Shank, October 7, 2010:
Not me. I’m with the late George Allen. The future is now, baby. And the Patriots are not better now than they were Monday night in Miami.Shank, this morning:
Once again, we are reminded that the Patriots believe “the system’’ is more important than the talent. Who needs Moss when you have Tate, Ninkovich, and Chung? Emboldened by Monday’s impressive win — scoring 41 points without Moss catching a pass — Belichick is again telling Patriot players and fans that the vaunted machine can operate with any combination of parts. Players don’t matter. They are all replaceable (except Brady, of course). And just think how good the Patriots will be when they draft all of those players.
...It must have absolutely killed Shank to write this paragraph:
The Patriots are better without Moss. I certainly did not believe this when they dealt Moss to the Vikings four weeks ago. I thought it was a signal that they were giving up on the 2010 season. But as always, Belichick knows his team better than us. Bill could not be more right about this one.
The Patriots are better without Moss because they are more like the old Patriots we came to know and love back in the beginning of the 21st century. Those Patriots stressed team above self, a mind-set impossible for Moss to grasp. Randy has no problem with the one-handed catch, but he can’t handle the concept that he’s part of a team. With No. 81 (or No. 84 in Minnesota) it’s always about Team Moss. It’s about touches and that all-important next contract.
Belichick is vindicated by the release of Moss. Coach Bill doesn’t have to say a word. Once again Football America can see that Belichick was right. The Patriots have the best record in the National Football League and Belichick’s decision to release Moss was in the best interests of the Patriots.Assuming he's honest, it's ironic that Shank fell into the same trap that Moss did - a decade of overwhelming evidence to the contrary (Belichick's record), Shank & Moss thought otherwise. Until now.
That's not the funniest part of the column; I hope you're sitting down for this one:
Now he has been released by a 2-5 team and he’s looking for a new job and a future contract.I mentioned earlier this month - ALL of Shank's statements have an expiration date (re: above, three plus weeks). How soon will Shank backtrack on this last statement?
It won’t be here.
Unless Bill surprises us again and decides that having Randy Moss is in the best interest of his football team. At this point, who’s going to challenge anything Bill does?
Not me.
Never again.
Roger,
ReplyDeleteShank has no inside information .. no on allows him to enter.
Shank is full of conjectures. He is always blowing kisses in the dark ... he likes the sound of one hand clapping.
The Moss trade from Pats had nothing to do with attitude ... Belichick just couldn't get Moss open so Belichick had to try something new.
Would Belichick take Moss back ... probably because Belcihcik can get pretty creative with a Moss/Branch/Welker/etc. corp.
Can Shank think that far ahead? It's asking a lot of the boy wonder typo.
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Moss will come back to New England - he's too good a fit for this offense to stay on the sidelines, he's considered damaged good by the rest of the league (don't bye him going to KC even though Pioli and Cassel are there; Weis doesn't like that kind of downfield attack) and the reality is the offense is ten points per game off what it had with Moss in the first four games.
ReplyDeleteAnon is half-right - it wasn't attiutude, but it wasn't that Belichick couldn't get Moss open. The contract deal was eating at Moss and it was creating tension; that's gone now because the contract Moss wanted doesn't exist and he now realizes this.
Monkeesfan...
ReplyDeletePerhaps you are right about the Moss contract imbroglio.
However, I still believe Belichick didn't have an onfield solution to opening up Moss. Sure coverage on Moss allowed Welker (and others) the short looks but many times the offense sputtered. The PAts were not dynamic anymore they were relying on youthful enthusiasms to carry them forward.
You need to discoount the points scored by the defense in your 37 point averages.
Hey - isn't this the analysis work that Shank gets paid for?
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