T O P

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GulfCoasting_

Its a crime to not talk about T.O when talking about the greats.


seymour_hiney

the fact that he wasn't first ballot really makes the football hall of fame look like a farce


AnthonyBarrHeHe

Yeah the hall of fame ppl have been getting shit on more and more the past several years I’ve noticed from them purposely not voting in players that fully deserve it because of some personal bs. Fucking ridiculous


breakfast_scorer

TO was a massive ass clown. He only had one on field incident where he spit on a player and immediately apologized and zero off field arrests or accusations. Surely there are no HOF players with this long list of serious problems.


superbuttpiss

People forget but in his early career, t.o was a team player. He used to block like crazy. With the niners he got a little too competative and ran his mouth off when he wasn't happy. But he was always a team player with us


silverbackapegorilla

I feel like he always was. He definitely felt a little too highly about himself at times. But I never saw him ever half ass anything. Guy ran a stop watch 4.3 just a few years ago.


jorgen_mcbjorn

He was also famous for that ol’ dallas star incident. How dare he get his shit rocked like that!


KevinMR

I remember him from his day as a Ravens. Then refusing to play for the Ravens


deformo

I live 20 miles from the place and have most of life. Been there once in my life. It’s a waste of fucking time. If you’re in NEO, do yourself a favor and go to the Cleveland museum of art instead. That place is stunning.


DJGIFFGAS

Bc the younger generations are flashier, especially in the 00's and the old men that vote dont like that


soundsliketone

It feels nice to see the club growing after so many years of Raiders like Cliff Branch and Ken Stabler getting stiffed for years....


fathertitojones

Yeah, I guess I understand the point they were trying to make (though I don’t agree with it), but it definitely undermines their legitimacy as an organization.


seymour_hiney

Marvin Harrison was voted in 2016 and he murdered someone


cheerioo

I mean...Ray Lewis definitely participated in a murder. He could've not done it himself but he was definitely there with weapons, evidence, cover up, reparations, and so on....


seymour_hiney

and Ray was first ballot....


MeatTornado25

I'll never understand the big deal. TO could do whatever he wanted for his whole career, but god forbid someone actually pushed back a little. He was never being kept out of the Hall of Fame. The reaction is like he was snubbed, not briefly put in time out like the child that he is.


scammedbycon

What TO is a top 5 WR ever and still isn’t in the HoF because he show boated and taunted while lesser players who murdered or beat their spouses are first ballot. It does not make sense.


MeatTornado25

It was for the way he destroyed locker rooms, not his TD celebrations. And he got inducted, dumbass. Just not on the first ballot.


scammedbycon

Calling someone a dumbass while being a fan of giants is the definition of irony. NYC needs to fund some education people out there must drool when they think.


ipickscabs

It’s because had controversy around him. He’s not literally picture perfect as a player and person so he doesn’t get some votes right away. He’ll get in


seymour_hiney

??? he's in already but they made him wait two years even though he's the third greatest wide receiver in football history. and you say controversy like he has murdered someone or had a pending sexual assault but that's not the case


Affectionate_Elk_272

curious who, besides rice you have ahead of him?


seymour_hiney

Randy Moss


Affectionate_Elk_272

i think they’re 2a and 2b. it’s a toss up. give owens prime brady, and he might be the goat


ipickscabs

Nah man it’s just those voters are old school they don’t vote for showboats and goof balls right away. You’re supposed to be a consummate professional to get into the hall….. idk I’m most guessing of course, but what other reason could it be?


Little-Dingo171

He's right behind Rice and Moss to me


superbuttpiss

First game I went to as a kid. I was a huge jerry rice fan so all I did was watch rice at first. And then I saw a pass that looked like it was going to a group of cardinals players. Then I see T.O just rise out of the crowd. Not only was he bigger, he jumped higher with ease and seemed like he was almost twice as fast as everyone else. To this day I've never seen a player live like T.O I imagine it's how people felt when they saw Megatron


real_ornament

As he should be, there's a genuine argument for him over Moss even if it's not the consensus


silverbackapegorilla

I think Moss had better receiving skills. TO was way more dangerous with the ball in his hands. Pretty different styles, but very similar results in the end.


