By Michael Felger
Hmmm . . . What should we talk about today?
Hey Felgy,So how many pairs of pants did you bring to work on Wednesday? I'm thinking you'll need a new wardrobe after it was over. Hope you enjoyed the day while the Pats receiving game got worse. The only known commodity we have is a receiver whose knee is still suspect.AllenWinthrop
The condition I'm currently suffering from, Allen, is known as Priapism. It's the high flow variety.
Naturally, I kind of feel vindicated with this. The Patriots decided to join the party on Felgy Island. Moss is more trouble than he's worth. Period. Story over. They saw the light.
Anyway, your receiving corps may have taken a hit (for the time being; perhaps another trade is coming), but I'm telling you: You'll be a better team in the long run. And by "long run" I mean by the end of this particular season. I even think there will be some short-term benefit, as it should sharpen the collective focus down in Foxboro.
So here's my prediction, which I said on the radio about 1,000 times: The Pats will beat Baltimore next week. They will beat the Vikings when they come to town on Halloween. They will play in the AFC Championship game. Mark it down.
New England Patriots
Felger,You are taking one of the all-time greats in football history and selling him as chopped liver. Your comments about the AFC Championship Game are asinine to say the least. Objective journalism and reporting never were your strengths. You are so out of touch with reality because you are blinded by your dislike for Moss.Neil
For the 1,000th time: My thing with Moss is not personal. I've never met him. Never talked to him in anything approaching a one-on-one setting. My so-called vendetta has nothing to do with Moss the person. It's simply the result of staking an opinion when Moss first got here (i.e., he's more trouble than he's worth) and then defending myself against you people the next 3-plus years. I never changed my mind on him. You challenged me and I've responded. And, again, in the end, I think I was on to something.
Anyway, I agree with you on Moss being one of the best receivers of all-time. I never said he wasn't. But he didn't make the Patriots a better team in the playoffs, on the road or in tight, physical games. That's all I care about.
Felgy,I'm drinking your Kool Aid, my friend. I was at first depressed, mostly because I enjoy watching Moss play. But I agree the Patriots are better off with this trade. It's a real testament to this team that they can change the tires driving 80 MPH and still compete. If you had told me they would trade Moss and Maroney by the bye week, I'd assume they'd be 0-4. Being 3-1 and having more opportunities for some of the young guys, I think the team will be better this year and in the future.ZachRhode Island
What I don't get is this belief that the Patriots' offense is toast without Moss. My question: What were they with him? Do you people not realize that the offense hasn't exactly being coming through in clutch and late situations for awhile now?
We've talked endlessly about the Pats' problems on the road and coming through in late-game situations for over a year. Have you ever considered what Moss has done in those situations?
A quick refresher: He's been held without a catch over his last six quarters on the road (at the Jets and in Miami). He was also shut out in Miami in the second half in 2009. Also in 2009, he was held to just one second-half catch in games at Houston, Buffalo, Denver and the Jets.
The Pats have lost seven of their last nine true road games. And in seven of those nine games, Moss had either one- or zero second-half catches. You follow?
How about this: The Pats have played four playoff games with Moss and have gone just 2-2. He was a total non-factor in three of those games: against Jacksonville (one catch) and San Diego (one catch) in 2007 and against Baltimore (five catches but a complete no-show along with the rest of the team) in 2009. He has caught one touchdown in the playoffs for the Pats, in the Super Bowl (oh well).
What are we missing by not having Randy on the team? Based on the track record, I would say big, meaningless stats in home blowouts.
Felger,TERRIBLE trade. The Vikings are desperate for an impact receiver. A third-round pick equals desperate? How had Bill done picking third-rounders the last five years? Are we seriously going to be sold the same addition-by-subtraction crap again?! How much better have the Sox been since Manny was booted? Be patient? What have the Pats accomplished since Seymour left? Next year is a lockout. How many years does No. 12 have left? What do I care about harmony in the locker room? The Pats won't win another Super Bowl under Brady or Belichimp.
Also write this down: The Pats will win the Super Bowl in the next three seasons.
As for the draft pick compensation, I could care less. That's not why they did it. I believe even if they had no trade partner they would have dumped him for nothing. They were donerightly so.
