Carolina Panthers cornerback Chris Gamble accused Patriots receiver Randy Moss of shutting it down during the Patriots’ 20-10 victory yesterday at Foxboro. What’s next? Will Gamble tell us it was cold and rainy throughout New England?

Gamble told us something we all watched for three hours. And if we’re being honest with ourselves, we knew this was part of the package with Moss when the Patriots acquired him in 2007. If Moss didn’t have a reputation for quitting on his team, the Patriots never would have scored the game’s most gifted wide receiver at the ripe age of 30 for the cost of a fourth-round pick. Earlier in his career, Moss had forced his way out of Minnesota in 2005 by leaving the field in the closing seconds of a loss. Looking back, we can assume this might be the very moment that sparked Patriots coach Bill Belichick’s interest. He, too, can’t stand waiting on the sideline until the final whistle during a loss.

Moss further cemented his reputation as a quitter during his two seasons in Oakland, when he openly shared that he was going through the motions for a lost franchise. In his final season as a Raider in 2006, Moss had 42 catches for 553 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games.

"Don't hit me hard." (AP)

So when Moss joined the team in 2007, we knew there might be a few rough patches for Moss like the one he had last week. We figured things never ended well for Moss at any of his various NFL or college stops. He was kicked out of Florida State University as a freshman, he was shipped out of Minnesota for what ended up being a backup linebacker, and he was traded out of Oakland for a fourth-round draft pick. For a man who has caught 144 touchdown passes in the NFL, Moss seems to hold the same value as a backup offensive lineman when it comes time to trade him away.

Yesterday, Moss was a turnover waiting to happen. He jogged out a short out route in the first quarter. Gamble jumped it, seeming to run a cleaner pattern than the man who knew the route. Gamble fought for the ball — something Patriots quarterback Tom Brady seemed to urge Moss to do more of following last week’s loss to Miami — and came out with an interception, which led to the Panthers’ only touchdown. Later in the first half, Moss fumbled at the end of a 16-yard reception, again showing little fight in attempting to recover his own fumble. In the second half, Brady seemed to avoid Moss at all costs, and when he did come the receiver’s way, he dropped the ball.

This week, we’ll hear many dramatic statements about Moss. Some will say Belichick should give him the Adalius Thomas treatment next week, making him a healthy scratch. Others will say Belichick should release him right now. Many will say the Patriots can’t win a Super Bowl with Moss on the team. That’s false. The Patriots were a a couple of dropped interceptions away from winning a Super Bowl and having a perfect season with Moss in 2007. That year, he had 1,493 receiving yards and an NFL-record 23 touchdowns. You can win with guys like that.

However, the Patriots may not be able to win with the Moss they’ll have at their disposal moving forward. In the last eight days, he listlessly attempted to break up an interception in the end zone against Miami, showed up late for a Wednesday practice and was kicked out along with three other players, jogged through a route on a pass attempt that was intercepted and fumbled away his lone reception of a game in which he dropped several other passes. If we look at Moss’ career, he doesn’t have a track record of bouncing back from that type of performance. When things are good, Moss is great. When the going gets tough, Moss checks out.

For now, the Patriots still have a receiver who has caught 69 passes for 1,074 yards and nine touchdowns in 13 games. They don’t have a qualified third receiver, so they can’t exactly bench their top deep threat. They can’t even give Moss any tough love, because he’s not the type of guy who responds to negativity. He needs to feel loved and coddled. Belichick can’t treat him the same way he treats Adalius Thomas. If the Patriots are going to maximize Moss’ value, they’ll likely have to get him involved in the offense early in all future games. Throw him a wide receiver screen on the opening drive just to make sure he doesn’t lull himself to sleep running decoy routes. Perhaps this situation can be salvaged in the immediate future.

However, salvaging this in the long run will require Belichick to act out of character. He’ll have to make concessions for one player and coddle that player’s ego. He’ll have to spend extra time on a player who clearly doesn’t appear to have football very high on his list of priorities. He’ll have to explain to Adalius Thomas why he was benched while Moss was able to run half-hearted routes for 60 minutes yesterday afternoon. Deep down, we probably always knew the relationship between Belichick and Moss would end badly. Now we seem to have a better read on an expiration date.

Other thoughts from around the NFL …

McNabb knows best. In a strange reversal of fortune, Eagles fans were treated to a late-season victory last evening in which Donovan McNabb did all of the clutch things he needed to do to bail out a porous defense. It was almost as if McNabb had access to all of the same information everyone else had during the Eagles’ 45-38 victory. He was aware of the score, the play clock, the game clock and the fact that his defense couldn’t stop the Giants from accumulating 500-plus yards of total offense. He seemed to answer each shift in momentum with a touchdown drive of his own. Credit McNabb for learning that he should keep his eyes on the field at all times during his 11th season.