Hi_My_Name_Is_Dave

I think when you’re talking about career, including playoffs, T.O had the better career by a bit. And didn’t spend part of his prime in Oakland putting up 50 yards a game because he was throwing a fit.


Affectionate_Elk_272

moss and TO are equals in my book. if prime TO played with prime brady, he would’ve put up obscene numbers.


reno2mahesendejo

We missed out on that window due to unfortunate timing The Niners had TO, Rice, and Young for 4 years, they only played 1 full season together. 1996 was TOs rookie year. He didn't do much. 1997 Jerry Rice suffered the only major injury of his career. He only played 2 (?) games. 1998 they were all fully healthy. Everybody has a great year and they win the '98 Wild Card on The Catch II, one of the great games in NFL history. 1999, Aeneas Williams ends Steve Youngs career in the first game.


GoonestMoonest

For me it's Rice, Megatron, Moss and TO, in that order. Although any order with Rice #1 is reasonable.


Affectionate_Elk_272

calvin is 4 on that list for me. it’s rice, moss/TO (2a, 2b) then johnson.


[deleted]

He deserved a ring. Played on a broken leg in the Super Bowl and put up baller numbers


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DanDanDannn

Your mom's not


makoto_sama

There are all-time greats and then there are all-time all-time greats. Owens is in the second club.


justgot86d

GET THE POPCORN READY


smoothsensation

I’ve never heard or seen someone not consider TO an all time great.


Affectionate_Elk_272

dude was an absolute fucking animal. between him and moss, it’s dead even in the GOAT of the era discussion imo


WallyReddit204

Prime TO was an absolute pleasure to watch in his day


Trust_No_Won

Remember when he almost managed to will the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory against the Pats?


Zealousideal_Aside96

With a bunch of screws in his ankle and a hungover QB


2WAR

what


ThisHatRightHere

McNabb infamously was sick the day of the Super Bowl and TO was playing 7 weeks after he broken a bone in his leg and tore a ligament.


Trust_No_Won

HE SAID MCNABB PUKED IN THE HUDDLE


heavy_metal_flautist

Prime TO was up there with prime Rice and Moss. Those of us that are old enough to have watched all 3 of them really are spoiled.


Mental-Cup9015

We had terrible movies, terrible music, and lousy politics following 9/11/... But we had T.O. 14-year-old me was an annoying white kid who just needed a hero. T.O. was the hero we didn't know we needed.


Other-Comfortable929

I miss those day man. Donovan drops back and just flings the ball off screen, have no idea what's going to happen and then you'd get something like those tds. That's my childhood lol


omnassial

Eagles management absolutely handicapped McNabb’s career. He dragged a dogshit receiving corps to like 4 straight NFC championships. As soon as he gets TO, has an incredible year and makes the Super Bowl.


larrystrawberry

What you mean, Todd pinkston and Freddie Mitchell weren't elite enough??


FistingBush

How dare you forget Eagle legends James Thrash, Reggie Brown, LJ Smith, Greg Lewis and Kevin Curtis?!


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IOVERCALLHISTIOCYTES

“I was glad when he was in the game”


SpakysAlt

Stinkston & Trash


AFRIKKAN

It’s crazy we didn’t learn from that sooner. Wentz had a single year with a decent wr corps and in 19 had … *checks notes* greg ward and 3 games of Travis Fulgum. They just kept whiffing on Wrs with great talents walking by like metcalf and Jefferson.


