OK, listen up people: The prohibitive favorite to win the NFL MVP plays for the New England Patriots.
His name should be Randy Moss.
Yes, Randy Moss.
Yes, I know, I know. Tom Brady is allegedly playing at an “elevated level” (love those cliché’s that seems to proliferate among announcers). Brady is on a pace to shatter the NFL record for completion percentage (74%), rating (134.0!), and touchdown passes. In fact, if Brady maintains his pace of 60 TD passes, it will rank with the home run record or Wilt's 50 pomts a game - stupefying and next to unbreakable.
Toss in the relentless John Madden man-crush on Tom Terrific (transferred from Brett Favre) that has been copied by every damn announcer (and you thought Favregasms were bad), and Brady looks like a lock.
Except that it would be wrong.
Go beyond the raw numbers, as impressive as they are for Randy: 66 catches for 1,052 yards and 16 touchdowns, a pace that will threaten the single season yardage record, and obliterate Jerry Rice’s TD record of 22 TD catches in a season. It is even beyond the freakish combination of 4.3 speed, the greatest ball skills in NFL history, and his superb hands that have terrorized every secondary he has faced.
"Teams might be in a two-deep [zone, with safeties splitting the back
half of the field] but I always said Randy would run through the
two-deep. To stop Randy Moss, you needed a deep two-deep."
The normal rules don’t apply to Randy Moss, because even when he’s covered, he’s dangerous, and a bad ball is still catchable.
Not since Bob Hayes frightened the NFL into developing zone defenses has any receiver impacted the league to this magnitude. And the lengths defenses go to contain him open the field for the entire Pats offense.
I know, you still want the MVP to go to Brady. After all, if Troy Aikman says it, it must be true, right? And a receiver is only as good as his quarterback after all.
Exhibit B: Pats v. Colts. Colts lead 20-10, Brady is struggling. Brady tosses one deep, Moss beats the Cover Two for a momentum-changing 55 yard play. Pats score soon after to cut it to three, and then score again to preserve their undefeated season.
Exhibit C: These numbers: 92.6, 63.8, and 7.9.
Those are Tom Brady’s previous career highs in passer rating, completion percentage and yards per attempt.
This year those numbers are 134.0, 74.0, and 9.1
Coincidence?
The Pats are on a pace to destroy the season record for points set by the 1998 Vikings led by… Randy Moss.
More coincidence? Come on; say it is, I dare you.
Yes, Brady has Wes Welker, who is having a career season of his own. But Brady has had a Welker in the past – Troy Brown. Nice receiver, but neither he nor Donte Stallworth (2007’s Deion Branch) give cornerbacks and defensive coordinators night sweats.
And Tom Terrific has never had a year like this with Brown and Branch.
As to why Moss is not getting enough love from the press, well, he isn’t loved. Some of that he’s brought on himself. He didn’t cover himself in glory last year in Oakland, but frankly, that was not a professionally run franchise last year. Sorry, but I can’t drop all of the blame at Moss’ feet.
Besides that, many of the same people voting for the MVP love Brady and trashed the trade (including Pats Cheerleader Peter King). It may be too much to ask humbled Moss critics to see the light.
First, they’d have to wipe the egg off their faces.
If anyone on new england wins the mvp it will be brady,moss is only as good as his quarterback,what did he do in oakland,nothing.However i believe this year mvp if he continues to win and go a round in the playoffs is favre,look at the talent and age he is winning with.Save this and you will see i am right.
Can there be co MVP's?? Without Brady, Moss....
Without Moss, Brady..... Moss catches anything thrown within 50 feet, but does need the QB who can do it. Does make me wonder, hmmmm. Fuzz
Brady is having a career year. Huh, so what is different about this year? Oh yeah, this year he has Randy Moss. Who opens things up for everybody else. Moss is why these Patriots would probably steam roll any other Pats team in recent history. Moss is the MVP of this team this season whethter he ends up with the league award is still uncertain. Bret Favre might steal one this year.
But he wouldn't be putting up the career #'s that make this a debate in the first place without Moss. This year Moss is what makes this team stand out. BTW I wouldn't call them a lock for the Superbowl.
texas - Who is to say Donte' Stallworth wouldn't be making a lot of those catches with Tom getting "only" 45 touchdown passes? He'd still be the MVP. It's not all Moss.