JaMarcus is back! Raiders quarterback Bruce Gradkowski was injured during the the team’s 34-13 loss to the Redskins yesterday, and JaMarcus Russell reassumed his rightful position as the NFL’s worst quarterback. From the perspective of someone who caught this game out of the corner of my eye at a bar, I can tell you I had the following observations throughout the game.

5 p.m. “That Redskins-Raiders game isn’t that awful. Both of those teams are still playing pretty hard even though their records are bad. It’s amazing how much of a boost the Raiders received after they benched JaMarcus.”

5:45 p.m. “Hey, it looks like JaMarcus is back in that Raiders game. Why would they bench Gradkowski if the game’s tied 10-10? Oh, he’s injured?”

7 p.m. “Wow, that game really got away from the Raiders. It’s 34-13. How did that happen? It was 10-10 about an hour ago. God, I hope they post JaMarcus Russell’s stat line.”

Here’s the line, folks: 10 of 18 passing for 74 yards and an interception (47.4 QB rating). Welcome back, JaMarcus.

The fantasy is over. I upheld my annual December fantasy football tradition yesterday, getting absolutely routed in the first round of the playoffs. I had my worst week of the season, and my opponent posted a huge number. I think he had Brandon Marshall, Andre Johnson and Chris Johnson. Whatever. Anyway, a few questions remain after a tough season of fantasy football. When your fantasy team has a bye, are you rooting for your players to do well, or are you hoping they have a light week? When you make a controversial roster move before a game, do you have to tell your players they’re benched, or do you ask your coordinator to do it? Finally, are Ronnie Brown and Brian Westbrook going to help me pay the $100 entrance fee for my league, or am I on the hook for that on my own?

Later, Dallas. The Cowboys dropped to 5-11 in December over the last three seasons with a loss to the Chargers. And Jerry Jones should understand this is what you get when you ask the Pillsbury Doughboy to coach your team.

20 Comments for “It’s time for Moss to go”

1. JamarcusOakland#2 Says:
   December 14th, 2009 at 9:18 am

   Dear “Every NFL Defense”,

   Fun time is over. The last few weeks must have been great, but I’ve got to rain on your parade. Your worst nightmare is now a harsh reality. By the time you realize what has just happened, it’s already too late. See you in the endzone.

   Love,

   JRuss

2. Johnny Walker Says:
   December 14th, 2009 at 12:00 pm

   Are you serious…Moss Go!!

   The problem is Tom’s Tunnell Vision – he is not spreading the ball out.

   The second Problem is the bogus play calling – vanilla

   With only two legitimate threats on offense it is easy to shut this group down.

   Maroney cares more about his dreadlocks than football – cut your hair and run Larry run!!

3. chris Says:
   December 14th, 2009 at 12:41 pm

   If Tom Brady and Bill can not motivate Randy then a healthy scratch may be the best route to go. If he is going to give the effort he gave yesterday we won’t miss him….except now they will double Welker which may shut our offense, such as it is, down.

4. Storm8 Says:
   December 14th, 2009 at 12:43 pm

   Moss Must Go?????

   This is the most irresponsible sentiment ever. Find something to write about instead of trying to run another athlete out of town. The play calling is awful, there are a number of problems with the offense, include a QB who hasn’t been himself and is not distributing the ball which has been a trademark of Patriot Offenses – remember no number one? Where do you think Sean Peyton got his offense? Not to mention we have runingbacks who have come down with a case of the fumbles. A guy has a bad game in 2 and a half years and he needs to go????? You don’t have a clue what is going on with Randy. Please tell me, where should he go? To the Jets?

5. NC Says:
   December 14th, 2009 at 1:01 pm

   Chris, what position do you play?

6. Jack DeCarolis Says:
   December 14th, 2009 at 2:54 pm

   Yea thats it. Lose the best wide receiver in football. Are you nuts or just smoking some funny sh*t?

7. Favre Superfan! Says:
   December 14th, 2009 at 3:36 pm

   First off, #4 on the Vikings would be the best reciever in football if he played the position. Second, he could motivate Randy Moss, a 16 year-old high school dropout, and Dave Chapelle all at once in the time it takes you to put on a crisp pair of Wranglers.

8. positive pat fan Says:
   December 14th, 2009 at 4:01 pm

   get rid of moss? (lol) obviously this writer for weei is not getting payed for his ridiculous comments. moss is only in the top ten in evry wr catagory and he has had 3 games recently with no production do the math mr. prof writer? has anyone in these media oulets watched any games? moss doesnt quit the defenses put double coverages on him why because the only other receiver the pats have is welker. our 3rd wr is faulk a 3rd down rb (36) catches oh yeah the 4th rec. is edelman a qb no more then 8 months ago (26) catches, aiken a career special teamer is our#5 wr with a grand total of (17)catches and then there is stanback another qb no more then 4 months ago with (3) catches. i would say its easier to shut down one of your wepons when you only have two wake up an smell the coffee

9. Primo Deano Says:
   December 14th, 2009 at 4:53 pm

   Positive Pat Fan – Is your 3rd grade teacher mad that you’re playing around on blogs instead of doing your classwork?

