Randy Moss announced earlier today that he will be retiring from the NFL. Moss was drafted back in 1998 by the Minnesota Vikings and is a lock for the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Other than the Vikings, Moss also played for the Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, and Tennessee Titans during his 13-year career. He totaled 954 receptions and 153 touchdowns to go along with 14,858 receiving yards. Moss had his best season in 2007 when he set the single season record for touchdown catches with 23 while playing in New England.
But it has not all been smooth sailing for the former wide-out. Controversy has followed Moss throughout his impressive career. One of Moss' most remembered moments will be in Green Bay back in 2005 during a playoff game. After catching a touchdown, Moss pretended to pull down his pants to moon the Packer faithful. He has also left the field before a game had finished and some have complained about Moss' lack of effort at times.
Although he had a disappointing season last year, Moss could still be quite productive for a team this year. One problem is that he is demanding a lot of money considering Bill Belichick could not handle him very well last year and he was a big distraction both in Minnesota and Tennessee after leaving New England. If he was trouble last year, most coaches will not take the risk and invest in Moss unless it is not a big contract.
That being said, I find it very hard to believe that Moss is really retired. Moss will be back in the NFL at some point in 2011.
Showing posts with label New England Patriots. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New England Patriots. Show all posts
Monday, August 1, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Seven Players Released by Patriots
The New England Patriots released six veteran players and one rookie earlier today. The three big names were defensive end Ty Warren, tight end Alge Crumpler, and offensive tackle Nick Kaczur. The other four players were defensive lineman Marcus Stroud, linebacker Tully Banta-Cain, corner back Tony Carter, and linebacker Ryan Coulson. These moves were obviously done in order to be under the $120 million dollar salary cap for the top 51 players.
Kaczur being cut was not a surprise but Crumpler and Warren were not expected to be cut. Both Crumpler and Warren have been battling injuries and Warren has been injury prone the past few seasons. Defensive linemen Mike Wright and Albert Haynesworth will most likely have a bigger role in the upcoming season and this probably means Bill Belichick is looking to re-sign Gerard Warren. But for Crumpler, it is going to be hard to replace his leadership in the locker room, especially since Haynesworth and Chad Ochocinco are now on board and young tight ends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski still have much to learn. It does always help when you have Tom Brady in the locker room though.
The Patriots did however re-sign corner back Kyle Arrington and signed rookie draft picks Ryan Mallet (quarterback) and Marcus Cannon (offensive guard/tackle).
Kaczur being cut was not a surprise but Crumpler and Warren were not expected to be cut. Both Crumpler and Warren have been battling injuries and Warren has been injury prone the past few seasons. Defensive linemen Mike Wright and Albert Haynesworth will most likely have a bigger role in the upcoming season and this probably means Bill Belichick is looking to re-sign Gerard Warren. But for Crumpler, it is going to be hard to replace his leadership in the locker room, especially since Haynesworth and Chad Ochocinco are now on board and young tight ends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski still have much to learn. It does always help when you have Tom Brady in the locker room though.
The Patriots did however re-sign corner back Kyle Arrington and signed rookie draft picks Ryan Mallet (quarterback) and Marcus Cannon (offensive guard/tackle).
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Patriots Trade for Haynesworth and Ochocinco
Wow! The New England Patriots made huge news today by trading a 2013 fifth round draft pick for defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth and a late 2012 and late 2013 draft pick for wide receiver Chad Ochocinco. How will this effect the Patriots in 2011? Can Bill Belichick handle both personalities in the same locker room?
Albert Haynesworth is coming off a terrible season for the Washington Redskins where he often battled with head coach Mike Shanahan. Haynesworth often complained that he did not fit into the 3-4 defensive scheme that the Redskins ran. But don't the Patriots also run a 3-4 scheme? Yes, they do. However, the Patriots were only fourteenth in the league last season in sacks and were very poor on third down. My guess is that Albert Haynesworth will be mostly utilized on the nose on third down in hopes that he will be able to clog up the middle and move the pocket on the quarterback. This should create a better pass rush from the outside and force the quarterback to throw earlier than he wants to. This is a really good deal for the Patriots.
Chad Ochocinco is also coming off a disappointing season. He only had 831 yards and four touchdown receptions. But being paired with Tom Brady should improve those numbers significantly. He will be the deep ball threat the Patriots missed last year after trading Randy Moss to the Minnesota Vikings. With New England's talented slot receiver Wes Welker, two young tightends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, and Deion Branch on the other side, Ochocinco will be expected to open up the middle of the field by drawing double coverage deep down field from the safety. I am stating it here right now, the Patriots will break the offensive points record for a single season set by the Patriots in 2007. This offense is going to be dynamic. And oh yeah, Bill Belichick and Chad Ochocinco have been good friends for a few years now.
The Patriots have basically given up nothing for two players who are low risks and could give them high rewards. If they do not work out, you cut them or trade them for late draft picks. However, I think the Patriots struck gold here.
Albert Haynesworth is coming off a terrible season for the Washington Redskins where he often battled with head coach Mike Shanahan. Haynesworth often complained that he did not fit into the 3-4 defensive scheme that the Redskins ran. But don't the Patriots also run a 3-4 scheme? Yes, they do. However, the Patriots were only fourteenth in the league last season in sacks and were very poor on third down. My guess is that Albert Haynesworth will be mostly utilized on the nose on third down in hopes that he will be able to clog up the middle and move the pocket on the quarterback. This should create a better pass rush from the outside and force the quarterback to throw earlier than he wants to. This is a really good deal for the Patriots.
