The Randy Moss Trade: Is Moss Finished or Did the Pats Make a Mistake?
Will the wide receiver shine once again with Minnesota?
By: Taren Vaughan
Randy Moss is by far one of the most explosive wide receivers known to the game of football. As a once powerful offensive weapon for the Minnesota Vikings, Moss spent a few years as a part of the “Brady Bunch” up in New England. But that has now changed and he is headed back to his original home with the Vikings. Returning to a team that you once played for can be a positive thing for a player. Going back to familiar territory could spark something in them, reflecting their old days with the team. But just how much of an impact can Randy Moss have now with the Minnesota Vikings at age 33?
To be honest, Moss’ age may not even be as much of a factor as we tend to make it for players over the age of 30. It’s nothing but a number for quite a few of them in the league as we have seen the likes of Brett Favre, Ray Lewis and Donovan McNabb be very productive thus far this NFL season. However, Vikings fans and football fanatics all over still remember how unstoppable Moss was during his younger days. This man did some serious damage back in the day as a member of the Vikings. And although he wasn’t as productive in New England, he was far from a train wreck during his time as a Patriot.
Moss’ time with New England was well spent, helping lead his team to playoff appearances and remaining one of the best teams in the AFC East. He may have been a positive influence as far as the game itself was concerned. But he did have a few minor behavioral problems along the way. Though this was true, Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick stated that Moss was far from a troublemaker:
“There was never any incident or discipline problem with Randy. There never has been one with me in four years.”
It’s obvious that Moss isn’t a splitting image of the infamous Terrell Owens when it comes to his behavior. But like T.O., Randy Moss is getting up in age and his ability to really help produce an offensive powerhouse could be rather challenging. While the Vikings’ offense has a few old timers on their roster including former Green Bay Packer Brett Favre, it’s safe to say that Randy Moss should have no problem finding his place in their line-up. And despite the critical comments that have been made about Moss’ move, Favre seems to be thrilled about having him as a teammate:
"This is an exciting move; I think everybody feels that in the locker room," "I've admired him from a distance for a long time."
Jets’ Darelle Revis on the other hand, wasn’t praising Moss quite as much.
In reference to this season’s game against the Pats:
"In the second half, you could tell he was kind of like putting his foot on the brake. But everybody knows that's Randy: sometimes he plays 100 percent, sometimes he doesn't."
His teammate Antonio Cromartie added in some choice words of his own on Moss and his ability to get easily stifled:
"When you get in his face a lot, you get him frustrated,"
Sound to me like Moss is getting that good ole “LeBron treatment”; go to another team because you are unhappy and everybody and their mama have something to say about it. Even after his commentary on Moss’ flustered moments, Cromartie admitted that the things he did on the field should definitely not go unrecognized.
Whether you support Randy Moss or not, you must admit that the man does have unbelievable skills. But even the most well oiled players can lose their juice after awhile. But something tells me that Moss is far from finished. With that being said, what will the outcome of this week’s Monday Night Football game be? Will Randy Moss put all the critics’ comments to shame, being just as effective as he once was with the Vikings? Or will he just be simply taking up another spot on Minnesota’s roster? We will soon find out if Randy Moss still has what it takes to lead the Vikings to the promise land, better known as the Super Bowl.
