Randy Moss Should Just Quit While He's Ahead

I had just graduated college in December 2008 and it was time to buy a car.

This was going to be the first major financial decision of my adult life and I wanted to get it right. After about a week of looking at every used car lot in Statesville, NC, I came across a Lexus of some sort. It was in great condition and, don’t quote me on this, but I believe it was a 1999 with 80,000 miles. The car was priced at $7,500.

My father was part of the search party and his response to my undying love for this slick blue Lexus was: “Overrated, overpriced. Lexuses have Toyota engines and Toyota's run a lot cheaper. And there’s a reason that the list price is so low on a Lexus.”

Reluctantly, I agreed to keep looking, and ended up getting a 2005 Toyota Corolla with 71,000 miles on it. The car cost $9,800. On Jan. 23, 2011, the engine blew because the moron who drove it before me had never heard of an oil change, something the dealership missed before labeling it a Toyota Certified Used Vehicle.

To sum it all up, I bought a worse car with comparable miles, spent about $2,000 more and had my engine seize up after 25,000 miles of use. Clearly, I bombed on the first major financial decision of my adult life.

So what’s my point? Well, I believe this entire situation can be related to the current state of Randy Moss.

Moss’s name resurfaced this week after ESPN the Magazine writer Ryan McGee caught up with him to talk about the racing team that no life form within our solar system knew he owned. Inevitably, the conversation ended with Moss talking about his NFL future, to which he said:

“I’m a free agent. I know I’m 34. I know I didn’t have a great season last year, but I also know that these hands still work, and I know I can still play at a high level. We just need to get this season back on track so I can start working on finding a team that wants Randy Moss on their roster.”

Moss was right about everything up until he said he’s certain he can still play at a high level. While he might truly believe he can, his 2010 numbers suggest otherwise.

Last season, Moss amassed 28 receptions, 393 yards and five touchdowns in 16 games with New England, Minnesota and Tennessee. In 2009, he had 83 catches for 1,264 yards and 13 touchdowns. That’s quite a drop off, no?

Naturally, scouts and team executives will point to the number on his birth certificate to show exactly what caused the sudden decline.

I believe there’s more to it. Like his head was never in it, and that’s always been the problem with Randy. He plays when he wants to play, as he once infamously stated.

He began the season upset that the Patriots didn’t offer him a contract extension. Bill Belichick quickly became fed up with Moss’s antics and shipped him off to his old stomping grounds, Minnesota, after four weeks. A month later, following a loss to the Patriots, Moss talked to the Minnesota media about how much he missed playing for New England.

That mistake landed him on the waiver wire the next day. You’d think every receiver-starved team in the NFL would put a claim in for No. 84. Except only one, the Tennessee Titans, thought he would be worth the trouble.

The league’s other 31 teams turned out to be correct. In eight games with the Titans, Moss totaled six catches for 80 yards and no touchdowns.

I repeat: six catches for 80 yards in eight games. I don’t know the exact number, but I’m sure there have been at least a handful of games where Moss had six for 80 in a half, and he probably even found the end zone.

He wasn’t happy, he wasn’t motivated, and therefore, he was useless. To three teams.

Anyone else think Randy is going to have a hard time finding a team that wants him on its roster? It’s a shame because, even at 34, Moss has as much or more ability than most receivers in the NFL, but how’d that work for the Vikings and Titans last year?

Like fellow diva receiver Terrell Owens, Moss just isn’t worth the headache anymore. At last, my car story analogy comes full circle.

Moss is overrated, will most certainly be overpriced and there are reasons why a player with his history and skill set is available.

At this stage, teams are better off finding a cheaper option with less mileage, because, while Moss’s exterior still entices, his interior is nothing but a blown engine.

For more, visit my website at www.pointbartemus.com, a sports forum.