Patriots bring back Moss for another try at title
Associated Press
Updated: March 3, 2008, 6:58 PM ET
BOSTON -- Randy Moss is staying with the New England Patriots.
The defending AFC champions re-signed the record-breaking receiver on Monday to a three-year deal worth $27 million, his agent said. The signing was confirmed by the team shortly after Moss posted a message to fans on his Web site.
"I want to take time out to thank all of the fans for their support and for wishing me well in my return to New England," therealrandymoss.com quotes him as saying. "I'm ready to get back. We have some unfinished business to take care of."
Moss' agent, Tim DiPiero, said the deal included guarantees of $15 million, including a $12 million signing bonus to the receiver who set an NFL record with 23 touchdown catches and helped the Patriots reach the Super Bowl in his first season with the team.
"Randy was serious about wanting to stay," DiPiero wrote in an e-mail. "Because of Randy's record-breaking year, the interest in him was very high. Randy took less than he could have to rejoin his teammates."
Pairing Moss with NFL MVP Tom Brady, who broke the league record with 50 touchdown passes, the Patriots breezed through the regular season with a perfect 16-0 record. They improved to an unprecedented 18-0 before blowing a chance at the league's longest unbeaten season with a 17-14 Super Bowl loss to the New York Giants.
"What Randy did for our team last year was outstanding," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said in a statement. "He is one of our most consistent, competitive and team-oriented players and it is undoubtedly a relationship we are excited to continue."
Moss, 31, has caught 774 passes for 12,193 yards in a 10-year career, and his 124 career receiving touchdowns are fourth in NFL history.
A four-time All-Pro, Moss took a pay cut to get out of Oakland and come to New England last April in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick. In addition to his 23 touchdowns, he caught 98 passes for 1,493 yards and largely avoided the type of turmoil that characterized his previous NFL stops.
During seven years with Minnesota, where he made five Pro Bowls, he was fined $10,000 for pretending to pull down his pants and moon the Green Bay crowd during a Vikings playoff win, and drew criticism for leaving the field with 2 seconds left in a loss to Washington.
He also bumped a traffic control officer with his car in 2002, verbally abused corporate sponsors on a team bus in 2001 and squirted an official with a water bottle in 1999.
In Oakland, he openly campaigned to be traded to a winning team. With the Patriots, he avoided controversy until the playoffs, when a woman sought a restraining order against him, claiming that he committed "battery causing serious injury."
Moss denied the allegation and said the woman was trying to get money from him.
Also Monday, the Patriots signed free agent receiver Sam Aiken.
The 27-year-old has played five seasons with the Buffalo Bills with 19 career receptions for 250 yards and 61 career special teams tackles.
"Competing against Sam many times over the years, we know firsthand what he brings to us," Belichick said.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
But we get Randall Gay.
But we get Randall Gay.
yeah... hyphens are your friend! re-sign, lol.....
Keep him, I was more then happy to see him go. I cringed everytime he was playing. Way to many big plays made on him. Wait, you will see.
thats a good move by New England. Now that they have been sorley exposed they need a running game. And some fresh guys on D
thats a good move by New England. Now that they have been sorley exposed they need a running game. And some fresh guys on D
They re-signed Gaffney too! w00t!
They have a great running game, Morris went out hurt for almost the entire year and Maroney played hurt off and on. The games he was not hurt he was getting 100+ yards a game.
Keep him, I was more then happy to see him go. I cringed everytime he was playing. Way to many big plays made on him. Wait, you will see.
Go back and take a look of the early games in the season before Sammy Morris went out with an injury. The first game of the year they were running first quite a bit and still got some great gains on the ground, which allowed for some serious passing yards as well.
After Morris was injured they got away from it because Maroney wasn't always healthy and they really didn't need it as much for a while.
Week 1: 126 yards between Maroney and Morris
Week 2: 128 yards between Maroney and Morris
Week 3: 149 yards between Maroney and Morris
Week 4: 144 between Morris and Welker (Welker only had 1 carry)
Week 5: 118 yards between Morris and Eckel (Eckel only had 1 carry)
Week 6: 61 yards between Faulk and Morris (before Morris left with an injury after only 10 carries) - Cowboys game
Week 7: 58 yards between Faulk and Maroney (Both combined for a total of 12 carries)
Week 8: 107 yards between Maroney and Faulk
Week 9: 88 yards between Maroney and Faulk
Week 10: Bye week
Week 11: 96 yards between Evans and Eckel (both were fullbacks because our rb's were all hurt)
Week 12: 47 yards between Maroney and Brady (13 total carries)
Week 13: 77 yards between Maroney and Faulk
Week 14: 22 yards between Maroney and Brady (9 total carries)
Week 15: 124 yards between Maroney and Faulk
Week 16: 185 yards between Maroney and Faulk (156 yards were Maroney's on 14 carries)
Week 17: 50 yards between Maroney and Eckel
Div Playoffs: 135 yards between Maroney and Welker (Welker only had 1 carry; Maroney had 122 yards)
AFC Championship: 136 yards between Maroney and Moss (Moss had 1 carry; Maroney had 122 yards again)
Superbowl: 43 yards between Maroney and Falk (Faulk had 1 carry; Maroney had 36 yards)
Maroney had 5 100+ yard games (this shows when he was actually healthy)
Morris had back-to-back 100+ yard games before he got injured for the season.
So that should break it down for anyone to see that we DO have a running game when we use it. They use it when they have healthy backs, but when they don't have a couple healthy backs then they don't use it very much. They would use it if they absolutely need it, but they didn't need it very much this year due to the passing game. They used Welker for a "running game" in the middle of the season by throwing a lot of short, quick passes to him for 3-8 yard gains at a time.
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