Shaun Powell SPORTS COLUMNIST Blame Jets for Moss to Pats In the NFL, the most sincere form of flattery is reaction. When your football operation and potential is immense, it forces the other guy to make a move, sometimes desperately, to either keep up, move ahead or prevent you from gaining. Have you noticed the desperation in the Patriots, three-time Super Bowl champs, and the moves they have made lately? Truthfully, this wasn't a bunch of moves. It was a reaction. And the Jets should consider it a compliment. It does seem strange how the mighty Patriots organization sees the Same Old Jets as a threat and a new bully on the AFC block. But they do. Oh, yes, they do. We saw it last winter when Bill Belichick, the emperor of New England, got huffy when his defensive coordinator, a guy who was filling Belichick's coffee mug six years earlier, left to coach the Jets. We saw it last season when Belichick coldly and brusquely shook Eric Mangini's hand, and then again as the Jets played the Patriots tough, winning one of three games. And we're seeing it now as the Patriots scramble to reload their roster by lowering their standards for character and taking a chance on Randy Moss, a once-great receiver with a rap sheet longer than his pass routes. These decisions undoubtedly were made to put the Patriots back in the Super Bowl mix after a two-year absence, but also with an eye on what's happening in Hempstead. That's because Mangini and general manager Mike Tannenbaum are a terrific tandem in the making. You know this, the Patriots know this, the AFC knows this. For generous stretches during the last four decades, the Jets suffered from mismanagement, partly why they haven't been to the Super Bowl during that time. Well, these aren't your daddy's Jets anymore. They're no longer looking for the next coach or drafting the next Blair Thomas or setting themselves up for the next excuse. Based on what we've seen from Tannengini during the last 15 months, the Jets are moving in the direction of Patriotland, which obviously has the emperor of that kingdom feeling pretty fidgety these days. When Jets owner Woody Johnson decided to overhaul the top of his football operation last year, he did so out of respect for the Patriots. He designed the Jets in the same fashion. He made the Patriots feel flattered. He saw how Belichick and football chief Scott Pioli and owner Bob Kraft used a combination of shrewd moves and solid coaching and sensible spending to produce a winner, on the field and off. Under these three men, the Patriots always seemed to make the proper decisions, at least more often than not. They found the right players, got rid of players at the right time and signed them for the right money. They built a dynasty and demonstrated the importance of management, which was not lost on Johnson. So along came Mangini from the Patriots' sideline, then Tannenbaum, the Jets' numbers-cruncher, who also was Mangini's close friend. They were accompanied by some reasonable doubts. Neither brought a ton of experience to the job, yet in some ways, maybe that forced them to work twice as hard and be twice as diligent, because just about everything coming out of Weeb Ewbank Hall these days is looking rather smart and sharp. Last spring, in his first draft, Tannenbaum all but secured the offensive line for the foreseeable future with D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold, a pair of solid picks. On Saturday, Tannenbaum showed his aggressive side by moving up to get the player he wanted, Pitt defensive back Darrelle Revis, who might come in handy when it's time to check Moss. And second-round pick David Harris, a linebacker from Michigan, just might be the guy to wake up Jonathan Vilma after a subpar season or eventually turn Vilma into trade bait. Of course, the draft decisions were only the dessert; the main course was getting running back Thomas Jones from the Bears two months ago for an old Glenn Foley jersey. The Jets hardly are a finished product, ready to be packaged and prepared for a Super Sunday in February. They're not so hot that they need Fireman Ed to hose them down. Still, little by little, you can see a contender in the making. And from just up the road, so can the Patriots.
Moss doesn't have that much of a rap sheet, does he? I mean, he can be a clown but he's he's certainly no Pacman Jones and not even as bad a distration as TO. Most of what Moss has done has been trivial kind of stuff, unless I'm forgetting something.
I have no doubt that the Pats are keeping one eye on the Jets, but the article is probably a bit more gratuitous than is called for. We are not a team to be taken lightly, but at the same time we aren't making anyone nervous either.
