The Freak Show
I got two words for you: Randy Moss.
You know I couldn't stay away from my boy for very long, not after watching him torch a fourth straight opponent, the Bengals, Monday night for 100-plus yards and two touchdowns, including a classic "throw it up there and I'll go get it dog, gol-ly!" scoring snare.
Let's see. Everybody (OK, there were a couple of exceptions) wrote him off after last year's dreadful season when he caught just three TD passes for one of the worst and worst-coached teams of all time, the Oakland Raiders. Art Shell, the aforementioned awful coach, suggested he'd lost a step and his skills were eroding. So the Raiders gave him away for a FOURTH-ROUND DRAFT PICK! Are you kidding me?
All Moss has done in his first four games with the New England Patriots is catch 31 balls for 505 yards and SEVEN touchdowns. Gulp. Talk about the rich getting richer. That has to rank as maybe the Steal of the Century.
Moss is on pace to catch 124 passes for 2020 yards and 2-freakin'-8 touchdowns this season. Let that sink in for a little bit. Twenty-eight TDs! The record is 22 by the sublime Jerry Rice – oh, and the 2000-plus yards would shatter the all-time record, too.
What have I said about Moss all along? He is the most talented wide receiver EVER. Period. He made quarterbacks. Would Randall Cunningham have been the MVP in 1998 without him? No. Would Jeff George and Brad Johnson have rejuvenated their careers without him? No. Would Daunte Culpepper have been a three-time All-Pro QB without him? Hell, no!
So now you team him with Tom Brady, a three-time Super Bowl winner (throwing to a pack of mediocre, at best, receivers) and what do you get? Maybe the most lethal pitch-catch combination of all-time. (OK, it's a little early to say that, but mark my words…)
And he's been the consummate team player with the Patriots. Note this quote by fullback Heath Evans.
"Obviously I only know what I've seen here, but I see a guy who asks questions in team meetings, I see a guy who seems to be in his playbook because he knows it.
"I see a guy that is constantly challenging other people, whether it's defensive backs or other wide receivers, to step up to the plate. I see a guy that works hard, who knows how he needs to work. Those intangibles are hard to find and they're all in one guy.
"What he's done here, I couldn't have a better teammate."
OK, Vikes. Step up. Admit it. You were idiots. You traded away the most talented wide receiver in NFL history. It's OK though. I forgive you. It's a lot more fun watching what he's doing with Brady right now that it would be with Tavaris Jackson or Kelly Holcomb throwing to him.
(On that note, I'm thinking of transplanting to Boston soon. Let's see: Randy Moss, my all-time favorite athlete, now plays there; Kevin Garnett, always been my main man besides my brother-from-another-mother Reggie Miller, now plays there; Laurence Maroney, the most exciting Minnesota Gopher football player I can remember, now plays there; Big Papi aka David Ortiz, the best clutch hitter in baseball and former Twin, has been playing there for a while; and Torii Hunter, well, I wouldn't be surprised if he's roaming center in Fenway next year. We might as well ship Marion Gaborik to the Bruins while we're at it.)
A few years ago, I wrote about how lucky we are to live in Minnesota and have phenomenal athletes like Moss, Garnett, Hunter and Maroney to watch.
My new philosophy?
Go East, young man!
Johan gone?
ESPN.com's Buster Olney proposes an interesting trade the Twins could make this offseason. Johan Santana (who will demand $20 million-plus a year – unaffordable on the Twins' current budget – when he comes a free agent next offseason) to the shell-shocked New York Mets for Jose Reyes. For those of you who don't know anything about Reyes, he might be the most exciting player in the game today. The speedy shortstop was last year's Silver Slugger in the National League and posted a .280 average with 36 doubles, 12 triples and 78 stolen bases this season.
His contract is affordable at around $6.5 million per for the next three years with an $11 million option in 2011 when the Twins will be in their new stadium and presumably pulling in the big bucks. Reyes, 24, is young, an excellent defensive player and the best leadoff hitter in baseball. While it may be heresy to say the Twins should trade away the best pitcher in baseball, it'd be better to get someone really good like Reyes than lose him for nothing next fall.
Plus, the Twins (who would likely have to give up Jason Bartlett also in the trade) could pick up a solid outfield and a good pitching prospect in the deal. And they would save enough money to be able to re-sign Torii Hunter. With Francisco Liriano returning next season and the emergence of Scott Baker and Matt Garza, their pitching rotation would be in decent shape, and they would certainly be contenders again.
Just a thought…but I like it.
Random thoughts
It still looks like Matt Niskanen will be on the Dallas Stars opening night roster tomorrow in Colorado.
Best new artist I've heard in a while: Jay Clifford. You heard it here first. Driving Blind (no wisecracks!) is my new favorite CD.
Ricky Williams applied for reinstatement to the NFL. I just don't see him lasting very long not being able to smoke the ganja. He reminds me of my…oh, never mind. Here's hoping he makes it back, because he's a heckuva running back when he doesn't have the munchies.
According to my TV schedule (courtesy of Trystan, thanks!), I have four shows to watch tonight: Cavemen, which conflicts with NCIS, The Unit and Cane. I highly recommend giving Cane a shot. Great cast, excellent storyline, super setting. More on the show another day.
Until next time…
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