Randy Moss off to the Minnesota Vikings
The New England Patriots handed over Moss to the Minnesota Vikings for a third round 2011 draft pick. One can’t but help question the wisdom of trading an unrivalled wide receiver like Randy Moss but it happened.
Football might be a sport but the NFL is a business and the New England Patriots are a franchise of that business.
Looking at it that way the trade begins to make sense. Moss had a good thing going for him with the Patriots. Tom Brady is a quarterback any wide receiver would be honoured to catch for and Bill Belichik is one of the most impressive coaches in the NFL.
New England is as good a home as any Moss could find in the NFL. Just one thing ruined it all for Moss ... money.
Moss made no efforts to hide his reservations about the contract. The Patriots didn’t want to lose Moss. They just couldn’t help it. It’s a business and the price the Patriots were willing to pay for the high end receiver was not one that Moss was happy
with. When that became unmistakable, the Patriots had to trade.
Moss is a highly gifted footballer, who is worth every penny and the Vikings are more than happy to have him back again. The Vikings’ fans too would be happy to see Moss back in his number 84 jersey. New England fans won’t be happy but the situation is not
unsalvageable, far from it in fact.
The Patriots are a team, who cannot be accused of lacking foresight. They have always kept an eye on the future and that has helped them win as many games as they have. This move now is not an exception either.
The move might hurt in the short term but Moss wasn’t going to re-sign with the Patriots and to sustain a team, one needs draft picks. One player does not make or break a team. The Patriots could have given Moss an offer he couldn’t refuse but in the long
run that would end up hurting the Patriots. Moss would have stayed for maybe another year but the draft picks give New England what they need to sustain success.
“In this business, there are complex and often difficult decisions, but it is my responsibility to make them based on what I feel is best for our football team, in both the short term and long term”, Belichick said.
His focus on the long term would undoubtedly bring him much criticism. Moss was valuable and without him the Patriots opponents would walk all over Wes Walker. Even the running game would be affected as the defence that went into keeping Moss in check frees
up. They have no replacement for Moss as of yet, assuming that there is a replacement for Moss out there at all.
Moss has caught 47 touchdowns in the three seasons with the New England Patriots. The 4 time all-pro selection is the only player in the NFL to have 1,600 yards and 16 receiving touchdowns in a single season. He was the youngest player ever to record his
100th touchdown. He ranks second all-time in the NFL with his 151 career touchdowns. Moss is heading for the hall of fame but before he gets there, he will move out of New England and make a stop in Minnesota.
Moss is a dangerous and more importantly a feared receiver. He demands double coverage on the field. The Patriots would have a tough time moving from one end to the other and at the other end without him and once there, they would miss out on the significant
number of touchdown passes Moss leapt for.
The Patriots are undergoing a defensive overhaul and at present they need their offense to be at its best for the defence to be able to hold off opponents. Moss’s departure would certainly have an impact on the Patriot’s performance.
The Vikings though couldn’t be happier. Of course adding one player won’t turn around their team but it would but it still is a very positive move for Minnesota. They needed someone to on the receiving end of Brett Favre’s passes and now Moss is their man.
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