When I first heard about the Randy Moss trade, I thought it was an excellent move. The consensus of Patriots Nation is that people seem to like this because move because he is a top 15 player in the league, and the Pats are using a "C- grade" pick to get him. Moss comes to New England with many on-off the field issues in the past, at age 30 (with back problems), and with an addiction to weed (last year he said he smoked "Once in a blue moon"). ESPN writer Bill Simmons even equated the trade to it being like a "2004 Ferrari Enzo."
I think this trade is a good move for the Patriots. The Pats know how to use their draft choices to either move up, trade for players, and for good talent at the bottom of the draft. While I don't have one thing in particular to say about the trade itself, so I'll catch you up to speed on the developments, make note of what New England benefits from the trade and what I think is going to happen.
#1-The Facts :
-The Oakland Raiders needed room to sign top pick JaMarcus Russell. Moss was being paid $20 million over the next two years, and he became expendable once they acquired disgruntled wide receiver Mike Williams from the Lions. The Pats then flew him to New England, where he then passed his physical. They then tore up his existing contract and replaced it with a one year $3 million dollar deal. In addition, the Pats have told Moss that the first incident will mean that he is cut immediately. According to Wikipedia, Moss was clocked in the 40 time at 4.29-4.30 range. To make room for Moss, Brady's contract has been restructured.
#2-The Patriots Needs:The bottom line is that the Patriots needed a big-play man. This team could have won the Super Bowl, had they gotten past Indianapolis. The Pats now have 10 receivers (make that 11 if they sign Troy Brown) on the roster. They also get an impact return man that they ha vent had since Troy Brown was in his prime (Maroney's a question mark to return kicks with his injury). This move comes a season when the #1 receiver on team was Reche Caldwell. Caldwell is now the #4-5 man after the off-season signings of Moss, Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker, and Kelley Washington. After loosing big-play man David Givens and receiver Deion Branch to free agency and a trade, the team has replaced holes that should be integral parts in the teams plans this season.
#3- Predictions:
-This move ushers in a new offensive strategy for the Patriots. I believe that they are going from a run heavy game-plan to a pass 60% of the time. With Moss and Stallworth at opposite or the same sides of the field, this will spread the field out for Brady's other targets. In addition, the Pats wont be relying so much on Maroney (because hes coming back from an injury), but use him to gain small yardage gaps in the coverage that the defense gives them.
While is totally possible that Moss might have lost a step, he is always a threat and should draw double coverage from opposing secondaries. Fantasy football owners might want to shy away from grabbing any one of the Pats receivers (except for Moss), because Brady throws it to everyone and it will skew everyones statistics. But in the real world, this is a good move because Brady's spreading the ball around. Its one of those mismatches that I think Belichick likes heading into the summer.
This move also helps out Brady and his frustrations on not having an adequate receiving corps. He now has a big-play man (Moss), a possession receiver (Stallworth), a number three receiver (Welker), and depth to back them all up. The move is like the trade that brought Dillon to New England a couple of years ago. This one year deal is also good because if Moss performs up to par, the Pats can use him for the year and then let him walk away.
#4- Outlook:
-Moss agreed with the trade to New England because he wanted to win. The Pats have a franchise that is dedicated to winning nothing but championships. It appears as though Moss cares more about getting the ring on the finger, more trying to get the MVP Award in the trophy room. With a change of scenery (6-26 record with Oakland in the last two years) it should motivate Moss even more.
Moss doesn't even seem to care about how little money hes making. In a conference call he said "I've made a lot of money and I still have money in the bank. So by me coming to an organization such as the Patriots why would money be a factor?"
Moss knows that the NFL is cracking down on players that are repeated police offenders and hopefully this should encourage him to act like a model citizen.
I don't care about what character issues Moss seems to bring to the team. My buddy Andrew complained up and down to me about the Corey Dillon trade. He complained most of all about Dillon's baggage. And I told him (at the time), if your a good player on a bad team, wouldn't you complain about the team and its dedication for putting together a winning team. I told him, that this was a great move by the Patriots and now they finally have a quality running back (I'm still trying to figure out how Antawan Smith rushed for 1157 yards in his freshman season with the Pats). Dillon not only silenced the critics, but helped the Pats win their second consecutive Super Bowl.
-Final Statistics : 70 catches, 1000-1100+ receiving yards, 8 TD's and don't forget about the return statistics. Don't forget, Moss has to remain healthy and stay injury-free for this trade to really work.
(Note- If your interested, the best coverage chronicled, in real time comes from Bruce at Boston Sports Media Watch. Its good stuff.)
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Photo 3 credit- yahoo.com/AP
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