Saints' WR numbers? (1 Viewer)

[the-commish]

Maybe this has been posted before (I don't remember it, but it could have been) why do the Saints' WRs have teen numbers? You know, Colston 12, Moore 16, Meachem 17, Henderson 19, etc. Most teams have WR numbers in the 80s (even the Saints used to be this way). It's not a big deal; teens don't play any differently than 80s. Just wondering!

 

[keijicosis]

12 is a teen number?

 

[St. Greatness]

12 is a teen number?

 

[lonestarcajun]

OK, not trying to be a smart *** but it will probably come across that way...

But, the reason we have all 1X numbers for our WRs...

The NFL Number Gestapo started allowing the WR position to have numbers in the range 10-19 with K. Johnson petitioning to wear 19 teamed with the number of 80s that were retired in the league.

So for the Saints, we had guys that picked that number range (getting more common for WRs across the league) and those are the ones who made the team. Had AA made the cut we'd have one WR wearing 87 -- but since he made the PS instead, we have the 1X bunch.

So, why are there no 80s at WR on the Saints? Because the only ones who made the team selected numbers in the alternate range... that's it.

 

[Haughton Who Dat]

personal preference i suppose...

 

[saints6759]

I pesonally feel it has something to do with that IDIOT Ocho Cinco. Nobody wants to be in the eighties.

 

[FlySaint]

You'd think Arrington would figure it out and change his number to 18....

 

[lonestarcajun]

Hey, here's a pretty good article on the topic: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/feature/featureVideo?page=wrnumbers

There was a time not so long ago when a number in the teens predicted an early training camp demise for a wide receiver. If you didn't get one of those choice numbers in the 80s, chances were -- well, your chances weren't very good.

That was then and this is now in today's NFL:

Randy Moss, once the preeminent No. 84, is sporting No. 18 for the Silver and Black. Plaxico Burress, the erstwhile No. 80 in Pittsburgh, is a stylish No. 17 for the Giants. Even Jerry Rice, the most decorated wide receiver ever -- the ultimate No. 80 -- wore No. 19 in his final days with the Broncos.

"The younger generation, they look at those numbers in the teens as being cool," Rice said. "But back in the day, if you had 80, 81, even 88 -- I was No. 88 in college -- you thought it was pretty cool. But you have a new generation now."

Talks not just about the Saints, but the general trend in the league.