Really, that is the only part you can talk about from my post? Huh, well I tried. I wish you well. Take care. ... Oh my, I just remembered. It was you. I forgot since it was a while ago, but indeed we had that long PM discussion. Please disregard my above post. I forgot you have it out for me. Please put me on "Ignore" and I will do the same. I hope you enjoy both the '07 season and TGG.
Exactly what I said. The year you mentioned, Minnesota limped into the playoffs at 8-8 in a piss-poor year for the NFC. In January 2005, the month that you cite, Randy Moss was better known for feigning a moon at Green Bay fans and shooting off his mouth on camera about the fine. In January 2005, then, Randy Moss was infamous, and hardly relevant.
My side is he was on national TV in a playoff game. His team won and he was a key performer. Then he played on a bigger stage the following week. That's how I would say he was relevant. Of course, he did bring attention to himself with the goalpost incident (which wasn't only a pretend moon, but also something more disgusting). I understand your point that the 2007 Patriots should be a better team than the 2004 Vikings.
Once again, NE betters itself. Brady has more weapons now and Deion Branch is a thing of the past. Wes Welker, Rookie Anthony Gonzalez, Reche Caldwell and now a nice deep threat with Moss. NE this might be the best receiver core they have had since the dynasty started. I'm glad we went corner in the first. Dyson or Revis on Moss? I say put Dyson on Moss because of the mere experience and Revis on the mutch more physical Gonzalez.
NE definitely improved themselves with the acquisition of good WRs, and I do believe they may have done enough to be considered the early SuperBowl favorite. However, the more I think about it, the less convinced they will be as dominant as I initially thought they would be. Their passing game will be great, and their defense will be good like it always is. However, I think the loss of Dillon is underrated. They lost that hammer, that can score in the redzone and wear down opposing defenses. As good as Maroney was last year, it remains to be seen if he can carry the load exclusively. Belly was always a ball control coach as well, but now that he has all these deep weapons on the outside, will he be able to change into the NE Colts?
Brady's secret role in landing Moss Posted: Tuesday May 01, 2007 05:18AM ET Tom Brady has yet to publicly comment on the Patriots' acquisition of receiver Randy Moss, but his actions speak volumes. Brady agreed to restructure his present contract that runs through 2010 to create salary cap space. Brady's involvement with the Moss discussions was just one of the layers to a beat-the-clock process that began when the Patriots received permission from the Raiders to speak with Moss late Saturday night after the first three rounds of the draft. http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/1448
Real Moss set to return By Karen Guregian Boston Herald General Sports Reporter and Columnist http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid=197577&format=&page=1 Monday, April 30, 2007 - Updated: 06:14 AM EST FOXBORO - He’s been a dog of a player in recent seasons. One look at his statistics from Oakland tell that story. He’s not the most exemplary human being on the planet. A glance at his rap sheet confirms that claim. But can Randy Moss change his spots? Does winning a Super Bowl mean that much to him, that he’ll pledge allegiance to the Patriot way? The Patriots [team stats] think so. And Moss sure tried to make it sound that way, too. During his conference call with the media yesterday, Moss expressed exuberance at being in the stable of a winner after coming to the Pats in a trade yesterday for a fourth-round draft pick. Moss claimed now that he’s catching passes from Tom Brady [stats] and being coached by Bill Belichick, fans are going to see the real Moss, the one whose abilities are off the charts. “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,” Moss said. “What I’ve done in my nine-year career is just a glimpse of what I can do. So me being to get the right things in place for me to be able to succeed on the field is right here in New England.” When asked if broadcast reports were true he had run a blazing, if not quite believable, 4.29 40-yard dash in Belichick’s presence recently, the 30-year-old replied, “Let’s put it this way - the Moss of old is back. We’ll leave it at that.” Without question, news of the Pats landing Moss from the Raiders, and adding to an arsenal that also includes Donte’ Stallworth, Wes Welker, Reche Caldwell [stats], Kelley Washington and tight end Benjamin Watson [stats], completely overshadowed Day 2 of the NFL draft. The deal was made possible after Moss dramatically restructured his contract, due to pay him $21 million over the next two seasons. His deal with the Pats is for one year at $3 million, with $2 million in incentives. Essentially, he chose Belichick and Brady over Brett Favre, as it came down to a decision between the Pats and Green Bay, the other serious bidder. The Pats have had their eye on the 6-foot-4, 210-pound big-play threat for some time. The Raiders wanted to deal, especially with their No. 1 overall pick, quarterback JaMarcus Russell, in sight. They couldn’t afford to pay Moss his base salary ($9.75 million) and sign Russell. Talks heated up Friday night, then hit a frantic pace Saturday after the third round concluded. Belichick was on the phone with the Raiders, specifically owner Al Davis, and Moss into the wee hours of the morning, trying to get the deal done before the draft resumed with the fourth round at 11 a.m. yesterday. Moss, who was in town for a physical yesterday, was like a salesman pitching a product, trying to get everyone all pumped up for his entrance. “Not knowing my fate really scares me and what it scares me into doing is working out and getting my body conditioned so whenever or whoever’s team I get on, hopefully I can showcase my talent,” he said. “Luckily, it was the New England Patriots [team stats]. So you all are going to really see some things that you’ve never seen before, and when it does happen, don’t say I didn’t tell you.” Belichick wasn’t quite as boastful, but he didn’t sound the least bit concerned with any part of Moss’ past. The Pats’ coach indicated he had spoken to enough people to feel confident of what he was bringing into the locker room and into his offense. “I think he’s a very competitive player and I think he’s very experienced,” Belichick said. “He knows what it takes to win. He’s a winner and I’m glad he’s on this team. I don’t know how else to put it. That’s the best way I could characterize it.” Moss claimed much of his poor reputation was a media creation. “I know there have been some things I’ve done in the past in my career but I think that’s all behind me,” Moss said. “I’m not really living in the past. I’m really trying to live at the present and the future. So hopefully this thing works out. I know I want it to work out, and hopefully the organization feels the same.”
