt-tam	TE	69	192	2439	12.7	35.3	75	180	1819	10.11	24.3
297	Rodney Holman	1982--1995	cin-det	TE	81	210	2816	13.41	34.8	79	173	2200	12.72	27.8
298	Dennis Northcutt	2000--2009	cle-jax-det	WR	49	132	1702	12.89	34.7	97	278	3390	12.19	34.9
299	Pete Holohan	1981--1992	sdg-ram-kan-cle	TE	62	190	2149	11.31	34.7	63	189	1995	10.56	31.7
300	Mickey Shuler	1978--1991	nyj-phi	TE	68	222	2352	10.59	34.6	71	248	2845	11.47	40.1
301	Jerome Barkum	1972--1983	nyj	TE-WR	54	129	1855	14.38	34.4	72	201	2990	14.88	41.5
302	Az-Zahir Hakim	1998--2006	ram-det-nor	WR	57	145	1917	13.22	33.6	55	192	2558	13.32	46.5
303	Brian Westbrook	2002--2010	phi-sfo	RB	80	269	2658	9.88	33.2	49	203	1605	7.91	32.8
304	Larry Centers	1990--2003	crd-was-buf-nwe	FB	84	341	2782	8.16	33.1	119	507	4177	8.24	35.1
305	John L. Williams	1986--1995	sea-pit	FB	81	290	2677	9.23	33	75	287	2222	7.74	29.6
306	Brandon Lloyd	2003--2011	sfo-was-chi-den-ram	WR	32	81	1049	12.95	32.8	73	230	3735	16.24	51.2
307	Billy Johnson	1974--1988	oti-atl-was	WR	65	159	2110	13.27	32.5	71	176	2077	11.8	29.3
308	Randy McMichael	2002--2011	mia-ram-sdg	TE	53	160	1686	10.54	31.8	88	257	2802	10.9	31.8
309	Roger Craig	1983--1993	sfo-rai-min	RB	127	431	4005	9.29	31.5	53	195	1500	7.69	28.3
310	Ricky Watters	1992--2001	sfo-phi-sea	RB	91	289	2851	9.87	31.3	63	215	1815	8.44	28.8
311	Ronnie Harmon	1986--1997	buf-sdg-oti-chi	RB-WR	94	283	2934	10.37	31.2	89	350	3612	10.32	40.6
312	Tiki Barber	1997--2006	nyg	RB	80	267	2497	9.35	31.2	80	338	2817	8.33	35.2
313	Eric Metcalf	1989--2002	cle-atl-sdg-crd-car-was-gnb	RB-WR	83	238	2564	10.77	30.9	102	317	3185	10.05	31.2
314	Jim R. Mitchell	1969--1979	atl	TE	57	139	1759	12.65	30.9	66	160	2375	14.84	36
315	Keith Byars	1986--1998	phi-mia-nwe-nyj	FB-TE	119	390	3665	9.4	30.8	79	272	2439	8.97	30.9
316	Freddie Jones	1997--2004	sdg-crd	TE	37	109	1131	10.38	30.6	79	295	3101	10.51	39.3
317	Tony Nathan	1979--1987	mia	RB	89	290	2705	9.33	30.4	45	158	1536	9.72	34.1
318	Tony McGee	1993--2002	cin-dal	TE	39	92	1178	12.8	30.2	89	230	2911	12.66	32.7
319	Jackie Harris	1990--2001	gnb-tam-oti-dal	TE	63	157	1881	11.98	29.9	79	251	2650	10.56	33.5
320	Joe Morrison	1960--1972	nyg	RB-WR	66	147	1958	13.32	29.7	79	224	2747	12.26	34.8
321	Charle Young	1973--1985	phi-ram-sfo-sea	TE	76	190	2253	11.86	29.6	71	241	3002	12.46	42.3
322	David Hill	1976--1987	det-ram	TE	71	182	2091	11.49	29.5	76	187	2211	11.82	29.1
323	Billy Joe DuPree	1973--1983	dal	TE	101	213	2933	13.77	29	42	93	1079	11.6	25.7
324	Antwaan Randle El	2002--2010	pit-was	WR	88	184	2473	13.44	28.1	66	220	2402	10.92	36.4
325	Kelvin Martin	1987--1996	dal-sea-phi	WR	68	138	1839	13.33	27	74	238	3023	12.7	40.9
326	Thurman Thomas	1988--2000	buf-mia	RB	130	346	3411	9.86	26.2	71	202	1719	8.51	24.2
327	Marcus Pollard	1996--2008	clt-det-sea-atl	TE	81	183	2113	11.55	26.1	81	185	2402	12.98	29.7
328	LaDainian Tomlinson	2001--2011	sdg-nyj	RB	104	341	2683	7.87	25.8	76	308	2265	7.35	29.8
329	Walter Payton	1975--1987	chi	RB	113	278	2645	9.51	23.4	86	236	2071	8.78	24.1
330	Herschel Walker	1986--1997	dal-min-phi-nyg	RB	84	211	1957	9.27	23.3	106	311	2962	9.52	27.9
331	Kevin Faulk	1999--2011	nwe	RB	125	328	2885	8.8	23.1	54	154	1228	7.97	22.7
332	Marcus Allen	1982--1997	rai-kan	RB	145	341	3186	9.34	22	91	299	2755	9.21	30.3
333	Warrick Dunn	1997--2008	tam-atl	RB	98	244	2141	8.77	21.8	92	301	2454	8.15	26.7
334	Earnest Byner	1984--1997	cle-was-rav	RB	111	271	2399	8.85	21.6	102	278	2584	9.29	25.3
335	Tony Galbreath	1976--1987	nor-min-nyg	RB	79	175	1470	8.4	18.6	90	326	2667	8.18	29.6

