When the Patriots made the deal that landed wide receiver Randy Moss in New England in exchange for a mid-round draft pick, the fantasy football world stopped for a moment and pondered, Does this mean Moss is back?
Going back to 2004, Moss’s last season in Minnesota, fantasy owners everywhere have been disappointed and frustrated year in and out. But with a fresh start in New England, can Moss reclaim his throne as a top-tier wide receiver, or will he sink even further into oblivion? Before outright answering either of those questions, it is wise to have a quick recap of Moss’s past six seasons, to show just how far he has slipped down the fantasy ladder.
+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| Rushing | Receiving |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| Year TM | G | Att Yards Y/A TD | Rec Yards Y/R TD |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| 2001 min | 16 | 3 38 12.7 0 | 82 1233 15.0 10 |
| 2002 min | 16 | 6 51 8.5 0 | 106 1347 12.7 7 |
| 2003 min | 16 | 6 18 3.0 0 | 111 1632 14.7 17 |
| 2004 min | 13 | 0 0 0.0 0 | 49 767 15.7 13 |
| 2005 oak | 16 | 0 0 0.0 0 | 60 1005 16.8 8 |
| 2006 oak | 13 | 0 0 0.0 0 | 42 553 13.2 3 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| TOTAL | 138 | 23 159 6.9 0 | 676 10700 15.8 101 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
Pro Football Reference puts those numbers in perspective with their fantasy football data ratings:
Year Value Pos. Rank Overall Rank -------------------------------------------------- 2001 59 5 19 2002 66 5 19 2003 163 1 5 2004 28 19 49 2005 32 15 36 2006 0 59 139
Moss, as you can see, has slipped considerably. After being a top five fantasy receiver for three consecutive seasons between 2001-2003, Moss slipped to the top 20 and finally last year to 59th among all receivers. Those numbers alarmed owners, and for good reason. Moss’s explanation behind his statistical production, or lack thereof, didn’t do much to hearten spirits, either. Instead, his rant about playing well when he’s happy only put a damper on things, making for himself more enemies than friends.
But now that Moss is out of Oakland where the Raiders’ offensive production fell off the charts last season, will he be happy? Will he be able to perform at the level he is capable? The level that drew comparisons to some of the greatest receivers from any era?
The talent has always been there, but his lack of drive and dispassionate play has always held him back from true potential. Do the New England Patriots hold the keys to returning Moss to the form that made him a five time Pro Bowl receiver from 1998-2003?
To go back and answer the first real question of this article, Can Moss reclaim his throne as a top-tier wide receiver, or will he sink even further into oblivion? The answer is somewhere in between.
There is no reason for owners to suggest that Moss will post numbers in the same class as Steve Smith, Chad Johnson, or Terrell Owens. While he may have similar talent, Moss is not in a system that requires so much dependence on one key wide receiver.
Bill Belichick will not alter his philosophies, the same philosophies that brought the Patriots 3 Super Bowl rings in 4 years, because Moss is in town. Tom Brady has always spread the ball around to all his receivers. Moss’s presence will not drastically alter the way Brady plays football.
Moss is entering a system that will allow him to make 70-80 catches next season for 1100-1200 yards and 8-10 scores. Those numbers aren’t good enough to make Moss a number one fantasy wide receiver week in and out — there will be bad games to go with the very good performances — but they will go a long way in reviving his declining career.
They also set him up to be a good number two, great number three fantasy wide receiver. And that’s reason enough for skittish owners to not shy away from him when their draft rolls around.
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4 Comments
Moss is just brutally honest. There is no receiver in the league that wants to play on the worst offense in the history of the NFL. Johnson, Smith and Owens aren’t on an offense that has a “dependence on one key wide receiver”. Not by far! Don’t get too caught-up in popular opinion. Moss is still a great receiver and top 5 fantasy receiver. Mark my words.
-Fanprophet
I agree with what you are saying to an extent. However, I believe the Patriots will stick with the formula that has worked for them: the main target is whoever is open.
I totally disagree with some of the Moss-haters out there who think that he will tear apart the franchise. Moss has never torn apart a franchise. It’s really sad that he gets thrown in the same boat as TO.
You’re right, I never thought of it like that but it is a shame that the media groups him in with personalities like T.O.
Moss is actually a good dude, it’s too bad that the media has the tendency of reporting negative press just to sell stories. Every once in a while we’ll here something positive but it’s normally short lived. Anti media I am.
I agree. The media will print just about anything, no matter the consequences to the player’s reputation. And often they embellish a bit too much.
Ironically, our sites sort of fall under the category of media
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