Who leads the Patriots in receptions? Just to save time you're wrong. It's Wes Welker. Stallworth's 33/509/3 would probably be around 50/700/7 if Moss was still sulking in Oakland like the loser he is.
I dont think you can marginalize what Moss has done no matter how much you dont like him...
I think you can honestly say without Moss the patriots wouldnt be putting up the kind of points they are.
We know what Brady can do but do you ever think about what Moss does ie meaning beat double coverage, catch balls thrown way to high, draw the attention of every defensive back and still manage to get open.
You could have the best QB in the world under center and if he doesnt have good WR its going to be medicore (look at what happen to Payton vs. Chargers)
There are legtimate claims for Moss so just try and "think" about it from a differant perspective.
but, we all know that Jeff Garcia is the MVP handsdown :D
Hmm. Noticed a couple things here. JMO, but it seems you're holding it against Brady that he is revered. You're right, Tom Brady never had a year like this with Brown and Branch. But he did win three Super Bowls. And let's fact it, Moss is just fine, thank you, 'cause the Pats are winning and he's getting the ball. It's easy for someone to perform well when things are going their way. But Moss has shown the other side as well. Not unlike Terrell Owens, he makes his unhappiness known when things aren't going well. Do you think the Pats would suffer more if they lost Moss right this minute or Brady? Part of the reason Brady is having the year he's having is based on the whole package he has: Stallworth, Welker, and Moss. But Brady's the common denominator, and has been the constant.
Having said what I did, I'm not anointing Brady nor anyone else MVP at this point. But I'm quite sure if MVP means "most valuable to one's team," he would get the nod over Moss.
Nocal, you don't like Moss, and that is your prerogative. But to claim that Donte Stallworth - who spent most of his time in New Orleans and Philly being hurt, is interchangeable with Moss tells me you don't know football - or you really dislike the guy. Just be honest.
As for quitting in Oakland, I watched the Raiders a lot last year while living in CA. Tell me what Moss was supposed to do on a team that saw it's QBs throw a pick or get sacked 1 in every 5 attempts?
As far as quitting, seeing that all they could do was throw in hitch routes, because the QB's couldn't get the ball off...well, that team was a joke. Sure, he could have run harder sometimes, but tell me with a straight face that the Raiders were not a disorganized joke.
Ricko, I've got nothing against Brady - I have a lot against herd mentality and groupthink. For most of the season, I've noticed a blackout on Moss. It was "Brady has raised his game", and I think that is nonsense. His game is usually high, but he has a receiver that is next to impossible to cover, who opens up things for his entire team. You can't play 8 in the box with Moss on your team. You can't double anyone else with Moss on your team. Those open seams in the zone give Welker all the room he needs. Ben Watson is that much more dangerous with Moss, and Tom Brady can throw a bad ball, and Randy can still haul it in.
Take a look at the numbers I posted. His career bests are being obliterated. And he's had Welker-level receivers in the past. What he hasn't had is a guy Randy's caliber.
While we're on the subject - isn't it amazing that Peyton Manning doesn't look as smart without Marvin Harrison? Reggie Wayne gets gimpy, and the LT is hurt, and Peyton has Restless Feet Syndrome. :-)
I said Donte would have 50/700/7 if Moss was gone. Is that equal to 66/1052/16 (Randy's #'s) in the world you live in?
The question is who the MVP should be. I said Brady would finish this year with 45 TD passes without Moss. How many TD receptions would Moss finish with on NFL teams other than New England, Dallas or Indianapolis?
Brady has succeeded in the past with the worst receivers I have ever seen. He's a proven stud regardless who makes his team better. Randy never had any desire to do that in Oakland. He feigned injury most of the time.
You need to form a better argument if you're going to take me on. Or at least read mine before responding.
You sound pretty defensive - understandable since facts aren't driving you as much as anger at Randy Moss. Donte would have had 50 catches according to you - in fact he's only done that twice in seven years. That makes you an optimist. At least you didn't try the "Welker leads the team in catches" argument.
