Brain, QB ratings are a whole 'nother can of worms. I'm one of those Raiders fans who had no love for Walter, but he had a horrible line and no running game. So throw ratings out...
But now that you bring it up, I think talent wise Branch/Givens/Brown is equivalent to Moss/Stallworth/Welker. I don't see it at all, based on strictly a talent basis. If Moss and Stallworth remain healthy the entire season, I don't see a better receiver combination, with Welker included, in all of football (the exception being Indy). I always saw Branch as being too hit-and-miss, having a good game, but then almost disappearing at times. He made a name for himself in the Super Bowls (which isn't too bad a thing), but I don't think that's necessarily indicative of his play overall. Moss is still one of the players who can flat-out dominate games. I fully expect his attitude to be squared around this season. Troy Brown, as much as I respect him as a player, is someone who has to be brought into the conversation when you talk about old. And Givens, I don't even see him as a factor in the least. Welker produced really well on a relatively-poor Miami team. Put these three guys on the field, the way the Pats like to distribute the ball around, it has the potential to be really specialas. I'll keep coming back to it, though; I don't see all three remaining healthy enough to be on the field together much of the year. Randy Moss for a fourth-round pick? The Pats can't really lose on that one.
Well that goes a long way towards invalidating the Patriot organization's stopwatches You don't think it stands to reason an organization is going to "fluff" that sort of thing about a guy they just picked up? Especially to the local media? Like they do with heights/weights regularly? C'mon bdaddy, you're putting way too much emphasis on Moss' age. There have been numerous pro-bowl wide-outs who were around Moss' age. This probably won't be his best year, but there isn't any compelling reason to assume that he can't have a tremendous year. Not age, particularly. Age and style of play, more accurately. As the article mentioned...guys like TO (A strong physical reciever) and Rice and Harrison (polished route runners) tend to "age well" in the NFL. Once their speed dimishes with age (which is just a natural course of life), the other attributes still make them formidable. Guys who get by strictly on athletic ability (Moss) tend to see their play drop off drastically once those skills diminish. That is exactly what we've seen with Moss if you watched his games last year (good QB or no QB you can still watch a reciever and see what he's doing against his competition, nevermind Brooks is the perfect QB for the "deep lob" mentality that you guys say Moss is still dominant). Again, I think he's still good, I just don't think his addition makes them unstoppable. It makes them better for sure, but again...not any better than they were when they had Branch (which they won some SB's with...so that's not saying it's a bad pickup). If Moss and Stallworth remain healthy the entire season Stallworth can't...plain and simple. In 5 seasons he's averaged 8 starts/year. Moss is still one of the players who can flat-out dominate games. Nothing the past 3 years has indicated that at all. Randy Moss for a fourth-round pick? The Pats can't really lose on that one. despite my arguments, I agree absolutely with this...especially once he restructured his contract. It's really no-lose for them, and like I said, he IS going to bring value to that team (Just not year 2000 value)
Yea, isn't it amazing that a 30 year old like Randy Moss can still run the 40 in 4.32? I have to give the edge to the Pats on this one because they basically stole a borderline Hall of Fame wideout for a 4th round pick. If everything pans out and Moss' attitude doesn't surface, he has every chance in the world to show & prove that he is still the same player he was while playing for the Vikes and improve on his chances of becoming exactly what most everyone thought was a given: Randy Moss, Hall of Famer and Super Bowl champion.....and it pains me to say that but I have to be realistic.
he IS going to bring value to that team (Just not year 2000 value) I think we're on the same page here, just from different perspectives. Much as I'd like 2,000 yards and 20 TDs, I am willing to accept 1,900 and 19. Or something like that.
Moss is still one of the players who can flat-out dominate games. Nothing the past 3 years has indicated that at all. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that playing with the horrible Raiders pretty much made dominating a game in any form practically impossible. The only thing I don't find myself condoning is his "I don't give a crap" attitude, or the "I play when I feel like it" stuff. This is his golden chance, and if he can't dominate in this situation, then I'll be the first to admit his time has past.
Evaluating what Randy Moss is capable of in the Patriots offense by what he did in the Raiders offense is impossible. The QBs in Oakland had no time to throw the ball downfield. It was so ridiculous watching them play at times because the QB didn't even have time to get set let alone look down the field. Further, I think Randy Moss gave up because it was apparent that no one else was really trying to win. I predict Randy will do well in NE. They have reformed other troublesome pains in the ass in the past (see Corey Dillon). As for Randy's speed, why not? Darrell Green was old and fast (and small).