Stats or not, Patriots receiver always makes an impact for his team. Matt Bowen
Randy Moss is still the most dangerous weapon in the NFL—and I am not going to argue that.
However, after the Patriots’ 20-10 win over the Panthers yesterday, his effort was brought into question by members of the Carolina secondary—especially Chris Gamble, who implied that Moss “shut it down” on certain routes.
First, Tom Brady came to his defense, calling Moss “one of the best players in the history of the NFL,” and the QB basically took responsibility for the play that has come into question—when it looked like Moss stopped short of a deep out route. It’s what we expect a QB to say, right? Of course, but I am still buying it.
Then it was head coach Bill Belichick also defending Moss, taking some parting shots at Gamble and the Panthers when he said, “I have a lot of respect for Randy. I think he's one of our best players and I think if you watch other teams defend him and watch other teams play against him, they think the same way—other than these two guys from Carolina after they lost another game. I guess they don't think that way. They haven't won a lot of games now."
Now, I have to agree with Belichick’s comments regarding the Panthers, who despite giving up over 100-yards receiving to Wes Welker and 185 yards on the ground to the Patriots, made it a point to let the media world know that they not only took Moss out of the game, but implied that he quit on his own team.
Asinine, really, after taking a beating on the road.
But, that is where we are now. And I know from watching Moss on film during my own playing career that he does at times look disinterested on the field when the ball is not coming his way, when he is away from the formation on a running play, and most importantly, when teams game plan to stop him.
Which was the exact case yesterday against the Panthers.
However, we tend to forget that for all the negative comments made about Moss throughout his career, he still forces teams to game plan specifically to stop him. Whether that means rolling a safety over the top and basically playing Cover 2 to his side of the field or playing man coverage—with a safety aligning between the hash marks and the numbers to help on any vertical route—he is always an issue when you set a defensive game plan throughout the week.
Bottom line, he makes defensive coordinators and defensive backs nervous.
So, yes, the Panthers did take Moss out of the game. And, yes, he did look lethargic on a certain number of plays. But to say that he quit on his teammates? No, I’m not buying that.
Did he play poorly? Sure he did, and just like the other members of that team, he will be corrected when they turn on the film today in their meeting rooms—but that is all that I see in play after this story has come out.
And, I am going to listen to Brady and Belichick when it comes to judging his character as a teammate because, like you, I am not in those meetings, on the practice field or in the locker room with a player that still demands respect from a defensive standpoint—and causes opposing players to mouth off to the media even after a loss. Because we can’t pretend to know what is being called in that huddle, just as we can’t pretend to know what route is supposed to be run as told on the chalkboard in the Patriots meeting rooms.
The Panthers shut down Randy Moss. Well, congrats, because this is the same guy who will be back in the good graces of fans after he runs past a defensive back in the near future—like he has done his whole career.
That is who he is. Sure, you can game plan to take him completely out of a game, but in return, you will allow other players to beat you, just like we saw yesterday. And because of that, I am going to defend Moss.
Because production or not, he always makes a difference in the ball game when he is on the field.
Follow me on Twitter: MattBowen41
Listen to The Cover 2 Podcast as Bowen and Bunting talk Week 14 NFL action and look at the Randy Moss drama in New England.
To read about Lovie Smith's 5-8 Chicago Bears, check out this article from Bleacher Report.
It is a good argument you present here, but I am still going with the opinion that Moss can be a bum half of the time. Great player who could have been one of the league's best ever but doesn't have the effort or passion to do so.
First off, Belichick is not a god, he is a football coach, so don't believe everything you hear, though I will agree that this story is big because Chris Gamble was looking for a sliver lining in another loss.
Randy is a quitter and a shows it when he doesn't feel like playing.
Randy could have been one of the best players of all time? what game are you watching? He is clearly one of the best players of all time. he had one bad game, take it easy. If your a new england fan and your hating on randy moss you are an idiot.
Good article Matt.
Moss has been playing with a back injury all season long. He was in the injury report as questionable with the back early on, and has appeared in the did not participate or limited participation in the practice reports pretty much every week.
Belichick was doing what he always does, and refusing to lay blame or credit upon any one player or coach.
As a fan, I was certainly disappointed with Moss' production and the lack of sharpness in the passing game overall (especially from the shotgun), but I never thought Moss had quit on the team. He just seemed extremely limited by the field conditions. Out there as a decoy, despite his inability to be a weapon.
Let's not forget that the mere presence of Moss allows Welker to flourish underneath as its hard to worry about Moss deep and bracket Welker too.... some teams can and New Orleans did but it's easier said than done...
Sure, I completely agree that Moss is still a factor because teams have to "game plan" to stop him. From that perspective, he is still a dangerous weapon and the Pats can be justified in keeping him on the team and in the lineup.
But that isn't a defense of Randy Moss the player. Even if a team is doubling him and his presence helps out other aspects of the offense, you would at least like to see the guy making an effort to get open, despite the double teams, on a consistent basis. I think that's the criticism. Just because he is still a weapon that defenses have to double team and account for doesn't mean he isn't dogging it.
My question would be how much of Moss' behavior is dogging it vs. how much of it is him laying low, still drawing double teams, while lulling opposing defensive coordinators into thinking that maybe it's okay to go back to a normal defense against him... at which point he'll clean their clocks?
With three games to go, Moss has nearly exceeded every mark he had last season. He's literally 7 yards away from being ranked third in receiving yards. Only three receivers have more TDs - only two have more receptions of 40+ yards. This is a typical year's work for Randy - 2007 was not normal for ANY WR and it certainly wasn't typical for Randy either.
