Moss is gone; traded to Vikings for 3rd rounder

[Fafnir]

IMO The Jets game would have been a win if we didn’t keep trying for the long ball and just moved the chains with the short-to-intermediate passes.

The Jets are a defense that you can beat by moving down the field by a 10-15 play drive of short plays. They play press man coverage, blitz frequently, and are very good at creating pressure.

Trading Moss would be a big mistake if the locker room rift can at all be repaired. The Dolphins shifted their coverage to him for most of the game.

Brady hasn't been as sharp as in the past, combined with Moss's decline has limited his production so far this year. If they trade him I think they go from being a potential contender (not a favorite) to maybe missing the playoffs.

[Donoghus]

IMO The Jets game would have been a win if we didn’t keep trying for the long ball and just moved the chains with the short-to-intermediate passes.

The Jets are a defense that you can beat by moving down the field by a 10-15 play drive of short plays. They play press man coverage, blitz frequently, and are very good at creating pressure.

Trading Moss would be a big mistake if the locker room rift can at all be repaired. The Dolphins shifted their coverage to him for most of the game.

Brady hasn't been as sharp as in the past, combined with Moss's decline has limited his production so far this year. If they trade him I think they go from being a potential contender (not a favorite) to maybe missing the playoffs.

I tend to agree with all of this except the underlined part. 

With the exception of the 2nd half of the Jets game, Brady is looking extremely good this year.  The yardage may be down but he's still completing nearly 70% of his passes (69.7%) right now. His career % is 63.5 and he has 9 TDs to 2 Ints.  He is carrying this team  to their 3-1 record right now while the defense goes through its growing pains.   He's playing extremely well so far so I really don't buy the argument that he hasn't been as sharp as in the past. His accuracy now is as good as it has ever been in the past.  He certainly looks much more comfortable out there than last season. 

[PosImpos]

Enough getting younger.  If we're trading Moss, we need to be getting something for now as well as later.

[dpaps]

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4684669/projecting-the-pats-thinking-with-moss

Reiss says he has been unable to confirm that there have been talks but speculates if a deal is to be done it has to be Seymour Esque and that a 1st rounder might entice the pats

Honestly, I think it would be a no brainer if a first rounder were involved.  Moss is a real asset for the Pats, and would be missed, but its pretty hard to pry a first rounder from another team, and let's face it, Moss is on the downside of his career and not coming back to the Pats after this season.  Makes sense to get something for him now if possible.  That is, if something of real value (like a first rounder) can be gotten...

I was shocked when I first read this news, but if Tanguay's report (that Moss and BB had words) is true then it would make more sense. I don't know how I feel about this, He'll go wild if we do trade him to Minnesota. When Rice comes back, their offense will be crazy with Moss, Rice, Harvin in the slot, Peterson, and Shiancoe. If we trade Moss, it's certainly going to hurt this year's team, he just demands so much attention. I do think he's regressed (he absolutely should have caught that TD on the fake spike), but defenses respect him and Brady likes playing with him. I don't know how I'd like Tate being the primary outside WR. (Vincent Jackson or Branch to replace him??)

But if BB thinks Moss is about to blow up and is set on shipping him out, I'd really hate to trade him for a 3rd round pick, I'd be a little disappointed, but maybe okay with a 2nd round pick. I think we'd have to take a first. If we can get a first for him, I think we have to do it. We would be in position to come away from next year's draft with a class that could set the team for the next decade. We already have a solid young in place: Mayo, Mccourty, Chung, Meriweather, Spikes, Cunningham, Tate, Edelman, Vollmer, Hernandez, and Gronk.

Next year's draft will probably have a much more favorable rookie pay scale, and BB will cash in big time. Imagine having 3 first round picks, Oakland's will be top 10, maybe top 5. Plus  Carolina's 2nd round pick,  which very well may be the first pick in the 2nd round. That's pretty much 4 first round picks, plus our own 2nd, a third, and 2 fourths. haha wow. Getting Carolina's second round pick for a 3rd last year was serious robbery.

[Donoghus]

Here's my theory on things and its total speculation.

The media took a rumor and ran with it.  Taking pieces here and there and trying to connect to dots to create a mountatin of out a molehole.  There's little doubt that Moss is somewhat unhappy with his contract situation but the spectrum of how big or little this frustration is, runs to both extremes.  The media is going to take the juicier piece and theres its bad and Moss is causing major strife, blah, blah, blah.  That story simply engages people more and it could be true.  However, I think the media took a rumor and ran with it here to the extent its exploded into all sorts of speculation.

To me, the Patriots trade Moss under two scenarios;

A)  Moss has become an utter team cancer and  is uncontrollable.

or

B)  The Patriots hit a major slide real soon and its apparent the team is going nowhere this year.

Right now, IMO, I don't see either happening. My feel is that things in that locker room are not nearly as bad as the media wants it to be.  There are still plenty of veterans on that team to keep things from spiralling out of control.

[Mike-Dub]

Here's my theory on things and its total speculation.

