A Tweet about Moss

                 Late last night, I was up late working on a project, and I saw this tweet from my favorite writer, Bill Simmons:  

Sportsguy33: Moss Minny trade rumor

               

So, I sit there for a second, and go, WHAT? That doesn’t make sense. In fact, I will give you all the reasons it doesn’t make sense. There are plenty of them.

1. You don’t trade players in season. It happens in the NBA and MLB, and sometimes in Hockey. However, in the NBA, 16 games is a reasonable adjustment period. In the NFL, it is the season.

2. You don’t trade a top 3 player in general. Moss is still one of the best Patriots. He affects the game. He makes Wes Welker so productive.

3. If they were going to trade him, why not do it in the offseason and work other guys in earlier?

4. The team isn’t sinking. If the team is sinking (like Buffalo), you trade your good players that might be a little older. The Pats are 3-1, with a QB on the wrong side of 30, and are coming off of a great win. They can win now. The window is there. And yet, Moss is now not there with them.
5. Randy Moss is one of the top offensive players of all time. I would make an argument that he is actually pretty equivalent to Jerry Rice because of how he produces AND severely affects defenses. By the way, Rice has 197 TDs in 303 games over 20 seasons. Moss has 151 TDs in 180 games over 12.25 years.
6. Moss make coverages move, and gets other people open. Randy Moss has also been on the top two scoring offenses of all time, ten years apart. I mean, that isn't by coincidence. 

                However, after my initial stunned reaction, I had thought of one past Patriots player: Richard Seymour. Quick story, I was at a Boston College game last week and was thinking of Seymour. He was my favorite Patriot, and his is still the jersey I wear. Someone commented on how he wasn’t there anymore. First, I was insulted that apparently this person has no knowledge of what a throwback jersey is, or that Seymour helped them win 3 Super Bowls. Second, I had the thought, “Yes, Seymour IS still here”.

                No, I am not saying this because Oakland is so bad he doesn’t even count as having played there. What I mean is, what we got for Seymour is still really important and a part of this 2010 Patriots team: Oakland’s first round draft pick. The Pats are planning to have a very high draft pick. Imagine if the Pats got Mark Ingram with that pick? Now, Seymour was drafted early in the 1^st round. He gave NE 3 Super Bowls and a high 1^st round pick. Did the Pats lose two years of his productivity? Yes, they did. However, they got higher value than he was worth. The Pats were willing to give away something good now to get something great later.

               This is the reason they made this Moss deal. A 3^rd round pick is pretty decent value for a player who they got for a 4^th round pick, got 50 TDs out of, and won a lot of games with. They turn assets into better assets. The Patriots care little for personal feelings, friendship, or loyalty. However, this is why they are one of the most successful franchises. It is also why they turn people off.

                So, this deal makes total sense. For fantasy owners (4 Favre bombs a game, minimum, plus Moss will not have a bye week this year). For the Pats. For the future. For the NE fans and this year? Not so much. But, who cares what we think anyways? 

BLISS