He's also probably mildly mentally ill. No offense at all intended by the statement but if you've ever seen him in an unscripted moment, and I've seen him in a few of those, you come away with the distinct feeling that something is wrong. Lots of people function fairly well with minor impairments and he seems to also. My favorite Randy Moss moment was his rookie year (or maybe second year, it was sometime early on) when John Madden was interviewing him after the Thanksgiving game. Madden had been doing the Turducken thing (chicken-inside a duck-inside a turkey with 6 drumsticks) as a prop for a season or two at that point and he'd always have it as a prop in the background when he interviewed people after the game. Anyway Randy walks up to the interview spot and Madden steps away from the turducken allowing him to see it for the first time. RIP! A drumstick comes off and the interview proceeds with Randy chewing away at this thing and Madden slightly dumbfounded and being very careful not to do anything to tip off that fact. Madden: So Randy how was it playing on Thanksgiving in front of a national audience? Moss: <chews> <swallows> It was nice. <chew> <swallow> Madden: Did you expect to beat the Lions by as big a score as you did? (The score that day was like 40-21 or something) Moss: <chews> <swallows> Well we're scoring a lot of points. <chews> <swallows> Madden: Uh, is the turducken good? Moss: <chews> <swallows> Turducken? What's that? Madden: <points at the turducken> That thing. It's a... Moss: <Reaches out and rips off another drumstick> RIP! Madden: Chicken in a... Moss: <staring at the drumstick in his hand> What's in this? Madden: Duck in a turkey. Moss: <chews> <swallows> Yeah it's pretty good. Moss of course had thought it was part of the postgame meal and had no idea it was a prop. The fact that it had 6 legs probably never occurred to him as he ripped off the first drumstick and started chewing. I've always wondered what would have happened if Madden had decided to play it for laughs and told Randy it was Armadillo...
I disagree, I have interviewed him myself and didn't get that vibe at all. If anything, he came off as too subdued (sp?). That was a couple of years ago though. I can't vouch for him now.
It's not that kind of thing I think. It's more of a cognitive and depressive thing. He just seems a bit out of phase. You remember the incident with him sitting in his car and the lady traffic cop putting her hand on the hood because she was walking in front of him and he just kept moving forward like 3 inches at a time and making her backup? That's the last thing you do when a cop physically has their hand on your hood and is effectively motioning you to stop so they can write a ticket. The newspapers wrote it up as "Moss hits traffic cop in slow motion" but that's really not what it was. He just didn't know what to do and every time she slapped his hood he eased forwards a bit.
He's not a totally bad person, by any means, from what I can tell. You would never lump him in with the Pacman Jones of the NFL. If you ever read his letter to the students of Marshall when he decided to opt out for the NFL you would see he has some redeeming qualities. Surprised I found it again. Dear Marshall Fans, I'm writing this letter to announce my decision. I am making myself available for the 1998 NFL draft. But first I want to thank you, the people of Huntington and all of the Marshall fans and students, who have encouraged me and supported me during my two years here. I am proud to have been a part of Marshall's success. It's been great playing for the Herd these past two years. We went undefeated and won a national championship last year and this year we won respect all over the country by jumping to Division 1-A, winning the MAC championship and going to a bowl. Your support has been incredible. Even the away games seemed like home games because of all the green we saw in the stands and the noise that you made. I want to thank the administration, especially Dr. Gilley and Coach Pruett for giving me the opportunity to come to Marshall. Coach Pruett has been more than a coach - he's a friend that has looked out for me and given me good advice. I also want to thank all of my coaches and teammates. Football is a team game and my accomplishments would not have been possible without them. I've made a lot of friends here and I'll miss the guys but I'll be checking them out next year. I think that with the talent we have returning next season, we can win the MAC again. Ever since I was a young boy, I've dreamed of playing in the NFL. Part of my dream is to give back to the one person who's done everything for me - my mom. She's worked hard and raised three kids by herself (and Lord knows I've put her through a lot) and I don't want to risk not being able to take care of her. I've promised my mom I'll stay in school this next semester and earn some more credits toward my degree. Like some other players I've heard about, I hope to chip away the hours I need during the off-seasons and get my degree someday. I am not planning on playing