The media took a rumor and ran with it.  Taking pieces here and there and trying to connect to dots to create a mountatin of out a manhole.  There's little doubt that Moss is somewhat unhappy with his contract situation but the spectrum of how big or little this frustration is, runs to both extremes.  The media is going to take the juicier piece and theres its bad and Moss is causing major strife, blah, blah, blah.  That story simply engages people more and it could be true.  However, I think the media took a rumor and ran with it here to the extent its exploded into all sorts of speculation.

To me, the Patriots trade Moss under two scenarios;

A)  Moss has become an utter team cancer and  is uncontrollable.

or

B)  The Patriots hit a major slide real soon and its apparent the team is going nowhere this year.

Right now, IMO, I don't see either happening. My feel is that things in that locker room are not nearly as bad as the media wants it to be.  There are still plenty of veterans on that team to keep things from spiralling out of control.

I hope that if what you are saying is true Donoghus, which I definitely think it could be, I hope it doesn't lead to scenario A.

[Fafnir]

IMO The Jets game would have been a win if we didn’t keep trying for the long ball and just moved the chains with the short-to-intermediate passes.

The Jets are a defense that you can beat by moving down the field by a 10-15 play drive of short plays. They play press man coverage, blitz frequently, and are very good at creating pressure.

Trading Moss would be a big mistake if the locker room rift can at all be repaired. The Dolphins shifted their coverage to him for most of the game.

Brady hasn't been as sharp as in the past, combined with Moss's decline has limited his production so far this year. If they trade him I think they go from being a potential contender (not a favorite) to maybe missing the playoffs.

I tend to agree with all of this except the underlined part. 

With the exception of the 2nd half of the Jets game, Brady is looking extremely good this year.  The yardage may be down but he's still completing nearly 70% of his passes (69.7%) right now. His career % is 63.5 and he has 9 TDs to 2 Ints.  He is carrying this team  to their 3-1 record right now while the defense goes through its growing pains.   He's playing extremely well so far so I really don't buy the argument that he hasn't been as sharp as in the past. His accuracy now is as good as it has ever been in the past.  He certainly looks much more comfortable out there than last season. 

The entire Jets game he was average to very poor, in particular in the second half. He kept lobbing up moonshots to Moss hoping for something good.

He's been inconsistent when I've watched them, he looked sharp against the Dolphins. But in every other game I've seen he's  been off. I'm holding him to a high standard, but that's based on his past work.

[jr_3421]

Agree with the people who put this trade in the Seymour/Maroney category where the Pats are trading 12 games (not including playoffs) of Moss for an upgrade in the draft.

However, I don't think a 3rd round pick is worth it unless we are getting some defensive help along with it. The first player I thought of was Antoine Winfield. I know he's old but I think we would be a HUGE upgrade at RCB.

[Rondo2287]

IMO The Jets game would have been a win if we didn’t keep trying for the long ball and just moved the chains with the short-to-intermediate passes.

The Jets are a defense that you can beat by moving down the field by a 10-15 play drive of short plays. They play press man coverage, blitz frequently, and are very good at creating pressure.

Trading Moss would be a big mistake if the locker room rift can at all be repaired. The Dolphins shifted their coverage to him for most of the game.

Brady hasn't been as sharp as in the past, combined with Moss's decline has limited his production so far this year. If they trade him I think they go from being a potential contender (not a favorite) to maybe missing the playoffs.

I tend to agree with all of this except the underlined part. 

With the exception of the 2nd half of the Jets game, Brady is looking extremely good this year.  The yardage may be down but he's still completing nearly 70% of his passes (69.7%) right now. His career % is 63.5 and he has 9 TDs to 2 Ints.  He is carrying this team  to their 3-1 record right now while the defense goes through its growing pains.   He's playing extremely well so far so I really don't buy the argument that he hasn't been as sharp as in the past. His accuracy now is as good as it has ever been in the past.  He certainly looks much more comfortable out there than last season. 

The entire Jets game he was average to very poor, in particular in the second half. He kept lobbing up moonshots to Moss hoping for something good.

He's been inconsistent when I've watched them, he looked sharp against the Dolphins. But in every other game I've seen he's  been off. I'm holding him to a high standard, but that's based on his past work.

Well I just don't really get it, except for the Jets game he has been completing passes at above a 70% clip, has 7 td's and no interceptions.  Sure he wasnt great in one half of football this year but thats it. 

And while he wasn't as sharp last year as he was in 2007, he also had probably his second best statistical year of his career and lead his team to the playoffs. 

If he is "inconsistent" I don't know that "consistency" is possible

[Jeff]

hope they flip the pick or use another pick to get another piece or two - can't keep punting seasons

[Fafnir]

IMO The Jets game would have been a win if we didn’t keep trying for the long ball and just moved the chains with the short-to-intermediate passes.

The Jets are a defense that you can beat by moving down the field by a 10-15 play drive of short plays. They play press man coverage, blitz frequently, and are very good at creating pressure.

Trading Moss would be a big mistake if the locker room rift can at all be repaired. The Dolphins shifted their coverage to him for most of the game.

