The trade of Randy Moss to the Minnesota Vikings changes the complexion of the AFC in several ways.
At first glance, it obviously makes the New England Patriots a weaker team.
The Patriots are not the Patriots of old. The defense is not great - particularly in the secondary. And, without Moss, who are teams going to be afraid of in that offense? Wes Welker isn't a guy who's going to beat teams over the top. Maybe one of the younger receivers is, but until we see it, the Patriots' offense looks weaker.
Maybe the Patriots were looking at this as addition by subtraction. Maybe Moss' attitude was just that bad.
But I can't see how this makes them a better team now.
It opens the AFC East up for the Jets, who already own wins over each of the other teams in that division. It also opens things up a little bit for the Jets to possibly be the No. 1 or 2 seed in the AFC playoffs since it does not appear they will be challenged in their division.
Then again, they do have to face Moss again this week at Minnesota, so who knows?
Much like Santonio Holmes, Moss was in the last year of his contract, unlikely to be re-signed by NE and in the process of being replaced by a younger player.
ReplyDeleteThe Pats did better than the Steelers getting a 3rd rounder for Moss plus moving him to NFC.
The Vikings are literally in the last year of their "window of opportunity" (and possibly it already passed if Favre has really hit the wall). They need to win THIS year or they are done. They also need to sell tickets and generate enough interest to get a new stadium.
ReplyDeletePlus Moss is a better WR than Holmes on many levels and the Vikings have nobody besides Shianco to catch the ball until Rice gets back and there is no guarantee that he will be very effective when he comes back from hip surgery.
I think the Pats could have gotten more out of the Vikings than a 3rd. I agree with Dale, it makes you wonder just how much of a locker room cancer Moss was.
Other than moving him to the NFC, I think this deal makes the Holmes deal look even better for the Steelers.
i don't know if this makes the holmes deal look better. however, the moss experiment should go down as one of the greatest moves of all time.
ReplyDeletei believe the pats gave the raiders a 4th for moss, upon which he put up some of the greatest receiving seasons ever, to then receive a 3rd in return.
Moss has an attitude problem which bit the pats. He did not help them win a SB during his time there. His swift departure mid season due to his attitude problem does nothing to help the pats this season but only makes them weaker. This is not to say that pats other wrs won't step up but no way can you view the pats as anything other than weaker without Moss.
ReplyDeleteYou knows what that third round pick will amount to in the future. Are they looking at Vincent Jackson?? Another problem child? So in my mind this move by the pats could not be considered the greatest of all time.
I'm looking at it as how it helps the Pats now. Other than removing a locker room cancer - remember how we heard that was a problem in New England when they made the deal for him? – I don't see how it helps them this year.
ReplyDeleteThe Pats are living on past deeds. The Steelers have won two Super Bowls since the Pats won their last one.
Pats have had success with Reche Caldwell and Jabar Gaffney as their starting WR's.
ReplyDeleteThe loss of Moss doesn't help. But they can still win without him.
true, the Pats have won in the past with no name wide receivers. but that was when they had Vrabel, Seymour, McGinest, Law, Samuel, and Harrison on the defensive side of the ball.
ReplyDeleteanyone who points to the Miami game as evidence that the Pats can win without Moss is an idiot.
So sick of hearing people make comments about the Holmes trade. The steelers are one of the best run franchises in the league and these idiots assume that they should've gotten more for Holmes, young guy in a contract year who wasn't going to stay, about to serve a four game suspension and is literally one offense away from a year suspension. Like the Steelers just took the first offer that came to them.
ReplyDeleteI'm a firm believer in great QBs making average receivers better, but Moss is a top-five WR talent. This would be like the Colts dealing away Reggie Wayne.
ReplyDeleteReggie Wayne, from what I've seen, plays every play. I've watched Moss dog plays.
ReplyDeleteTo me, its not the same. Moss is a great talent, theres no doubt about it. But you have to take the whole thing. And with Moss, that appears to be a headache, or I doubt he would be traded.
Also, this isn't news I know, but Belichik has a serious ego. If he beleives he can live with what they have and gameplan around their weaknesses, he'll risk trading a guy like Moss. He did the same thing with Seymour - though that obviously was for the value and not to get rid of a headache.
The Steelers have a big game with the Patriots and could easily see them in the playoffs so I'm thrilled Moss is in MN. But I don't think this ends NE's chances. They didn't beat the Jets with him either.
Dale, what is your take on the Holmes trade?
