The Moss Effect

What a week. First we had the thrill of watching the Pats clean the Dolphin’s clock on Monday Night Football, after sitting through a very scary first half, that is. I was pumped the next day, thinking there was hope for this season after all.., and then Wednesday morning I woke up to the news that Randy Moss had been traded to the Vikings. I thought maybe I was still asleep and dreaming, or hadn’t heard correctly, and then, click, out went the power. Talk about a bad start to the day…

I needed more info, and I needed to check the breaker panel, so I made my way down stairs, grabbed a flashlight, and checked the panel. Nothing was tripped, so I got out my portable radio and went back up to the kitchen. As I shuffled around lighting candles, I found that our automatic coffee maker had finished its cycle before the power went off, thank God for small miracles. How lucky am I to have the coffee made and the alarm go off just before the power goes out? Maybe I had misheard the sports report, I was pretty groggy.

So I poured myself a cup and sat there by candlelight, sipping coffee and staring at the radio, waiting for the sports report. I didn’t have to wait long, because it was the lead story. As you’re well aware, it was true, and I was more than a little perplexed. What is it with these guys; just when things look brightest, BAM, they do something totally incomprehensible. Moss for a third round pick? Really? Oh man.

I sat there for a while until the power came back on. The beeps and boops as every device in the house cycled back on woke me from my reverie, and I got on with the start of the day, but I chewed on that news all morning. At first I was worried about losing the team’s only deep threat, and the pressure that would place on the short game, but once I got past my initial aggravation, I started to see things a little differently.

Although it’s been amazing having one of the best receivers in the game, it’s been obvious this season that the man was unhappy. His unhappiness seemed to peak right after Brady got his contract extension, and seeing that he was looking for the same thing, it was somewhat understandable. His timing left something to be desired, though. Airing his grievances after the season opening win took a little of the shine off of the day. The buzz during the following week was as much about Randy as it was about the win. While this performance alone isn’t enough to justify dumping a player as valuable as Moss, I was sure that there was more lurking just below the surface. Bill’s no rookie, so for him to make a drastic move like this, there had to be.

Sure enough, as the week wore on, all sorts of stories surfaced. Felger related a story about Brady calling Moss out last season for cutting his routes short, and then having to call him and apologize to get him to stop sulking. A friend of ours who’s a season ticket holder told us a story about Randy’s performance at a Kraft fund raiser, standing in the corner with those DJ cans of his on instead of paying attention to the speaker. That must have made Bob Kraft a happy man. The latest has Brady and Moss needing to be separated after a locker room spat recently. Although these incidents are all small things, they all add up to one big thing, trouble.

Bill Simmons summed it all up best in his column this week. I love his “Crazy Hot Chic” analogy; it’s so on the money, and a must read.

Simmons broke the story on Tuesday night via twitter, by the way. Gotta love that. There must have been a “real” journalist or two that was pissed about that. Take heed, boys and girls, it’s a brave new world, and news waits for no one.

Anyways, like it or not, it was probably time for Randy to take his show on the road. Belichick has gone to great lengths this season to right the ship, even going so far as to have all the past Super Bowl memorabilia removed in an effort to change the atmosphere, and we all know what happened with Thomas at the end of last season. There’s no room for griping and whining in a Belichick locker room. No sir, won’t do.

What does that mean for the team? Well, I have a feeling that we’ll look back on this week as the week the 2010 team solidified. Are they a better team? In some ways, yes, because discord is a powerful thing. Will Moss go on to have a productive season for the Vikings? Of course, because he’s playing for a contract. We’ll get to see soon enough, as the Vikes play the Jets tonight on MNF. This should be good on a lot of levels. My buddy Mark thinks that the Jet’s superfan that wears the fire helmet will be sporting some kind of appendage on top in honor of Brett Farve’s recent alleged adventures this week, and I think he’s probably right. Must see TV.

All of this drama aside, the real question, the one that everyone seems to have forgotten is; have the Patriots really gotten their mojo back? For the answer to that, we have to wait until next Sunday, but as my old Magic 8 Ball is fond of saying; "The outlook is good."

That is all.

Are You Ready For Some Patriots Football?

The long wait is almost over. The Pats open their season against the Bills on Monday Night Football tomorrow, and I’m just wishing the time away.

It’s been a year since we saw Tom Brady go down in that first game, a brutal year.

First, we worried about how badly Brady was injured, and then we worried about whether Cassel could cut it after a less than impressive preseason. Although he did well, it was another crushing blow to see them left out of the playoffs while teams with far inferior records played on.

Added to all this was the off season anxiety brought on by all the “will he be ready for next season” talk in the media. I’ll tell you what; I’m more than ready to get this show on the road.

Brady has looked pretty good in the preseason, but it just isn’t the same as seeing him on the field for a full 4 quarters, in a game that actually means something, and I won’t feel comfortable until they get this first game under their belts. I’m confident that this year’s team is better than the 2007, 18 and 1 team, as long as everyone is, and stays, healthy.

Normally I’d be watching a game like this at home in my lucky chair, surrounded by family, friends and pets, with steaks on the grill and every TV in the house tuned to ESPN, but the Football Gods have conspired against me and I’m on the road. I was really bummed about it at first, but then I had a brain storm!

I Googled Patriot Fan Clubs and found that there’s not one, but two where I am, one of which is at a sports bar owned by a former Patriot, and the other is run by a very nice person originally from Malden. If all goes well, i.e. my Monday at work doesn’t run too late and I hit the wall, I’m going to try and visit both, with camera in tow, and start a new feature: “Places to watch the Pats while traveling”.

So send me some good energy vibes, as it’s already been a long and arduous trip. My flight was overbooked, and then they had to swap planes due to mechanical difficulties. Once we finally got aboard, one of the passengers realized that she had left her purse and baby bag in the departure area, so we waited for someone to run them out to the tarmac. A happy ending ensued for the young mother, but then we taxied forever, as Logan was down to just one runway for both arrivals and departures (A very scary thought!).

I’m finally here and unpacked though, and ravenously hungry, so I’m off to forage for food. Hopefully I’ll have some pics later in the week of a famous member of Patriot Nation. Think blocked field goal, lateral and touchdown. A "Well Done" to the first reader that gets it.

Hey, what do you want for nothing? A rrrrrubber biscuit?

Go Pats!

Eat Bleep ESPN, The Pats are 12 and 0!

Oh my God, what a game!

Can you believe it? They come from behind again! No matter what, these guys come up big when the game’s on the line. Brady is undoubtedly the most clutch QB I’ve ever seen. Of course he had a little help from that nimrod Billick and his ill timed time out call. It was a big break, but it’s what you do when you get those big breaks that matters, and what Brady does is win.

At this point in the season the pressure on the Pats to go unbeaten has to be a major distraction. It doesn't matter that they say all the right things; you know it’s got to be weighing heavily on their minds. Add to that the fact that every team they play not only wants to be the one to knock them off, but also gets disrespected by the press the whole week leading up to the game. I doubt that there will be many more blowouts as long as they’re unbeaten.

It was an exciting game to watch but unfortunately we had to listen to those clowns in the booth. Three announcers and a guest all whooping it up and rooting against the Pats. It was disgusting. I guess ESPN doesn’t care about alienating all of New England. Tell you what; unless the Pats are playing I’ll never watch those monkeys again.

This is a pretty large market and we can only hope that the sponsors have a few words with ESPN. At the very least, everyone in New England should send them an email expressing their displeasure. Don’t forget to cc. WCVB while you’re at it. Oh yeah, crash those mail servers baby!