any other college sport right now. I want to work on technique and work on getting stronger and just getting ready for the NFL rookie camp, wherever that will be. Thanks again for all the support and prayers. Please keep praying for me and I'll keep pulling for the Herd. God bless you. Sincerely, Randy G. Moss On another note, I just read Pennington had 42 TDs for Marshall in 1997. Crap, this sounds like Jerry Rice at Mississippi Valley State. No wonder he says Pennington is the greatest QB he ever played with. Because Marshall was then a Division I-AA school, NCAA rules allowed him to transfer there without losing any further eligibility. In 1996, he set the NCAA Division I-AA records for most games with a touchdown catch in a season (14), most consecutive games with a touchdown catch (13), most touchdown passes caught by a freshman in a season (29), and most receiving yards gained by a freshman in a season (1709 on 78 catches), record which still stands. Moss was also the leading kickoff returner in Division I-AA on the season, with 484 total yards and a 34.6 yard average. Marshall went undefeated and won the Division I-AA title in its last season before moving to Division I-A. In the 1997 season, Marshall's first in Division I-A, Moss and current New York Jets quarterback Chad Pennington were the centerpiece of an explosive offense that led the Thundering Herd to the Mid-American Conference title. Moss caught 25 touchdown passes that season, at the time a Division I-A record, and was a first-team All-American.[1] For the season, he had 96 receptions for 1820 yards, and 26 touchdowns. He won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation's leading wide receiver, and was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy (finishing fourth in the balloting, behind Ryan Leaf, Peyton Manning, and Charles Woodson, who won the award). Moss left Marshall with 168 receptions for 3,467 yards and a school record 53 touchdowns.
I don't think he's bad at all. I kind of view him similarly to how I view Ricky Williams but without the drugs. Trapped by his own martian-ness.
You know, after reading his stats in college and then when he first enetered the NFL it's easier to get into his head. Here's a guy who had 29 TDs as a freshman, 25 as a junior(not sure what his sophomore number was) and 43 in his first 3 seasons in the NFL. He probably thinks just throw the damn ball up and let me catch it. They say nobody has ever overthrown him. He catches up with anything. When his production started slipping is when all the trouble started. I don't condone it but I can understand it.
Did I not intrepret your earlier comment correctly? Weren't you saying that Moss wants to play for a team that will be alive in January? Was he or was he not in the postseason two years ago? You implied he hadn't been since 2000.
Out of curiousity, why do you show up when the Patriots do something good (beat Chargers in Divisional Playoff game) or are perceived by some to have done something good (acquire Randy Moss), yet you are conspicuously absent when the Patriots fuck up? Save for two posts in a sig thread, you went back into the woodwork after the title game collapse and didn't reappear till mid-February.
Horn was probably best at 28 and 29. It can be argued, however. Otherwise, you're right with that list. Charley Taylor and Don Maynard are two HOFers who were good in their 30s. Haven Moses had his best season at 33. Then again, Bob Hayes dropped off significantly at age 30 and HOFer Lance Alworth hit the wall at 30. John Jefferson was already mentioned. It sounds like you think Moss is still capable of 77-1437-18.7-15. I think he's more of a 64-900-7 guy. If he does that and causes no trouble, he's worth a 4th-round pick. Otherwise, no. We'll see what happens.
I don't know about mental illness, but I'm sure there's some kind of term floating around in the highbrow psychological trade for celebrities who become addicted to the spotlight. The first interview with Moss I heard yesterday after hearing of the trade was pretty revealing because I think it was before the Pats' PR machine could truly get hold of him, I'm including a tidbit that stood out to me: Do you think the Patriots are a favorite to win the Super Bowl? "Well, when the opportunity came around for me to get traded to New England, and I talked to Coach Belichick, once I started hearing the buzz in the air and on the TV, it was just like me getting a chance to really get on that Super Bowl stage and really show the world who I am and what I'm able to do. What I've done in my nine-year career is just a glimpse of what I can do. So me being able to get the right things in place for me to be able to succeed on the field is right here in New England." This is when asked if his new team will be favorites to with the Super Bowl, the question asks nothing about how Randy will affect the team. There's more I want to point out, I will do so a little later tonight when I have a chance.
No, I implied just what I said - that he hasn't been relevant past October. What you read was something different.
