9/18/00
In the spring of 1985, during the first round of the NFL Draft, and
with the 16th pick, the 49ers drafted a fantasy player legend. Bill
Walsh tried to reassure the skeptical San Francisco press that the
selection was the real deal. Walsh had full faith in the recent graduate
from Mississippi Valley State, a Division II school. The detractors
questioned whether he could play in the NFL with the true elite of
the profession. He was not physically imposing at six feet tall and
200 pounds, but is was rumored that he could really run and, after
all, he did win the MVP of the Blue-Gray Game. The first season showed
real promise as he gained 927 yards and three touchdowns, but his
second season of 1,570 yards and 15TD's was the beginning of a truly
mythic player in fantasy history, Jerry Rice.
After 1986 Jerry Rice was one of the top three receivers on almost
everyone's draft sheet and that streak lasted for at least 11 years,
depending whether or not you include the year after the 1997 knee
injury season. Last year he may have slipped as one of the leagues
most valuable fantasy assets, but he was still a strong and reliable
receiver and a real grab for any fantasy team. Still, the other night
in our eight-team performance draft, Jerry Rice was not selected.
Not even picked up as a free agent by some sly team owner. For the
first time in the eleven-year history of the league, Jerry Rice was
not even considered as a part of anyone's franchise.
In the past there had been other icons felled in the draft, only to
be selected by a franchise that did not do their homework, but they
truly were no longer in the game. No one drafted Dan Marino or Steve
Young this year and it has been years since Keith Jackson was taken
twice in the same draft the year he retired. Jerry Rice is still a
real part of the game and still a threat to score on any given play.
During the beginning of the sixteenth round it was noted that this
was to be the first draft where this premier receiver was not going
to be taken and there was almost a moment of silence as the words
sank in and their significance was noted. There was some mumbling
about Jeff Garcia and the lack of faith in him and, to be noted, Terrell
Owens was not in the top ten of anybody's wide receivers list. This
may have happened in other leagues in the past, but never at ours.
It was a milestone that deserves some retrospection.
Jerry Rice owns every major wide receiver record in the NFL, both
season and career. 180 TD's, 1,195 career receptions, eleven straight
1,000 yard seasons are beyond awesome for a career still in process,
but the season of 1995 was a dream season. 122 receptions, 1,848 yards
receiving and 17 receiving TD's. It should not be forgotten that he
scored four more touchdowns, two of which were by fumble recovery
and pass. He was the mainstay for an offense that was lead by one
hall of famer and one future hall of famer in Joe Montana and Steve
Young. If you heap on three Super Bowl rings, one Super Bowl MVP,
11 straight Pro Bowl appearances and being part of the 75 years anniversary
team while still active, you have a football career that may never
be surpassed. Still, this is only one aspect to the persona of Jerry
Rice; he may even be a stronger force off of the field.
Jerry Rice is a husband, father and a giver to the community who does
not forget about his past. He gives to, and supports the March of
Dimes, AIDS Research, Packard's Children's Hospital, and both of his
former alma mattes. He has been a pillar in the San Francisco community
since his arrival and has always given of himself and his time. Despite
a minor flap over some comments he made after a super bowl and about
wanting the ball more, amidst editorial saber rattling in the Examiner
and Chronicle, he never swayed from his commitment to his adopted
home in the Bay Area. Soon the waters calmed and real life resumed,
meaning the beginning of his off-season workout schedule that brought
many of his teammates to their knees.
There is a series of hills and valleys in the Bay Area that bare thousands
of miles of footprints made during a run that made most of his fellow
players vomit at the thought of sharing a Jerry Rice stroll through
the woods. He pioneered methods of isometric training being used around
the league today. His regimes of stretching, lifting and distance
training are copied by other star players and allowed him to complete
nine straight years of starting all 16 games in a season or 144 straight
games. It was his commitment to conditioning that lead to an aborted
return in the 97 season after a devastating knee injury in the first
game of the year. During the season of 1997 he had two knee operations
and returned to form in 1998 when he had 1,157 yards, 82 receptions
and nine touchdowns. Not close to 1995, but not bad for a guy whose
ability to return to the league was questioned in many circles. 1999
was a tough season, but it could hardly be blamed on his lack of commitment
to play at the highest levels. Steve Young was gone, the offense line
was, at best, patchwork and the running game was sporadic. He had
not caught so few TD's since his rookie year, but he decided to come
back for another season.
This past summer there were rumors of Rice leaving for another team
or the 49ers letting him go, in the end all of the rumors were mute.
To the credit of the 49er organization, they paved the way for Jerry
to finish his career with the team he started out with. This is a
rare feat now days when players may perform with three or more teams
over the course of a career. The Forty Niners repaid the loyalty and
dedication of their all time receiver by retaining his services for
the millennium season. It will probably be his swan song. He may have
lost a step, or even more, and he may no longer be the team's "go
to" guy, but he is what remains of a proud dynasty and his presence
with the new crop of 49ers can do nothing but put a positive stamp
on the future of the organization. His work ethic, his integrity and
his heart will remain with the franchise long after he has cleaned
out his locker for the last time.
There are few words to describe the heart of a man who has dedicated
himself to the level of excellence no one has achieved, and can yet
give of himself unselfishly to the community, and more importantly,
kids. Jerry Rice has been nothing short of one of the classiest players
ever to grace the mud, pain and blood filled fields of the National
Football League. It is early, but I hope the man has one of the strongest
seasons out of this year's wide receiver corps. In three games he
has caught 11 passes for 125 yards and run the ball once for a minus
two. While there are no passes for a touchdown yet, they will come
and only add to record numbers already obtained. After fourteen years
in the league he deserves better then being at the bottom of someone's
draft list, but no one would probably understand the slight better
than him.
One day, a few summers ago, I met Jerry Rice and Steve Young in the
Salt Lake City airport. They were there waiting for Jerry's golf clubs
and I was there waiting for my fly rods from a recent trip to Minnesota.
I pretended I did not know who they were and they sought the privacy
of waiting away from the crowd at the luggage carousel. After we had
waited for ten minutes trying to ignore each other, Steve walked up
and asked me what I was waiting for. I explained, and he commented
that it was better to take fishing poles to Minnesota rather than
golf clubs if you had to make a choice. Clubs and fishing rods arrived
at virtually the same time. I bade them good luck for the season and
then I drafted them both in my first draft of the year. It was the
year Jerry went down with knee injury and Steve was knocked out of
the game with a concussion in the first game. It seemed that both
injuries were the beginning of the end of two brilliant careers and
I have never forgiven myself from wishing them luck, and I can't forgive
myself for not picking up Jerry Rice this year. I think I could use
a free agent with the credentials and the heart of a player who has
the class of Number 80.
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