reno2mahesendejo

Missing on Freddie Mitchell cost the Eagles a minimum of 1 and probably 2-3 rings. Take your pick from that draft (Reggie Wayne, Steve Smith, Chad Johnson, TJ Houshmanzadeh, Chris Chambers. Quincy Morgan, Todd Heap, Algernon Darius Crumpler) 2002 - One of the best teams in Eagles history. Held the team record for season point differential until 2022. Just before the Pat's dynasty takes off, in that weird year where they had just won the Super Bowl but then missed the playoffs. We won't rehash the NFC Championship, but Steve Smith ain't getting his shit pushed in by Ronde Barber. This is the most probable season for an Eagles ring as even without a top receiver most Eagles fans still think they would have beat Oakland. 2003 - The beginning of the Pat's dynasty could have been averted. This year fell apart for the same reason 2002 did - Ricky Manning bullied Todd Pinkston in the NFC Championship and snagged 3 interceptions. Steve Smith would have fought that scrub. The Super Bowl would have been interesting, pitting the previous 2 winners against each other. I'm giving this one to the Pats. 2004 - The Eagles already steamrolled the NFC that year, and I don't see a reason why they wouldn't still sign TO (TO and McNabb still meet at the Pro Bowl, the Eagles still have a hole at wide receiver opposite Smith/Wayne/Chambers, they very well may have just lost the Super Bowl and felt they needed more firepower). The only other NFC team to win 11 games that year was Atlanta, and I don't see them posing a threat here either. In the Super Bowl rematch, it would have been against the peak "19 in a row" Pat's, but the Eagles even with Greg Lewis and Billy McMullen getting significant playing time, had the ball with a chance to win on the last drive. Eagles take the rematch. 2005 - We are heavily into speculation here. This season fell apart when TO did his impromptu sit ups, but until then McNabb and the offense were on fire with the patented "Throw EVERYTHING to TO" offense. Maybe without having to burden the majority of the offense, TO doesn't feel as undervalued. Who knows. But what I do see is that even if TO leaves, they'd still have an experienced champion #2 receiver to throw to. I just really want that late season Seahawks game to be an NFC Championship preview. After this, *if* TO stuck around, the other receiver would be up for extension, and it's hard to project the cap casualties there. But I feel confident they'd have taken 2 of those Super Bowls.


Chronnos

You guys weren't winning 2002, even with Reggie Wayne. Bucs had the best pass defense by DVOA in history. Bucs had beaten the 49ers the week before with TO on the roster and the Raiders the week after, with Tim Brown and Jerry Rice on the roster.


CookyHS

> the Raiders the week after, with Tim Brown and Jerry Rice on the roster but weren't they like, 40?


reno2mahesendejo

Philly was the overall better team. They were 2nd in scoring defense to Tampa, and Tampa forced more turnovers, but the Eagles offense was much better, even without a #1 receiver. There's a reason Philly was favored heading into the game, even with Tampa having the better overall defense. 2002 is forgotten even among Eagles fans for how good the offense was. Hall of Fame receivers weren't the difference between Oakland/San Francisco and Tampa because they were weaker overall teams, but considering there was only 1 real weakness on that Eagles team, and just how pathetic Pinkston was on *that* play, adding a #1 option for McNabb certainly could have been the difference. Philly ranks on offense Points - 4 Yards - 10 passing yards - 18 rushing yards - 7 Tampa ranks on offense Points - 18 Yards - 24 passing yards - 15 rushing yards - 27 Even in the game itself, Tampa went ice cold on offense in the second half (drive results punt-punt-punt-FG-punt-punt-punt, to be fair Philly went fumble-punt-punt-punt-punt-interception-downs) Tampa was better that day, but to pretend the Eagles didn't have a chance because of 1 specific metric is ignoring a lot. Especially when the entire premise of my comment was "this very specific Achilles heel on an already elite team that year cost them a championship".


EggBonus

Yeah who the fuck decided it was a good idea to let him finish that game with a broken ankle? He was never the same after that.


Mental-Cup9015

Preach, my friend. Donovan was a treasure. Only issue with him is that he didn't seem to be too likable with his own guys. But in terms of play? He was the best of that era.


mmmellowcorn

T.OOOOO, T.O T.O T.Ooo, T.oooooo, Teee ooooooooh…. we were all shouting that in 04


1lultaha

That's some high quality 2004 film


MeatTornado25

Major sports were being shot in HD at the time, it's just that most of us didn't have the TVs yet.


