Randy Moss, New England Patriots / Image: Zuma Press

Today, coach Belichick sent four players home because they were late arriving to practice. One of those players was receiver Randy Moss. Of course, many people look at Randy’s behavior as an early sign of defiance because he has had a tendency to become disgruntled and drift off into a world of neglect when things aren’t going his way. And lately things have not been going his way (just five catches in those last two losses). Still, I wonder what kind of punishment a day off is? Coach Belichick wouldn’t elaborate on the details of the discipline because that’s the team’s policy, but I hope a stiff fine was included because that’s really the only way to punish a player at this level.

The Patriots are a team in trouble. And until they get everyone on the same page (as they’ve done when they’ve been successful), they are a long way from a lock to make the playoffs this season.

Source: Patriots.com

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Bill Belichick Sends Randy Moss Home

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The New England Patriots signed free agent receiver Joey Galloway (recently released by Tampa Bay) to a one-year contract today. Terms of the deal weren’t available at the time of this post, but this is another perfect pickup for the Pats. New England has a knack for finding wily veterans who still have just enough “in the tank” to produce in a system that allows them to thrive to the absolute best of their abilities. With Tom Brady throwing the football and Randy Moss on the other side of the field, this decision was a no-brainer. He’ll fit in as the third receiver (with Wes Welker the number two) and give the Patriots another option to stretch the field with. Even though last season was a forgettable one for Joey (13 catches, 138 yards and a foot injury), if he can stay healthy, he should enjoy a very productive season in New England.

Source: ESPN.com, Photo: Newscom

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Patriots Sign Joey Galloway

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To update my previous post on Tom Brady’s knee injury, Yahoo! Sports reports that it was a torn ACL in his left knee and Tom’s season is over. This certainly changes things in the AFC. Not only does it make the New England Patriots much less than invincible in the conference, it opens the door for AFC East teams like the N.Y. Jets and Buffalo Bills, who both won their Kickoff Weekend games today. Not that backup QB Matt Cassel can’t do the job (I don’t know, maybe he can’t), but I wonder if Daunte Culpepper would consider coming out of retirement now to rejoin former teammate Randy Moss? It would be an interesting and entertaining scenario, wouldn’t it?

Source: Yahoo! Sports, Photo: Newscom

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Tom Brady Tears ACL, Season Over

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While John Lynch was grabbing headlines in New England by joining the Patriots today, all-world wide receiver Randy Moss spoke with reporters for the first time during this training camp. And he was candid about his feelings for the upcoming season:

“I am actually kind of nervous. The reason why is because of what we did last year as a whole unit. We are going to try to come out and put points on the board. That is what we are coached and asked to do. The expectations and the bar are set so high here. Not by you, all or the fans, but just by the coaches and the team. We have high expectations for this offense and this team as a unit.”

I don’t think there’s really any cause for concern, but trying to follow-up an undefeated regular season obviously isn’t going to be easy. I’ll give him that. In fact, the odds they will go 16-0 again are astronomical. In other words, it won’t happen. But the Patriots are still going to be one of the National Football League’s best teams and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see them representing the AFC in Tampa for Super Bowl XLIII.

Source: The Providence Journal

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Randy Moss is ‘Kind of Nervous’

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It’s been a big day in Big D. Shortly after it was announced that Dallas Cowboys cornerback Pacman Jones had received limited reinstatement from Commissioner Roger Goodell, wide receiver Terrell Owens received a four-year, $34 million contract extension from the team. The $27 million he’s going to make over the next three seasons ranks him alongside Randy Moss, Javon Walker and Larry Fitzgerald as one of the highest paid wide receivers in the NFL. T.O. will receive a total of $13 million guaranteed. He is now under contract through 2011.

This was an issue the Cowboys needed to put behind them — before it became an issue. T.O. is too sensitive to feel slighted in the least, so the team did what they needed to do. It was a smart move. Does T.O. deserve that much money? Well, I guess I would rank him among the top five players at his position, so why not? And he’s a hard worker, I’ll give him that. I doubt he’ll have any trouble earning his keep. His first two years in Dallas have been very impressive. He led the Cowboys in receiving in ‘06 and ‘07 while piling up club records. And his 28 TD catches over the past two seasons are more than any other receiver, including Randy Moss, who set the league record for TDs in a single-season last year. Pay that man. It’s a done deal.

Source: Ft. Worth Star Telegram, Photo: Newscom

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Cowboys Give Terrell Owens $34M Deal

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The United States Postal Service honored New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss with a limited-edition envelope in his home state of West Virginia today. The envelope contains an illustration of Randy, his career and 2007 statistics, a Charleston postmark and a canceled first-class stamp featuring a Patriots helmet. About 500 of the 5,000 envelopes made available to the public were snatched up at $6 apiece at Appalachian District post offices earlier this morning.

