Moss to Tennessee just might work

by | Nov 4, 2010 | 2010 season, NFL Random Thoughts

Picture 1998. Randy Moss is a rookie. He’s ticked. Twenty teams passed on him in the draft before Minnesota took him in the draft. He plays with a chip on his shoulder. All season long he runs straight down the field. Randall Cunningham wings the ball deep. As often as not Moss catches it for a big play.

Moss tallied 17 touchdowns that season, tied for the second most prolific of his amazing and enigmatic career.

Now it’s 2010. He’s definitely no longer a rookie but Randy Moss, despite having lost a step or two, is still extremely athletic and able to trick defensive backs into thinking he has no chance to make a play only to suddenly snag the ball before it hits the turf … when he wants to. Will the Tennessee Titans figure out a way to coax the mercurial wide receiver into maximizing those talents this season now that they have claimed Moss off waivers?

Time will tell. But there are some interesting similarities between his situation in 1998 and his situation now that lead me to believe Jeff Fisher and the titans might have a chance to make this move really pay off.

Randall Cunningham was the Vikings quarterback most of 1998. He was not always the most accurate passer, nor was he always adept at reading defenses. But he was incredibly athletic, moving around to make plays, and he had a fantastic arm. I remember watching some of those long passes rainbow through the air seemingly forever, which gave Moss time to make a move, speed up, slow down, come back to the ball or do something else spectacular in order to make a play.

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NFLPA bullies three fans over twitter handle

by | Oct 19, 2010 | Business of Football

It’s really annoying and stupefying to me that during a time when the country’s economy is teetering somewhere between stagnant and borderline recovery that the billionaire owners of NFL franchises and the NFL Players Association, which represents many, many millionaire players, can’t come together on a deal that makes sense for both sides.

For more than a year now the rhetoric going back and forth has led me to believe that neither side is all that interested in meeting in the middle to get a deal done.

I don’t really have a side in this fight. There’s plenty of damn money to go around. Figure out how to slice the pie and make sure there is a season in 2011. That’s the only thing I care about.

I found it more than a little ridiculous that the NFLPA took the time to get into a snit with three fans over the twitter handle @NFLLockout. The union attempted to negotiate with the three fans, who, according to Darren Rovell’s story here attached, had used the account to post updates on labor negotiations and occasionally tweak people involved with the league who make ridiculous statements, such as when Anquan Boldin allegedly said players aren’t really as rich as they seem because they have to pay taxes.

That brilliant one-liner, again uttered during a time when the country’s unemployment rate is as high as it’s been in years, reminded me a lot of the old Patrick Ewing line from the NBA lockout a few years back about how yes, players make a lot of money but they spend a lot too.  Thank you, Mr. Einstein.

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SI report: The life of an agent

by | Oct 12, 2010 | NFL Random Thoughts

Everyone who pays attention knows there’s a sleazy side of professional sports. College players and agents and money under the table …

Sports Illustrated has an account from Josh Luchs, formerly an NFL agent, where he comes clean on what it took for him to get started in the business and on his exit as well.

I can’t do it any more justice than the story did itself. Click here to go to the story.

Green Bay Packers fans suffer rough Tuesday

by | Oct 5, 2010 | 2010 season, 2010 Trades

The Green Bay Packers escaped Sunday afternoon with a tightly contested win over Detroit. It’s hard to win in the NFL and the Pack did, so despite the closer-than-expected score, it was a good day for the green and gold. The weekend ended even better for Green Bay fans when the New York Giants exposed Chicago on Sunday Night Football.

It’s been downhill since.

Tuesday opened with the news that safety Morgan Burnett had torn his ACL and would miss the rest of the season. This was a pretty good-sized blow for a secondary already missing Al Harris.

Still, the secondary has been pretty good this season. The Packers are seventh in the league in pass defense through four weeks, giving up 185 yards per game. And Atari Bigby will be back eventually, so Burnett’s loss alone won’t kill Green Bay’s chances to compete for a Super Bowl.

But the news got worse.

A few hours later news leaked that the Buffalo Bills had traded Marshawn Lynch. To Seattle. For a fourth round pick next year and a conditional pick in 2012. Really? Ted Thompson wouldn’t cough up a fourth round pick to improve a run game that, so far, has looked anemic since Ryan Grant was shelved after a week one leg injury?

The Packers are averaging 94.5 yards per game through the first quarter of the season, 22nd in the league. The team averages 3.9 yards-per-carry (tied for 19th) and 24 attempts per game (21st). They have four rushing touchdowns, which ties them for fourth in the league, but so far Brandon Jackson and John Kuhn are far from proving they can carry the load they’ve been asked to take over since Grant went down.

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Moss to Vikings? Fantasy implications

by | Oct 5, 2010 | Fantasy Football, NFL Random Thoughts

Randy Moss back to the Vikings? Who the hell knows.But the Internets are going wild so there is something to the rumors.

And if he does return to Minnesota it’s going to have some interesting fantasy ramifications.

For the Vikings, it returns Brett Favre to prominence. The offensive line has been a major part of the problem in Minnesota so far this season — but so has the lack of a downfield passing threat with Sidney Rice out and Percy Harvin struggling with various ailments. Moss isn’t the player he used to be but he still has plenty left and he will command coverage.

Everyone — yes, everyone (except Bernard Berrian) — on the Vikings offense will go up in value. Visanthe Shiancoe, Harvin, Greg Camarillo — they all go up in value. Some will go from zero value to a little (Camarillo) and others will go from matchup play to almost every week starter (Harvin).

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