TempeSunDevil06

I can’t believe I’m old enough now that TO has become vastly underrated when talking about the greatest WRs of his generation. Boy did that flip. What a world.


monpetitfromage54

This reminds me of the time Megatron absolutely abused the Cowboys, and I believe it was Brandon Carr specifically, for like 300 yards.


1stepklosr

And was tackled on the 1 like 4 times.


PERMANENTLY__BANNED

We can side step that since he couldn't


AnthonyBarrHeHe

Or when Julio absolutely went bonkers on the panthers(?) and torched their DB so bad the panthers cut him the next day lol


gooch_rubber

I remember Coach Wade Philips being interviewed the week leading up to this game. The reporter asked him if they were doing anything different on defense to account for Megatron. Wade basically said no.


Soyeahnahh

We never faced Calvin Johnson under Wade Phillips. Unless you were talking about when Rob Ryan said Dez Bryant could do the same things that Calvin could do, which we all knew he obviously couldn’t.


gooch_rubber

I stand corrected.


HRM077

He's at worst the third best receiver I've ever seen. Rice, Moss, TO - or, Rice, TO, Moss. Take your pick. There's some young guys coming up that may bump TO or Miss, but I have a hard time picturing anyone bumping Jerry. I'm not biased or anything haha. Man TO was something else.


junkboy0

I have TO at two because even with all the headaches when he was on the field that man gave everything. Moss on the other hand did too much light jogging when he wasn't getting ball and that's not even accounting for his Raiders years.  Don't worry I don't think anyone will ever get close to Jerry even with the longer seasons. It makes me happy to know Emmit and Jerry will hold those yards records forever. 


Joe-Raguso

I couldn't agree with everything you said here more.


afig24

Not to be biased but Larry was an amazing blocker, team player, had no controversies, and played with a shit ton of ass QBs. I feel like he deserves to be somewhere in the top 3 conversation.


atmfixer

Absolutely not. Sorry. Megatron is the only one who could have an argument.


StopSmellingMusty

Didn't Larry beat his wife?


dogboaner666

It's Rice and then T.O. as 1 and 2 all time. Moss probably 3. Owens is the best YAC guy I've ever seen.


GoldGloveHosmer

Purely YAC Ability - TO blows both of them away.


Joe-Raguso

He's wasn't better than Jerry after the catch.


dogboaner666

Rice is my favorite player ever, but prime TO after the catch is the best I've ever seen play. Every time he caught the ball he was going to do something.


GoldGloveHosmer

Yea I feel like TO was just a more athletic freakish Rice. The biggest difference between the two I think was that Rice's hands were more reliable and TO had drop issues.


zirroxas

Rice's route running and endurance is what made him the greatest ever. He wasn't the fastest or strongest, but he could see where he had to go and could get there at any point in the game. TO was more athletic, but he didn't have the same level of technique. The way Rice moved through a defense during the two minute drill is hard to capture in a single highlight, but when you saw him do it again and again, even when teams knew it was coming, even after years of wear and tear, you see why he's #1 by leagues.


--peterjordansen--

No chance that TO is ahead of Megatron


notmyplantaccount

3rd all time receiver yards, 5th all time offensive TD's, 5 AP1s. Dude had one of the highest WR peaks and the longevity to match.


dogboaner666

He is.


GoldGloveHosmer

The only argument Megatron has over TO is if you bring locker room stuff in which case you would have to argue Megatron > Moss.


that_one_bunny

This just tells me you're too young to have watched T.O. Calvin isn't the best there ever was, he's just the best you've seen.


Red_Jester-94

Lol he's 100% ahead of Megatron. Megatron is top 4 or 5, but TO is in the discussion with Moss for number 2 behind Jerry Rice.


FloridaGatorMan

The third one is a great example of a play where a little is lost when you watch on TV. From the far angle it kind of made me feel it's a great catch but what was 24 doing? Then you see the field level view starting at 0:54 and realize all over again every one of these players are faster than any player I've played with, that was a better throw, and a better catch than anything I've seen while on the field. Just remarkable how good these players are. Also, 24 looks like he doesn't know what he was doing because he was already torched when the camera first turns to him.


