Randy Moss still seen as a risk
Posted: Sunday, March 02, 2008 8:30 PM
You’d think a 31-year-old receiver coming off a year in which he set an NFL record for touchdown catches would be a hot property. And yet Randy Moss still doesn’t have a job.
Our Tom Curran has already pointed out that Moss needs the Patriots more than they need him. But where are the other teams lining up to get one of the most talented receivers the game has ever seen?
The Sporting News is reporting that talks between Moss and the Pats on a new contract are stalled. As is usual in such cases, the player thinks he’s worth more than the team is offering. What usually follows next is the player going off in a huff to get the money he feels he deserves.
But you’d think that other teams would have been beating down his door. After all, when Terrell Owens wore out his welcome in Philadelphia, Jerry Jones wasted no time signing him to a contract with the Cowboys. And isn’t T.O. as big a potential pain in the patoot as is Moss?
The answer, clearly, is no. And what the sluggish pursuit of Moss shows is what’s important to NFL personnel directors.
There’s a huge difference between T.O.’s and Moss’ downsides. When Owens goes into a funk, he becomes a jerk off the field and in the locker room. But no matter what you think of that behavior, when he’s on the field, the man plays hard.
Not so with Moss. When he’s unhappy, it shows on the field. Two years ago, when he became disenchanted with the Raiders, he dogged it on the field and didn’t have any problems telling everyone that he couldn’t play hard when he wasn’t happy. That’s pretty much what happened in Minnesota, where he admitted to not going all out on every play because he didn’t always feel like it.
He had no such problems in New England, but he was also playing with one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time and in an offense that doesn’t particularly care who the receivers are. The Pats have won with people even their teammates had never heard of before and they’ll do it again. If Moss doesn’t want to accept their terms, he can go elsewhere.
The Boston media is already starting to act as if Moss is gone. On Sunday, the Herald’s John Tomase speculated that there are five teams that might take a shot at him: the Cowboys, Packers, Giants, Saints and the Steelers. Tomase winnowed the field down to that number by considering teams that both can win and have upper-echelon quarterbacks.
I’ve no doubt that Moss will find employment if the Patriots can’t accommodate him. He’d be good on the Cowboys, but Dallas can probably find better placed to put their money than in a guy who could end up in a spitting match with fellow all-ego team member Owens. The Packers would unite him with Brett Favre and make him the featured receiver. Pittsburgh and the Giants also have big-time wide-outs in Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress. That would leave the Saints as the other most-likely destination.
But he’s still seen as a risk. If he weren’t viewed that way, he’d already have found a home. NFL teams will put up with a lot, but they won’t put up with guys who dog it when they’re unhappy. And Moss’ history is that you never know when he’s going to be unhappy.
