Bruce leads the NFL in everything but headlines
BY JEFF GORDON
Post-Dispatch Online Sports Columnist
Thursday, Sep. 08 2005
Jerry Rice retired as an historical NFL figure. He won, a lot. He put up
numbers that dwarfed all the other all-time greats.
“In one sentence, he’s what every receiver aims to be,” Rams receiver Isaac
Bruce said before Wednesday’s practice at Rams Park.
Will Randy Moss retire as an historical figure? Maybe, if he remains interested
long enough. Sometimes you wonder if he would rather sit on a NBA bench than
dominate professional football.
What about Terrell Owens? Like Moss, he has almost freakish ability. He seems
more driven than Moss, but he also has a knack for alienating teammates and
organizations. How long will he last in the NFL with that attitude?
Overlooked amid all the hoopla of Rice’s retirement, Moss’ relocation to
Oakland and Owens’ soap opera in Philadelphia is Isaac Bruce. Quietly -– very
quietly -– he, too, is becoming an historical figure.
Bruce is now the reigning champ among NFL receivers. He leads all active
players with 11,753 receiving yards.
“I do realize that, yes,” Bruce said. “It means a little to me, but Jerry will
always be No. 1 in my eyes.”
If he remains healthy this season, he will move well into the all-time top 10
in receptions and receiving yards and into the top 20 in touchdown receptions.
Bruce should start clicking off some of those milestones Sunday, when the Rams
face the overmatched ***** in San Francisco. Could he some day approach Rice’s
way-out career statistics?
“I believe I can,” Bruce said.
That could mean playing at a high level until 2011 or 2012 . . .
“I said I believe I can,” Bruce said, causing reporters to chuckle. “I didn’t
say I would.”
He has matter-of-factly set a goal of playing another six seasons or so. Since
he hasn’t show any signs of slowing down with age, why should we doubt him?
“I don’t deal with the (getting) worse part, I deal with getting better,” Bruce
said, when asked to compare himself to the younger versions. “I always look at
that aspect.”
Like Rice, Bruce is fanatical about his preparation. Like Rice, he eschews most
of the theatrics of the modern Pro Bowl receiver. Like Rice, he is an absolute
killer on the field -– driven by a competitive zeal nearly off the charts.
While the Randy Mosses of the league take plays off when their number isn’t
called, Bruce goes all out as a second or third receiving option and is a
positively nasty blocker downfield.
The Rams environment is perfect for him. Coach Mike Martz respects stars who
respect their station on the team. There is mutual trust, something Bruce didn’
t really have with Dick Vermeil.
The “Air Martz” offense is conducive to putting up big numbers. Cohort Torry
Holt ranks with Moss, Owens and Marvin Harrison as one of the most dangerous
receivers in the game. Third receiver Kevin Curtis will tear up a lot of nickel
backs and most safeties.
Shaun McDonald and
Dane Looker will make plays, too. As in 1999 and 2001, the
Rams have SO many ways to beat defenses. Sitting on any one player or any one
aspect of the offense is impossible.
“It adds a lot, because when you put four guys on the field of that caliber, it
seems strange, but it makes the running game a whole lot easier, so guys are
more spread out, you have a lot of defensive backs on the field . . . they aren’
t accustomed to tackling,” Bruce said. “It takes the linebackers off the field
and puts guys in that just want to cover.”
Given the NFL’s crackdown on the Patriots-style defensive holding in the
secondary, Bruce has a chance to bust open on his routes. Quarterback Marc
Bulger has become one of the game’s most accurate throwers.
For the near future, anyway, the Rams will have one of the most explosive
attacks in the game.
“I think we’ll score a lot of points,” Bruce said. “We’ll run the ball
extremely well. It’ll give guys on our side a chance to get downfield and make
bigger and longer plays and put more points on the board. We’ll be close to (’
99), but that’s hard to match.”
Another big statistical season and another postseason berth would move Bruce
into a realm few NFL receivers have ever reached. Odds are, it won’t make many
headlines though -– not with Moss, Owens and the noisier, Generation Next
receivers grabbing all the attention on and off the field.