Randy is well-known in the community for his love and generosity toward children. He holds autograph sessions every summer and often takes busloads of kids to amusement parks and professional sporting events. He offered an emotional thank you to a crowd of about 250 people during a ceremony at the state Cultural Center, saying in-part:

“I’m not going to (stop) continuing what I set out to do, and that is to better (things) for people here. Not for my good, but for their good to see that there is happiness, that there are better things out there ….. I need the help from people here in this state … when it comes to these kids and trying to show them there is a better way and a better world. Hopefully somebody 20-30 years from now will be sitting up here receiving this same envelope.”

Randy is only the third West Virginia athlete to be honored with the envelope. The others were NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West, a native of Chelyan, and Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton, formerly of Fairmont.

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U.S. Postal Service Honors Randy Moss

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With free agency just hours away, I still can’t believe the New England Patriots don’t have a deal in place for wide receiver Randy Moss. His record-setting 2007 more than earned him the right to have been signed to a long-term deal by the Pats. He kept his nose clean and was a leader and good teammate. He’s Tom Brady’s favorite target. What more needs to be said? I feel like as soon as I publish this, news will break of his signing … with the Patriots. Still, New England has a lot to consider. They have a slew of free agents and have the difficult task of deciding who they can keep. Remember, this was an 18-1 team last season. A roster overhaul isn’t really an ideal game plan. Who am I to question the mighty Patriots, though. They seem to find a way to make it work.

It’s always easy to assume the teams with the most money to spend will do the most spending in free agency. But what each team must do is look at their needs and decide what holes can be filled best in free agency or the upcoming Draft. And for those teams without a lot of cash to spend, it doesn’t mean they won’t be active. Obviously they have fewer options, but if there’s a player out there they want, they’ll do what they have to to get after him.

Here are my Top 10 free agents heading into tomorrow’s free-for-all:

1. Randy Moss, WR, Patriots
2. Michael Turner, RB, Chargers
3. Alan Faneca, G, Steelers
4. Lance Briggs, LB, Bears
5. Asante Samuel, CB, Patriots
6. Marion Barber, RB, Cowboys
7. Justin Smith, DE, Bengals
8. Bernard Berrian, WR, Bears
9. Tony Richardson, FB, Vikings
10. Derek Anderson, QB, Browns

Other players I really like (in no particular order) are Daunte Culpepper (QB, Raiders); Chris Brown (RB, Titans); Jerry Porter (WR, Raiders); Ernest Wilford (WR, Jags); Donte Stallworth (WR, Patriots); Jesse Chatman (RB, Dolphins); Julius Jones (RB, Cowboys); Atari Bigby (DB, Packers); and Lorenzo Neal (FB, who was released by the Chargers) and DeShaun Foster (RB, who was released by the Panthers). There are a lot of good players that will be available soon.

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Randy Moss Leads Top 10 NFL Free Agents

Franchise and transition players for the 2008 NFL free agency signing period that begins on February 29 were announced today. Don’t know what a franchise or transition player is? Here’s your quick 101. A club can designate one “franchise” player or one “transition” player among its veteran free agents. The salary offer by a player’s club determines what type of franchise player he is. An “exclusive” franchise player — not free to sign with another club — is offered a minimum of the average of the top five salaries at the player’s position as of April 18, or 120 percent of the player’s previous year’s salary, whichever is greater. Oakland Raiders CB Nnamdi Asomugha was designated by the Raiders this year as an exclusive franchise player. If the player is offered a minimum of the average of the top five salaries of last season at his position, or 120 percent of the player’s previous year’s salary, he becomes a “non-exclusive” franchise player and can negotiate with other clubs. His club can match a new club’s offer, or receive two first-round draft choices if it decides not to match. The signing period for non-exclusive franchise players to sign with new clubs is February 29 through the 10th week of the season (November 11).

A transition player receives a minimum offer of the average of the top 10 salaries of last season at the player’s position or 120 percent of the player’s previous year’s salary, whichever is greater. A transition player designation gives the club a first-refusal right to match within seven days an offer sheet given to the player by another club after his contract expires. If the club matches, it retains the player. If it does not match, it receives no compensation.

That wasn’t so complicated, was it? Anyway, here are the franchise players for 2008. There was only one transition player named and that was Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Max Starks.