ReplyDeleteLike the Patriots moving Moss, moving Holmes made the Steelers a weaker team. Why didn't they hold onto him and get 12 more games out of him on the cheap before his contract expired?
anonymous, other people have mentioned that if Holmes has one more problem, he would be gone for the whole season, and not just the four games. That makes him riskier than Moss.
ReplyDeleteThe Patriots now have (2) draft picks in the first four rounds of next year's NFL draft. This trade might not make an immediate impact but it will set them up for the next several years.
ReplyDeleteThe Patriots have been playing a more conservative offense this year anyway and Moss hasn't been as effective so the damage done by his loss is not that significant. Even they know the jets are on the upswing and their chances of winning the Superbowl are not hugely affected by the trade so why not set up for the future?
steve-o,
ReplyDeletewithout the moss trade the pats still would've had 2 picks in each of the first 3 rounds, so i don't think this trade makes a huge difference as far as building for the future.
i don't buy into moss being a locker room cancer. based on interviews, the players loved playing with him and were good friends with him. it seems to me the coaches had more of a problem with moss than the players.
i think belichek wanted to diffuse a potentially escalating problem by shipping him off now and getting something in return. the same way he handled seymour.
steve-o,
ReplyDeletesorry, i was thinking the pats got a 4th from the vikings when i wrote that. not fully awake yet.
dale - y didnt we trade for Moss. u coulda cetched a bunch of passes from ben. no more holmes. amirite
ReplyDeleteDale,
ReplyDeleteComing off the bye, do you think the Big Legursky will continue to start at RG over T. Essex? With Pouncey and Bronco Legursky in the starting lineup together, I feel that the Steelers have their first good OL since in years. And Starks, Kimo, Legursky and Pouncey are all young enough to still get better. And even though the team didn't rush for 100 yards against the Ravens, Mendy still was effective and Batch had time to throw against the Ravens, he just didn't have the arm to get the ball there sometimes.
If this team can stay free of injuries, and the CB's can pick up their play when teams try to dink and dunk us, then they are definitely capable of making a run for no. 7 this year. Thoughts?
I view offseason trades different than those made during the regular season. The Steelers had time to account for the loss of Holmes.
ReplyDeleteThe Patriots have spent an offseason building around their offense with Moss. Now, they deal him for nothing tangible at this point.
Maybe they make a deal for Vincent Jackson. But maybe they don't.
As for Legursky, yes, I believe he'll continue to start.
i agree with Legursky continuing to start. Essex when healthy will still be very valuable as he can be the backup to both tackle & guard positions
ReplyDeleteDale,
ReplyDeletePouncey, Legursky, Starks and Kemo is a line that should get better as the season goes on. Legursky's athleticism and short-area explosiveness should allow them to run that Boss play to the left as well as to the right. With Colon coming back next year as well as a another no. 1 pick stud on the OL in the draft, then this OL could turn the corner into being one of the better lines in the league.
With Ben being back, I think Arians needs to figure out how to incorporate A. Brown a little more into the game plan. Got to make use of that type of speed and hands if he's going to be active on gamedays. I'm hoping that he may return more punts now that Ben is back. Randle-El will catch a punt, but that's about all he'll do with it. Like the talent and chemistry on this team. Still stinging a little from the Ravens loss, but hopefully the outcome will be different when the team goes to Baltimore in December.
But how did the Steelers account for the loss of Holmes, exactly? Antwaan Randle El? Drafting two rookies who are barely allowed to see the field?
ReplyDeleteI am amazed at how Santonio Holmes has become a "top 10 receiver" in so many minds...
ReplyDeleteI remember the drops and the drug problem and never saw him as an equal to Hines - who does the hard/dirty work.
Mike Wallace has the potential to be a whole lot better in the long run and it is only a matter of time until we hear that SH is going to sit a year for his latest drug test failure.
Now that Roethlisberger is back, you'll see exactly how the Steelers have replaced Holmes.
ReplyDeleteRemember, even if the Steelers had kept Holmes, he would have been sitting the first four games as well - with a free agency season looming.
What do you pay a guy who's one strike away from sitting out a year?
That's the question San Diego is asking itself with Vincent Jackson.
I didn't expect the Steelers to re-sign Holmes, but they still had him under contract for this year.
ReplyDeleteAgain, he, like Ben, would have been returning from a suspension this week.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't we wait to see what the offense looks like with a stud QB throwing the ball before saying the receivers suck?
Because that's now how guys like that Anon think Dale. They're pissed because they believe they know better than a team that's pulled in 6 superbowls. They believe that they know better than one of the best franchises in the league.
ReplyDelete