Patriots Cutting Randy Moss? (1 Viewer)

[jurb26]

I think Moss has lost a step and I could see the Patriots letting him go....if they had a decent young replacement for him. Aiken and Stanback aren't the answer so it would be dumb to release him now.

Um, did you actually *watch* Moss play this year?It seemed to me like their OLine wasnt giving Brady enough time to let Moss' routes develop... but hey... if that is Moss losing a step, then so be it.

And if Belichick is "realist" and doesnt see that being fixed (right or wrong) anytime soon?LT Matt Light is among the others that may be cut.

Vollmer stepped in for Light and did a great job, but as a whole, I think their line is in pretty bad decline..

Yeah, pass protection is what killed NE in the Balt game. In games I've watched that is what killed them more times than not as well. It seems this thing about Moss being let go, cut, traded or whatever the author is insinuating is pretty much just his opinion on things and not much more. Loosing Moss at this point would be a pretty big mistake for the Pats IMO. He is still one of the best WRs in the game. I agree he's lost a step or maybe half step from his prime but the guy is 32 so that is to be expected. More than anything I think its the every day bumps and bruises that are hindering Moss more than anything. He didn't really look full speed the last few weeks of the season and in the Balt game. Still, he is one of the top 10 WRs in the game right now. He lead the NFL in TD receptions AGAIN and had over 1200 yds receiving. As others have pointed out he is also the only real vet left in the receiving corp of NE right now. A team with a very complex passing offense to learn for WRs. I'd be pretty shocked if he were moved.

 

[munchkin]

I think Moss has lost a step and I could see the Patriots letting him go....if they had a decent young replacement for him. Aiken and Stanback aren't the answer so it would be dumb to release him now.

Um, did you actually *watch* Moss play this year?It seemed to me like their OLine wasnt giving Brady enough time to let Moss' routes develop... but hey... if that is Moss losing a step, then so be it.

And if Belichick is "realist" and doesnt see that being fixed (right or wrong) anytime soon?LT Matt Light is among the others that may be cut.

Vollmer stepped in for Light and did a great job, but as a whole, I think their line is in pretty bad decline..

Yeah, pass protection is what killed NE in the Balt game. In games I've watched that is what killed them more times than not as well. It seems this thing about Moss being let go, cut, traded or whatever the author is insinuating is pretty much just his opinion on things and not much more. Loosing Moss at this point would be a pretty big mistake for the Pats IMO. He is still one of the best WRs in the game. I agree he's lost a step or maybe half step from his prime but the guy is 32 so that is to be expected. More than anything I think its the every day bumps and bruises that are hindering Moss more than anything. He didn't really look full speed the last few weeks of the season and in the Balt game. Still, he is one of the top 10 WRs in the game right now. He lead the NFL in TD receptions AGAIN and had over 1200 yds receiving. As others have pointed out he is also the only real vet left in the receiving corp of NE right now. A team with a very complex passing offense to learn for WRs. I'd be pretty shocked if he were moved.

The offensive line did not play as well this year but the passing game often failed because, unlike with Maning and his multiple weapons, Brady made poor decisions and had too many forced errors. The lack of a reliable third and/or fourth option wore Brady down. Manning's line isn't great either but he is so quick to get the ball out to any of his three or four solid to great options helps him out tremendously.

 

[David Yudkin]

Makes no sense. The Pats current WR corps has Moss, Welker (hurt for the immediate future), Edelman, Tate (hurt for the immediate future with another ligament tear), Aiken, Slater, and Stanback. Moss is the only healthy guy with any real experience.BTW - I asked around, and pretty much there are 1,001 rumors about what possibly could happen with the sky falling and all, but no one else seems to have heard much about this.

David, do you know if Tate's torn ligament is another ACL?

I since heard it's the same knee, but I don't know if it's an ACL (big deal) or MCL (not as big a deal).

 

[Donnybrook]

ESPN's Bill Simmons, an admitted and annoying Patriots fan, mentions in his latest column the idea that the Patriots will be rebuilding this offseason. Although his article was supposed to cover the entire 2nd round of the playoffs, much of it was focused on Brady, Belichick etc, to the surprise of no one.

