While we’re waiting, here’s something to chew on. At their height, who was the better wide receiver – Randy Moss or Terrell Owens?
They both have 153 career touchdown receptions, and they’re two of the greatest receivers ever. Which guy was better?
I say Terrell Owens. Moss has always been a one-trick pony, although he does his trick better than anyone ever. The trick is to run fast straight down the sideline, jump up and catch the deep pass.
Moss is the greatest deep threat of all time. But he never liked running over the middle of the field, he’s not much of a blocker, and he takes plays off.
Owens was always the more complete receiver. He was much more physical than Moss. He was very fast too, but he didn’t only run go routes. He could do other things, too. He could take a slant, break two or three tackles and out run everyone to the end zone. Moss couldn’t do that.
Moss is a better option for the Niners right now than Owens because he’s healthier and few years younger, but in their primes, I’d take Owens over Moss.
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Who made the signature plays? Did they play their heart out on *each* team they played for? I think we know the answer. I agree with you GC.
Moss always had better hands. I think T.O. has always been a bigger disappointment based on his potential. But your logic is hard to disagree with.
True, Moss had better hands, but he wouldn’t have made The Catch II. He wouldn’t have wanted to take those hits.
Very true! TO was one tough son-of-a-gun. I still think out of the two, TO is a better option. TO may not be as healthy, but we wouldn’t ask him to be #1. That job would go to Crabtree (providing our 1st round rookie receiver doesn’t leap frog…unlikely). TO as a #2 or even #3 would be unstoppable. If he has any speed left, the niners kick those tires too. TO has the heart and all of the tools to play in JH’s offense: tough, good blocker, can go over the middle, very good hands.
Good points Grant. I think both were big time players but TO did run the whole route tree while Moss just beat people with his deep speed and leaping ability.
Well put, thank you.
Give me moss for a 1000 I win the daily double.
owens dropped LOTS more passes than moss and although moss quit on his team a couple of times owens was a far bigger distraction in the locker room especialy to his QB’s
If we roll out Smith, we gather no Moss…..
@bayarea….very creative
I’m not sure how much Smith factor’s into Moss’ decision on the Niners. He wants money, a ring and reputation boost, not necessarily more stats. He has the HOF stats already.
I was going to read this blog and then point out that the post count seems to be down because there’s no Alex Smith potential in discussing the careers of Moss and Owens.
It didn’t take long to prove me wrong.
Owens BY FAR. He is the complete receiver. He does EVERYTHING on the field you could ask of your WR. His downfall obviously was his attitude, but he was a BEAST. The only on field thing that he lacked was soft hands, but he came up big when needed. He CARRIED the Eagles offense in the 04 superbowl on a broken Ankle from just a few weeks earlier. I wish his attitude was more like Rice and remained in San Fran longer, but it is what it is. The niners have had arguably two of the greatest QB’s of all time and arguably two of the greatest WR of all time.
Agreed!
Moss
Better hands
Deep threat
Better jumper and catcher
————————————————
Owens
More physical
Better blocker
Better route runner
More heart
For a team like NO moss would fit in better
For a blue collar west coast offense team like the 49ers Owens would be a better fit. Both have issues but I’ve never heard of Owens quitting.
Owens for this team he can turn that short smith pass into yac better than moss. It would be owens
+1
Owens Owens Owens
razoreater/joe starkey one in the same
With a competent QB, Moss is/was a bigger game changer. So more valuable. Owens could work a game but wasn’t so sudden. If you have an average QB, TO was more valuable, because his game was more general and was tougher. At the end of the day, who cares? They’re both scum…
Scum? Really? Its just sports. Get over yourself.
You get over yourself, cause you don’t know jack.
You’re right.
MJ doesn’t know Jack hammer.
Neither do you. And if you were talking football knowledge, where is your great insightful post?
Pure talent I think Moss wins this one! TO was much better after the catch and both could’ve had much better overall careers if they weren’t Egotistic Divas that were toxic to their teams. Had Moss actually decided he wanted to play when he was in Oakland he would’ve eclipsed TO’s stats, also he had Daunte Culpepper (who’s was only goo because of Moss) and a QB carousel prior to joining the Pats, vs. Young, Garcia ( in his prime) McNabb (in his prime) and Romo.
