Domination

Ranty Moss

• Four days later, I’m still in awe that the Patriots acquired Randy Moss. He’s 30 years old. He’s had two average seasons with the Raiders. He dogged it on his last two teams. He’s still freaking Randy Moss.

• This ranks as the biggest trade/signing in my lifetime. Bigger than Schilling. Bigger than Manny. Bigger than Pedro (although I will say I wasn’t old enough at the time to grasp the excitement of acquiring a young Pedro). This doesn’t mean this is the most important trade. Schilling led to a championship. Pedro gave us hall-of-fame years. Without Moss, the Patriots were probably already primed for a Super Bowl run.

• After reading my last post, you probably think I’m in the “Randy Moss for President” crowd of Patriots fan but the truth is I am a realist. The reality of the situation is that while Moss comes packaged with world-class talent, there are large question marks as well.

• Things I worry about: We know Moss has a propensity to take a few plays off here and there. This is probably Belichick’s biggest pet peeve. What happens if Moss purposefully misses a blocking assignment on a run play? Will he be out of here faster than you can say Doug Gabriel? What happens the first time Belichick screams at Moss? What if Moss is benched for a couple plays because he dropped a few passes? Will any of these situations cause Moss to explode?

• Forgive me Tom Brady but we haven’t had a superstar quite like Randy Moss and I think this contributes to why the trade was so awe-inspiring. By “we”, I mean this region. Kids in Alabama aren’t saying, “I want to be the next Tom Brady.” Kids in Maryland aren’t saying, “I want to be the next Paul Pierce.” Randy Moss is a national superstar. His stardom reaches all corners of this country.

• For some reason, I could never see TO in a Patriots uniform. Many in the media have stated their disbelief that Belichick would ever take on a player like Moss. With Moss, it just seems all his frustrations stem from not winning whereas TO seems to cause trouble for more selfish reasons. This is not to say Moss isn’t selfish for quitting on his teammates but it also says he wants to win. I don’t think the Patriots should have that problem, as long as Brady is QB and not making more babies.

• The media has two viewpoints on this trade. The Patriots are taking a risk and look like favorites to win the Super Bowl. The Patriots are compromising their “philosophy” and look like favorites to win the Super Bowl. I have serious issues with the latter. Society loves to point out hypocrisy but I don’t think the Patriots are doing anything counter to their “philosophy.” They do seem to hold a higher standard for their players than most teams in the NFL but is trading for Moss or drafting Meriweather breaking that stance? Signing a troubled player does not mean the Patriots are lowering the standard of their clubhouse. What happened to second chances? The Patriots have no problem taking in malcontents but will not tolerate such behavior once those players are on their team.

• I think the one-year non-guaranteed contracts of Moss and Stallworth (who has had his own troubles with drugs) are proof the Patriots will have a zero-tolerance with either player. From a business standpoint, signing long-term contracts would have been much more beneficial. Neither player is looking for big-time money. If the Patriots were truly compromising their standards, they would have surely locked up both players for a few years at an average base salary. Such contracts are typical of the Patriots because both players would most likely produce above the value of their contracts. Long term deals would mean that the Patriots would have to tolerate any issues or face the cap penalties incurred from cutting either receiver.

• One-year contracts suggest the Patriots will have no trouble cutting either at the first sign of trouble. So to call the organization out now for signing either player is ridiculous. “The negativity in this town stinks.” If Stallworth has 10 TDs by November, gets busted for drug use, and the Patriots keep him, then the media can write all they want about their hypocrisy. Until then, the media should stick to doing what they do best…..FEED THE HYPE!

• Aside from my fears, envisioning him in a Patriots jersey gives me the chills. Those graceful strides. Those soft hands. I’m happily straight by the way.

• If Moss wore a nameless uniform, you’d probably instantly recognize from the back that it’s Randy Moss. His body shape is that unique with his lanky build and the minute gap between his helmet and shoulder pads. How many NFL players can you say that about? It’s like Jerry West’s silhouette.

• That’s a good question. Do I get his jersey? I don’t have any authentic pro jerseys. I have a 50% off nameless number 5 Red Sox replica jersey (guess who that was). With a Moss jersey, it can never be reused. If he stays for a year and does poorly, that’s a lot of money down the drain.

• I went to Patriots training camp when they got Dillon but I’m not sure I can pull that off since I’m working. This time around, I think I need to take it to the next level and fork over the dough to see either a pre-season game or a real game. Who knows how long Moss is going to last in New England? No I’m not a bandwagoner….I’m just cheap. That’s why I forked over 70 dollars to see half an exhibition soccer game between FC Barcelona and the NY Red Bulls. Hey, it was once in a lifetime.

• From Bill Simmons:

Gary A. in Florida brings up another point on this: “If the Pats hadn’t made the Branch trade last year, they wouldn’t have had an extra No. 1 to trade … so they parlayed that No. 28 into two picks, then traded one of them for Moss. If you think about it, they lost a year of having Branch, but they basically turned a possession receiver into Randy Moss and San Fran’s 2008 No. 1 pick. Not as good as Dallas dropping four spots on Saturday and picking up Cleveland’s No. 1, but still, pretty good.”

• I haven’t been this excited about playing Madden for a while. They seriously have the nastiest offense since the 2001 Rams. Three speedster WR with catching ability. Young Running back. Accurate QB. I wonder how fast Adalius will be?

Thanks for listening.

The Day The Patriots Got Randy Moss

When I grew up, I played organized baseball and basketball. Yet, I never dreamed of being the next Nomar Garciaparra or a point guard in the NBA.

Nope.

My dream was to be an NFL wide receiver. Jerry Rice was my idol and as a 12 year old, my fever to play high school football was never higher than in 7^th and 8^th grade. And as Rice was stepping down from his throne atop the NFL world, a lanky kid out of Marshall was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings, setting defensive backfields on fire with a combination of speed, catching ability, and size never-before seen in the NFL.

I wanted to be Randy Moss.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then things changed. My parents squashed my hopes of playing football freshman year. Adding only two inches probably didn’t help to persuade them. By the time they somewhat came around sophomore year, I felt I was better suited staying with sprinting.

Despite the end of my aspirations, the dream of seeing one of the most electric football players of our generation on my hometown team never died. I played the scenario out in Madden a million times. Either I drafted him in a fantasy draft or traded for him. Moss was an unstoppable force. He was the fastest player in the game and had hands like Velcro. You just tossed it up to him and he would go get it. Just like real-life.

If it’s in the game, it’s in the game.

He was just that dominant for those years with Daunte Culpepper (examine this youtube clip). They practically invented the jump-ball play. But like my dreams of playing football, Moss got derailed and let attitude problems step in the way of his path to Canton.

So yesterday as I read the news on ESPN that the Patriots got Moss, I got a taste of what it’s like to be one of those crazed girls who finally gets to see their boy band idol. While laughing with joy, inexplicably I could feel the corners of my eyes getting moist. No bawling like a little kid. Just a little moist. I was transported back to my childhood. When Randy Moss was a sure-fire hall of famer. When dreams were still a reality. Randy Moss probably isn’t the same player he was when he was with Minnesota. But in that moment, he was the rookie sensation wearing number 84 in blue and silver.

Randy Moss is a New England Patriot. This is not a dream. It is reality.