Sturm: NFL 100 - At No. 29, Emmitt Smith did what he did for longer and better than anyone

ravidubey

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True. But he was really loyal to his team and truly wanted to win.
Yes he was more loyal to his uniform than either Moss or Owens.

I do think Owens wanted to win just as badly, though.

His ankle was in bad shape in Superbowl 39 but he dominated that game. He can't help his QB not being up to the moment.
 

Genghis Khan

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Yes he was more loyal to his uniform than either Moss or Owens.

I do think Owens wanted to win just as badly, though.

His ankle was in bad shape in Superbowl 39 but he dominated that game. He can't help his QB not being up to the moment.

Owens was great no doubt, so in a way I'm nitpicking. But I just believe Irvin was better.
 

data

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Probably my last look at Michael Irvin's greatness, here's the postseason.

Small sample set to compare WR vs WR, so I'm comparing a WR's Prime 5 Regular Season stats vs Playoffs to see how much dropoff/clutch when the competition quality increases.

Since most WRs didn’t have 16 playoff games, I extrapolated them into a 16-game season. I also gave many WRs (but not Irvin) the benefit of the doubt by eliminating past-their-prime playoff games (like Steve Smith as a Baltimore Raven)

Michael Irvin
Prime 5 Regular Season: 92 catches, 1455 yards (15.8 YPC), 8 TDs with 144 Targets (64% Catch and 10.1 YPT)
Playoffs (15 games used —> 16 games): 92 catches, 1380 yards (15.0 YPC), 8TDs with 159 Targets (58% Catch and 8.7 YPT)
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Reggie Wayne
Prime5 Reg Season: 96 catches, 1330 yards (13.9 YPC), 9 TDs with 146 Targets (65% Catch and 9.1 YPT)
Playoffs (17 games used —> 16 games): 86 catches, 1168 yards (13.6 YPC), 8 TDs with 142 Targets (60% Catch and 8.2 YPT)

Hines Ward
Prime5 Reg Season: 90 catches, 1131 yards (12.6 YPC), 9 TDs with 136 Targets (66% Catch and 8.3 YPT)
Playoffs (16 games): 86 catches, 1167 yards (13.6 YPC), 10TDs with 134 Targets (64% Catch and 8.7 YPT)

Marvin Harrison
Prime5 Reg Season: 112 catches, 1538 yards (13.7 YPC), 13 TDs with 174 Targets (64% Catch and 8.8 YPT)
Playoffs (14 games —> 16 games): 69 catches, 955 yards (13.9 YPC), 2 TDs with 143 Targets (48% Catch and 6.7 YPT)

Randy Moss
Prime5 Reg Season: 93 catches, 1555 yards (16.7 YPC), 18 TDs with 154 Targets (60% Catch and 10.0 YPT)
Playoffs (12 games —> 16 games): 63 catches, 1153 yards (18.4 YPC), 13 TDs with 132 Targets (47% Catch and 8.7 YPT)

Cris Carter
Prime5 Reg Season: 104 catches, 1242 yards (11.9 YPC), 12 TDs with 168 Targets (62% Catch and 7.4 YPT)
Playoffs (12 games —> 16 games): 80 catches, 1116 yards (14.0 YPC), 11 TDs with 164 Targets (49% Catch and 6.8 YPT)

Steve Smith
Prime5 Reg Season: 92 catches, 1396 yards (15.2 YPC), 8.5 TDs with 148 Targets (62% Catch and 9.4 YPT)
Playoffs (11 games —> 16 games): 86 catches, 1456 yards (17.0 YPC), 13 TDs with 125 Targets (69% Catch and 11.6 YPT)

Terrell Owens
Prime5 Reg Season: 100 catches, 1493 yards (14.9 YPC), 16 TDs with 162 Targets (62% Catch and 9.2 YPT)
Playoffs (10 games —> 16 games): 85 catches, 1190 yards (14.0 YPC), 8 TDs with 147 Targets (58% Catch and 8.1 YPT)

Larry Fitzgerald
Prime5 Reg Season: 96 catches, 1394 yards (14.5 YPC), 9.5 TDs with 167 Targets (57% Catch and 8.3 YPT)
Playoffs (9 games —> 16 games): 101 catches, 1675 yards (16.5 YPC), 18 TDs with 151 Targets (67% Catch and 11.1 YPT)

Jerry Rice with Montana
Prime5 Reg Season: 83 catches, 1431 yards (17.2 YPC), 14 TDs
Playoffs (10 games —> 16 games): 91 catches, 1478 yards (16.2 YPC), 21 TDs

Jerry Rice with Steve Young
Prime5 Reg Season: 105 catches, 1461 yards (13.9 YPC), 12 TDs with 154 Targets (68% Catch and 9.5 YPT)
Playoffs (10 games —> 16 games): 94 catches, 1237 yards (13.1 YPC), 11 TDs with 152 Targets (62% Catch and 8.1 YPT)
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Observations:
  • For Michael Irvin, he's essentially the same superstar WR with a reasonable dropoff in Rate Stats. Reggie Wayne, Hines Ward and Cris Carter also consistent in playoffs from regular season.
  • Marvin Harrison has massive playoff dropoff - JAG numbers. Only WR with less than 1,000 yards! Only 2 TDs!
  • Randy Moss and Terrell Owens have a noticeable playoff drop off from their out-of-this-world regular season stats, but their playoff stats are still top notch. A quick conclusion one could make is that they absolutely feast on non-playoff teams in the regular season, but we’d have to dig into this more to validate.
  • Steve Smith and Larry Fitzgerald go absolutely apeshit in the playoffs. Look at Smith's YPC and TDs. For Fitz, his TDs frikkin’ double.
  • Jerry Rice with Montana in his own stratosphere (21 freakin TDs!!!). He’s the GOAT during the regular season and in the playoffs. Factor in that this is the 1980s, too. Afterwards with Steve Young in the 1990s, Rice is still top tier.
  • For Irvin, he actually had 16 playoff games, but injured early in the Carolina 1996 loss, so deleted this game’s stats and extrapolated the 15 other games into 16.
Overall, in the playoffs, Michael Irvin shows better than Randy Moss and Terrell Owens. He's probably #4 Playoff WR behind Jerry Rice, Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Smith. However, again his TDs are among the lowest.
 
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Cotton

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We are to 18 (Marino) and still no Irvin. This list will lose all credibility to me if Irvin is not in the top 100 players of all time.
 

ravidubey

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Steve Smith and Larry Fitzgerald are ballers. I’d have loved to see them wearing a star.
 
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