Steve Largent

[Angelcynn]

Now that's what I call a wide reciever! I just stumbled across him on the NFL website and his stats are awesome. From what I can tell (and obviously you guys aswell) Steve Largent is a prime example of the kind of WR that the NFL is lacking. Someone with the brains to read the game, someone who is reliable and who can make catch after catch and play after play including the spectactular, and a nice down to earth team player. Mind you he also got the hips aswell (though no one will admit it cuz we whites don't have hips

), and they said he was slow but he can't be that slow with the kind of numbers he managed to rack up?

I was just wondering if there's anyone here who had the privilege of watching Largent play back in the day? And how good he really was?

 

[white is right]

He was the best wide receiver of his era. His era crossed between a white majority era at the position to a limited amount of white players at the position. He was also hated by black corners near the end of his playing career. The funniest thing about Largent was the mind games that the Seahawks would play with opposing defensive backs and Largent's 40 times. It was always a top secret.

 

[Electric Slide]

He was the best wide receiver of his era. His era crossed between a white majority era at the position to a limited amount of white players at the position. He was also hated by black corners near the end of his playing career. The funniest thing about Largent was the mind games that the Seahawks would play with opposing defensive backs and Largent's 40 times. It was always a top secret.

After reading the posts I checked out this video on youtube. The first thing he says is that he's not a great athlete

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inWv-lUqRbU

 

[Stonewall]

I was only able (because of my age)to really see Largent play late in his career. 'White is Right' is correct in his earlier post, black DBs made a concious effort to go after (and hurt) Largent late in his career. What bothered me at that time (as a kid growing up in my formulative years) was the lack of support Largent received from his mostly black teammates. I mean, he would get hit and taunted by multiple opposing black DBs and there was never anyone on Seattle who did anything about it.


In contrast, I can remember as a very young kid the Seattle teams of 1983 and 1984 being AFC stalwarts. With Dave Krieg at QB, Curt Warner at RB, and Largent, the offense was very good. However, Seattle failed to win in the playoffs and the team's window of fielding a team capable of going deep into the playoffs turned out to be quite short indeed.


On a positive note, I do remember Art Shell publicly stating that Largent "should not retire, he has a couple of years left in him"duringLargent's final season.


I always like to use the parallel of the two San Francisco-Cincinnati Super Bowls to pinpoint (as a timeline)the Caste System's effect on purging white receivers. In January 1982, SF and Cincy played a Super Bowl game in which Dan Ross (who was considered a tight end) set a record for receptions while Cris Collinsworth (Cincy) and Dwight Clark (San Francisco) were the featured, star receivers for their respective teams. I mean,Collinsworth and Clark were Pro Bowlers who were considered to be elite receivers.


Fast forward just seven years to January 1989. Again, SF and Cincy in the Super Bowl.Dwight Clark is out of football.The 49ers have no white receivers.For Cincy, Collinsworth is still on the roster but is used very sparingly.I can distinctively remember watching Boomer Esiason throw a ball out of boundsduring Cincy's last drive, in the vicinity of Collinsworth. Dick Enberg, the play by play man, made no mention of Collinsworth at all. It really hit me, the white receiver is in trouble. Here's one ofthe best wideoutsof the 1980s, now all but forgotten.

 

[white is right]

It's a circulated rumour that a bounty was put out on Largent's head. I have heard that various qb's have had bounties put out on their heads too. I even recall ko pools going on in various locker rooms. With the bad gambling going in various locker rooms it sounds quite feasible.

 

[Stonewall]

That brings to mind the horrendous cheap shot dished out by a black defensive lineman (who played for Green Bay)on Bears QB Jim McMahon back in 1985 or 1986. If you remember, the cheap shot artist/convict picked up McMahon from behind after the play was over and proceeded to throw the QB to the ground shoulder first. After the play, the thug was seen on the Packer bench high-fiving other black teammates. There had to be some sort of a bounty involved on that play.


Remembering that incident brings to mind the fact that Green Bay was one of the last teams to be predominantly white. The year that Don Majkowski was QB (withwhite speedster WR Jeff Query), the Packershad a great year and just missed out on the playoffs. It may have been 1989.On defense that team started two white safeties (Chuck Cecil and Mark Murphy), plus Brian Noble anda young Bryce Paup at LB.Whites started at defensive line as well,though I can't remember the names of the players. That teamstarted 6 white players on defense if I'm not mistaken.


Quickly that white group was dismantled, and by 1995 GreenBay featured a virtual all-black defense.

 

[Don Wassall]

It's a circulated rumour that a bounty was put out on Largent's head. I have heard that various qb's have had bounties put out on their heads too. I even recall ko pools going on in various locker rooms. With the bad gambling going in various locker rooms it sounds quite feasible.

I remember a Denver d-back, think his name was Hardin, absolutely leveling Largent after a catch. Later in the game, Hardin intercepted a pass and Largent returned the favor, hitting Hardinjust as hard as he had hit him. This was late in Largent's career and it's true that defensive backs seemed to relish trying to hurt him.


A lot of d-backs who otherwise belong to the Deion Sanders school of avoiding contact whenever possible will go out of their way to hit a white receiver as hard as possible. It was painful to watch guys like Beebe, Waddle, Poole, McCaffrey, Dwightand others take one vicious hit after another instead of knowing when to end the play. Fortunately, the white kamikaze style of playing receiver finally seems to have ended, as Welker, Bennett, Furrey, Stokley and the rest play much smarter now. Edited by: Don Wassall

 

[sport historian]

Steve Largent was picked in the 4th Round of the 1976 draft by Houston. He was going to be cut during preseason but Seattle offered a 8th Round draft choice in the 1977 draft for him.