Randy Moss to Vikings?

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

I don't get it.  They got a 2011 3rd (mostlikely now mid to late round).  Had he played out the season and signed as FA elsewhere they would have gotten a 2012 very late round pick for the FA comp. 

[MikeO]

I don't get it.  They got a 2011 3rd (mostlikely now mid to late round).  Had he played out the season and signed as FA elsewhere they would have gotten a 2012 very late round pick for the FA comp. 

your ignoring one big fact....NE DOESN'T WANT HIM AROUND!!

They know he will be a lockerroom cancer in a few weeks and destroy their season

[StL FinFan]

He had not been a locker room cancer up until now.  Why would he all the sudden become one?  I do think his comments about not being a Patriot next season hastened this deal.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

He had not been a locker room cancer up until now.  Why would he all the sudden become one?  I do think his comments about not being a Patriot next season hastened this deal.

For all we know he could have been a locker room cancer since the start of training camp.  BB's direction to the other players would almost certainly be "smile for the camera and say nice things about Randy."  With the exception of Tom Brady, who is too much of a professional to air the teams dirty laundry, anybody who defied BB on such a directive would be wearing black and silver this season. 

[Philly Fin Fan]

He had not been a locker room cancer up until now.  Why would he all the sudden become one?  I do think his comments about not being a Patriot next season hastened this deal.

Apparently his remarks after game one  really ticked off BB. NFL Radio was also reporting that he was really having a hissy fit on the flight home from Miami because he was only thrown to once during that game.

[MaineDolFan]

They know he will be a lockerroom cancer in a few weeks and destroy their season

But he hasn't been.  He's been a great locker room guy that wants a new deal.  Every player in the locker room respects and understands that. 

[Pappy13]

Actually I don't think this has anything whatsoever to do with Moss' character, this is strictly a football decision.  Moss wasn't going to be back next year.  They drafted a couple of TE's that are really looking good which they want to get more involved in the offense.  Even with Moss, this year was going to be a bit of a rebuilding year with a lot of young players on the defensive side of the ball.  They got a #3 draft pick for next year and they are stocking up on draft picks which they could use to move up in the draft and get a fast WR to replace Moss or maybe go after Vincent Jackson or something.  Who knows what BB has in mind, but this doesn't strike me as a "lets get rid of Randy because he's a cancer" thing as much as it strikes me as a "Now is the right time to pull the trigger on Randy" thing.

[fyo]

Even with Moss, this year was going to be a bit of a rebuilding year with a lot of young players on the defensive side of the ball.

I agree with a lot of what you're saying, but there seems to be a lot of weakness at the top of the league this year. I wouldn't count the Patriots out, not by a long shot... and trading Moss does weaken them this year.

[Dave Gray]

This is nothing new to NE.  They are known for getting rid of guys before having to cut them.  It's cut-throat, but admirable.  Think of how many players they got rid of that were still good players?  A ton.  And they got something for all of them, while the rest of us wait for guys to get old and get no value for them.

[Philly Fin Fan]

They said on NFL Radio that NE has 2 picks in each of the first 4 rounds in the next draft. Yikes!

[Pappy13]

I agree with a lot of what you're saying, but there seems to be a lot of weakness at the top of the league this year. I wouldn't count the Patriots out, not by a long shot... and trading Moss does weaken them this year.

Oh, I'm not, not at all, but I think they would like the gameplan to get a little more conservative and get away from stretching the field with Moss and start bringing in their 2 young TE's more and more.  That probably wouldn't have endeared Randy Moss to the gameplan.  Might as well get what you can for him now and save yourself the trouble of having to explain why Randy Moss isn't in the gameplan to either him or the press.  BB has a plan for this year, but he's also got an eye on the future.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

They said on NFL Radio that NE has 2 picks in each of the first 4 rounds in the next draft. Yikes!

Oakland's 1st
Own 1st
Carolina's 2nd
own 2nd
Minn 3rd
own 3rd
Denver's 4th
own 4th
own 5th
Saints 6th (don't have their own)
no 7th round pick

NE traded to KC a conditional pick for Jarrad Page-- don't know the conditions or what the max could be.

 

[Philly Fin Fan]

But he hasn't been.  He's been a great locker room guy that wants a new deal.  Every player in the locker room respects and understands that. 

Actually I don't think this has anything whatsoever to do with Moss' character, this is strictly a football decision

Who knows what BB has in mind, but this doesn't strike me as a "lets get rid of Randy because he's a cancer" thing as much as it strikes me as a "Now is the right time to pull the trigger on Randy" thing.

Sure on that? Seems that if Ochocinco or TO did this, everyone would be saying its "cancerous to the locker room".


http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nfl/news/story?id=5655198&campaign=rss&source=twitter&ex_cid=Twitter_espn_5655198

[mecadonzilla]

So is Brandon Tate the new starter opposite Welker?  He may have a lot of upside, but is he really a replacement for Moss?

I can see long term this is a good move for New England, but short term, this could make them a markedly weaker offensive team...and I'm just fine with that.   

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Week 5

So is Brandon Tate the new starter opposite Welker?  He may have a lot of upside, but is he really a replacement for Moss?

I can see long term this is a good move for New England, but short term, this could make them a markedly weaker offensive team...and I'm just fine with that.  

It certainly helps them long term.  Randy was not going to be part of the team in 2011.
Short term it is mixed.  

The biggest downside is Randy did a great job at stretching the field and taking a CB and safety down the field opening up the short and intermediate routes.  Not having that will hurt the Patriots offense.

Here is why it could be a mixed blessing.  

In reality Randy’s greatest strength in 2009/2010 was as decoy.  Not production.  The Patriots won not by throwing the ball to Moss but by him opening up the field.  In fact throwing to him often resulted in losses as over half of Tom Brady’s ints came from passes in which Moss was the intended receiver.  Also Moss caught the lowest percentage of balls thrown his direction of any Patriots receiver.

If Randy was willing to happily play the role of decoy and be part of a team effort that result in a win, in which his role was not scoring the TDs but in setting up the field so someone else could, he could be a great part of the offense.  Alas, he was unwilling to take on that team role.

Also Tom Brady’s greatest strength as a QB is not the deep ball.  It never has been.  He has never been called a cannon.  What makes Tom one of the greatest QBs in history is ability to scan the field quickly and find the open receiver.  He does that probably better than any QB who has ever played the game.  And he has a bunch of targets – Welker, Edelman, Tate, Gonk, Hermandez.  He can find the open one. And the ones that aren’t open aren’t gonna be pissed off that someone else score a TD when they were covered. However, one receiver, Moss, would get pissed if someone else got the ball and would whine if the ball was not thrown to him when he was triple covered.  This did result in sometimes Tom not making the best pass for the team, but ones to placate a whining diva receiver.

So while Tate will not spread the field as effectively as Moss, I think you will continue to see a very powerful offense from New England and one that spreads the ball around to who ever is open.  You won’t see ball forced to Tate when he is double covered like occurred with Moss.