Steve Serby of the New York Post had a Q&A session with Jets quarterback, Mark Sanchez, this past Sunday. He asked Sanchez about Randy Moss three times. You can always tell when someone’s intrigued with an idea, and Serby seems intrigued with the idea of Randy Moss. It’s certainly an interesting idea, and it’s been floating around on the internet since April. With the lockout ending (hopefully) soon, Moss will become a free agent. Cue the speculation.
It’s likely that the Jets will re-sign Braylon Edwards or Santonio Holmes, but not both. If the Jets do not or cannot re-sign either Edwards or Holmes, should the Jets make a play for Moss?
Moss has been a great player, and he has all the numbers to back that up. In 12 years in the league, he has nearly 15,000 receiving yards, averaging 15.6 yards per reception, with 153 touchdowns. That’s just some of his impressive resume. Nobody disputes how good Moss is at his job. And it’d be really nice if the Jets were the beneficiaries of one of those one handed grabs, like the one Moss caught against them in September of last season.
The Jets haven’t shown much hesitation in bringing in players with “character issues” (that was supposedly one of Pittsburgh’s reasons for dealing Holmes to the Jets), and Moss’s sheet of offenses is a little weird. In Minnesota there’s a traffic incident, where he bumped a traffic officer with his car. There was the fake mooning incident during which Moss pretended to moon the Green Bay crowd after a touchdown during a playoff game. There’s also the marijuana use.
But the biggest strike Randy Moss has against him is that Randy Moss is in it for Randy Moss. In 2010, he felt “unwanted” in New England because he hadn’t been offered a new deal and was entering the last year of his contract. Off the field distractions can be fun for fans to watch sometimes, but nobody likes a whiner. He was traded to the Minnesota Vikings midseason, and then released by Minnesota for criticizing Coach Brad Childress and the team during a press conference after a loss. Finally, he was picked up by the Tennessee Titans. The Titans don’t plan to re-sign him for the 2011 season.
Most troubling are the continued whispers that if Moss doesn’t feel like it, he doesn’t try. If he gives up, or gets distracted, he’s done. One frequently cited example of this was in a 2004 Vikings loss to the Washington Redskins, when Moss left the field and went into the locker room with two seconds still on the clock, later stating he didn’t think the Vikings would recover the onside kick. Guys love to play for Rex Ryan, but what if Moss is in a bad mood with Ryan on game day?
Last season, the Jets took part in a lot of last minute comebacks. What happens if one of their receivers gave up with a minute to go in the fourth, down a touchdown with 80 yards to go?
Randy Moss has incredible numbers, but he’s getting older. Age and health are always factors in contract decisions. The Jets could take a chance with Randy Moss and it could work in their favor. It did with LaDainian Tomlinson. And the character issues can be overlooked too. So the guy pretended to moon the Green Bay crowd. That’s not the worst thing a guy could do, even if it wasn’t very professional.
But quitting on the team if he isn’t in the right mood? That’s just too hard to get past. And the Jets should pass on Moss, no matter how intriguing the idea is.
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