Chad Ochocinco is also coming off a disappointing season. He only had 831 yards and four touchdown receptions. But being paired with Tom Brady should improve those numbers significantly. He will be the deep ball threat the Patriots missed last year after trading Randy Moss to the Minnesota Vikings. With New England's talented slot receiver Wes Welker, two young tightends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, and Deion Branch on the other side, Ochocinco will be expected to open up the middle of the field by drawing double coverage deep down field from the safety. I am stating it here right now, the Patriots will break the offensive points record for a single season set by the Patriots in 2007. This offense is going to be dynamic. And oh yeah, Bill Belichick and Chad Ochocinco have been good friends for a few years now.
The Patriots have basically given up nothing for two players who are low risks and could give them high rewards. If they do not work out, you cut them or trade them for late draft picks. However, I think the Patriots struck gold here.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Is Randy Moss Coming Back to New England?
Former NFL wide receiver and current ESPN analyst Keyshawn Johnson says that Randy Moss should return to his former team, the New England Patriots. He claims that Tom Brady and Randy Moss were very successful together and thinks that Moss still has a lot left in him. This is a very interesting claim by Johnson (who is actually good friends with Bill Belichick), but could it work? And would Belichick even consider it?
Randy Moss had a very successful three plus years while playing along the greatest quarterback ever, Tom Brady. He set the single season record for most touchdown receptions in 2007 with 23 and hauled in a total of 50 touchdowns while playing his home games in Foxborough. But after being traded to the Minnesota Vikings, Moss only had two touchdown receptions in four games played. And after being claimed off waivers by the Tennessee Titans in that same season, Moss recorded zero touchdowns in eight games played.
There are probably only a few teams that would take a risk and sign Moss and the Patriots are probably one of them. Rumor has it that they were interested in claiming Moss off waivers when the Minnesota Vikings put him on it last year. Another team that may have interest in Moss is division rival New York Jets. My guess is Moss would not sign with if he had other options but he may not have any.
Back to the Patriots, would Belichick want him back after the offense averaged 32.4 points per game but had a difficult time moving the ball against the Jets in the playoffs? Both Brandon Tate and Taylor Price are expected to have bigger roles in the upcoming season, but will they provide enough depth on the outside along with Deion Branch and Matthew Slater in the Patriots west coast offense? My guess is the Patriots would like to have one more threat outside because Branch is getting older and they are probably not sold on Price and Slater yet. Without many teams going hard after Moss, the Patriots may also be able to get him at a discount since Moss has made it clear recently that he would like to be reunited with Brady and Belichick. This could be a very interesting next few days.
Randy Moss had a very successful three plus years while playing along the greatest quarterback ever, Tom Brady. He set the single season record for most touchdown receptions in 2007 with 23 and hauled in a total of 50 touchdowns while playing his home games in Foxborough. But after being traded to the Minnesota Vikings, Moss only had two touchdown receptions in four games played. And after being claimed off waivers by the Tennessee Titans in that same season, Moss recorded zero touchdowns in eight games played.
There are probably only a few teams that would take a risk and sign Moss and the Patriots are probably one of them. Rumor has it that they were interested in claiming Moss off waivers when the Minnesota Vikings put him on it last year. Another team that may have interest in Moss is division rival New York Jets. My guess is Moss would not sign with if he had other options but he may not have any.
Back to the Patriots, would Belichick want him back after the offense averaged 32.4 points per game but had a difficult time moving the ball against the Jets in the playoffs? Both Brandon Tate and Taylor Price are expected to have bigger roles in the upcoming season, but will they provide enough depth on the outside along with Deion Branch and Matthew Slater in the Patriots west coast offense? My guess is the Patriots would like to have one more threat outside because Branch is getting older and they are probably not sold on Price and Slater yet. Without many teams going hard after Moss, the Patriots may also be able to get him at a discount since Moss has made it clear recently that he would like to be reunited with Brady and Belichick. This could be a very interesting next few days.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Patriots to Cut Banta-Cain
With NFL free agency in full swing, the New England Patriots made their first big move by informing outside linebacker Tully Banta-Cain that he will be released on Thursday, the first official day they can. The announcement comes just a few days after news hit that Banta-Cain will need surgery for an abdominal injury. Banta-Cain has been very productive for the Patriots as he was second on the team in sacks last season. Many people wonder how Bill Belichick will fill the role Banta-Cain had which is now left vacant.
It seems unlikely Banta-Cain's injury was the main reason he will not be returning to the Patriots in 2011, as he is only scheduled to miss four to five weeks. My guess is Belichick will use second year pass rusher Jermaine Cunningham in a much larger role this year. It is unlikely - despite how much people want it to happen - that Belichick will sign a big name player to help with the pass rush. Players who will also have a bigger role will be Eric Moore and Rob Ninkovich.
The Patriots open their season in Miami on Monday Night Football.
It seems unlikely Banta-Cain's injury was the main reason he will not be returning to the Patriots in 2011, as he is only scheduled to miss four to five weeks. My guess is Belichick will use second year pass rusher Jermaine Cunningham in a much larger role this year. It is unlikely - despite how much people want it to happen - that Belichick will sign a big name player to help with the pass rush. Players who will also have a bigger role will be Eric Moore and Rob Ninkovich.
The Patriots open their season in Miami on Monday Night Football.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Sad Day for the New England Patriots
The people here at The World According to Jonathan would like to send our condolences to the Kraft family for the passing of Myra Kraft, wife of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Myra was a terrific woman who devoted herself to helping others. Her generosity and kindness will be missed greatly.
I guess it is true, only the good die young. She was 68.
I guess it is true, only the good die young. She was 68.
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