Jerry Rice

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Full Name: Jerry Lee Rice Primary Position: WR Height/Weight: 6' 2"/200 College: Mississippi Valley State Birthdate: October 13, 1962 High School: M.S. Moor (Crawford, MS) Birthplace: Crawford, Mississippi Pro Experience: 20 years

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[edit] Biography

Jerry Lee Rice (born October 13, 1962 in Starkville, Mississippi) is a former football wide receiver in the NFL. He is generally regarded as the greatest wide receiver in NFL history. Rice was selected to the Pro Bowl 13 times (1986-1996, 1998, 2002) in his 20 NFL seasons. He won three Super Bowl rings as a member of the San Francisco 49ers. He has also played for the Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks, and played on the Denver Broncos' 2005 preseason squad before retiring.

[edit] Early life

Jerry Rice grew up in Crawford, Mississippi, the son of a brick mason. He developed his hands while working for his father by catching bricks that his brothers threw at him. Rice later recalled that working for his father also taught him "the meaning of hard work." His speed also helped him excel in football in high school.

[edit] College

Rice attended Mississippi Valley State University, becoming a standout on the football team. He acquired the nickname World, because there wasn't a ball in the world he couldn't catch. In college, he had a total of 51 touchdown catches and averaged 10 catches per game in 1984, when Mississippi Valley State averaged over 59 points per game. That season he was named an AP All-American and finished 9th in Heisman Trophy balloting. The school later named its football stadium Rice-Totten Field in honor of Rice and quarterback Willie Totten who threw Rice his many touchdown passes at Mississippi Valley State. He also caught 112 passes for 1,845 yards and 28 touchdowns during his senior year at Mississippi Valley State

It was announced on May 9, 2006 that Rice will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in August 2006.

[edit] Professional career

Rice took the NFL by storm in his rookie season for the 49ers in 1985, recording 49 catches for 927 yards, an 18.9 yards per catch average. The following season, he caught 86 passes for a league leading 1,570 yards and 15 touchdowns. It was the first of 6 seasons Rice would lead the NFL in receiving and touchdown receptions. In 1987 he only played in 12 games because of the NFL players strike, but he still managed to gain 1,078 in receiving yards and an NFL record 22 touchdown receptions.

Then in 1988, Rice had one of the best seasons of his career. He caught 64 passes for 1,306 yards and 9 touchdowns, assisting his team to a 10-6 record. Then in the postseason, he was instrumental in the 49ers 28-3 win over the Chicago Bears in the NFC title game, recording 5 catches for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns. But his performance in Super Bowl XXIII was even better. Rice caught 11 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 5 yards, assisting the 49ers to a narrow 20-16 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. His receptions and receiving yards were both Super Bowl records. For his performance, he became only the third wide receiver ever to earn Super Bowl MVP honors.

In 1989, San Francisco made it back to the Super Bowl, aided by Rice's 82 receptions for 1,483 yards and 17 touchdowns during the season, and his 12 catches for 169 yards and 2 touchdowns in their 2 playoff games. He was once again a major factor in the 49ers championship win, finishing Super Bowl XXIV with 7 catches for 148 yards and a Super Bowl record 3 touchdown receptions.

Rice had another superb season in 1990, leading the NFL in receptions (100), receiving yards (1,502) and receiving touchdowns (13). San Francisco finished the year with a NFL best 14-2 record, but failed to "3-peat" as Super Bowl champions, losing to the New York Giants 15-13 in the NFC title game.

Rice made it back to the Super Bowl with the 49ers in the 1994 season, recording a career high 112 receptions for 1,499 yards and 13 touchdowns. During the 49ers first game of that season against the Los Angeles Radiers during a Monday Night showdown, Jerry Rice had one of his best performances, catching 7 passes for a season high 169 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for one more and moving into first place all time in the NFL record books for career touchdowns with 127. The 49ers won the game 44-14. Although he only caught 6 passes in San Francisco's 2 playoff games that year, he proved to be a vital component in their 49-26 victory over the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX, recording 10 receptions for 149 yards and 3 touchdowns - despite playing with a separated shoulder.

In 1995, Rice caught a career high 122 passes for an NFL record 1,848 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. However, the 49ers lost in the divisional playoffs to the Green Bay Packers, despite Rice's impressive 11 catch, 117 yard performance. The following year, he recorded 108 receptions for 1,254 yards and 8 touchdowns. San Francisco made it to the NFC title game, but once again lost to the Packers. In his 3 seasons between 1994 and 1996, Rice had racked up a whopping 342 catches for 4,601 yards and 36 touchdowns.

During the season opener of the 1997 season he tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee. The injury broke his streak of 189 consecutive games played. Fourteen weeks later he made his return, much earlier than doctors wanted him to. He scored a touchdown, but when he came down with the catch, he cracked the patella in his left kneecap. He was forced to miss the pro bowl for the first time in 11 years. However, he made a full recovery, coming back to record 82 catches for 1,157 yards and 9 touchowns in 1998.