Brady hasn't been as sharp as in the past, combined with Moss's decline has limited his production so far this year. If they trade him I think they go from being a potential contender (not a favorite) to maybe missing the playoffs.

I tend to agree with all of this except the underlined part. 

With the exception of the 2nd half of the Jets game, Brady is looking extremely good this year.  The yardage may be down but he's still completing nearly 70% of his passes (69.7%) right now. His career % is 63.5 and he has 9 TDs to 2 Ints.  He is carrying this team  to their 3-1 record right now while the defense goes through its growing pains.   He's playing extremely well so far so I really don't buy the argument that he hasn't been as sharp as in the past. His accuracy now is as good as it has ever been in the past.  He certainly looks much more comfortable out there than last season. 

The entire Jets game he was average to very poor, in particular in the second half. He kept lobbing up moonshots to Moss hoping for something good.

He's been inconsistent when I've watched them, he looked sharp against the Dolphins. But in every other game I've seen he's  been off. I'm holding him to a high standard, but that's based on his past work.

Well I just don't really get it, except for the Jets game he has been completing passes at above a 70% clip, has 7 td's and no interceptions.  Sure he wasnt great in one half of football this year but thats it. 

And while he wasn't as sharp last year as he was in 2007, he also had probably his second best statistical year of his career and lead his team to the playoffs. 

If he is "inconsistent" I don't know that "consistency" is possible

He's checking down a lot more, he hasn't been able to hit the deeper routes with the same accuracy. Stats wise you're right he's been "great". But most of those stats were piled up on the Bengals/Bills so *shrug*

[Rondo2287]

IMO The Jets game would have been a win if we didn’t keep trying for the long ball and just moved the chains with the short-to-intermediate passes.

The Jets are a defense that you can beat by moving down the field by a 10-15 play drive of short plays. They play press man coverage, blitz frequently, and are very good at creating pressure.

Trading Moss would be a big mistake if the locker room rift can at all be repaired. The Dolphins shifted their coverage to him for most of the game.

Brady hasn't been as sharp as in the past, combined with Moss's decline has limited his production so far this year. If they trade him I think they go from being a potential contender (not a favorite) to maybe missing the playoffs.

I tend to agree with all of this except the underlined part. 

With the exception of the 2nd half of the Jets game, Brady is looking extremely good this year.  The yardage may be down but he's still completing nearly 70% of his passes (69.7%) right now. His career % is 63.5 and he has 9 TDs to 2 Ints.  He is carrying this team  to their 3-1 record right now while the defense goes through its growing pains.   He's playing extremely well so far so I really don't buy the argument that he hasn't been as sharp as in the past. His accuracy now is as good as it has ever been in the past.  He certainly looks much more comfortable out there than last season. 

The entire Jets game he was average to very poor, in particular in the second half. He kept lobbing up moonshots to Moss hoping for something good.

He's been inconsistent when I've watched them, he looked sharp against the Dolphins. But in every other game I've seen he's  been off. I'm holding him to a high standard, but that's based on his past work.

Well I just don't really get it, except for the Jets game he has been completing passes at above a 70% clip, has 7 td's and no interceptions.  Sure he wasnt great in one half of football this year but thats it. 

And while he wasn't as sharp last year as he was in 2007, he also had probably his second best statistical year of his career and lead his team to the playoffs. 

If he is "inconsistent" I don't know that "consistency" is possible

He's checking down a lot more, he hasn't been able to hit the deeper routes with the same accuracy. Stats wise you're right he's been "great". But most of those stats were piled up on the Bengals/Bills so *shrug*

I just disagree.  I would say Brady is still top 2-3 in the league at throwing the deep ball.  But to say that he isnt as sharp because he doesn't hit the deep ball doesn't make very much sense.  His entire career has been based off intermediate passing and he has really developed the deep ball as a weapon the past few years.  Brady has been tops in the league at 15-20  yard passes for the past several years and i still think he is.  I guess im really just not seeing what your seeing.

[Rondo2287]

deal is done, Moss to Minny for third rounder

http://twitter.com/adam_schefter

[Roy H.]

deal is done, Moss to Minny for third rounder

http://twitter.com/adam_schefter

Wow.  I've got to say, I'm pretty surprised.  I would have thought the team's Super Bowl hopes were worth more than a mid- to late third rounder.  I understand Moss was becoming a distraction, but his production and presence made New England a more dangerous team.

I guess BB didn't think the team was a contender this year, so he looked toward the future.

[screwedupmaniac]

deal is done, Moss to Minny for third rounder

http://twitter.com/adam_schefter

Wow.  I've got to say, I'm pretty surprised.  I would have thought the team's Super Bowl hopes were worth more than a mid- to late third rounder.  I understand Moss was becoming a distraction, but his production and presence made New England a more dangerous team.

I guess BB didn't think the team was a contender this year, so he looked toward the future.

If the rest of our team steps up, we might not need Moss...I know, that is a HUGE if, but I still think we're at least a subpar playoff team without Moss.