Jeff: Moss Walking the Plank

If you're a sports fan, you love rumors and trade speculation. If you're a Vikings fan and are sick of Randy Moss' antics, you're especially loving the talks about his exit out of Minnesota. But before you try and throw Moss overboard off the Good Ship Viking, allow me to remind you of this: RANDY MOSS WAS NOT THE REASON THE VIKINGS WERE .500 THIS SEASON!!! After walking off the field, and then the much overblown mooning incident, people seem to have forgotten what a healthy Randy Moss can do. Before he got hurt against New Orleans midway though the season, the Vikings had the #1 offense in football. That's right, better than Peyton Manning and the Colts. With a healthy Randy, it was Culpepper who was on pace to break Marino's records, not Manning. Moss made the Vikes' O unstoppable, and made Scott Linehan look competent, something that was much harder to do when Moss was hurt the rest of the season. Randy is the NFL's most dangerous weapon. Period.

Now, having said that, I do not agree with him walking off the field and do not agree with VIkings' management caudling him when he makes mistakes. Apparently some of the players agree. Moss was quoted this morning saying he really wants to return to the Vikings. Pro Bowl QB Daunte Culpepper's response? "...maybe the Vikings have had enough of (Moss') erratic behavior." Not exactly a ringing endorsement from the guy in charge of getting Randy the rock. An irreconcilable situation like the Cubs had with Sammy Sosa? For the sake of the team, let's hope not.

Here's my point: the Vikings don't NEED to trade Randy Moss. His antics were not the reason the Vikings collapsed down the stretch again. His pouting and selfishness did not keep this team from reaching the Super Bowl. Terrell Owens was every bit the malcontent Moss is, single-handedly destroying a franchise in San Francisco, and weasling his way out of another in Baltimore. Yet ask anyone in Philly about his impact this season with the Eagles, and they'll say he's the greatest thing since the cheesesteak. Winning does this. THe Vikings, because of a terrible defense, only know what that's like for the first half of a season. When the going gets tough however, the defense gets going, and so do any chances of the Vikes steering their ship to the Super Bowl.

If the Vikings get blown away by a trade offer for Moss this offseason, one that includes some stud defenders and high draft picks, they would be crazy not to pull the trigger. But if teams make low-ball offers, the Vikes shouldn't hesitate to hang onto Randy for one more season. THey don't need to be put into a fire-sale mode with Moss. If you can't get a deal for what he's worth, shore up the defense through free-agency and the draft (an actual possibility for the first time in a decade if Glen Taylor buys the team, which is the rumor). Give this great offense a defense to go with it, then see what winning does to team chemistry and to Moss. If they win and Moss is still a distraction, and he really DOES become the reason the Vikes don't go to Detroit next February, then you throw him off the Vikings ship for whatever you can get. If there's no blockbuster on the table for him now, trading him next year won't net you much less than teams are offering at the moment. But if he does perform and does focus on team, which he did in both '98 and '01 when the Purple advanced to the NFC Championship, then you've still got the NFL's most dangerous weapon and all the shenanigans from this past season will be water under the bridge, or in this case, the Good Ship Viking, as it finally sets sail towards the Super Bowl.