Here is an interesting quote from the article:

Quick follow-up: Pats fans are all over the map on last Sunday's blowout. My take is pretty simple: We've had four years of lousy drafts and five years of bad breaks dating back to Tedy Bruschi's stroke one month after Super Bowl XXXIX. The Pats from 2001-04 thrived because of good drafting, superior coaching, fantastic game plans and, yes, lucky breaks. Those four traits eventually faded away. And now we're here. From what I'm hearing, Belichick is finally and belatedly blowing this thing up: flipping half the roster, dumping Randy Moss and Adalius Thomas, hiring new coordinators (one's already gone), splurging in free agency and either signing or drafting a stud running back to take pressure off Brady. Whether a 58-year-old man can rebuild this franchise AND coach it remains to be seen. I just know it's never been done before.

I guess I am not sure how much validity to place on this. The way I read it, it feels like he has some kind of source, but he is certainly not a reporter. Is this just his opinion? Has there been any other speculation that Moss could be cut?

I don't think they will dump Moss. I do think that there is a 75% probability that they draft a 1st round running back.

 

[DropKick]

Makes no sense. The Pats current WR corps has Moss, Welker (hurt for the immediate future), Edelman, Tate (hurt for the immediate future with another ligament tear), Aiken, Slater, and Stanback. Moss is the only healthy guy with any real experience.BTW - I asked around, and pretty much there are 1,001 rumors about what possibly could happen with the sky falling and all, but no one else seems to have heard much about this.

As a Moss owner, I noticed that for the last month or so of the season Moss would miss practice mid week for a non football related issue. Did anything ever come of that?I'm not sure what the contract numbers are... he has one year left on his NE deal. Personally, I wouldn't be surprise if Randy hung them up

 

[DropKick]

How old is Bill Simmons, 15? Belichik's age of 58 is completely irrelevant. Based on that statement alone I would say this article is merritless.

That's too bad that you would be so quick to dismiss. Simmons has a pretty good argument about coaches over the age of 55:The Speed Limit Corollary

Just because he has a good argument doesn't mean it applies across the board. I have seen nor heard nothing about Belichik slacking off or losing interest.

ESPN Poll: "Is Bill Belichick losing his touch?"Take away the homer votes and the consensus says "yes". The mere fact that ESPN published the article in the first place is proof that rumblings were there.

Too bad you can't take away the bias.

 

[slayer666]

Doubt that Moss goes anywhere in 2010.Especially during an uncapped year and Welker most likely starting the season on the PUP list...

 

[jurb26]

Personally, I wouldn't be surprise if Randy hung them up

As long as he thinks he is playing for a legit contender I don't see this happening. Moss wants a ring before he retires.

 

[munchkin]

How old is Bill Simmons, 15? Belichik's age of 58 is completely irrelevant. Based on that statement alone I would say this article is merritless.

That's too bad that you would be so quick to dismiss. Simmons has a pretty good argument about coaches over the age of 55:The Speed Limit Corollary

Just because he has a good argument doesn't mean it applies across the board. I have seen nor heard nothing about Belichik slacking off or losing interest.

ESPN Poll: "Is Bill Belichick losing his touch?"Take away the homer votes and the consensus says "yes". The mere fact that ESPN published the article in the first place is proof that rumblings were there.

Too bad you can't take away the bias.

What bias is that? If you are referring to the fact that I am a fan of the team then once again I have to say that you are doing a poor job of reading the tea leaves.How did you go about taking bias out of the ESPN poll? From your inference in the post I am assuming you are discounting the Patriots fans who may have voted which is fair but you also need to account for those who would vote Belichick off the Island under any circumstances. How does one interpret "Losing his touch" and how does that relate to work ethic? A person could be working their @#! off and still make mistakes; and Belichik has certainly made his share of mistakes. But I don't buy the fact that because he is 58 he ha slost his drive to succeed. You can look across society and there are many musicians, actors, businessmen, etc well beyond the age of 58 who excel at their craft.

 

[Tanner9919]

Pretty dumb idea if true. Moss is the kind of difference maker you need and want to build a team around. Cutting him doesn't do anything for the Pats, other than making things significantly tougher for Brady.

but they haven't won anything with Moss on the roster, whereas they previously won 3 SB's with truck drivers, street clowns, carnival workers at WR's.

 

[steviey]

Pretty dumb idea if true. Moss is the kind of difference maker you need and want to build a team around. Cutting him doesn't do anything for the Pats, other than making things significantly tougher for Brady.

but they haven't won anything with Moss on the roster, whereas they previously won 3 SB's with truck drivers, street clowns, carnival workers at WR's.

Yes, the team took an immediate turn for the worst the very first year he arrived

 

[captain_amazing]

I think the probability of this happening is about -5²%.

