Wednesday 9 March 2016 15:08, UK
Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson - one of the league's best players - has officially retired today. Our sportswriter Alex Ferguson, writing from the USA, looks at Johnson's history and says goodbye to a legend….
The strangest thing about Calvin Johnson, when you reflect on his career and his heroics, is the fact that he wasn't widely-recruited in high school, and wasn't even listed in the top 100 of high school players.
Only Georgia Tech, Georgia, Miami and Notre Dame vied for his signature, with Tech winning out. Despite awful quarterback play, he became one of the most untouchable wide receivers that college football had even seen.
And while it was clear from the outset that Johnson would be great, he only seriously flourished in his third year, where he won the award for the best wide receiver, several conference awards, and was a consensus pick to the All-American team - college football's equivalent of a Pro Bowl. He had 76 receptions, 1,202 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns, and left Georgia Tech with several school records under his belt and the promise of millions.
And they arrived, when Detroit picked Johnson as the second pick in the 2004 Draft. JaMarcus Russell was picked first. I wonder who had the better NFL career….
The career
Johnson wasn't a dominant receiver…until his second year. In his first, he had 48 receptions for a tidy 756 yards (15.8 yards/game) and 4 TDs, making Jon Kitna looking like a somewhat relevant quarterback. And thanks to the fact that he could go up and get any ball thrown to him, he was given the nickname 'Megatron' by his teammate Roy Williams. He should have been given the name "Makes Us Look Better" too, but I don't think that one would have stuck…
He then led the league in receiving touchdowns, was fourth in receptions, and had his first 1,000 yard receiving season (1,331) - despite having no constant quarterback throwing to him (the Lions went through three that season).
Johnson struggled in production in 2009 as new QB Matt Stafford found his feet, other players and problems with his knees, and the Lions had to replace him with Daunte Culpepper and Drew Stanton. You can't help but thinking it was more poor quarterback play than Johnson heroics.
But by the turn of the decade, Johnson was one of the best wide receivers in the league - if not the best.
From 2010 to 2015, he went to five straight Pro Bowls. He had five straight 1000+ receiving yard seasons, which included a stunning 1,964 season in 2012 - which broke the record for all-time receiving yards in a season, smashing Jerry Rice's record of 1,848 which had held up for 17 years (by the way, he had 1,681 in 2011 which was seventh on the all-time list at the time).
He'll retire with 67 touchdowns in 104 games, and plenty of other inclusions on all-time career top 25 lists. He probably could have broken more records or made more lists, but that would have had to be with a better offensive line and frankly, a better quarterback. And another good wide receiver to take attention away from him (which the Lions rarely seemed to want to sign).
ESPN in the USA remarked that he probably won't go in a first ballot Hall of Famer. In my view, why shouldn't he? There hasn't been a better wide receiver in years.
The sadness
Johnson had already said in January that he was thinking about retirement - or a move.
I'm happy for him that he decided to retire as a Detroit Lion, following on from the great Barry Sanders, who also retired in his prime. I don't like the thought that Johnson would play for another team.
Johnson didn't even go for a huge press conference. He just put out a release, apologised for not having a press conference (showing the kind of grace and humility it seems no NFL wide receiver has right now), thanked God and the Lions owners, and apologised again for not bringing the Motor City a Super Bowl victory. Even though it was far from being his fault.
Like Marshawn Lynch, he didn't leave the league with his body a broken mess - unlike Peyton Manning, who retired a day before.
But unlike Manning, who we saw in plenty of Super Bowls, we never got to see Johnson play in one. It would have been fun to see him make cornerbacks and safeties look exceptionally stupid on the biggest stage.
But after seeing him as a college and pro player, I'm thankful that I saw Calvin Johnson.
But like Peyton Manning and Marshawn Lynch, the game of American Football will be all the poorer without him.
Have your say on Megatron below. A future Hall of Famer, surely? One the greatest ever? Fill in the form below and let us know what you think and who else would figure in an all-time wide receivers list.
