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The wide receiver ('''WR''') position in American and Canadian Football is the pass-catching specialist. Wide receivers are among the fastest, tallest, and most agile players in the game, and are frequent highlight-reel favorites. The wide receiver position is among the most famous in American Football because they are often responsible for the biggest plays made on by the Offensive Team . However, they do not get all the credit for the plays they make because at least some credit will almost always go to the Quarterback who throws the pass to them. Sometimes fans or sports writers will argue that a receiver only appears to be great when actually most of his success is really due to the quarterback. Other times, the situation is reversed. Fans or sports writers will argue that a quarterback is only successful because he has outstanding receiver(s) who can catch anything thrown in their general direction. GAME ROLE First and foremost, the wide receiver's job is to catch Passes from his Quarterback . On passing plays, the receiver attempts to avoid, outmaneuver, or simply outrun defenders (typically Cornerbacks Or Safeties ) in the area of his pass route. If the receiver becomes ''open'', or has an unobstructed path to the destination of a catch, he may then become the quarterback's target. Once a pass is thrown in his direction, the receiver's goal is to first catch the ball and then attempt to run downfield. Dropped passes are common when receivers plan the downfield run prior to catching the ball. Receivers are particularly important when a team must conserve clock time. In addition to the ability to gain large amounts of yardage at once, receivers can position themselves to run out of bounds and stop the clock. On running plays, the receiver has two potential roles. Particularly in the case of Draw Play s, he may run a pass route with the intent of drawing off defenders. Alternately, he may block normally for the running back. Well-rounded receivers are also noted for blocking defensive backs, either downfield once another receiver has made a catch, or on running plays. Sometimes wide receivers are used to run the ball. This can be effective because they are often faster than running backs and the defense usually does not expect them to be the ball carrier on running plays. One somewhat common running play for receivers is the End Reverse . On this play, a running back takes a handoff or lateral from the quarterback and runs to the right or left as it was a normal running play. But before he crosses the Line Of Scrimmage , he hands the ball off to a wide receiver going in the opposite direction, i.e. reverse of where the running back was going. If the defense was drawn to the side of the field the running back was running towards, the receiver can outrun the defense to the other side of the field and make a big gain. Although receivers are rarely used as ball carriers, running the ball with a receiver can be extremely successful. For example, in addition to holding nearly every National Football League receiving record, wide receiver Jerry Rice also rushed the ball 87 times for 645 yards and 10 touchdowns in his 20 NFL seasons. In some even rarer cases, receivers are used to pass the ball. This most often occurs on the End Reverse . To add another component of surprise to the play, the receiver may have option of passing the ball after he takes the handoff, similar to a Halfback Option Play . Although this is one of the rarest things a receiver will ever do, some receivers have proven to be extremely good at it. One example of this is Randy Moss , a National Football League receiver who currently plays for the Oakland Raiders . In addition to being one of the top pass catchers in the NFL, Randy Moss has currently completed 4 out of 8 passes for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 1 interception, in his NFL career. Wide receivers also serve on special teams as return men on kickoffs and punts, or as part of the ''hands team'' during Onside Kick s. Finally, on bad passes, receivers must frequently play a defensive role by attempting to prevent an interception. If a pass is intercepted, receivers must use their speed to chase down and tackle the ball carrier to prevent him from returning the ball for a long gain or a touchdown. ATTITUDE PROBLEMS Wide receivers are notorious as troublemakers in all levels of football. Unlike the other ball handling players ( Quarterback , Running Back ), the opposing coaching can seriously hamper their ability to get their hands on the football. Strong pass-defensive playcalling, usually characterized by Double Coverage on a team's "all star" wide receiver, can effectively take the player out of the game. While a quarterback or running back can always receive the ball behind the line of scrimmage, before the defensive team may interfere with the play, a receiever must get open downfield in order to get the ball. This practice often leads to more Special Teams appearances for the receiver who simply wants to touch the ball. A great example of this was the 2005 NFC Championship Game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Carolina Panthers . The Panthers' #1 wide receiver, Steve Smith , was the overall receiving yardage leader in the 2005 NFL Season , averaging 97.7 yards per game. Against the Seahawks, he was held to a mere 33 yards receiving, while standing out in special teams with a 59 yard Punt Return . This special situation has led to many outspoken (some would say "whiny") wide receivers ( Terrell Owens , Steve Smith , Randy Moss ) in the history of the NFL. Thus, many football fans see wide receiver as the most troublemaking postion. HISTORY The forward pass The roots of the wide receiver are found in President Teddy Roosevelt 's 1905 threat to ban the game of football due to the predominance of fatal injuries (18 in 1905, roughly 360 per year if expanded to present-day participation levels). {Link without Title} In 1906, as part of an effort to open up the playing field and avoid rugby-style scrums, the forward pass was legalized. Formations, however, remained relatively compact and players apart from the running backs were rarely able to escape defenders long enough to catch a ball. Formation evolution Around 1920, Knute Rockne , coach of Notre Dame , introduced the ''Notre Dame Box'' formation. Rather than keeping all seven linemen shoulder-to-shoulder, the formation "flexed" the ends a yard or two away from the central five men. In addition to giving better blocking angles for inside runs, the position of the flex ends allowed them to more easily separate from the mass of defenders, an important requirement of the wide receiver to this day. With the introduction of a more angular ball in 1933, passing become more effective. New formations like the ''Single Wing'' moved Rockne's flex ends away from the line entirely to the current position of the wide receiver. The receiver on the line of scrimmage still retains the formal name of ''split end''; conversely, ends adjacent to the five-man line adopted the still-current term '' Tight End ''. SPECIFIC TERMINOLOGY While the general fanbase and most commentators use the generic term ''wide receiver'' for all such players, specific names exist for most receiver positions:
NOTABLE WIDE RECEIVERS Retired
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