As for Brady's WRs, it is a real stretch to claim that "he had the worst receivers you've ever seen" - if so, you don't watch much football.
He has not had Wrs as good as Moss, but Troy Brown, Deion Branch, and David Patten performed very well in New England. Brady had solid receivers every year except last season. This year might be his best set of wideouts. But Moss is the special ingredient. Get used to it.
If you could say the same thing about Moss for the past two years while in Oakland then perhaps you would have a case. But since you can't you don't. Brady without a doubt is the MVP and this is why, Moss is great, but cannot be great without a great quarterback behind him. Trust me I have both Moss and Brady on my Fantasy team and while I love having Moss I would gladly give him up to keep Brady. If Moss goes down, The Pats will still win, if Brady goes down, well do you really want to put your faith in Matt Cassell? Ask yourself this: Can Matt Cassell make Randy Moss look as good as Brady does?
Moss may help pad some stats for Brady. But Brady is MVP. He is deserving of it. His passes have been so accurate & now that he finally has GOOD recievers Wes Welker, Stallworth,& Moss(not the overrated ones i.e.:Branch, Givens, Patten, & the Elderly Brown) his stats are where they should be. ANYONE that can make Caldwell (who now rides the pine in Washington) look like a #1 reciever should win MVP hands-down.
I agree with you about Manning. And I too, am not a big fan of the herd mentality you mention. But as much as Manning is a "product of the system," I've tried not to hold that against him either. Since the majority of athletes in any team sport are a product of the system. Far as I know, every team has a system which is designed to get the most out of their players, so I've never bought into the product of the system argument.
Anyway, I think both of us make some valid points. However, while I've never been a big Brett Favre fan, it's hard to imagine the Pack going anywhere this year without him. He'd probably get my vote at this point.
Back to "edit." Forgot to mention, I've always felt Moss was the best receiver in the league. Unfotunately he needs a reason to play hard, though.
Last edited by ricko on November 25th at 10:30 AM.
MVP's do more than catch or throw. I am a Colts / Bears fan but my MVP vote goes to either Brady or Favre. They have to read the D and call the right plays at the line to get those receivers open. They then have to read the coverage once the ball is snapped. Then again Brady and Favre have had all day to throw the ball this year, maybe the Pats or Packs offensive lines should be the MVP. Nope, not Randy Moss, all he does is run and catch.
At least they ain't call you rascist for writing this blog dude, and no one hates Moss as much as NorCal and Cuziffer. Besides Brady has never thrown over 30TDs passes he is just hating man.
If the qb is the most important factor in the qb/wr equation then a qb of Brady's caliber should be able to make any wr a true #1.
How ever Brady has never thrown more than 28 td's prior to having a true number 1, before this year in Moss.
Almost half of his total td's are to Moss.
moss has more recieving yards than any receiver he's ever had.
He attempts more passes to Moss than any WR he's ever had.
He's never had A WR with more than 10 td catches in a season(moss-16)
Brady's completion %age is up because moss draws doubles and triples leaving easy throws against 1-1 coverage
Plus.....
Moss's avg season stats are 1250 yds and 12tds 15ypc
He has caught 80+ receptions from 4 different qbs
14 or more tds from 5 different qbs
1000 yds with 6 different qbs
I think the edge goes to Moss making Brady better than Brady makes Moss.
Last edited by #1overall on December 1st at 11:31 PM.
#1overall - Yeah you're right. Before Moss all Brady did was win 3 Super Bowls and before Brady all Moss did was implode on 2 teams and mope on the sideline in his only glimpse of the big time (41-0 loss in NFC title game).
I'm sorry if I offended you gisele, I mean Norcal, but we are discussing this year. Brady has never been better than he is right now, and you are smoking if you dont think that moss is the main ingredient to the offensive explosion this season.
Yeah Brady has three rings and moss has none. But Moss has made stars out of mediocre talent at QB , brady is in a great system.
What happened last year? If brady was so perfect then, If i'm not mistaken, he threw three picks vs Indy. Which prompted him to force NE to upgrade at the WR spot.
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I know, you still want the MVP to go to Brady. After all, if Troy Aikman says it, it must be true, right? And a receiver is only as good as his quarterback after all.
