[88TG88]

NFL Network was doing a list of the ten receivers with the best hands. Cris Carter was #1, which is not a bad call, and Raymond Berry was #2 and Steve Largent was #3. Larry Fitzgerald was #4, which was purely a media ploy.

But what really chafed me was #5. They named Fred Biletnikoff #3. Now, I'll acknowledge that he made a lot of catches, and with the help of artificial sticky substances he generally had good hands.

But for crying out loud, talk about an overrated receiver. Best hands? Hall of Fame? Gets a college award named after him? Let's compare him to the best receiver for his arch-rival, a fine gentleman named Otis Taylor.

Speed: Otis Taylor left that Raider in the dirt. Not even close.

Hands: Please. Otis Taylor by a mile. Watch the games.

Routes: Maybe even.

Big-Play Ability: Who turned a short pass into a long touchdown in a Super Bowl? Who? Otis.

Production: Over the course of their careers, Otis averaged 56 yards per game. That Raider averaged 47.

Size: Otis Taylor was a scary speciman. That Raider was small and skinny.

Blocking: See "size".

Long-term Dominance: Biletnikoff made 6 pro bowls and 2 all-pros. In those seasons, he averaged 49 catches for 781 yards. Otis made 3 pro bowls and 2 all-pros. In those seasons, he averaged 57 catches for 1076 yards.

Single-Season Dominance: Otis' best season was 58 catches for 1,297 yards and 8 TDs, averaging 22.4 yards per catch. Biletnikoff's best season was 61 catches for 1,037 yards and 17.0 yards per catch, with 6 TDs

Career Performance: Otis played in 130 games and made 410 catches for 7,306 yards and 57 TDs,17.8 yards per catch. Biletnikoff played in 190 games and made 589 catches for 8,974 yards and 76 TDs, with 15.2 yards per catch. See "longevity" below.

Longevity: This is the only area that the Raider wins, since he lasted 14 years, compared to Otis' 10 seasons (excluding one season where Otis was active but didn't catch any passes). Biletnikoff had 10 seasons where he caught 40+ passes, while Otis had 5.

So why does Biletnikoff get all the credit? He played longer, so he caught more passes. But in a typical game, Otis outplayed him, outgained him, and was a scarier guy to play against.

Man, it ticks me off that Otis doesn't get the attention, and that also-ran gets all the glory.

QFT, I've never understood why he is one of "the best ever". IIRC, there was another guy on the team who was way better, but no one every mentions him.

ill post name later

edit: I think his name was Powell.