UniversalWolf said:
Steve Smith to NE is a pretty good one.
I heard V-Jax thrown out there too, but I don't see that happening. They seem to be clearing house of all the headcases (Adalius Thomas) though so as not to pollute the impressionable young kids.
Moss is going to thrive in Minnesota, unfortunately.
He will, for a while. He was a pretty good soldier here for a few years, and production wise I think he was more than we ever expected (50TDs). He was down and out when the Pats got him though and willing to work for very little.
Ultimately he wants to get paid though, and he's got the same contract until the Vikes do otherwise. So I don't see him behaving perfectly going into a potential lockout with no paycheck.
Watching the Giants pummel Cutler was the most fun I've had so far this season.
I have to admit the Giants have grown on me like an acquired taste growing up near NY. I love to see them rise up and strike teams when they are down, but then they always get loose and play down to their competition.
Coughlin's fascist schtick has run it's course, I think a guy like Cowher would make a great fit for the New York Football Giants.
Cimms: I do have to wonder at Patriots policy sometimes. Giving a clear unambiguous message to contract holdouts is great, but I would be curious to see how much more value the Pats could wrangle out of some trades given more patience or foresight.
I guess it's just the times since all players are going cheap, and no one argues with a 1st for Wilfork or Branch. But Moss would've had more value in better context (particularly, if his contract didn't end this year).
A 3rd shocked me at first (they got a 2nd for Cassell!). And I think they probably could've milked more out of Minny or at least fish for feigned interest from another party to drive up the trade bait (ye olde Scott Boras move). But more and more stories are coming out here now (sour grapes rationalization?) that things were beginning to sour, and if you're not going to re-sign him, then cut him loose before he shuts it down completely - his end at Oakland and Minny were not pretty and Bill didn't want that going on in a locker room full of green rookies.
I think time will tell, it's becoming more and more apparent that BB is still gearing up for one final campaign with Brady and he's going to the original formula of unheralded, lunchpail, coachable "football players". The gems of the dynasty were Troy Brown, Teddy Bruschi types. Smart, versatile football players who carry out their assignments. (Hence the Meriweather benching)
The BB free agency big name bonanza (Adalius Thomas, Moss, Burgess et al) clearly had bad results. It was a feeble attempt to stave off post-Greatest Show on Turf type decline.
Generally the FO gets the benefit of the doubt, they've shown a propensity for knowing when to cut guys loose, that never end up doing much later on (McGinest, Branch, Vinatieri, Teddy Washington, Seymour, Maroney, Bledsoe etc.). Asante Samuel is an exception, but they just let him play out his contract (imagine that Randy, playing out your contract!).
Their talent pool is certainly more shallow, no doubt. However, are they a better, more cohesive "team"? I think this is the route they are going.
I'm not happy that they keep pulling these in-season moves that almost speak of defeatism, but I do like the fact that they seem to have a clear, cohesive, long-term plan instead of just throwing money around to every slapdick that's on the market.
But if these picks don't manifest themselves in the form of Ty Laws and Richard Seymours it's gonna get ugly.
Ultimately, is Randy Moss w/o a contract in 2011 a guy you can depend on down the stretch? No. In bad weather, tight defensive games, playoff games are you going to get a tough, resilient, mentally strong player that will subside his ego for the team? I wouldn't want to bet money on it.
There will be no more sexy, one-handed grabs in the back of the end-zone for the Patriots though.
But you see, this is where the Pats and fans have lost their way.
Brady won 3 SBs with a group of #2s (Branch, Troy Brown, Patten). And we all here said "let Manning and Harrison have the numbers and records, we'll take the hardware thank you". Tom Brady's favorite receiver used to be the open receiver, he forces it way too much to Moss on deep throws that just aren't there. Then we fell in love with the longball. I'll take dink and dunk and a FG all the way to SB glory any day over Randy Moss' circus catches and no hardware.
Pats need to go back to their old ways.
) and then cash him in for a 3rd before he reverted back to bad Randy was pretty sound. I think they could've held out for more or accommodated him more - lots of conspiracy theories floating around here I tell ya'.