Just another case of the media trying to make a story where there isn't one... why aren't we talking about Adalius Thomas openly bashing Belichick to the media?
Matt,
Thanks for not going the easy route and unfairly criticizing Randy Moss. He might be the only player who gets accused of quitting on his team when he has a bad game. There is no doubt he made some mistakes, and didn't make many (if any) impact plays, but he never gave up.
Chris Gamble's postgame comments are a blatant fabrication.
I charted Moss on every play (watching the game for the first time today on NFL Rewind), and he was on the field for 32 passing plays and 36 running plays. Not once did he allow his defender to make a tackle on those 36 running plays. He ran several go routes that cleared space, forced the safety to vacate a spot on Ben Watson's touchdown and blocked for Wes Welker on bubble screens. He was double covered often, and even triple covered on a Watson catch. He was also open a few times when Brady decided not to throw his way (5 targets total).
His fumble? A mistake. His dropped pass? A mistake. The asinine media criticism? A mistake.
Randy Moss did a great job blocking. INT was a disappointment but oh well. It's hard to blame him for not wanting 2007 numbers all over again, especially with the patience he showed under Matt Cassel.
I tend to agree with Scott.
If they don't need him as part of the game plan in order to win, why have him exert effort when they can try to dupe opposing scouts?
You can still make a case in defense of New England Randy Moss, but MN and Oakland Randy Moss will be heard from again, and, when that happens, then there will be only silence from y'all who are defending him now. This guy was traded for peanuts - twice. Both times, there was a reason. New England got him for the price of a 4th rounder in '07 and their dignity in '09 (their 2010 dignity was a conditional part of the deal, so we'll see if they excercise that option. Minny did, and we saw what that got them).
How long till he does something again like he did when he intentionally hit a traffic cop with his car after a bad practice (because she annoyed him by being in his way (seriously, he was stopped, she stood in front of his car and put her hand out for him to let other cars go, and that's when he pulled forward... he gave her a ride on his hood for a few feet)) or walks off the field before a game's over (apparently he was just bored even though the game was not decided and Minny's playoff hopes were still on the line). Seriously, the guy is not right. Defend him if you want to, but... I mean, how long do you make excuses for him before you come to the conclusion that maybe he's just a bad guy? You know, sometimes it really is that simple.
Matt, Matt, Matt.....did they not teach you the King's English at U of Iowa? "That is where we are AT now"????? The "at" is superfluous, and probably the most common grammar mistake made in America.
Just say "That is where we are now."
On second thought, I'd like to make a comment regarding Randy....this has followed him his entire career, from leaving the field early against the Giants in the NFCC game. His own teammates took him to task in Minnesota for not being a team player.
Now, he's on a championship team (although probably not this year) with a probable HOF QB throwing to him, and he STILL dogs it?
Many of my fellow Packer fans agonized over the fact that the Packers did not sign Moss to give Favre a dangerous weapon. I say good riddance. After his little stunt of the mooning and rubbing his backside on the goalpost at Lambeau Field, I would NEVER want this idiot wearing the Green and Gold. Respect goes both ways, Randy.
Scott-
I'm sure Randy doesn't care about dropping his pants in the Lambeau end zone, ok? He is still the best WR in the game when your offense needs a big play down the field. Oh, an quit the grammar crap dude.
I love that a former NFL safety explains Randy Moss' impact on a game, that his team won, yet all the armchair QBs still come on the message boards to call him out. That's right people. Matt has actually been on a field with this guy. Trying to defend this guy. I think I'll defer to his opinion over your hatin', jealous rants. As for your "traffic cop incident", Dan, I sure hope you don't live in a glass house. Remember all the stupid things you did as a 21 year old? Yeah, well none of the rest of us do because(like me) you are a nobody AND I'm pretty sure that had they recovered that onside kick with 4 secs(or less) left , Randy would have come back on the field. You know he's a pretty fast runner, right? Pettiness should be added to the list of deadly sins.
The joke is on all the haters. This kind of negative media attention is exactly the type of thing that always galvanizes the Pats locker room, and brings out their team mentality. Wouldn't want to be the buffalo bills this week.
Re: dan's comment at 1:57 am "You can still make a case in defense of New England Randy Moss, but MN and Oakland Randy Moss will be heard from again, and, when that happens, then there will be only silence from y'all who are defending him now."
Oh yeah? Really! Fascinating---with this ability to predict the future, you must make an absolute killing every weekend. Take this man to Vegas!
Since you seem to know that Moss is going to quit on the Pats, would you care to share with us a) when this will happen, and b) how you came by such knowledge? Of course, it might just be easier to look at his performance in New England and conclude that "Huh, I guess a single-season touchdown record really isn't much like his performance in Oakland at all." But that would require a level head and some measure of objectivity...
By the way, in your argument about Moss getting traded for "peanuts," are you implying that Al Davis has never made a bad personnel decision? Maybe, just maybe Moss went to the Pats for "peanuts" because the genius on the other end of the deal was the same guy who thought JaMarcus Russell was the QB of the future.
Re: Scott and the full moon in Green Bay, you sound like Joe Buck. How serious a Packer backer are you? If you said "Quite serious," then I have to wonder how you're unaware of the point Moss was trying to make---the always-classy Green Bay Packer fans make a habit of mooning the visiting team's bus as it leaves Lambeau on its way to, I dunno, some town that actually has an airport.
Breaking down Nicks, Cruz and...
Five things I would do with my...
How the Pats could script their...
How New York uses 'window dressing'...
Chicago's new GM will be tested...
Dec 14, 2009
04:10 PM
Maybe they should have tripled team Wes Welker ........ sounds like a bunch of sour grapes.