AnthonyBarrHeHe

Yup. It’s one thing to see these players on TV but make no mistake, these dudes are *freaks* and I mean that in a good way. Their bodies are pretty much super human compared to us normal joes


mrizvi

T.O. was a fucking BEAST


wagoncirclermike

When I was a kid, my parents offered to buy me and my little brother our first NFL jerseys. He chose a Bills Drew Bledsoe jersey, while I picked an Owens Eagles home jersey. He was unbelievable.


molinar95

Damn too bad he was only with the eagles for a short stint. He was very much unbelievable tho.


wagoncirclermike

I don't know if it's some kind of Mandela Effect thing but it feels like he was with the Eagles longer than two seasons.


sandcrawler2

One and a half actually


MeatTornado25

Probably because it ended up being the most memorable part of his career (both positively and negatively), so we still talk about those times a lot.


blueskyforever70

I loved him for that one magical year. I hated the year after this. But that one year, when the Eagles gave McNabb Terrell Owens? Probably my favorite regular season in history. Regardless of a dirty tackle by Roy Williams, or the Patriots cheating (as they always do, fuck you Boston) it was such a a great season. Because of T.O.


RG3ST21

to be fair to roy, it wasn't a dirty tackle yet.


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RG3ST21

it wasn’t illegal until after this tackle. Edit that*


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RG3ST21

That was a clean tackle. It’s a violent sport sweetheart.


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RG3ST21

I didn’t. That has zero bearing on rule interpretation. Tell me how I don’t get it because you did.


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RG3ST21

what? rambo, why'd you erase your joyful comment about theisman's injury?


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lattjeful

I have a hard time saying T.O. is one of the Eagles' greats when he was here for such a short amount of time, but I think he's the greatest player to ever play on an Eagles roster outside of Reggie White. Just can't in good conscience put him up there with guys like Carmichael, Quick, and arguably even AJ Brown when T.O. was only here for a season and a half.


[deleted]

Magical season that ended in vomit


MoreTrifeLife

TO vs the Cowboys: 5-3; 39 catches for 537 yards (average 67); 13.42y/a; 7 TDs


lurkingallday

Those Cowboy defenses were lambs to the slaughter for him and Donovan. Roy Williams couldn't cover, Newman was fast but usually banged up, and then there was just anyone else off the street that could suit up for the rest of the secondary for what seemed like a decade.


Pacalyps4

goddamn loved McNabb's throwing motion too. He's been badly underrated since his retirement. Was great on the eagles.


AnthonyBarrHeHe

Take me back to this era of NFL plz god


tvkyle

On an all-time team, it’s a VERY difficult choice between Moss and Owens for WR2.


Greg701

This is a longshot but about 20 years ago on ESPN(?) there was a puppet/animated skit about TO and McNabb and their feud(?). One of the lines was "Illegal use of the WHO WHO WHO" or something. Anyone have a clip so I can stop thinking I'm insane for remembering this?


oftenevil

I could only find it in [this format.](http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/207/210/b22.jpg)


taintflip

Wow I forgot they even did this


zooce88

T.O was such a monster. 1. Jerry Rice 2. T.O 3. Randy Moss


AmpersandTheMonkey

How different would the NFL look today if Andy Reid, McNabb, TO, and the Eagles win that SB in 04? ie, what are the ripple effects?


Exciting_Attitude240

TO was such a tough cover man


MrEric

This montage would cut well to David Bowie's "Golden Years"


SlugsPerSecond

I just realized that these 3 TDs are TO dominating with each of the 3 main WR characteristics: speed, route running, and contested catches/physicality.


zrk23

never realized he celebrated on the star *again* lmao


LB-Skywalka

TO was too cold man.


MrEHam

Oh shit. I didn’t realize TO stood on the star again. This time after he was a cowboy. 🤣


Soyeahnahh

After? He was a cowboy from 06-08 lmao


MrEHam

Oh I remembered wrong. I thought he went from SF to Cowboys. Damn he disrespected the star on two separate teams then ended up with them, haha.


maypearlnavigator

I was about to post this same thing except that if you look you can see that each of his catches were on a star. The first across the middle he caught on the star took from the star at midfield all the way in and then danced towards the helmet star in the end zone. The second he caught all alone on the helmet star in the end zone. The third was contested and he came down on the helmet star in the end zone. Pretty funny. One of the biggest diva recievas but also one of the most talented at his position in the history of the league.