• Jared Allen, DE, Kansas City
• Stacy Andrews, G, Cincinnati
• Nnamdi Asomugha, CB, Oakland
• Karlos Dansby, LB, Arizona
• Jordan Gross, T, Carolina
• Ken Hamlin, S, Dallas
• Albert Haynesworth, DT, Tennessee
• L.J. Smith, TE, Philadelphia
• Terrell Suggs, LB, Baltimore
• Marcus Truffant, CB, Seattle
• Corey Williams, DT, Green Bay

A lot of people were up-in-arms because New England Patriots WR Randy Moss hadn’t been franchised, thus making the Patriots’ intentions for him unclear. I feel certain the Pats have an arrangement with Randy already in-place. How else can you explain it? New England just isn’t dumb enough to let the best wide receiver in football get away from them. But if Randy and the Patriots do have a multiyear contract in-place, it cannot be announced until February 29.

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Franchise and Transition Players Named

Just as an NFL player watches game film to prepare for his next opponent, I watched my share of previous Super Bowl Media Days on YouTube to get ready for today. But nothing could really replace being here. Media Day at the Super Bowl features a throng of reporters from all over the world. And a record number participated today.

Naturally, 2007 National Football League MVP Tom Brady was the center of attention as he had the most traffic around his podium. And I thought he handled it very well. Which is not surprising for someone who has had to get used to being in the spotlight both on and off the field. I didn’t even bother sticking my nose into that mob scene, preferring rather to talk with those players who were meandering about. But Tom was getting the most questions. He even received a wedding proposal from a reporter from TV Azteca in Mexico. Naturally, he declined, but the way he worked through the sometimes stupidity and absurdity of this “circus” was a thing of beauty. He’s done this before. He knew what to expect. And he more than made the best of it, although he admitted he prefers talking about football over his personal life:

“You just deal with whatever question is asked, and try to handle it the best you can. I’m obviously more comfortable answering the football questions. Those are much easier for me.”

We had one hour to speak to the players. My challenge was to get to as many as possible and take pictures as well. Having never worked Media Day before, I had a ballpark number of players in my mind to talk to (5-10) and had specific questions for specific players. I also had general team questions that any player could answer. But despite all the homework I did, I could not possibly know every single player. So I stuck with those I knew. If one player was busy talking to someone else, I either waited or moved on to another. I found that waiting was more or less a waste of time.

The Patriots who were at podiums/risers were Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison, Laurence Maroney, Bill Belichick, Asante Samuel, Tom Brady, Richard Seymour, Randy Moss, Mike Vrabel, Junior Seau and Vince Wilfork. In designated areas in the stands were team owner Robert Craft, VP of Player Personnel Scott Pioli, Troy Brown, Kevin Faulk, Larry Izzo, Ty Warren and Wes Welker. The rest just mixed and mingled.

For the BIGPLAY Radio NFL Podcast, I spoke with Logan Mankins, James Sanders, Kelley Washington, Ty Warren, and Benjamin Watson. Adalius Thomas, who seemed a little agitated and ready to leave before the hour had elapsed, commented on my meticulous notetaking. “Look at you,” he said. “You’ve got everything written out.” I nodded approvingly: “This is what I do.” (Actually, I would like to have individually laminated sheets and a color-coding system like NFL coaches. Hey, I take this seriously. Maybe too seriously.) Anyway, Adalius was one of the few who refused a cell phone interview from a reporter. I saw quite a few players doing “mobile interviews” which I thought was unusual. I guess my feeling was you should either be here at the event or be out of luck. Otherwise, those of us that are here are standing around waiting for the cell phone interview to end. It’s like being at a retail store and having the clerk attend to a phone call instead of dealing with the customer who’s in the store. That was kind of irritating.

Anyway, it was a quick hour. Of course, I felt like I needed more time but one hour is sufficient and really all that can be expected from the players. The media proceeded to brunch for a 60-minute break while a field crew prepped for the Giants.

Photos by David Kindervater

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SBXLII Media Day: New England Patriots

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It’s a one-game season for the teams in this weekend’s Conference Championship games. Win and you’re on your way to sunny Glendale, AZ for Super Bowl XLII on February 3. Lose and it’s the sudden beginning of a long offseason. “Our whole season is at stake and so is theirs,” says New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick in describing his AFC Championship Game against the San Diego Chargers. The same can be said for the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game.

