Originally Posted by
steelreserve
Even if he did run a 4.7, why would it matter? Everyone knows straight-ahead speed doesn't mean shit unless you already did something else to get an advantage first (faked someone out, got a good block, found a hole in the defense, etc.)
Like, on any passing play there are defenders lined up 10, 20 yards downfield. On a running play, there are guys lined up 5 or 10 yards to the outside. You are not just going to run right past people. I mean, we had Willie Parker for 5 or 6 years, how could people not know this unless they have shit for brains?
Even a guy like Mike Wallace with "breakaway speed" ... Well yeah, he was fast, but more than anything, he was great at taking the right angle so that it mattered he was fast. Plenty of guys with similar speed to him on both sides of the ball, but it ain't shit unless you have something to go with it.
And what Wallace was doing was amateur-level shit compared to Rice, really just instinct. Rice had that down on a whole different level, not to mention an incredible anticipation for what the opponent was going to do, while being a master of every possible way to take advantage of it.