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Randy Moss has the numbers. But Keyshawn Johnson believes he has the overall package and should be considered the best wide receiver in the NFL.
By RICK STROUD
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 30, 2001
MINNEAPOLIS -- Keyshawn Johnson is no Randy Moss.
Those six words are frequently used as a slam against Johnson, the Bucs' flamboyant receiver, as much as they are to compliment the multitalented Moss.
One NFL scout, speaking anonymously, recently said exactly that when asked to provide a preview of the Bucs' weapons in Sports Illustrated.
But Johnson, who plays in the NFC Central and will share the field with Moss today at the Metrodome, gets that sort of comparison all the time.
No Moss? No mas!
Of course he's not as good as Moss, Johnson will tell you. That's because he believes he's better.
"Of course, they're going to always throw Moss in my face. Moss, Moss, Moss," Johnson said. "Because there are so many similarities there. The size, the brashness.
"A lot of people based on what happened last football season want to say his numbers are better than mine so he's a better receiver. I don't have the numbers everybody thinks I should have. But to me, there's a bigger package than just catching deep touchdowns. I look at the broad scope of things. I'm a complete receiver."
Choosing between Johnson and Moss might be like taking Coke over Pepsi, McDonald's over Wendy's or Ginger over Mary Anne.
So let's begin by stating that both players are -- at 6 feet 4 -- already enormous talents.
"You can't go wrong by taking either receiver, to me," Johnson said.
But the numbers might indicate otherwise. In three NFL seasons, Moss, drafted 21st overall in 1998, has 4,163 receiving yards and 43 touchdowns, including 17 in '98, when he was the rookie of the year. In five seasons, Johnson has 39 touchdowns and 5,053 yards.
"His numbers are astonishing," said Johnson, the No. 1 overall pick by the Jets in '96. "There's no question about it. He got drafted into a nice situation.
"He had a coach who believed in him, and he was on a good team. I went to a team that was 1-15 and helped get my team to the AFC championship (two years later)."
Johnson's career has flourished despite playing with nine quarterbacks: Neil O'Donnell, Frank Reich, Glenn Foley, Ray Lucas, Vinny Testaverde, Tom Tupa, Rick Mirer, Shaun King and Brad Johnson.
Of those, only Testaverde reached the Pro Bowl while teaming with Johnson.
Meanwhile, Moss went to a Super Bowl contender and has played in a pass-happy system under coach Dennis Green.
Although he has had four quarterbacks, two of whom went to the Pro Bowl -- Randall Cunningham, the most valuable player in '98 and Daunte Culpepper.
"He's a good player. I'm not going to say he's not a great player," Johnson said. "But it's two totally different styles of player. One is way more physical than the other. There's not even a question about that.
"One runs in a straight line. He catches go routes. If he doesn't catch a go route, then he's not going to hurt you. He's not going to hurt you on third and 6."
Then again, Moss will change the scoreboard.
Not only does Moss have a size and leaping advantage over most cornerbacks, he possesses an extra gear in the open field. He has told his quarterbacks who see him well-covered on occasion, "If I'm even, I'm leaving."
No team understands that better than the Bucs, who have been hurt by Moss in their past three trips to the Metrodome -- all losses.
Though Johnson is as clutch a receiver as there is in the NFL, Moss' production gives him the nod in the minds of many.
Among those is Bucs defensive tackle Warren Sapp, who rates Moss as the best in the league.
"Catches, yards, touchdowns," Sapp said. "(Moss) is the best. And outside of that, just the overall fact that you must account for him every play.
"There are five plays in the game that are going to decide it. And if you're not conscious on every play that he lines up, those five plays are going to come fast."
Johnson, who went through a transition year after being traded to Tampa Bay, caught eight touchdowns last season -- all coming in just six games.
"What he did to the Rams, I did to the Rams," Johnson said. "What he did to us, I did to them. What's the difference?"
In the first game against the Vikings, though, Johnson fumbled on the first play from scrimmage, leading to a Minnesota touchdown.
"Last year at Minnesota, I fumbled that ball and they forgot about me," Johnson said. "They came to me no more. It was a big fumble that put them up 7-0. There's no question about that. It was something I normally would never do. It happens.
"And all of a sudden, they take a mentality to forget about me? For that? Forget about you? But (the Vikings are) not afraid to use their weapons. Because of that, Moss has been a benefactor of that and been able to put up huge numbers."
With new offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen and a new veteran quarterback, Johnson said he's ready for a breakout year. If the first game was an indication, he's right. Despite a deep thigh bruise sustained on the fifth play of the game against Dallas, Johnson caught seven passes for 71 yards.
"Our games are totally different," Johnson said. "I'm more of a physical guy who doesn't mind going in the middle of the field. From what everybody says about him, he doesn't like going in the middle of the field. He doesn't like to be hit. No receiver likes to be hit, but he shies away from contact.
"They say I lack pure speed. I don't think I lack pure speed. The one time they threw deep at me against Minnesota was a completion down to the 5-yard line. So where do I lack the ability to go deep? What was the longest catch of my career? (It was 65.) I've gone 50s and 60s in this league. I don't know where they come up with that. This is a league of perceptions."
One perception of Moss is his unwillingness to block.
In Sunday's 17-10 loss at Chicago, Moss did not attempt to block for running back Michael Bennett on a critical third and 1 in the second half.
In games at Tampa, Moss has quit on routes, taken plays off and once began walking to the Vikings' sideline during an interception return.
"They're having some problems. So now what?" Johnson said. "Is he still considered, after two games, the best receiver in the game? What happens after they play the Bucs this week and then go to New Orleans? Will he still be considered the best receiver in the game if, say, his numbers don't reach what they typically would be for him? But that's not fair to him, either.
"He can't block. That's what I would like to see him do. Then he'd have a complete game. Block, run some crossing routes, slants into the middle linebacker, taking dudes on. Take some shots. Look for hits instead of running out of bounds. Then he can get everybody off his back as far as that. I'm pretty sure everybody would like to see me go vertical more. Well, it's not that I can't. We just haven't done it."
Sapp, however, said he disagrees with the argument that all Moss can do is go deep.
"I've seen him catch a hitch and take to the house," Sapp said. "I've seen him catch a square in on us, turn it and outrace everybody to the corner. When the ball is in his hands, there's no better guy. That guy is special.
"There are areas for him to get better at. There's always room for improvement. But from a receiver's standpoint, if you're going to throw the ball, who are you taking?"