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This week at the New York Times, I blush when discussing Andrew Luck, praise the great Calvin Johnson as he tries to surpass Jerry Rice (but with a caveat), and take a look at some other random stats (including some absurd numbers from Adrian Peterson). Trivia: Brandon Marshall has gained over 1,000 yards on both the Bears and Broncos in seasons in which Jay Cutler was his primary quarterback both seasons. Can you name the only two other wide receivers to gain 1,000 yards with multiple teams but the same passer?

It’s not supposed to be this easy.

Sure, Steve Young and Aaron Rodgers followed Joe Montana and Brett Favre and excelled, but the fact that those examples are so memorable shows that they are the exception to the rule.

You’re not supposed to be able to replace a Hall of Fame quarterback with another star. In Indianapolis, the Colts got a taste of what life is often like for a team in the first year after a franchise quarterback’s exit: Curtis Painter, Dan Orlovsky and Kerry Collins earned every bit of their combined 2-14 record in 2011. But after the Colts bottomed out, Indianapolis’s fortunes changed dramatically. With the first pick in the 2012 draft, the team selected Stanford’s Andrew Luck, and the Colts appear set to be an annual contender for the next decade. Again.

Luck ranks fourth in passing yards this season, and he has shouldered the load for a Colts team that is below average in rushing, stopping the run and stopping the pass. Luck ranks “only” 19th in Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt and 14th in Net Yards per Attempt, unimpressive numbers only outside of the context of a rookie quarterback playing for what was the worst team in the N.F.L. a year ago. Luck passes the eye test and at least one advanced metric (before last night’s game, Luck ranked 6th in ESPN’s Total QBR), but part of what’s impressive about him is that even when he isn’t playing well, he remains capable of carrying his team to victory. Luck struggled for much of the game against Detroit on Sunday but still managed to pull out a most improbable victory.

In the first 56 minutes of the game, Luck was 17 for 39 for 279 yards with three interceptions. His team trailed the Lions, 33-21, with under three minutes remaining. At that point, Advanced NFL Stats calculated Indianapolis’s odds of winning at 2 percent.

