Moss Back to Minny

I was shocked last night when I happened to turn on the channel over to ESPN for a little 11 o'clock SportsCenter before bed, and saw "Randy Moss" and "trade" in their beginning promo. In fact, my heart sank. It didn't help when Insider Adam Schefter reported that the deal wasn't imminent, but was being worked on. By Wednesday morning it was reality.

How could one of the best receivers of all-time be traded mid season for a measly third round pick? It just didn't make sense. This is like Lawyer Milloy and Richard Seymour all over again, except way worse.

From a personal standpoint, Moss has always been one of my favorite players. When he was absolutely tearing the league up in Minnesota. Even in his Oakland days I knew he was still a great player trapped in an impossible situation. I was a Moss apologist, and even now I still am.

He was saved from Al Davis by Bill Belichick, who saw the opportunity (4th round pick) to pair Tom Brady with a capable receiver (the Patriots had just lost the AFC Championship game with Reche Cadwell as its No. 1).

The match was perfect, even with Moss' checkered past in mind. The duo broke records in their first season together, as the Patriots offense operated at a never-before/never-again seen pace. When Brady went down in 2008, and untested Matt Cassel was thrown into the fire, critics and football minds alike wondered if Moss would tank or become the malcontent he once was. None of that happened as he quietly put his head down and went to work for the eager Cassel. He caught 69 balls for over 1,000 receiving yards that year, and the Pats were shut out of the playoffs despite going 11-5 (keep in mind that the Chargers at 8-8 got in; ridiculous).

With Brady back from his devastating knee injury the next year, New England was geared for great things again. The season wasn't a total loss, going 10-6 and making the playoffs, but they amassed only a 2-6 road record, were plagued with old age signings (Joey Galloway, Shawn Springs), and locker room cancers (Adalius Thomas). Meanwhile, Moss was a true professional, even as media members took unnecessary swipes at his desire while he played most of the year with badly injured ribs. That 2009 season, his last full one in Patriots blue and silver, he grabbed 83 balls for a total of 1,264 yards and 13 TDs. Little media attention was spent on another hall of fame season he dropped.

After the embarrassing playoff loss to the Ravens and the off season began, Moss seemed to revert back to his diva ways. He took swipes at the Patriots organization, calling them cheap, while also going on public record a number of times to state that the NFL is a business, and he didn't expect to be back with New England in 2011. This season was his last under his current 3 year/27$ million contract. At a team function before the season, with season ticket holders in attendance, Moss acted like a complete jerk; there's no other way around it. He sulked in the corner with his head phones on the entire time, and was rude to anyone who wanted to get a word from him. I tend to dislike the Boston media for the most part because they like to make a mountain out of a mole hill. This gave the media, whom many already had a blatant disregard for Moss, ample ammunition to trash him.

After New England opened the season with a decisive whooping of the Cincinnati Bengals, one would think everyone would have been happy. Not Moss. While he seemed excited about the victory, his post game speech was an embarrassing diatribe against all of his haters, while basically stating what was previously stated. The NFL is a business, I don't expect to be back with the Patriots, PAY ME. The biggest Moss fan couldn't even back what he did with a straight face. It took away from a great team victory. This also prompted Moss to ask for a trade.

When looking at the Patriots as an organization, it is clear just from the outside looking in that they do things differently than most NFL teams. Belichick and his staff place a value on every player, and if that player wants too much, he's gone (Deion Branch, Asante Samuel). They also place a premium on team-first guys and tend to shy away from giving too much information to the media, if any info at all. They do things behind closed doors, and if Moss had just kept quiet, the Patriots would have tried to work out a deal with him. If not, he would've walked at the end of the year and received a generous contract from another team. It's not like he was making the veteran's minimum; Moss is making 9$ million this season to play football.

After the Cincinnati post game rant, Moss was quiet (at least we know publicly), all the while the team began to shift its offensive philosophy to spreading the ball more around and using their three tight end set more often. The Patriots brought this game plan to Miami, and what a national TV audience saw was a vintage New England performance. Guys like Rob Ninkovich, Danny Woodhead, and Patrick Chung played key roles in the steamroll of the Dolphins. Moss didn't catch a pass, and was targeted only once (on a fake spike from Tom Brady). It's not like Moss was single covered the whole game. He was constantly being double-teamed, and the underneath routes became increasingly open as a result. Asked after the game about his failure to catch a pass, Moss responded, "It's called a game-plan." It didn't seem like a snide remark, but the truth. If he was going to be double-teamed constantly, naturally Tom Brady should have looked for someone else, preferably the open man.

Now with Moss back in a Vikings uniform today, reports have surfaced that Moss and Quarterbacks Coach Bill O'Brien were involved in a blowout during halftime of the Miami win. The Patriots had been in trade discussions with other teams about Moss, but this appears to be what broke the camels back. He had requested a trade, and now has his wish. Belichick must have seen this as the right time to get rid of the enigmatic star. A confidence lifting win, added with a fundamental shift in offensive philosophy and a heated exchange with a coach led Belichick to see now was the time to go through with the trade.

It really is unfortunate that Moss couldn't have played this year out to the best of his abilities. I sincerely believe that had he done this, he would have been rewarded with a new contract by the team at the end of the season. (On a side note, I may have to change most of my fantasy team names from "Straight Cash Homey" to something else). When you're young and talented, mistakes are tolerated. But when you're 33 and a veteran of 13 NFL seasons, there comes a time when you need to mature.

Much like Allen Iverson, Moss just doesn't seem to get it. He's not like T.O., who's all about promoting himself. Moss appears to have a distinct love for the game. Belichick had said on occasion that Moss was one of the smartest and most coachable players he ever had.

Randy Moss seems to be over-sensitive. It also appears that he has a large pair of rabbit ears. That's probably what pushed him to become one of the most dynamic offensive players ever; that chip that won't budge or crumble. That same drive that pushed him against all the naysayers such as the Dallas Cowboys (for lying about taking him in the draft), Notre Dame and Florida State (for revoking his scholarships), and all of the critics during the 1998 draft which saw him fall from top-five to No. 21.

Patriots fans are left scratching their heads, and Vikings fans are bringing out old Moss jerseys from their closets. Moss could have been an integral part of the Patriots offense this season. Instead, he finds himself in a new situation in an all-too familiar place.