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.
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.
As a lifelong Vikings fan, that was a fun season and a thing of beauty to watch.
Vince Young, though a better quarterback than I ever thought he’d be, is still not always the world’s most accurate passer. But he too possesses the same type of athletic ability Cunningham sported during his career. And Young definitely has the arm to fling it and see if Moss can make a play. The Titans have a better coach than the Vikings do, one there is a chance Moss might respect more than it sounds like he respected Brad Childress.
The Titans’ offensive line is better than the Vikings’ is right now as well, meaning Young will likely have more time to set up and wait for Moss to make his move. In Minnesota Brett Favre was getting killed constantly. But back in 1998, when Moss was a rookie, the team had a fantastic offensive line and Dennis Green, whom Moss seemed to click with for the years they were together.
Finally, that the Titans got Moss at all is amazing. They were 24th in the waiver order. So Moss is not only playing for his next contract. He can go back to having a chip on his shoulder again. For the second time in his career he was passed over by more than 20 teams, who figured he wasn’t worth the risk.
He always talks about being ultra-pissed at Dallas for letting him slide in 1998. Well, now he can be pissed at them and many other teams again.
Now, all of this hinges on Moss caring. If he’s disinterested nothing will matter. Moss will continue posting pedestrian numbers for the rest of the season. But the Titans are a tough, underrated team that can compete with anyone. And Moss is on his third team this season – if he keeps up the alleged shenanigans that got him run out of New England and Minnesota, he might quickly find himself out of the league for good.
So there are reasons for him to care. And if he does, this low-risk, high-reward move by Tennessee might just pay off big time.
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The other piece from 2008… is Nate Washington the same as Chris Carter? Will he be pulling double coverage down the field to give the unexpectedly good rookie some room to maneuver?
Or will Moss end up in a decoy role, typically pulling the double coverage himself, as with New England and Minnesota this year? Causing him to pout, yell at caterers, and sulk around waiting for that hug from the head coach?
That is certainly a fair point. Nate Washington is no Cris Carter. Nor will Kenny Britt be when he comes back. But Britt and Washington together had already been putting up decent numbers before Moss arrived and Britt got hurt. They’re not Moss, Carter, Reed from 1998, but they are going to be a pretty solid trio.
And I think they are good enough where if they do end up doubling Moss all the time the other two will be able to take advantage.
It’s also true that once teams caught on to how good Moss was in 1998 they would double-team Moss as well and he would still make plays. A well coached team with the right quarterback and an offensive line that can give him the time should still toss a couple long ones up to Moss every game even if there is coverage to see if he can find and react to the ball and make a play.
I agree it’s no given that it works out. Just noting that the circumstances in Tennessee are much more favorable for it working out than they turned out to be in Minnesota where the QB and more importantly at this point, I think, the offensive line don’t have the skillset that allows them to A) scramble and B) protect long enough to make it work like the Titans can.