Which Record Stands Longer?

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

Emmitt Smith's All-Time Rushing record or Jerry Rice's All-Time Receiving Record?

Simple question.

Emmitt Smith has 18,355 rushing yards in 15 seasons with 4,409 attemps to get there.

Jerry Rice has 22,895 receiving yards in 21 seasons with 1549 catches to get there.



I'd say Rice's record is more obtainable for a few reasons. The first being the evolution of offensive schemes in the NFL, it's become a passing league in recent years and that means more catches for wideouts and in return less carries for the tailbacks. Add in that the RB has become more than just a runner and in recent years has been splitting time going with the two headed monster type of deal it doesn't bode well for rushing hopefuls.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Even with football becoming more of a passing game than a running one, I'm still going to say that Rice's record will stand longer. Let's take somebody like Anquan Boldin for example. He's been in the league for seven years and has 586 receptions. That's an average of 84 receptions a season. If he wants to pass Rice, he would have to average 84 receptions for 11 more years and he will be almost 40. Even somebody like Moss is over six hundred receptions behind Rice and he's 33 and I don't see a rookie in the future getting 90 or 100 receptions a year for 15 years. Longevity is key in both of those records and these records to me will stand for a long time.

 

[Davi323]

I would say Rice's last longer. Barry Sanders would have easily surpassed Emmitt Smith's totals had he played a few more seasons. Emmitt owes his rushing title to Sander's abrupt retirement. Plus, he is only two thousand yards ahead. 18 thousand rushing yards is a lot...but not impossible. Rice is so far ahead of everyone else though, it will be impossible for any WR to duplicate. Rice had two HOF QBs throwing to him, and one of, if not the toughest training regimen any WR ever endured. Jerry Rice stayed in immaculate shape, which gave abnormal longevity at the top. Any WR hoping to challenge his records already has to play at least 16-17 years to have any chance, and to play that long at the level Rice played at? No way. Jerry Rice was a freak of nature, insane work ethic combined with top level talent. He was a flat out catching machine.

 

[Megatron]

I'm gonna have to agree with you, Blue. I mean, the passing game has evolved so much from now then it was back then, and the rule changes have favored the offense more and more nowadays. With all of the 4,000 yard passers we've been getting and the disappearance of a one back system, I think it's gonna be tough for a guy to get to 18,000. Chris Johnson and Peterson could get there if they can retain some health and not break down once they get 30, but I see a better chance of someone like Andre Johnson or Randy Moss breaking Rice's yards record. Idk how much either of them have, but Johnson has a shitload of years left and is clearly the best WR in the league.

So yeah, Smiths record will stay longer.

 

[Big Sexy]

The answer is easily Jerry Rice's. Jerry Rice played 20 NFL seasons and played all 16 games in 18 of those seasons. There was only one season where he didn't play at least 12 games. He also had at least 1,000 yards receiving in 14 seasons.

The closest players behind Rice are Issac Bruce, Randy Moss, and Terrell Owens who are all around 8,000 yards behind. I mean TO is 36 and even if he played 4 more seasons and averaged 1,000 yards per season, he'd still be 4,000 yards behind.

Emmit Smith wouldn't even have the record if Barry Sanders had played about 2-3 more seasons. Shit, LT at age 31 is 8th all time on the rushing list and is only about 6,000 yards behind Smith. He obviously isn't going to pass him but it shows that a current player has at least come close.

The fact is that Jerry Rice played at such a high level for so long, he set the bar almost too high. A running back would just need a great 10-12 year run and then hang around for a few more years past their prime and they'd have a shot. I'm not saying it will be easy or will happen anytime soon but I think it is a lot more probable then breaking Jerry Rice's record.

Smith only had 3 seasons of over 1,500 yards rushing. He has the record because of consistency. I know running backs have a shorter shelf life then receivers but I think it is easier to be consistent for 14 or 15 seasons as a running back then it would be to dominate for about 10 seasons and then have another 8-10 years of consistent play at receiver.

 

[Big Sexy]

but I see a better chance of someone like Andre Johnson or Randy Moss breaking Rice's yards record. Idk how much either of them have, but Johnson has a shitload of years left and is clearly the best WR in the league.

Moss is about 8,400 yards behind Rice, but remember Moss is 33 and even if he averaged 1,500 yards per season for 5 more years (which isn't going to happen) he still wouldn't have the record. Andre Johnson, believe it or not, is already 29 and is a good 15,000 yards behind Rice. He has already had 3 seasons of under 1,000 yards receiving and has virtually no shot of passing Jerry Rice.

 

[gd]

Even with it being more of a passing league. Rice's is much tougher. The number is just so high, it's ridiculous. Most WR's lose it by age 35, meaning they have virtually no chance of breaking it. You have to play damn near till 40 and still play at a top level. I don't see that happening, certainly not with someone who's already in the league.

Not only is Smith's number lower, but RB's actually put up bigger yardage numbers, for the most part. Just last year Christ Johnson went over 2,000. A RB could get there with something like 1,600 a year for 10 years, which isn't ludicrous by any means, and that's not even taking into account the couple of years past their prime when they're still in the league. It could easily be broken within the next 10 or 15 years.