But Luck led them on two scoring drives, and the Colts became just the seventh team to win a game despite trailing by 12 or more points with so little time remaining since 2000. Two of the other instances involved Peyton Manning with the Colts. In 2003, Manning led the Colts on a marvelous comeback against the Buccaneers on “Monday Night Football.” Six years later, Indianapolis trailed New England, 34-21, with 2:30 remaining. A Colts touchdown was followed by three Patriots plays that gained 8 yards, setting up Bill Belichick’s infamous 4th-and-2 decision.

It will be a long time before Luck could be considered anywhere near Manning’s class in terms of body of work, but his performance against the Lions is now alongside many of Manning’s memories in the annals of great Colts moments. Luck’s game-winning touchdown to Donnie Avery was just the 13th game-winning touchdown pass in the final seconds of a game since 2000.

Statistically, Andrew Luck may not be having the best year, but he has played an enormous part in the Colts’ magical run. At 8-4, the Colts are almost certainly going to make the playoffs; if they do, they will join the 2008 Miami Dolphins and 1982 Patriots on the list of N.F.L. teams to make the playoffs a year after going 2-14 or worse.

Luck will also set a couple of rookie records. With the game-winning drive he led against the Lions, he tied Ben Roethlisberger and Vince Young for the most fourth-quarter game-winning drives (five) by a rookie quarterback. By defeating Detroit and earning his eighth win, he broke a tie with Sam Bradford and now has the most wins among rookie quarterbacks selected first over all since 1950. Luck’s next victory will give him nine wins this season, tying him with Chris Chandler for the franchise record for wins by a rookie quarterback.

Calvin Johnson and the Lions’ Passing Game

Calvin Johnson led the league with 1,681 receiving yards last season and was named a first-team All-Pro by The Associated Press for the first time in his career. His encore performance may be even better.

He has gained a mind-boggling 1,428 receiving yards this season, joining Elroy Hirsch (1,495 yards in 1951) on the short list of N.F.L. players to top the 1,400-yard mark in a team’s first 12 games (in the A.F.L., Charley Hennigan and Lance Alworth each reached that mark once as well).

You can read the full post (and the answer to the trivia question) here.

Yesterday, I rolled out Game Scripts, a way to measure the flow of every game since 1940. The sum of each team’s Game Script in each game can be used to give us an average Game Script score on the season. You might think that this number would be a good proxy for how dominant a team was, and that’s largely true: the teams with the highest game script scores tend to have been the most dominant teams. However, there are some reasons to be cautious with this approach: game scripts are not adjusted for strength of schedule and in any given game, the losing team can end up with a better score than the winning team. That said, here are the teams with the highest Game Scripts since 1940:

The teams with the highest game scripts last year? Green Bay (7.4), New Orleans (5.6) and Houston (5.4), while the Rams (-6.4), Colts (-7.2), and Bucs (-8.7) were at the bottom of the league. But let’s get to the real point of using Game Scripts — to help put passing and rushing ratios in context.

Last year, the Buccaneers had the second highest effective pass/run ratio in the league (defined as total pass attempts divided by rushes plus total pass attempts, but with all kneels and spikes excluded). But that’s misleading, because Tampa Bay had the worst Game Script in the league. Conversely, were Houston and San Francisco really the second and third most run-heavy teams in the NFL last year? The table below lists each team from highest to lowest pass/run ratio:
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Bill Simmons wrote about LaDainian Tomlinson last month and called him the best fantasy football player of all-time. “Greatest ever” debates are always subjective, but at least when it comes to fantasy football, we can get pretty close to declaring a definitive answer. Joe Bryant’s landmark “Value Base Drafting” system explained that the “value of a player is determined not by the number of points he scores, but by how much he outscores his peers at his particular position.” Bryant came up with the concept of calculating a ‘VBD’ number for each player to measure their value.