As for Belichick's work in the third round, I wouldn't be overly optimistic about that pick, either. Here are the guys he's taken in that round the past three years: Dave Thomas, Shawn Crable, Kevin O'Connell, Tyrone McKenzie, Brandon Tate (okay, he looks pretty good), and Taylor Price (we'll see now, right?).
But this wasn't about "value." It was about recognizing they're better off without him.
Felger,The best thing about this trade is that Brady will no longer be tempted by the forbidden fruit that was Randy Moss. One could argue that the long ball cost the Pats a Super Bowl. I love this offense without Randy. And, frankly, Randy began to look like a misfit toy among a group of young, talented possession receivers reminiscent of the time when Deion Branch, David Given and Troy Brown roamed the sidelines. Tom Brady got his stats with Randy's help. And that was funfor a while. But stats don't win football games.GlenSalem
Couldn't have said that better myself, especially that part about the Super Bowl. That wasn't Randy's fault, but it was a bad game plan nonetheless. And that's the problem with finesse, downfield passing attacks in the playoffs. Eventually, you run into a good defense that can cover it or disrupt it. The Pats threw it deep against the Giants in Week 17 and felt they could do it again a month later. And they were wrong.
Again, not Randy's fault. But that's what his presence sucks you into.
Felger,You said, "If he kept his mouth shut maybe he'd still be here." If you kept your mouth shut, Felger, then maybe would have wanted to stay. You hurt his feelings.MikeNorwood
I will be happy to take the credit for running him out of town when the Pats are playing at Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship.
Felger,While I agree a championship can be won with No. 2-type receivers, one big, glaring void that can appear is the play-calling. Charlie Weis was brilliant with the No. 2-type receivers. But what can Bill O'Brien do with those players? I think there is more pressure on him than Brady himself.
No doubt, there is pressure on O'Brien. I have my doubts along with everyone else, but I'm predicting they'll all get it. I just think it's a bit easier now without Moss. I heard that the Pats believe they would have won in New York had Brady not tried to be such a good teammate by feeding Moss the ball. In other words, they believe the scheme was sound but the execution was not because Brady was looking out for Moss. We'll see, I guess.
Felger,How do you think Brady feels about the deal and do you think Bill went to him before dealing Moss?RobOrlando
A 64,000 question, to be sure. I've heard that Brady has mixed emotions about the trade, which makes a great deal of sense. It also means that part of him wanted Moss' butt out of here.
Here's how I look at it: If Brady went directly to Belichick andor Robert Kraft and said, "I need him . . . Give it one more chance," do you think Moss would still be here? Of course he would.
The other element here, of course, is what Moss wanted? It appears he wanted to be anywhere other than here. Or at the least, he chose Favre and Childress over Brady and Belichick . . . Think about that for a second.
Felger you DB!
Thanks for the memories, Randy!
I never hated Moss, like some people, nor did I rush out and buy a "Straight Cash Homey" T-shirt when he was dealt here. He was a supreme talent that had obvious flaws. And as his tenure here went on we saw more and more of those flaws much more prominently. The press conference manifesto after the Bengals win was bad, and taking a page out of the referee in Slapshot during the anthem in Miami was just awkward. But they were both the same type of look-at-me, self-important incidents that can undermine the team. So he had to go.
And of course, we are about to be inundated with the "why did they have to trade Randy!" hue and cry from throngs of simpleton Pats fans who are more concerned with the team's Madden rating than winning games. If these Red Seats (the Patriot version of the pink hat) had been paying attention in 2001, they would know better because this is the second time that the Patriots have sent a diva wide out to Wrangler-land. In between writing off the season because Mo Lewis turned Bledsoe's lungs into blood sausage and buying Jambalaya T-shirts, the Red Seats seem to have missed a little incident with Terry Glenn.
Long before Glenn was running around hotels using a bag of weed as a fig leaf, he was a pretty good wide receiver for the Pats. I was at the Chargers game where Glenn was instrumental in a dramatic comeback victory. More so than Moss has been at any point this season. It didn't stop Belichick from deactivating him for being a me-first a-hole. The offense on that team had nowhere near the weapons of today's squad and it still had enough ammo to win a title. And in the offseason they sent Glenn to go fetch balls from the Gunslinger. Aside from Randy skipping the Steve Burton Spelling Bee, this isn't much different. Smart players who sell out on every play and dedicate themselves to the game plan are what this team won with. If these "fans" spent more time watching games and less time at the Gillette stadium fireplace getting their chardonnay refilled, they might have noticed this.