T.O. hands down. Out of the typical 20-route pass tree, Randy Moss ran about 5 (Go, Fade, Bubble, Post, Flag)…only 3 of which he ran with precision. I have literally watched Terrell Owens run every single pass route/combination there is. And Moss wasn’t THAT much faster than Owens was…..trust me.
I always thought that Moss had more natural talent than TO, but TO worked a lot harder than Moss.
I’d have to say TO was the better receiver because he never quit on his teams and put considerably more effort into being a great WR. He had a problem holding onto the ball, but I never thought it was for lack of trying.
Moss, on the other hand, would throw a lazy arm into the air and whiff at a ball if he wasn’t in the mood to make a play. He had all the potential to go down as one of the greatest in NFL history, but lacked the work ethic to put up the kind of statistics he was capable of achieving.
Right, and our offence demands the WR to block, Has Moss ever blocked anyone? Not sure this will really help us unless he is used as the third wr and just runs go routes!
They play the same position, but they were totally different type players. T.O. needs no one to speak for him, you can go to youtube or any highlight site and his work is on display and speaks for itself with multiple teams. No way T.O. goes to the Raiders or the Titans and becomes a non factor. The Boi put in work no matter where he ended up. 1.Blocking down field for Garrison Hearst (remember), 2. taking the top off the defense 3. catching balls through the middle of the field 4. running sweeps. it didn’t matter. “That being said, the 9ers already have 3-4, so give me Moss to take the top off the defense at this stage of their careers.
Check the stats, Grant, Jerry Rice has the most 50+ yard TDs of all time, so be it a slant or a bomb, Jerry is the top deep threat (most likely to go yard) of all time!
On a scale of 1 to 9, I would rank T O as a 9 for his all around skills and ability. The two major questions in my mind are: with Randy, what if the way he was used overall was by design that he consistently ran sideline patterns and was just not frequently asked to do otherwise, and, back when we go Braylon, and especially when Owens sent out the invite that he was healthy, why didn’t somebody (preferbly my Niners) grab him. The man is older, wiser, scared, and flat broke. I think he would have bent over backward, sideways and any other for a real shot at the NFL again.
You are an idiot, sure Owens might have looked better with his routes and could block a bit better when needed, but look at the stats moss’ numbers don’t lie far better then Owens
I hate to disagree, but I will. Several posts claim that TO never quit on his team….BS…If your mind isn’t in the game instead of trying to come up with some stupid ‘ Sharpie’ moment, you have already quit on your team. These cute little stunts shortened his term as a niner when he forced us to cut him or trade him. He was (is) a sure HOFer for when he was playing ball, but as to the question…I think it’s a tie because RM wasn’t a niner when he screwed off.
@oregon
You are correct.
It is not accurate. The difference between them is that Moss didn’t even try during the play. See the Raider games for reference.
TO did try.
They both are not precise route runners and both quit on routes, both do not block. I would pick Moss simply because he had better hands, he would catch anything… Dante Culpepper would attest to that.
I’ll take T.O all day over Moss mainly because he was taught by the GOAT…how to work hard and perfect the WR craft…Moss only did one thing…run Go routes. I’m with Grant
Moss was more consistently a good target—–TO? too many dropped
passes
Grant, you indicate Moss would not have made the Catch.
Perhaps. But if not for the multiple dropped balls in the rest
of that game, the Catch would not have been needed
Are you serious, Randy Moss over Owens all day son!!
And as far as being a better athlete MOSS over owens all day too!!
Moss was the best football, basketball, and baseball player in West Virginia.
Moss was named the top basketball player in West Virginia even when he was playing alongside future NBA player Jason Williams.
Moss. We’re not talking about a career, we’re talking about “in their prime”. Moss in his prime is second only to Jerry Rice. TO is way down the list.
True
To bad Alex can’t throw deep he would be great other wise lol haaaa
ok
Moss. If Owens could catch balls with his mouth, he’d have 500 TDs. I was happy the when 9ers got rid of him.
Owens is the hardest wr to bring down in history after the catch, and for comparing him to rice, you arent old enough to remember, but rice was every bit the diva that TO was but didnt have Youtube type media following him around, Moss is the best Deep threat in the game ever, and also the biggest waste of talent ever, had he any heart his numbers could have matched rices,
As for our current niner team Owens is the better fit, from a route tree and a want to block, Moss as money as he could still be wont be the first read ever because of the time it will take him to get to the second level,