Pat O's reaction to Randy Moss trade

It’s time to say bye to Randy Moss after an exciting (if uneven) tenure in New England. There were no Super Bowl victories in his time here but for those of you that think this is OK, I’d like to knock the Kool-Aid cup right out of your hand.

After all the good will harbored by Monday night’s 41-14 win over the Dolphins, I did expect some sort of karmic shift in Boston sports. I had a feeling Jermaine O’Neal’s pulled hammy wouldn’t suffice. But I wasn’t expecting the Patriots to trade Randy Moss to the Vikingsfor the third-round pick (though Mike Reiss thinks there could be more to the story). This simply isn’t enough compensation for what is still a top-five wide receiver. Yes, Brandon Tate has shown a lot of promise. But, no, he cannot come close to “putting the world on his shoulders” the way Moss has since 2007.

I get the whole Patriot “value system” and how they’re stockpiling picks but please spare any discussion that portrays the Patriot offense as evolving and how this trade frees it up. I’ve heard some people say that this way, the Patriots can return to 2001-2006 form and evenly distribute the ball. I have a few problems with this notion. First, the New England defense isn’t nearly as capable as those teams of putting points on the board. Next, the league has changed dramatically since then and you’re going to need Tom Brady to throw for 4000-4500 yards to win regular-season games. Lastly, BenJarvus Green-Ellis is a nice story but this puts undue pressure on him and the rest of the inexperienced (Danny Woodhead) or injured (Fred Taylor) running backs.

I said it myself in my Monday night preview: the Patriots needed to stop bombing it to Moss. However, I wasn’t trying to knock his value. He’s still a valuable possession receiver and can make sideline catches with the best of them. Don’t buy into any talk about him being old. He can still play is a weapon that this team would’ve needed come playoff time.

I understand that he’s reverted to the Randy of old this year and has probably been even more of an annoyance than we realize behind the scenes. But if the Patriots have any sort of genuine interest in taking advantage of Brady’s prime and winning a Super Bowl, this move makes no sense to me. If I’m Brady, I see the window closing fast and dealing your top receiver doesn’t help things.

As Tim Graham said, there is some bizarre going on here. I guess we’ll have to wait to see what’s going on in Coach Bill’s mind.