The more I hear about this on ESPN and in articles, the more it sounds like a countermove to me. The Pats certainly did work out Moss before the draft, but on ESPN, if you want to take this with a grain of salt you can, the indications were that the Pats were offering a sixth on draft day. The fact that they had Brady call him at the Nth hour on Saturday night just makes me think they were scrambling to get him before the 4th round happened at that point. As deft a move as this seems, the Patriots seemed to have been lukewarm on Moss right up until draft day, and it sounds that way too, when you really look at the interviews Moss gave on Sunday. I know it's a steal but imagine how much and how quickly the Raiders seemed to want rid of him to throw him away for a 4th rounder, after all they gave up to get him. Tom Brady will have to change the way he plays QB just to make this guy happy. No more dishing out to the open man, it's 'Throw it to 84' or get that peacock yelling in your face about his incentives on the sidelines. That won't happen right off the bat, of course, they have to get past the Honeymoon stage first, and hopefully the Honeymoon isn't consummated with a Super Bowl victory. I know this isn't Terrell Owens, but there's a reason he's on his third team in 4 years, and you can't entirely blame the hapless Raiders organization for the past 2 years. There comes a point where you have to own up and be a man, and that's something that Randy Moss hasn't shown he's capable of. He's a big baby. High risk, but the reward has no ceiling if a player like him fits with a team like the Pats, personnel-wise. Nobody is really disputing the value of the deal. The Pats got what I think is the most explosive player in the league for a 4th rounder. It's a travesty, but it could also fail just as many sure things in the league do.
It was a move designed to do two things: 1. Put the Jets in their place. "ok, you're going to trade up to get two players with most of your draft? Then we're going to get a better player with just our 4th round pick." It was well-timed to do that as it threw Jets Nation into a funk. 2. More importantly it was another weapon against the Colts. The Colts get Anthony Gonzalez on day 1? The Pats respond with Randy Moss on day 2. Was it a good move? I don't know. The Yankees were a great team as long as most of their talent was home-grown or came into their own with the Yankees. Since they started just importing high level free agents they have gone straight downhill. Especially when they started trading away the few good young homegrown players (Soriano, Nick Johnson) at the same time.
The Raiders weren't going to keep him even if it meant cutting him. He has a very expensive contract that they don't want to pay and he will not renigotiate with them. They had no choice but to move him to a team he was willing to go to. From my understanding the only two teams he agreed to even talk to were the Pats and the Packers.
Contract schmontract, if Randy Moss and Terrell Owens had the personality of a Marvin Harrison, they wouldn't be gotten rid of at all or otherwise any team would be glad to give up a 1st rounder and the contract for a player that no organization should get rid of. It's not the contract that got him the 4th round value, it's the headache.
I agree although teams like the Raiders that are in full rebuild often unload good charachter guys with tons of talent simply because it doesn't pay to keep them. Unlike Moss who allready made tons of money most guys like that are looking to capitalize on their last contract and open the bidding with all teams. Moss seems to want to play for a contender more than he wants money right now. That doesn't mean he won't implode just that he's making a choice that puts winning ahead of money right now.
You may find this hard to believe but it's always been about winning with Moss. The only time he has caused trouble since he came to the NFL is when his team is losing.
So the Pats traded Branch for a 1st rounder. Pats trade 1st rounder for a 1st next year, and a 4th for this year. Traded 4th for Moss. Genius. So the Pats essentially traded Branch for Moss and a 1st rounder.
