Is Jerry's heir apparent?

By Cold, Hard Football Facts senior writer John Dudley

Perhaps you have heard of Jerry Rice. You may have even read a mention or two about him recently. His decision to continue playing football at age 42 has captured headlines all across Planet Pigskin and elicited numerous articles, at least one of which draws up from the deep, thirst-quenching well of gridiron godliness called the Cold, Hard Football Facts.

With the most accomplished wide receiver in NFL history returning for an unprecedented 21st season, the record books will again be rewritten. Even the slightest production from Rice will extend several of the lifetime receiving marks that he already possesses. Of the potential heirs to the most-thrown-to throne – Marvin Harrison, Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, Torry Holt – none are likely to catch Rice's career totals for receptions, yards or touchdowns.

When it comes to the Super Bowl, however, not all of Rice's records are out of reach. In fact, a player largely unheralded until a few months ago might be poised to overtake Rice in several Super Bowl categories. He is Deion Branch of the Patriots, a talented receiver who until recently was a household name only in his own home.

A second-round pick out of Louisville in 2002, Branch had the good fortune to be selected by a team that had just won the first of what are now three championships over a four-year span. After only three years in the league and two championship-game appearances, Branch has more Super Bowl receptions than all but two players in NFL history: Rice (33) and Andre Reed (27), both of whom played in twice as many title games.

Beyond his steady dominance during the regular season, Rice has had a penchant for playing big on the biggest stage. When he made his championship debut in Super Bowl XXIII, he caught 11 passes for a Super Bowl-record 215 yards and a TD, helping San Francisco beat Cincinnati, 20-16. He grabbed 17 receptions for 297 yards and six touchdowns in Super Bowls XXIV and XXIX, two more 49ers victories. Then, playing in a losing cause for the Raiders at age 40, he caught five passes for 77 yards and a score in Super Bowl XXXVII.

Rice's eight Super Bowl touchdowns are three better than the total for the recently retired Emmitt Smith, another three-time champion, future Hall of Famer and MVP of Super Bowl XXVIII. Rice's lead in receiving TDs is even greater. No other player has more than three Super Bowl touchdown receptions. Also, with 589 career receiving yards, Rice is more than 200 yards ahead of any other Super Bowl pass catcher.

• Rice runs away with the yardage category. But through two games, Branch has three more receptions than Rice did.
• Branch has already tied Rice's record for catches in one Super Bowl (11) and has set a record for catches in consecutive Super Bowl appearances (21). (Former Cincinnati tight end Dan Ross, who caught 11 balls in Super Bowl XVI, shares the record for receptions in a single title tilt.)
• Branch has played in two title games in the first three years of his career. Rice did not appear in a Super Bowl until the fourth year of his career.
• Branch averages 138 receiving yards per game, placing him a close second behind Rice (147 YPG) among receivers who have played in multiple Super Bowls.
• Branch has already equaled Rice in Super Bowl MVP awards, with one. They join Pittsburgh's Lynn Swann and Oakland's Fred Biletnikoff as the only wide receivers so honored. Swann and Biletnikoff are now in the Hall of Fame and Rice is a certain first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Swann and fellow stellar Steeler John Stallworth make for an interesting case study. They are the only other players to record two 100-yard receiving games in Super Bowls. However, each had less-than-impressive Super Bowl debuts. As rookies in Super Bowl IX, Stallworth had three catches for 24 yards and Swann's sole play from scrimmage was a reverse that lost seven yards.

Swann's second and third title games, played three years apart, were his two finest. In Super Bowl X, he caught four passes for 161 yards and a touchdown, earning Most Valuable Player honors. In Super Bowl XIII, he grabbed seven balls for 124 yards and a score. His combined yardage from that pair of games (285) puts him well behind Rice (364) and just ahead of Branch (276) for any two-game total.

Stallworth, on the other hand, saved his best championship performances for his last two. Maximizing his three catches in both Super Bowl XIII (115 yards, 2 TDs) and XIV (121 yards, 1 TD), he became the first player to have better than 100 yards receiving in consecutive Super Bowls. Only Rice (Super Bowls XXIII and XXIV), Freeman (Super Bowls XXXI and XXXII) and Branch (Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX) have since matched that feat.

It is way too soon to anoint Branch the postseason successor to Rice. But Branch's star is rising quickly, according to no less an authority than the Galileo of the gridiron galaxy, the Cold, Hard Football Facts. Branch is also well-positioned to keep building on his Super Bowl success. He is part of a team that has won titles in three of the last four years and that has grown stronger each and every championship season. His quarterback, Tom Brady, is in his prime and has already proven to be one of the most prolific passers in the history of the game.

Perhaps most importantly, Branch will play the 2005 season at the tender age of 26. If he can continue to emulate Rice, Branch will be grabbing passes and national attention well into the next decade. He may even ascend to the throne of championship accomplishment with Rice's Super Bowl scepter in hand.