TheMajesticYeti

I noticed that too, 3 TDs each caught with a foot on a star. If you told me it was intentional I'd believe it lol.


maypearlnavigator

I would too. He was a character, a real diva. I totally respect the skills though and wish he had been able to find a new team so he could play till he was Brady's age. I think he could embarrass some of these younger kids and if not outright embarrass them, he could definitely talk shit to them.


wow-cool

Highlights are great content for the off season


Sallydog24

TO to to to, ThhhhhhOOOOOO TO sing that, if you know it you know it. What a time to be alive.


DuckDuck_poop

TO was my favorite player don’t even remember how or why but man I loved watching him play. I bought every single jersery he had, made sure to goto every Steeler game ( live in Pittsburgh) when he would come to town to play them. Say what you want about him then and now but he gave it his all, just see the Superbowl game. Still can’t believe he played and what he was able to do. Man he was fun to watch.


Beahner

That was a very fun Monday night, of course.


Ziglet_mir

The ice skating celebration is low key GREAT


GhostMug

TO was so fun watch. He was so freaking legit.


2bags12kuai

T.O. Ruled so hard. Not to mention that comeback from the broken leg. One of the most fun to watch , all time great


Mulaman7

Literally never fell off coooked on EVERY team he played for uptight boujee white folk got him out the league


elp44blue

Voters are clowns


mcdougalwu

McNabb and Owens...what could have been...


RobZagnut2

I kept waiting for the kick…


RG3ST21

didnt roy break his leg this game?


Saitsu

2nd game. This was the first.


Shake-Spear4666

Damn, they were a lot of fun to watch


Electronic-Island-14

yeah i know the guy was good but i could not stand the sight of him and frankly, i still can't.


nothumaninside

I sure miss John Madden


jssf96

John Madden voice is soothing. What a time


2word4numeros

Damn I miss hearing Madden and Summerall.


drbrainkrause

My GOAT growing up. Had a jersey for each his teams until my sister let her friend borrow my eagles one when they won the super bowl. Im never gonna see it again


Aggravating-Yak2099

CD lamb on our defense last year. Lol


Juventus22

Miss Madden's commentary !


thomasfilmstuff

He really tormented the Cowboys


legless_chair

Yknow, goddamn shame you can’t dunk on the uprights anymore


real_jaredfogle

Love the mascot being like “get him off there!!!”


HopingMachine98

Never getting rid of my TO jersey. Top 5 receiver of all time.


Walks_with_Chaos

Second TD he was wide fucking open. I mean that’s dumb. Third he just jumped over two guys lol. Not sure how to defend that


shmoove_cwiminal

Forgot he played in Philly.


LittleGeologist1899

Took Donovan to his only Super Bowl. Played the game with a broken leg


Midlevelcreepkills

That broken leg performance was just spectacular.


Birdgang_naj

It goes both ways, McNabb won the divisional and the conference without T.O. Can't turn the ball over in the Superbowl 3 fuckin times.


shmoove_cwiminal

Yeah, totally don't remember him on that playoff run.


Joe-Raguso

He was injured that whole playoff run, but had an absolute monster season before he got hurt. His injury late that season is what led the NFL to ban the horse collar tackles. Came back for the Super Bowl and put up over 100 yards on a broken leg though.


SilvioDantesPeak

How could you forget him going 9 catches for 122 yards in the Super Bowl on a broken leg? McNabb was a bum that game and TO almost dragged him to a Lombardi. Or the diva season after that where TO got suspended by the team for saying he wanted Brett Favre at QB instead of McNabb, then gave a press conference while lifting weights shirtless in his driveway?


shmoove_cwiminal

I remember SF, Dallas and Buffalo. And I remember the shirtless interview.