Randy

Is Randy Moss the new Carmen Sandiego?

Maybe this should be called 'The Legend of Randy Moss' because it's not a given that he exists anymore. Let's be clear about one thing. The Patriots, rarely, if ever, fuck up. They almost always do great with their free agent signings and draft picks. Almost never to they give up a player who goes on to have great success elsewhere. Their system enhances the players in it. But if they lose Randy Moss, they fucked up. Big time. Franchise history changing fucked up. He wasn't their best player but he probably was their second best. He and Tom Brady need each other.

The Patriots always cover their asses.The word is that they didn't hit Moss with the franchise tag because they didn't want to piss him off. When have the Patriots ever worried about pissing anybody off? Deion Branch got the tag and he was pissed. As was Tom Brady who lobbied for the Patriots to pay Branch. Didn't happen. Asante Samuel said he'd hold out if hit with the tag. Guess what happened? The moral of the story is the the Patriots do what's good for the Patriots. So I'll bet there is some underlying reason that they didn't tag Moss. I figured they had a deal worked out. Something that paid him about $1 million more than T.O. gets. But that isn't the Patriot way. They expect their players to work with them a bit on contract numbers. It's part of the New England package. Best guess says that Moss isn't willing to give them a discount and the Patriots aren't ready to pay top dollar. This could get ugly. So let's examine where I think Moss could land.

NEW ENGLAND - I'm pretty sure that both parties will wake up and make a deal. They can't really afford not to. Who can the Patriots replace Moss with? If the Patriots lose mos they might be forced to make an effort to trade for a Chad Johnson or someone of his ilk.

DALLAS - Because Jerry Jones is an asshole. But he's not afraid to spend big and/or make a big splash. T.O. has never shown the ability to humble himself to be a second option at times so I'm not sure how this would work. Jones swings for the fences though so there's a chance. The Cowboys do have a good enough team and QB situation to appease Moss.

DENVER - They could use Moss couldn't they? They could probably pony up the money. But could Moss be convinced that Jay Cutler is good enough for him. A couple of early season losses could destroy this experiment shortly after it begins.

CHICAGO - I don't think Moss would go and catch balls from Rex Grossman but the Bears sure do need Moss. Their current #1 WR is Devin Hester. In an ideal world for Chicago they trade for McNabb and use that momentum to sign Moss but I am a realist and that just ain't gonna happen.

NEW YORK JETS - I don't think Moss would go for this situation but couldn't you just see Mangini trying to pull this off just to stick it to the Pats once again?

WASHINGTON - Daniel Snyder has money. Randy Moss likes money. I doubt that the Redskins are any good next year but Moss would be the big splash the Skins love so much.

PHILADELPHIA - I can't believe that Andy Reid would do it. But they have the money, the QB, the winning tradition this decade and they're ready to win now. Moss would go for it I think. McNabb would make Chunky Soup in his pants if they pulled it off. Moss would instantly become the Savior of Philadelphia, just like T.O. but, wake up. Andy Reid won't walk down this road again.

GREEN BAY - They pretty much have the same situation as Philly but they're in the middle of nowhere geographically and they're pretty deep at WR already. But Moss would instantly make them that much tougher and Favre might stick around into his forties.

TAMPA BAY - They have the cap room and Gruden. But would Moss go for catching balls from Jeff Garcia? For the right price he probably could live with it.

CAROLINA - Again they have QB questions. But Moss and Steve Smith would fit better than Moss and T.O. on several levels.

NEW YORK GIANTS - Why not?

Look for this to get settled in the next 48 hours. There is no way that Moss sits on the market for much longer. Something has to give? I don't think we'll see or hear from Moss until a deal is done. Until then.....

Where in the world is Randy Moss?