"You don't know the angst the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee faces until you spend a perfectly good Monday afternoon trapped in the vortex of NFL wide receivers. Do so, and the Cris Carter outrage -- and there has been plenty over the ex-Vikings WR getting passed over for enshrinement over the weekend -- becomes a bit muted. Because trying to determine the best wide receivers in NFL history, aside from the obviously elite like Jerry Rice, is a near-impossibility. For every fact that points to Carter as a sure-thing Hall of Famer and a top-10 all-time receiver, there is another group of players or numbers lurking that cast a doubt. For instance:

• The Pro Football Hall of Fame includes 21 modern-era wide receivers. Carter, with 1,101 catches, has more career catches than all but one of them (Rice). Carter is also fourth all-time in receiving touchdowns and eighth in receiving yards. So, case closed. Top 10, Hall of Famer. Except ...

• Seriously, 1,000-catch receivers are going to be like the opposite of 300-game winners in MLB. Carter played at the front end of an era in which wide receivers started catching a boat-load of short passes. Carter merely managed to get to the finish line first. Marvin Harrison -- not yet eligible for the HOF -- passed him in receptions. Anquan Boldin and Roddy White could approach or pass Carter in receptions. Do you consider them HOFers? However ..."