So, here's the thing. Being a girl, I get accused of being over-emotional a lot. So I think I'm perfectly justified in accusing someone else of the same thing. We've all had those moments at work where the entire day just sucks, or maybe we work for assholes who don't appreciate everything we do, or maybe the market for your job is down and you're having a bad year, and you think, "screw it, I quit." I get it. Granted, I don't make one bazillionth of the money Randy Moss makes in a year, so I can't necessarily afford to just retire if no one wants to hire me. I have to stick it out and hope things work. But, that being said, did no one want to hire him? All this past week we've heard pretty much every single little detail of every player being shopped or searching for a new team. Everyone knew of every team Plax was meeting with. There was literally an Asomu-watch for like, three days. We heard everything... except for a single peep from Randy Moss, which is rare. So does that mean that he didn't even try? Or does it mean that there was just no market? Granted, all the media knows is what whichever team or player they're covering wants them to know and actually leaks to them, so if no one was biting on Moss, maybe there's a reason it was kept secret. But I have a feeling Moss didn't even try. We're talking about a guy who isn't exactly known for keeping his feelings inside, and who most likely just threw up his hands and quit after having the worst season of his career, because I can't believe for one second that there isn't one team out there that would sign him.
Moss often gets accused of not being a skill receiver, of not being able to run a route, of simply being incredibly fast and having an amazing vertical and only being able to run the 9. First off, this is bullshit. Secondly, even if it were true, who cares? If anyone actually bothered to watch the tape, you'd see him running plenty of 7s and 8s and 10s -- he's just so fast you never saw the break. Yes, I know these are all long ball plays, but who doesn't need that guy on your team? That's all DeSean Jackson does, and everyone thinks he's a god. When it's 4th and forever and there's one minute left and you can't just punt, you need that guy who can get 40 yards downfield faster than a seven series and out-jump two defenders. That isn't the time to screw around and trick the defense. That's the time to score. That's what Randy Moss did. He scored-- 23 times in one season, to be exact.
Yes, he's had attitude problems in the past. So has T.O., and he seems to get by year after year with a 1-year contract with somebody. Not that you really want that to be your legacy, but you get the point. Chad Ochocinco has made more of a career out of being a jackass than a football player, and he just got signed by New England, who doesn't tolerate any of that shit. The difference between them and Moss is that Moss has actually shown humility. We saw him so upset after being traded to Minnesota that he publicly apologized to Bill Belichick. Moss can be motivated. If it was ever brought up to him that his hissy-fit style of lackadaisical play really hurt his team, you saw him try harder next week. Whenever he's been put on a team that both appreciated his talents and had a quarterback that could get him the ball, he's unstoppable. He produces. Which is more than I can say about the T-Ocho show. By the way, I'm looking at you, Arizona. You have to give Fitzgerald a break sometime. Or maybe this could have been a good year for Moss to pull a Jason Taylor and go back to Minnesota again now that they have McNabb.
The point is, there are so many options out there for Moss this year and instead of pursuing any of them, he quit. So now the question is whether or not he'll actually stay retired. I would hope for his sake that he does. No one wants to be the next Brett Favre. No one wants to be that sad old man who can't give it up and keeps coming back for limited contracts with crappy teams. Moss has been in the league for 13 years...it's about this time that your numbers start to seriously decline. So maybe it was smart of him to bow out gracefully before the long, slow end to his career became his legacy. Four years ago, Brett Favre could have been known for everything he did right -- the Super Bowl Ring, the insane amount of records, the three MVP awards, the 11 Pro Bowls. Now, he's a joke. He's the sad, middle-aged man who couldn't give it up and sent a picture of his peen to a reporter. If he stays retired, Randy Moss is a four time Pro Bowler who is second all time in touchdown receptions, 100-yard games, and 1,000-yard seasons and holds the record for the most touchdown receptions in a season. If he tries to come back, people are going to jump on him for being egotistical and it's going to be a slow road downhill.
So now the only question that remains is not whether he's going into the Hall of Fame, but whether he'll be a first ballot entry. You can never make a fair judgment on someone's career this soon after they retire, and last year is fresh in everyone's minds, so a lot of people are saying no. Those people are crazy. Yes, there were some dark years in Oakland, but look at the last three years of Jerry Rice's career. When five years had passed and it came time to enshrine him, everyone forgot about the last sad game where he didn't even catch one pass. All anyone remembered were the highlights, and Randy Moss has dozens of those. Thankfully for him, he's not a quarterback, so no one really cares if he ever won a Super Bowl. He can still be voted in based on his numbers alone, and I guarantee you that five years from now, he will be.
