Take a second and think about what the 2007 New England Patriots accomplished. Now, take a second to think what would happen if you put Randy Moss in Dallas with Tony Romo, Terrell Owens, and Marion Barber III.
Sounds like a pretty unstoppable team, right?
It is, and it would be. Which is why New England needs to pay up and give their All-Star receiver the money he is due.
Moss was the 2007 Patriots' most prolific receiver. He finished the regular season with 23 touchdown receptions, beating Jerry Rice's record of 22. He finished with 98 receptions for 1,493 yards this past year.
Now compare those with Terrell Owens' statistics this past year. Owens finished with 15 regular-season touchdown receptions, with 81 receptions for 1,355 yards.
Combine those statistics and you have 38 touchdown receptions and 2,848 yards.
Any defensive coordinator would most likely be worried about having to cover these two. So, what would be a good way to cover them?
First, the defense needs to not allow the ball to even reach their hands. Moss has incredible hands and can make the hardest catches look easy. But the defense would need to maintain constant pressure on quarterback Tony Romo. That's hard to do because Romo is one of the most mobile quarterbacks in the league. Although, it has been shown that it is possible to catch Romo. He can get flustered and can make costly mistakes.
When the ball is snapped, it would be advisable for the cornerbacks to go with a bump-and-run tactic. The cornerbacks need to disrupt the flow the receivers get into. A man to man coverage would probably work best for these two, or on at least one of them and then double-team the other.
When the ball does inevitably reach their hands, Moss or Owens need to be brought down immediately. Other than that, defensive coordinators and head coaches need to pray.
So, really, Randy Moss cannot go to Dallas. New England needs to bend and pay up. Otherwise, they may have a much harder time reaching the Super Bowl in years to come.
comments (4) write a comment »
write a new comment
4 months ago
Hate to tell you this, Matt, but the Patriots care not one bit about what kind of offense the Cowboys might have if Moss goes. They want to keep him, but if they do lose him it would be better for them for him to go to an NFC team that they will not play again in the regular season until 2011. The only possible meeting would be in the Super Bowl and dealing with Owens (if he didn't implode over having to share the spotlight with Moss) and Moss would be a problem that Belichick would be happy to deal with.
4 months ago
Why does every think the Patriots have to break the bank for Moss?
He's already said he "wants to retire a Patriot".
And more to the point: Why would he ever leave an offense where he has Tom Brady feeding him the ball?
Moss will resign with the Patriots, and for a fraction of the amount less that other, less-skilled wide receiveres (Bernard Berrian, for instance) are going to be getting.
Moss is not a 25 year old WR looking for his first pay day. Moss has been paid his millions.
He'll get a mid-sized deal, with a hefty roster bonus.
Don't expect a 7 year, $50 million deal from the Pats, or any other team.
The "Randy Moss wasn't franchised" crisis is a non-event, and much ado about nothing.
from 4 months ago
... and apologies for the poor writing quality of the response.
French to English sometimes doesn't translate as quick as my hands would like in 'rapid response' mode.
4 months ago
The Patriots and Randy Moss have agreed to a 3-year $27 mil contract.
write a new comment