After 2 more seasons with the 49ers, Rice left the team to sign with the Raiders. He excelled with them in the 2001 season, catching 83 passes for 1,139 yards and 9 touchdowns. In 2002 he did even better, catching 92 passes for 1,211 yards and 7 touchdowns, assisting Oakland to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXXVII. His team lost the game 48-24, but he had a good performance in it, recording 5 receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown. His 48-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter made him the first player ever to catch a touchdown pass in 4 different Super Bowls.

Super Bowl XXXVII turned out to be the final superbowl game Rice would play in. Oakland dropped from an 11-5 record in 2002 to a 4-12 record in 2003 and a 5-11 record in 2004. Rice left the Raiders 4 games into the 2004 season and joined Seattle for the remainder of the year.Rice would play his last post-season game for Seattle, which was a loss to St.Louis. He made the Denver Broncos roster as a sixth wide receiver in the summer of 2005, but retired shortly before the season began.

[edit] Legacy

Just like many of his opponent's defenses during his career, Rice retired leaving his competition for the NFL's receiving records very far behind. His 1,549 receptions were 448 receptions ahead of the second place record held by Cris Carter. His 22,895 receiving yards were 7,961 yards ahead of the second place spot held by his Raiders teammate Tim Brown. His 197 touchdown receptions were 67 scores more then Carter's 130, and his 207 total touchdowns were 32 scores ahead of Emmitt Smith's second place spot of 175.

To get an idea of how massive his 22,895 receiving yards are, if Rice had not gained any other yards on rush attempts or kick returns, his 22,895 receiving yards would still rank him second place on the NFL's list all-purpose yard leaders (catagory based on combination of rushing, receiving, kick/punt return yards, and interception/fumble return yards).

But perhaps even more then his records, Rice will always be remembered for his supreme work ethic and dedication to the game. In his 20 NFL seasons, Rice missed only 17 regular season games, with 14 of them occurring in a single year (the 1997 season when he tore his knee legiments), and the other 3 occurring in the strike shortened season of 1987. His 303 games are by far the most ever played by an NFL wide receiver, and are only 51 games behind the NFL record.

[edit] Personal life

• Rice currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area, with his wife Jackie and their children, Jaqui Bonet (b. June 7, 1987), Jerry Jr. (b. July 27, 1991), and Jada Symone (b. May 16, 1996). He is considering stepping into the broadcasting booth.
• During the 2005-2006 broadcasting season, Rice competed in the reality TV show Dancing with the Stars, where he, to his great surprise, achieved amazing success in the show, reaching the final two and finally losing to singer Drew Lachey and his partner Cheryl Burke. Paired with dancer Anna Trebunskaya, they were considered the underdogs on the show. His amazing work ethic and exceptional sportsmanship charmed many viewers, and his determination also made him a judge's favorite.
• He also appeared in the first episode of Spike TV's Pros vs. Joes challenge show.
• Rice is a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. He was initiated at Mississippi Valley State through the Delta Phi chapter.
• As of late June 2006, Rice co-hosts the radio talkshow "The Afternoon Blitz" on Sirius NFL Radio Channel 124.

[edit] NFL Records

Rice held the following NFL records at the time of his retirement:

[edit] Regular Season

• Receptions (1,549)
• Receiving yards (22,895)
• Touchdown receptions (197)
• All-purpose yards (23,540)
• Touchdowns (208)
• Receiving yards gained in a single season (1,848)
• Touchdown receptions in a single season (22)
• Seasons with at least 50 receptions (17)
• Seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards (14)
• Games with at least 100 receiving yards (76)
• Consecutive games with at least one reception (274)
• Consecutive games with at least one touchdown reception (13)

[edit] Postseason

• Games played (29)
• Touchdowns (22)
• Receptions (151)
• Yards receiving (2,245)
• Touchdown receptions in a single game (3, three times; 10 others have had 3 in a game once)
• Games with at least 100 receiving yards (8)
• Consecutive games with at least one reception (28)

[edit] Super Bowl

• Receptions (33)
• Yards receiving (589)
• All-purpose yards (604)
• Touchdown receptions (8)
• Points scored (48)
• Receptions in a single game (11)
• Yards receiving in a single game (215)
• Touchdown receptions in a single game (3, twice)
• Points scored in a single game (18, twice)

[edit] Trivia

• Rice is the only one of the top 25 scorers in NFL history who did not kick the football.
• Rice gained 645 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns, unusually large figures for a wide receiver.
• Rice owns three Super Bowl Championship Rings (Super Bowl XXIII, Super Bowl XXIV, Super Bowl XXIX)

[edit] Scouting Report

[edit] Statistics

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[edit] See Also

[edit] Awards

• Won the UPI NFL-NFC Rookie of the Year in 1985
• Won the AP Offensive Player of the Year in 1987 and 1993
• Won the Bert Bell MVP Trophy (Maxwell Club) in 1987
• Won the PFWA MVP in 1987
• Won the UPI NFC Offensive Player of the Year in 1987
• Won the Super Bowl MVP in 1988
• Won the Pro Bowl MVP in 1995

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