If Welker isn't going to be back late into next season, and Tater tot is still on IR, I might even say -53%

 

[n20]

I think Simmons is just speaking from his heart and out of frustration as a die hard Pats fan. Typically he is in the know when it comes to the Pats, he was invited to Brady's private party after the Superbowl versus the Giants because he's a good friend of Brady's. The guy is a die hard Boston fanatic.

I'm sure his comment was tongue in cheek and out of frustration not literally what he's hearing. Just my opinion after reading / listening to Simmons for years.

 

[norgay]

I think Simmons is just speaking from his heart and out of frustration as a die hard Pats fan. Typically he is in the know when it comes to the Pats, he was invited to Brady's private party after the Superbowl versus the Giants because he's a good friend of Brady's. The guy is a die hard Boston fanatic.I'm sure his comment was tongue in cheek and out of frustration not literally what he's hearing. Just my opinion after reading / listening to Simmons for years.

Simmons isn't a beat writer. Unless he specifically says otherwise, the point of his articles isn't to provide readers with the latest scoop from an inside source in the locker room. He writes about his sports theories, about things that might make sense in his eyes, and about how he's feeling about his teams or a sport on any given day. His goal is to write from the perspective of a fan and give his readers things to think about. That's all.And, as has been pointed out, when it comes to theories like whether a coach can cut it after the age of 55, then read his reasoning before lashing out. You can feel free to disagree, but he makes a case worth reading.

 

[Tau837]

How fast would the Jets call Moss' agent if he were released?

. . . . please hold . . . .Not as fast as the Dolphins would

Thats an ignorant comment about the Dolphins. Parcells would never consider an overpaid,immature, aging and lazy head case of a WR for his team. A player that doesnt give his all every game, and every play, will not be on Parcells team, ever. Cant question the talent, only the fact that you never know when it will show up.

KeyShawn? Glenn?

You can knock Keyshawn for plenty of things, but he gave his all every play of every game. He is the epitome of a Parcells player.

 

[Voice Of Reason]

If Randy Moss has not lost a step, he's one of the biggest difference makers in the NFL. I could see the Pats releasing him though, Moss and Brady probably do not go well together as Moss is not happy with a QB who doesn't trust him completely. Brady is too good to just wildly chuck the ball into double or single coverage hoping Moss will make an great play on the ball. Sadly, someone like Jake Delhomme or Brett Favre would probably get more out of Moss because they'd keep him happier and more motivated. His ideal QB would be someone similar to Chad Pennington or Drew Brees, someone who doesn't have a rocket arm, but has good touch especially with the deep ball.

 

[DerekZoolander]

Incidentaly, he's called Pennington the best QB he's ever played with. This statement was pre Brady, but still...

 

[munchkin]

I think Simmons is just speaking from his heart and out of frustration as a die hard Pats fan. Typically he is in the know when it comes to the Pats, he was invited to Brady's private party after the Superbowl versus the Giants because he's a good friend of Brady's. The guy is a die hard Boston fanatic.

I'm sure his comment was tongue in cheek and out of frustration not literally what he's hearing. Just my opinion after reading / listening to Simmons for years.

Simmons isn't a beat writer. Unless he specifically says otherwise, the point of his articles isn't to provide readers with the latest scoop from an inside source in the locker room. He writes about his sports theories, about things that might make sense in his eyes, and about how he's feeling about his teams or a sport on any given day. His goal is to write from the perspective of a fan and give his readers things to think about. That's all.

And, as has been pointed out, when it comes to theories like whether a coach can cut it after the age of 55, then read his reasoning before lashing out. You can feel free to disagree, but he makes a case worth reading.

Theory---5 : a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena <the wave theory of light>I don't disagree that in some instances there is a loss of effectiveness in coaches after the age of 55 but that doesn't mean it applies in all cases. Because Belichick doesn't meet the parameters of a general theory doesn't make the theory incorrect; theory and fact are not synonymous.

 

[CanadianNFLJunkie]

Wow. I quickly read the first 40 or so posts here and I can't believe most of you.

What Simmons is saying isn't really going out on a limb is it? Moss sulked for the back half of the year, starring in only one game. He cruises too much and apparently has worn out his welcome in New England. I picked up Brandon Tate late last year seeing the writing on the wall. The marriage is over for Moss and Brady and BB. Pats can easily go after some other un-cancer-like WR and bring them in for 2010. Team would start off with Edelman, Tate and Mr X to start the year, with the team using the running game more in September, as they wait for the return of Welker.