Randy Moss Eagles Rumors: Does Moss or Terrell Owens Fit Better in Philadelphia?

With the Eagles signing just about every free agent under the sun who’s worth a damn and fits a need, some speculation has developed about the Birds bringing in either the recently “retired” Randy Moss or the ever-controversial Terrell Owens. A few weeks ago I would have considered this to be ridiculous but as DeSean Jackson’s holdout continues and with Jeremy Maclin still recovering from his offseason illness, it doesn’t seem so far-fetched.

I find it hard to believe that Andy Reid would want to bring back T.O. after his previous stint included a front-yard workout routine and an eventual suspension for conduct detrimental to the team, but this offseason has been full of surprises, so you never know.

As for Randy Moss, it seems odd that someone as talented as Moss would be moved not once but twice just last season, but his attitude and perceived drop-off in talent made him expendable to all those teams. Last we heard, Moss had retired from the NFL but considering that only a few weeks earlier his agent made a statement about Randy being in amazing shape and ready to prove he’s still got it, it makes you wonder about the legitimacy of his retirement.

Of course all this talk could just be a waste of breath, or in the case of me writing about it, an exasperation to my carpel tunnel syndrome, because the Eagles would likely be just fine without either of them. But for argument's sake, let’s run through a little comparison of the two players and see which would be a better fit in Philadelphia.

The Tale of the Tape: Randy Moss

First, standing 6'4" tall, weighing in at 210 lbs, fighting out of Rand, West Virginia: Randy “Straight Cash Homey” Moss. Moss comes into this season with 13 years of experience at 34 years of age and having played in 202 games. He’s said to be in great shape and looking to make a statement after last year’s poor showing.

The Tale of the Tape: Terrell Owens

In this corner, standing 6'3" tall, weighing in at 224 lbs, fighting out of Alexander City, Alabama: Terrell “Get Your Popcorn Ready” Owens. At 37 years of age, T.O. has 15 years of experience and 219 games under his belt. Owens is looking to prove that offseason surgery has not slowed him down and that he can still hang with the best of them.

Recent Performance: Randy Moss

2010 was not a good year for Randy Moss, who was around for 16 games but only managed to grab 28 receptions for 393 yards and five touchdowns. He managed to start two games in which he didn’t catch a single pass, played in four other games in which he only made one catch and the most receptions he had in a game was five.

I guess if I had to pick one game as his best performance I’d go with his two-touchdown game against the Bills.

Recent Performance: Terrell Owens

Last year, Terrell Owens played in 14 games for the Cincinnati Bengals and pulled in 72 receptions for 983 yards and nine touchdowns. He struggled a bit down the stretch which was probably due to a combination of nagging injuries and disinterest as the Bengals collapsed with 10 straight loses.

His best showing being a 10-catch, 222-yard performance against the Browns.

Career Statistics and Awards: Randy Moss

Randy Moss was the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1998 and has amassed seven Pro Bowl selections and four All-Pro selections, while being named to the NFL 2000’s All-Decade Team. Over his career he’s hauled in 954 receptions (10^th all-time) for 14,858 yards (sixth all-time) and 153 touchdowns (second all-time).

Some of the NFL records that Moss currently holds include the most touchdown receptions in a season with 23, the most seasons with 17 or more touchdowns with three and he’s the only player to have 1,600 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns in a season.

Career Statistics and Awards: Terrell Owens

Terrell Owens has collected six Pro Bowl selections and also has five All-Pro selections and a spot on the NFL 2000’s All-Decade Team. Over his career, T.O. has snagged 1,078 receptions (fifth all-time) for 15,934 yards (second all-time) and 153 touchdowns (tied with Moss for second).

Some NFL records that Owens currently holds include consecutive seasons with at least 750 receiving yards with 14, being the oldest player to have a 200-yard receiving game at 36 years and 300 days old, and is currently the only player in NFL history to score a receiving TD against all 32 NFL teams.

Character: Randy Moss

Not exactly a strong suit for either individual but somebody’s got to be the winner…or loser.

Randy Moss’ character was called into question even before he ever stepped foot on an NFL field. Projected as a high first-round pick, he slipped to the 21^st pick after a bunch of teams were concerned with Moss’ past legal problems which included two counts of misdemeanor battery, and testing positive for smoking marijuana.

Then during his early years with the Vikings, he knocked over a traffic cop with his car, was fined $25,000 for squirting a referee with a water bottle, walked off the field before the end of a loss to the Redskins and took some serious, though in my opinion overblown, heat from Joe Buck for fake-mooning the crowd during a game.

Later during his brief stint with the Oakland Raiders, many people questioned the amount of effort he was giving during games. After being traded to the Patriots, he had several productive years without any incidents but then last year was quoted as saying that he did not feel wanted and asked to be traded. This led to more turmoil when he went back to the Vikings and only four games later was traded again.

Character: Terrell Owens

Terrell Owens managed to play for several years before causing any controversy. His first real issues were all based off of celebrations like doing the Dirty Bird and ending with a throat slash and the infamous star logo celebration against the Dallas Cowboys. After the 2003 season, T.O. decided to cut ties with the 49ers and in a magazine interview insinuated that his quarterback Jeff Garcia was gay.

His time with the Eagles was an initial success but will mostly be remembered for his comments about Donovan McNabb being the one who got tired during the Super Bowl and how the Eagles would have been undefeated if Brett Favre was the quarterback.

Then in 2006, Owens was rushed to the hospital after overdosing on pain medication. It was initially reported as a suicide attempt as police reports indicated that he admitted to being depressed and intending to harm himself, though this has been somewhat disputed.

The last few years have seen T.O. get his own VH1 reality show and some reports state that his recent offseason ACL injury occurred while filming for this show.

Conclusions

Randy Moss and Terrell Owens were arguably the top two wide receivers over the last decade. Yet Father Time forgets no man, especially when it comes to football players. So we’re left to ponder just who has more gas left in their tank to be able to contribute something meaningful to the Eagles.

While Moss has put together some unbelievable seasons that even T.O. can’t match, he’s also had seasons like last year and 2006 where his lows were far worse than Owens'.

Even though T.O. is three years older and has played about a season’s worth of games more than Moss, I think most people would agree that Owens has always been a physical specimen and is likely in just as good if not better shape than Moss.

What intrigues me most about Moss is definitely the whole "chip on his shoulder" angle that has proven to inspire greatness out of him in previous seasons. He got slighted coming out of college and broke a number of rookie receiving records and went out of his way to make it known that he was sticking it to teams like the Cowboys who passed on him in the draft. Then, when people questioned his heart and ability while playing for the Raiders, he came back and had one of the greatest seasons ever for the Patriots, catching almost 100 balls for nearly 1,500 yards and a record 23 touchdowns.

Both players are still chasing that elusive Super Bowl ring and both of them would have to accept, for the first time in their careers, that they’re not going to be the No. 1 option on offense.

Even though they’re both gambles that the Eagles don’t have to take, if forced to pick one or the other I’m going with Moss. Andy Reid has already dealt with T.O. and all his issues before and I just don’t see him giving Owens another chance. Moss, on the other hand, has shown that when properly motivated and playing for a championship-caliber team his play on the field is where he makes most of his noise.