10. The real deal Says:
    December 14th, 2009 at 5:46 pm

    This is a terrible piece. You mention Chris Gamble…who was on the losing end to the patriots, and was quoted after the loss…OBVIOUSLY Randy had a bad game, but Gambles going to do anything to avert the attention from his team’s loss! Brady and Bellichick backed him up. Thats all that matters.

11. tom brady Says:
    December 14th, 2009 at 5:50 pm

    The plan to get Randy happy again will be to throw to him 20 times against Buffalo – no matter what the outcome. Randy has a bi-polar depression issue that he is trying – or rather – attempting to deal with. He will either catch or be crushed for good. His choice. Come on Randy, you are better than you think you are. You are better than you think you are.

12. Jimminy Crickets Says:
    December 14th, 2009 at 8:26 pm

    first off… this is the worst piece i’ve seen, I cant believe WEEI let this on their website. Second, I agree with you positive PATS FAN…and Primo Deano…come on man… MOSS had a couple bad games and everyone makes this into something it isnt… he will be back in a big way, no he doesnt respond well to criticism, but he also doesnt need to be coddled…he is self motivated for a RING… otherwise he wouldnt have came back here and just go to the eagles… COME ON PATS!!! we can be a sleeper in the playoffs if everyone can just start showing some heart! thats all theyre lacking… well another cb and lb wouldnt hurt either…

13. mike Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 5:43 am

    coming from a nobody “blogger” …thats funny…….go back to the hole you came out of

14. k. mannix says Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 3:52 pm

    Randy is pouting becuse he feels that the management activities have
    let the players down for the 09 season..ie trade richard S. for money
    help in 10 and 11..bad for 09 right?.. no proven third receiver this
    year..again bad for 09?..no proven offensive coordinater causing very
    predicable play calling..bad for 09 right? will he(moss)be around in 2011?
    probably not!! so he wants to win now.. give him one more game if he stinks
    it up again in buffalo..cut his butt on monday along with AD..whos running this team anyway?? the inmates ??

15. Is Dan Guttenplan a real person Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 3:54 pm

    According to Google, he is a real person, but as most of you have already noticed he isn’t a real sports writer. Keep Moss and send the Boston sports media home for a day. At least it would be a peaceful day.

16. TheGravy Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 6:17 pm

    Jesus Christ! The man has written 5 articles a week for nearly the full 52. He turns in a questionable entry and everyone wants to castrate him. The fact is that Moss has a history, a repeated history, of quitting on teams. He’s another incredibly talented but highly sensitive reciever. Guttenplan is entitled to his opinion, and inane though you may find it, his conclusions are based on his survey and intepretation of the facts. Call it BS if you see it that way but don’t condemn the author for opinion, however unpopular it may be.

    That being said, I agree its a bit premature to send Moss packing, though he did play like an absolute sally last week. Lets see if he Nance’s it up again Sunday.

17. Brother Battle Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 8:53 pm

    Lets see how open Welker would get if there wasn’t the threat of Moss behind him!! Even if Moss is standing there smoking a Newport you have to watch him and that alone lets Welker and Faulk do there thing!! I know you wrote this to get people to read it and you hit a home run but there is no way in hell you believe this! The problem is play calling and the one group that has made it without getting jumped on is the O-Line!! 07 brady could stand there all day and with time Moss will kill you!! Reves is good but most of that was Brady was being pressured by the jets or hit while throwing it! and dont tell me they single coverd moss when welker gets 15 catches with know one around him!! How many times has Brady missed a wideopen guy deep because he is getting leveled when he threw it? He missed Aiken in N.O for a shore TD that would have made it a 7 point game with 10 min left and he missed him again at miami in the 4th! Moss is still is on his way to the pro bowl and if he is dogging it… what the hell is everyone else’s problem!!

18. Jigga Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 11:49 pm

    Do you fools listen to music or do you just skim through it?

19. Freud Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 11:56 pm

    “Randy has a bi-polar depression issue that he is trying – or rather – attempting to deal with. He will either catch or be crushed for good. His choice.”

    Well said, Tom. Not just a pretty face, I see.

    This is some of the most insightful analysis since I came up with the theory that you wanna bang your mom.

20. Ian Trombley Says:
    September 10th, 2011 at 7:08 pm

    Hello there! I know this is kinda off topic however , I’d figured I’d ask. Would you be interested in exchanging links or maybe guest authoring a blog article or vice-versa? My website addresses a lot of the same topics as yours and I feel we could greatly benefit from each other. If you’re interested feel free to send me an e-mail. I look forward to hearing from you! Terrific blog by the way!

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