Thursday, October 7, 2010

WHAT???


So before I get into anything, allow me to give you a history lesson on the world of professional wrestling.

Recently, Kane turned on his brother the Undertaker...again. Apparently, he said something about how he had this 12 year plan to overtake the Undertaker...and well, he beat him up and the Undertaker wasn't feeling well. They fought at a pay-per-view and the Undertaker looked sluggish and people thought he was done.

Then a couple weeks ago, Kane started ranting how he had destroyed the Undertaker when a casket came to the ring. Kane opened the casket to find his father, Paul Bearer (Yes, that's actually his name.) Paul Bearer had the magical urn that "controls the Undertaker." The lights went out and the Undertaker magically showed up in the ring and looked back to his old form. Kane was in trouble (until Paul Bearer turned on the Undertaker during their second encounter, but that's irrelevant right now).

Let's go to the NFL. Brett Favre has struggled in his second season with the Vikings. He has 2 touchdowns and 5 interceptions through 3 games. The receiving corps is in shambles with the injury of Sidney Rice and the craptacularness of Benard Berrian. Overall, the Vikings are 1-2.

On the other side of the border, the Packers looked unstoppable. Burning down villages and beating their football team and having sex with their women. All the offensive lineman carried Aaron Rodgers on one of those Egyptian-man-powered-gurney things. As a matter of fact Rodgers stood in front of the John Deere Cult and screamed "YOU BOW TO ME NOW!" (OK, I made that last part up.)

Then, came the most important tweet in Minnesota sports history. Bill Simmons, the master blogger of Boston sports, tweeted that the New England Patriots were in talks to send Randy Moss back to the Minnesota Vikings. Unfortunately, the tweet was supposed to be a direct message. Whoops.

Boston and Minneapolis media started chasing leads, and low and behold it was true. Randy Moss, who was probably the greatest receiver in the history of the Vikings, was returning to the place where he dominated from 1998 to 2004.

Upon talking to Brad Childress, Moss stated between Chilly's doldrums "Coach, I'm just happy to be home." How cool is that?

Well, there are a couple of different ways to go about this, so we'll look at three different perspectives.

NEW ENGLAND
I've been confused as to why Moss hasn't been involved in the Patriots offense more over the past couple of seasons. I was alerted to this last season, when I pulled my hair out while owning Moss in a fantasy football league. My arch nemesis? Wes Welker.

Routinely, Moss would record a couple of catches while Welker recorded 10-15 with 100 yards and a touchdown. What happened to the Tom Brady-Randy Moss connection from 2006, where Moss set a NFL record with 23 touchdowns in a single season? Is Tom Brady afraid to throw the ball down the field after he tore his ACL in 2007? Quite possible?

Or did Moss fall out of favor with the iron fist coaching staff in New England. It was reported that Moss got into a fight with the quarterbacks coach at halftime of Monday night's game vs. Miami. Hmmm...

So why did New England give Moss up? Do they know something that the Vikings don't? Or did Brady tire of Moss' antics? We'll never know. But what we have to ask is what is the Patriot offense going to do without Moss.

Defense is no longer the strength of that team, and getting rid of Moss means more attention to Wes Welker. With no efficient running game to fall back on, it's a curious move to put your offense into the hands of Julian Edelman and Danny Woodhead.

GREEN BAY
Packer fans entertain me.

I was checking out my Facebook news feed the other day when I stumbled across a status that said how sick a Packer fan was of all the Randy Moss status updates, profile pic changes, etc. This was followed by 21 comments of Packer fans saying "Hell Yeah", "Right On", and "I love you". Packer fans are no doubt passionate. Wait, I think I hear them right now.

I understand you're angry, the Vikings got one of the greatest receivers of all time, but don't act like you didn't have an opportunity to make things better.

First, prior to the 2007 season, the Packers had an opportunity to get Moss from the Oakland Raiders. Moss had a couple of bad seasons by the bay, and the Raiders were simply trying to get rid of him for a ham sandwich and a bag of potato chips. Brett Favre was the quarterback of the Packers at the time, and he demanded that the Packers get Moss so that he had a legitimate #1 target to throw to. Ted Thompson didn't listen, and that might have been the first seed that has Favre playing for the Vikings right now.

We all know what Moss did with the Patriots, but they only gave up a fourth round pick to get Moss. Yes, Randy Moss and 23 touchdowns added to your offense for a fourth round pick. Not a bad trade, but the Packers decided to build for the future.

It's not like they had a bad year, they were upset by the New York Giants in the NFC Championship game, but what if Moss had played for the Packers? Would Favre had won the Super Bowl that year and would there be a bronze statue outside of Lambeau already? I would bet yes, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

The Packers couldn't even make a low level trade to benefit their team right now. Marshawn Lynch was being shopped by the Buffalo Bills and the Packers again said no. Apparently they love three yard runs by Brandon Jackson and John Kuhn. (Ryan Grant, the normal Packers #1 back, is out for the season with a bad ankle injury)

Lynch was eventually dealt to the Seattle Seahawks for 2nd and 5th round picks. I understand the Packers are trying to build for the future, but how wise is that when, thanks to Harvey Den...I mean, Commissioner Goodell, there won't be a 2011 NFL season?

Also, yes, Viking fans are excited about the fact they obtained a future hall of fame receiver that is better than any receiver in the history of the Green Bay Packers. For a franchise that has zero Super Bowl wins, it's not a crime to try and go for everything. Especially when the team is going to be blown up post-lockout.

The argument can be made that the Vikings could be football's current version of the New York Yankees, or the Miami Heat. I agree, but if your team has a shot, why not go for it?

It makes the Packer/Viking rivalry even more fun as well. The two biggest villians in Packer history now play on the same team. Interesting. Let the games begin.

MINNESOTA
Randy Moss is a touchy subject in Minnesota. Half of Viking fans hated him for his off the field antics. Moss walked off the field early during games, ran over meter maids, and mooned his opponents.

However, half of the Viking fans see Moss as something more...

"Imagine if Marley came back to life and how happy Owen Wilson would be. That's how I feel about Randy Moss." - Paul Winkels

Moss was the first Viking player my brain actually wrapped around and made me a Vikings fan in 1998 (I used to love the 49ers with Steve Young and Jerry Rice in my really early years...dun dun dun!!!). He's my favorite football player and was devastated when he was traded to the Raiders in February 2005.

He was a lot of fun to watch on the field, and I was happy to see him succeed with the Patriots, so I'm excited to see him back in purple.

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