I'm sorry Mike, but to me, losing Bodden and Ty Warren were and still are much more damaging to this team's title hopes.
Mike
Attleboro
P.S. The 30 for 30 on Wednesday night pure and unadulterated Red Sox pornography. This was Cindy Crawford in Playboy & Phoebe Cates coming out of the pool all rolled into one. As a sports fan, I have no greater memories than that comeback. So for me, they could have shown an hour of Game 7 Yankee fan reaction from the toilet and I would have been happy. Even now, whenever I hear a New York fan running their yap, I always think of the fat douche in the Yankees Sweatshirt looking like he just ate seven bags of sugar free gummy bears. Instant Zen, Mikey.
One priapism at a time, Mikey. You'll have hard time knocking me off this topic for a while. Just think of how good the next three weeks are going to be:
On Monday, Moss and Favre land back on Revis Island. New York. The Jets. Rex Ryan, Brett Favre and Randy Moss on Monday Night Football. Are you ready?
Then while the Pats are hosting the Ravens in Foxboro next Sunday, the Vikings will be playing Dallas on a national Fox Game. America's team, the one that famously passed on Moss at the draft in 1998.
Then the next week, while the Pats are in San Diego, the Vikings are at Green Bay for Sunday Night Football. I repeat: Favre at Lambeau with Moss riding sidecar . . . I need to take a breath. (Mark the Vikings down for a win in that one, by the way. I'm serious).
Then to cap it off, the entire circus comes to Foxboro on Halloween. Think of the costumes, Mikey! Tom E. Curran better hold on to his Moss maskthose things are going to be in demand . . . Holy crap. I think I just made a mess in my pants.
Felger,You stink! You really stink! I asked you specifically not to take days off from Sports Tonight because that would increase the chance that we'd get stuck with Dickerson, and what do you do? Exactly what I asked you not to do. And what happened? Exactly what I said would happen: we got stuck with Dickerson. That's nothing short of un-American of you. The Constitution of the United States of America guarantees against cruel and unusual punishment, but you don't care about that. You give us Dickerson. You pinko, commie you.Yours respectfully,JackDenton, TX
Don't fret, Jack. It's Celtics season! Can you not feel the excitement? With Scal and T.A. gone, I'm curious to see which scrotum Dickerson swings from this season. I'm guessing Delonte. He's crazy enough not to care.
Hey FelgerI really liked the highlight show of you fighting with everyone. Can CSN please do another show based on clips of all the asinine crap that comes out of Tanguay's mouth? You would only need about two weeks of shows to come up with an hour special. KenWhitman
I don't' want anything to do with Gear Bear's mouth, thank you very much.
Mr. Felger,You always speak glowingly of Lisa Hughes of Channel 4 when she does that news update during your radio broadcasts. Might there have been a romantic connection with her pre-Wood?BradThe Suburbs
I was hoping for a Wood-Hughes romantic connection pre-Felgy.
Hey,How can you be this happy about the Moss thing, Felger? What are you going to talk about going forward? I know you're not a numbers guy, but at four hours a day, five days a week, 16 weeks a yearyou've spent a minimum of 320 hours bashing Randy Moss since 2007. That's a lot of time to fill. WillNew Hampshire
The thing about the Moss story is that it's a gift that will keep on giving, Will. If the Pats win on a given Sunday while putting forth a respectable offensive performance, we'll be able to say, "See? They didn't need the bum." If the Pats get shut down and lose (which will happen), you'll hear the other side: "See? They need someone to stretch the field. Belichick has lost it. The Pats are cheap, etc." I mean, how long did it take us to stop debating Manny? A year? Two?
The Moss thing will be good for at least another 15 weeks -- which will take us right through the Pats' appearance in the AFC Title Game. Bam!
There were bunch of other emails related to the Celtics, Sox and Bruins this week, but I felt we should stay on topic. In other words, the Moss trade and ripping Tanguay and Dickerson. I received what felt like a million emails over the past two days on the Moss thing, and I could go on forever with this. But I think you get the drift by now.
Besides, it's time for me to go seek medical attention.
E-mail Felger HERE and read the mailbag on Thursdays. Listen to Felger on the radio weekdays, 2-6 p.m., on 98.5 the Sports Hub.