Can You Win A Super Bowl With A Diva Wide Receiver?
We have seen our fair share of “Diva” Wide Receivers in the NFL. You know the type. Always complaining, very temperamental, impossible to please. Often times their talents are extraordinarily high, but after a period of time, they can be barely worth the headache.
So I ask, can you win a Super Bowl with them? One would think, in today’s pass-happy NFL, having a supremely talented WR would be key to a Super Bowl title. But history has told us, having the top WR in the League guarantees you absolutely nothing. In fact, since the turn of the century, not one time has the Super Bowl winning team had the NFL’s leading Wide Receiver (in terms of Yards). Not once. Hell, there are barely any Hall of Famer WRs on Super Bowl winning teams the past 20 years. Currently Marvin Harrison is the only one in, with possibly Hines Ward and Reggie Wayne joining him down the road. That’s 3. Maybe.
There are really 2 questions here. Can you win a Super Bowl with one of these Divas? And do you even need a top-notch Wide Receiver to win a Super Bowl?
Of course you can win a Super Bowl with one of these Wide Receivers. But whether it be coincident or not, teams rarely, and I mean rarely do. When I think of the Diva WRs the last 20 years, about 10 come to mind. Keyshawn Johnson, Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, Steve Smith, Ocho Cinco, DeSean Jackson, Antonio Brown, Dez Bryant, Odell Beckham, Jr., & Brandon Marshall. All incredible talents, many even Hall of Fame talents, but their me-first attitude always becomes a concern. Problems with teammates, problems with coaches, contract issues, something. Of that list, they have a combined one Super Bowl victory. ONE. That was Keyshawn Johnson back in 2002 season. Worth noting, he was deactivated and kicked off the Buccaneers in the middle of the next season, for, you guessed it, not being able to get along with Coach John Gruden. Bottom line is, these guys are often times not the answer. The drama that follows them, along with the disruptions within the offense (“Get me the ball!”) are simply not worth it. The rings have proven than.
So the other question becomes, do you even need a star Wide Receiver to win the Super Bowl? Common knowledge says yes, of course you do. The NFL is all about passing, so having a star pass catcher is critical. Maybe not a league-leader, but at least a star. But do you? As noted earlier, the Super Bowl winning team has not had the highest yardage Wide Receiver in the NFL in over 20 years. Take that a step further, in the last 20 years, the Super Bowl winners have only had a top-10 Receiver 5 times. And a top-5 Receiver only 3 times. So in the last 20 years, 75% of the Super Bowl winning teams did NOT have a Receiver in the top-10. That doesn’t seem possible. But it is. So with that said, how important is it to have a star Receiver? Looks to me like it is not that important at all. Appears to me that a better strategy would be to surround yourself with several solid Receivers and a great Tight End. And even more obvious, don’t waste your time with any of these high dollar, me-first guys. The results have shown us that.
Perhaps this even further drills home the point that it’s all about the Quarterback.
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