I really don't think it's a reflection of any other team. Suppose Belicheck was confident that the Patriots are already the best team in the league. Does that mean he shouldn't make the team potentially better by acquiring Moss? No. He's just doing what he thinks is best for his team like any other guy in charge. Other teams aren't a factor in these kind of decisions.
Compared to TO, Moss' antics are mostly trivial, but still concerning considering that they often revolve around his lazy playing and me-first attitude. I am glad we don't have to entertain anymore "trade for Moss" threads. Hopefully this kat won't change his ways coming to New England.
Really strange article if you ask me. It's pretty obvious that the Pat's moves this year (fast versatile linebacker who can cover or blitz, gamebreaking receivers, extra help in the defensive backfield) have been purely aimed at the Colts and not the Jets. And BTW, if the Jets were using the formula that the Pats rode to dominance they'd be stockpiling picks not trading them away.
Not sure that I agree w/ your last statement. The consensus was that this draft did not have a whole lot of depth. You can deal with that in one of 2 ways. You can do what the Pats did and defer your 2007 picks for better 2008 picks OR you can package multiple picks to select some of the few marquee players available. If I'm not mistaken, the Pats traded up twice in last year's draft.
And they came into this draft with how many picks anyway? The Pats have now drafted 70 players in Belichik's 8 drafts, averaging nearly 9 players a draft. The lowest number was 6 in 2001. They have had 4 10 player drafts and they took 9 people this year in a supposedly weak draft. We are never, ever, ever (add as many evers as you want) going to catch the Pats drafting just 4 people in a season. We need to get to the point where WE have extra picks every year. I believe the Pats already have 9 picks next year including 2 First rounders. This is not rocket science here...
The mooning after the TD was a total none event. The fans were laughing and so was he, the annoucers and media jumped on it and turned what was a little fun between a division rivals fans into some kind of crazy obsenity. It was a football game in front of fans in Green Bay Wisconsin who have a tradition of mooning the opposing players team busses when the leave the parking lot. It was a jest and taken that way by the fans. The annoucers made it something perverse which it wasn't.
Well, running over a meter maid and mooning Green Bay fans can be considered public services. However, giving up on plays is unacceptable. I think Brady and Bellichick will get the best out of him, similar to how Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson kept Dennis Rodman in line--eyes on the prize or you're gone. From what I hear, they don't owe Moss anything until he plays a game, so it's no risk, and they gave up nothing for him.
The way to catch the Pats is by adding depth and catching lightning in a bottle with a couple of great, game changing players. You can do that by drafting tons of guys or one guy.
they gave up a 4th rder for R.Moss. More of a no brainer than an act of desperation, or a reaction to what any other team is doing.
True the Pats did trade up last year. However there are some important differences. 1) The Pats are already a dominant team, the Jets are not. When the Pats were rebuilding, as we are right now, they stockpiled as many picks as possible. That is why they have such good depth. 2) The Pats last year had more picks than we did this year. 3) They did not move up as much, and therefore did not have to give up as many of their picks as we had to.
As long as Wilfork and Brady are healthy and in their prime, I don't see them getting old and falling out of the hunt for the trophy.
Up until this year it was the Patriot philosophy to not spend big money in free agency, to coach up their homegrown players who have the right attitude for their system. Then this year they go balls to the wall, spending every which way and signing quality players but going against their usual grain. The point is the philosophy of the Patriots and now the Jets is do what is necassarry to win football games. There is no detailed set of instructions on how to do it and each season and situation must be attacked differently. Whether it's acquiring two immediate starters on defense in the same draft or stock piling depth, the Patriot way, what we're copying is winning September through January, not February to August.
Exactly right. He didn't "moon" anyone. That would be like if he pretended to draw pistols and shoot them, and the announcers going "Oh my god, he's SHOOTING AT THE CROWD!!!!!!!! Moss did nothing wrong that day. That was all Joe Buck acting like a schmuck.