A player’s VBD is easy to calculate. Each player’s VBD score is the difference between the amount of fantasy points he scored and the fantasy points scored by the worst starter (at his position) in your fantasy league. A player who scores fewer fantasy points than the worst starter has a VBD of 0. There is no standard scoring system for fantasy leagues, so a player’s fantasy points total will depend on the specific league’s scoring rules. ^[1]I’ve decided to use a blend of the most common scoring options: 1 point per 20 yards passing, 5 points per passing touchdown, -2 points per interception, 6 points for rushing/receiving … Continue reading And, of course, his VBD score will change depending on the number of starters at each position in the league. ^[2]Again, I’m using a blend here, but for baseline purposes I’m using QB12, RB24, WR32 and TE12, since the standard 12-team league starts 1 QB, 2 RBs, 2-3 WRs and 1 TE.

That said, once you pick a scoring system and a set of rules, it’s easy to calculate career VBD scores for every player since 1950 ^[3]I’ve pro-rated production for those players who were part of seasons when the NFL did not have a 16-game schedule; I also changed the baseline numbers depending on the number of teams in the … Continue reading. Let’s start with the quarterbacks:

Player	Years	POS	Teams	VBD	OVR RK	POS RK
Peyton Manning	1998--2010	QB	clt	1071	9	1
Brett Favre	1992--2010	QB	atl-gnb-nyj-min	1061	10	2
Dan Marino	1983--1999	QB	mia	988	14	3
Fran Tarkenton	1961--1978	QB	min-nyg	921	15	4
Steve Young	1985--1999	QB	tam-sfo	774	24	5
Joe Montana	1979--1994	QB	sfo-kan	727	33	6
Randall Cunningham	1985--2001	QB	phi-min-dal-rav	723	35	7
Tom Brady	2000--2011	QB	nwe	720	36	8
Drew Brees	2001--2011	QB	sdg-nor	688	38	9
John Elway	1983--1998	QB	den	660	40	10
Roger Staubach	1969--1979	QB	dal	630	44	11
Johnny Unitas	1956--1973	QB	clt-sdg	625	47	12
Warren Moon	1984--2000	QB	oti-min-sea-kan	592	57	13
Ken Anderson	1971--1986	QB	cin	539	74	14
Sonny Jurgensen	1957--1974	QB	phi-was	528	77	15
Dan Fouts	1973--1987	QB	sdg	526	78	16
Daunte Culpepper	1999--2009	QB	min-mia-rai-det	515	80	17
Aaron Rodgers	2005--2011	QB	gnb	507	83	18
Tobin Rote	1950--1964	QB	gnb-det-sdg-den	494	88	19
Roman Gabriel	1962--1977	QB	ram-phi	404	130	20
Rich Gannon	1988--2004	QB	min-was-kan-rai	396	135	21
Kurt Warner	1998--2009	QB	ram-nyg-crd	396	136	22
Bobby Layne	1950--1962	QB	chi-nyy-det-pit	385	140	23
Y.A. Tittle	1950--1964	QB	bcl-sfo-nyg	384	141	24
Daryle Lamonica	1963--1973	QB	buf-rai	368	153	25

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On Tuesday, I looked at running back records and argued that Steven Jackson had taken the mantle from Ollie Matson as the most prominent elite running back to have toiled for losing teams for the majority of his career. It’s easy to feel bad for a player like Jackson, relegated to consistent attack as the focal point of opposing defenses for a decade, continuously grinding out yardage while playing for bad teams.

Things are a little different for wide receivers. In fact, it’s often easier for wide receivers to produce better stats while playing for bad teams, since trailing teams are forced to throw later in games. Further, wide receivers don’t face the constant pounding that running backs encounter, making them slightly less sympathetic figures. Still, it’s an interesting question, and one that’s easy enough to answer. Which wide receivers have played for the best and worst teams? Any guesses? The results, after the jump.

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