RT, to add a quantitative point to your narrative, if I may...
When those who worship Rice as the "greatest player ever" defend their faith, they typically do so by quoting the fact that he has more receptions and more yardage than any receiver of all time. But as RamTime has so effectively stated, when you spend you're whole career under the dressing room flattery mirror that is the West Coast Offense, you should have outlandish reception and yardage stats. But the real question is, shouldn't the "greatest player ever" be able to make the most out of
every reception?
The following is a list of the top 13 in career receiving yardage ranked according to yards per receptions.
Don Maynard 18.7
James Lofton 18.3
Henry Ellard 16.9
Charlie Joiner 16.2
Steve Largent 16.0
Michael Irvin 15.9
Isaac Bruce 15.1
Irving Fryar 15.0
Jerry Rice 14.8
Andre Reed 13.9
Tim Brown 13.7
Art Monk 13.5
Cris Carter 12.6
So of the 13 highest yardage receivers in history, Rice, the "greatest player ever", only ranks 9th. And this doesn't even include receivers who haven't been around long enough to crack the top 13 in yardage, such as Randy Moss (15.9) and
Torry Holt (15.8).