• Both games are rematches of Week 2 meetings this season (it is the 16th time since 1970 that both championship games were rematches). But both winning coaches, Bill Belichick (Patriots) and Mike McCarthy (Packers) say that their opponents are different teams now.
• The clubs combined for an .800 regular/postseason winning percentage (56-14).
• The teams are hot, no matter what streak you look at. New England is scalding, continuing on an unbeaten season at 17-0. San Diego has won eight in a row. New York is 10-1 on the road (no road team has ever played in a championship game with that road record). Green Bay has won eight of its nine home games this year.
• In action this Sunday will be the NFL’s career leader in quarterback wins and touchdown passes (Brett Favre), the season TD-pass record-holder (Tom Brady), the season sack leader (Michael Strahan), and the running back who has led the league in rushing the past two years (LaDainian Tomlinson).

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (13-5) at NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (17-0)
The players and personalities on these teams can exert their own game-changing influence on the matchup, but the bottom line to the meeting could be turnovers. San Diego led the league in takeaways (48; with a league-leading 30 interceptions), while New England had only 15 giveaways, best in the league (and only nine interceptions, third-best). That said, San Diego will face an offense seldom seen in the NFL. The Patriots set the season record this year for points (589) and touchdowns (75) and scored at least 24 points in 16 of their 17 games. Led by the 2007 NFL MVP, QB Tom Brady, New England seems capable of adjusting to anything defenses throw at it. Limit the pass (if that can be done) and they go to the run, or vice versa. Perhaps nothing illustrates this ability more than the Patriots’ Divisional Playoff game against Jacksonville. The Jags double- and sometimes triple-teamed WR Randy Moss, who set the NFL season TD-reception record (23) this year. What did Tom Brady do? He completed 26 of 28 attempts (for an NFL record 92.9 completion percentage) to eight different receivers for 262 yards – with only one pass going to Randy. The Chargers will come in to their rematch with the Patriots (they lost at New England 38-14 on September 16) somewhat limited. But that concerns Coach Belichick. RB LaDainian Tomlinson (knee), QB Phillip Rivers (knee) and TE Antonio Gates (toe) are hurting. Phillip would be replaced by veteran Billy Volek, who led San Diego to the winning score in the Divisionals. MY PICK: How can I go against the undefeated Patriots, a team I’ve been touting as the eventual Super Bowl champion since before training camp started? I can’t. I won’t.

NEW YORK GIANTS (12-6) at GREEN BAY PACKERS (14-3)
If anyone exhibits how teams can change during a season, it’s these two. Back in Week 2 (a 35-13 Green Bay win in New York), the Packers were worried about their running game, and even Brett Favre (who would become the NFL’s winningest QB ever in that game) was saying the Pack needed to be able to mix the run with the pass. The Giants? Their concern — a big one — was their defense, with new packages put in under new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. By the end of the Green Bay game, the Giants had surrendered 80 points in the season’s first two games. Going into the NFC Championship, how things have changed. It took five more games for Green Bay to find its running game — in Ryan Grant, who grew up 20 miles from Giants Stadium (Ramsey, NJ). Ryan was a practice squad player/injured for the Giants for two years before Green Bay traded for him right before the season. All Ryan did since Week 8 was run for 1,130 yards and 11 TDs, including a Packers’ playoff record last Saturday with 201 rushing yards. Meanwhile, from a gritty goal-line stand against Washington in Week 3, the Giants’ defense began to take form, Spagnuolo’s shifting schemes and player rotation up front began to mesh, and New York has allowed only 18.9 points-per-game through the Divisionals since the Green Bay game. So how will this all pan out Sunday in what is expected to be sub-freezing temperatures at Lambeau Field? You have to think the running game will be a big factor. The Giants can match Ryan Grant’s production with their own RBs – Brandon Jacobs, the 6-4, 264-pound freight train who usually needs a good two or three guys to bring him down, and elusive Ahmad Bradshaw, one of the team’s two seventh-round draft picks this year. Giants QB Eli Manning — looking to become the second consecutive Manning to win a Super Bowl after brother Peyton did it last season — has a 100 passer rating in each of his last three games, along with eight TDs and one interception. He will go against one of the best corner tandems in the league in Al Harris and Charles Woodson, who excel in man-to-man. And Brett Favre, who also became the career TD leader this year — who knows what he’ll pull this week, from last-ditch shovel passes that set up scores to out-and-out bombs to the Pack’s “Big Five” alignment of five wides and an empty backfield. Brett has a strong O-line in front of him. He was sacked the third fewest times in the league (19, tie), but faces a defense that led the NFL in sacks (53) this season. MY PICK: I believe the Giants’ road win streak ends here at Lambeau. Brett Favre in the NFC Championship on the frozen tundra? Yeah, I like the Pack.

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AFC & NFC Conference Championships: Patriots vs. Chargers, Packers vs. Giants