bignic26

The central theme of todays debates, for me anyway, was stats. Shadowdrinker and I had a rather, how should I put this, well I'll just say it was a one sided discussion about stats and how numbers can supposedly determine who the best players are. Which, as any rational football fan knows, is utter and complete nonsense.

There are two players that guys on here will fight to the death to defend. Joe Horn and Aaron Brooks. Almost every heated discussion on this board in some way stems from one of the two. No matter the topic, they will inevitably be brought up and the arguments ensue. In this case, to make a very complex issue simple, I stated that Horn was not one of the top three receivers in the league. I named a few guys who, IMO of course, are better than Joe. Guys like Moss, T.O., Harrison, etc. You know, guys who are clearly better from a skill standpoint than Joe.

Shadowdrinker tried to refute my statement by claiming that Joe is a top three receiver due to the fact that he has put up as good or better stats than some of the other top WRs in the game. Although to me his posistion on the matter was well he seemed to truly believe that numbers are the Alpha and Omega in regards to comparable analyses of player talent. Simply put, his stance is that if player A has better stats than player B, player A is a better player.

If you think I'm just being arrogant, just check out the thread titled "Attention Horn Bashers" and see for yourself.

I'm sure this topic has been discussed at length before my arrival to B&G, but since I'm the new guy and I don't know how ya'll feel about this topic, I'd really like to hear what you guys have to say on the matter. I think it's an issue worth taking a serious look at because if there are "fans" out there who actually believe that stats should be the sole determining factor used to discern who the best players are, then we need to help these people asap! We need to open their eyes to football reality! They must be saved from these delusions of numbers!

Seriously though I'd like to hear your comments on this topic because I consider most of you to be quite knowledgeable about all things football. I really value and respect your opinions, even if they are wrong :D

For those of you that agree with my stance, let me get some validation here. For those of you that oppose my views, let's hear it, but you better come correct. Be sure not to forget your calculators and pocket protectors! :dunce:

[Edited on 24/3/2005 by bignic26]

This bordered on a personal attack.

[Edited on 24/3/2005 by JOESAM2002]