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| Andrew Perna. 5th March, 2008 - 12:51 pm
 Rest easy New England. Randy Moss isn’t going anywhere, at least for the foreseeable future.
The Patriots signed Moss to a three-year deal worth $27 million on Monday night. In the process they kept him away from a host of suitors, including Terrell Owens’ Cowboys and the Eagles, who had already signed cornerback Asante Samuel away from the AFC Champions.
Heading into negotiations on Monday, the Patriots had lost three noteworthy players to the yearly NFL swap meet. Samuel fled to Philadelphia, Randall Gay cruised down to New Orleans, and number three receiver Donte Stallworth joined the resurgence in Cleveland.
While losing those players could come back to hurt the Patriots in 2008, retaining Moss was as imperative as it gets. Tom Brady, always a steady presence behind center in New England, looked even better, if that’s possible, with Moss streaking into the end zone at an alarming rate last season.
Had it not been for the acquisition of Moss during the weekend of the 2007 NFL Draft, the Patriots don’t finish the season undefeated, Brady doesn’t break Peyton Manning’s single-season touchdown record, and Bill Belichick and company don’t easily skate past their competitors in the cutthroat AFC this past season.
The relationship between Moss and New England was a two-way street, though, as there is no way the Marshall product would have bested Jerry Rice’s single-season touchdown reception record without Brady throwing his way and Josh McDaniels calling the plays.
It’s not that hard to imagine that New England could have survived without Stallworth and Gay this season, and maybe even Samuel for that matter, but without Moss the mighty Pats are just, well, the Patriots.
That’s not to say that without Moss they couldn’t, and wouldn’t have been successful in 2007, but his height, speed, and hands transformed a great team into a historic one.
With the rest of the AFC still plodding along, as some continue to improve and mature, allowing Moss to skip town might have dropped the Patriots from the favorite to represent the conference in Super Bowl XLIII to just another team in the battle. Retaining Moss instantly cements New England as the team to beat in not just the AFC, but the entire NFL.
And yes, that of course, includes the Super Bowl champion New York Giants.
Over the weekend it appeared as though Moss might actually choose another team over his compatriots in New England, something that seemed plausible with his history of questionable decisions on and off the field.
His decision to ink a new deal with the Patriots, for a considerable discount, shows that the once-enigmatic receiver may have finally grown up. It’s amazing to consider that Moss will make just $2 million more than Bernard Berrian, who signed a six-year, $42 million deal with the Vikings, next season.
All Moss did was catch 27 more passes, gain 542 more yards, and reach the end zone eighteen more times than Berrian in 2007. Randy is Bernard plus Muhsin Muhammad…and another fifteen touchdowns.
Moss had a Reina Value of +222% in 2007, 'deserving' to make $9.66 million as the NFL's top receiver.
If you ask me, I think the Patriots got themselves a pretty good deal.
Grade for the Patriots: A
Losing Moss would have been one 6’4” receiver too many for the Patriots to stomach. Thankfully, for Belichick, Brady, Gisele, and the rest of New England, the Brady-to-Moss connection will live to see the next decade.
Andrew Perna is a Senior Writer for RealGM.com. Please feel free to contact him via e-mail (Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com) with comments or questions. |
