In Bill We Trust?

Let me start by saying that as a Pats fan, I know I haven't had much to complain about the past 10 years and to the Bills and Lions fans out there, I'll prbably sound like an ungrateful whiny b*tch. But this move sure is a head scratcher.

Its no secret that Moss was upset with his contract and wanted a new deal. After a thrashing of the Bungles in week 1, he publicly voiced his displeasure but he also claimed he wanted to finish his career as a Patriot. Rumor has it that he asked for a trade the following day. At this point, put yourself in Belichick's shoes. His best deep threat is unhappy and has a history of quitting on teams if he doesn't get his way. Bill has three options: try to work an extension with Moss; tell him to play out the season and that they will address the issue in February, risking Moss qutting on the team; trade him and get something for him. As a fan, I wouldve preferred one of the first 2. I dont think Brady would have let Moss mail it in. Even if Moss ended up quitting, the Pats could've handled it like they handled Adalius Thomas last year.

For the past 10 or so years Pats fans have more or less blindly followed Bill's personnell decisions. When Lawyer Milloy was cut, there was some backlash but Belichick knew that Rodney Harrison could ball and made the tough choice cutting the fan favorite (and half of The Lawfirm with Ty Law.) Belichick brought guys in who were either washed up (Junior Seau) or given up on by other organizations (Mike Vrabel with the Steelers anyone?) and made them into legitimate starters on one of the best defenses in the NFL. At that point he was immune to any criticism.

However, recently his moves have not panned out. They drafted Laurence Maroney in the 1st round in 2006. Maroney had a promising rookie year in a timeshare with Corey Dillon. However fumbles, injuries, and overall just running like a pussy forced the Pats to trade him to Denver 2 weeks ago. Adalius Thomas was a disaster as were Duane Starks and Joey Galloway. The tipping point may have come last year when they traded Richard Seymour to the Raiders. They got a 1st rounder for this years draft (Mark Ingram? AJ Green?) but the defense was never the same after his departure.

Bill must believe one of the following to justify the Moss move: 1)Brandon Tate can replace Moss as a legitimate deep threat to open up space for Welker, Edelman, etc. 2)The offense will be more effective running TE sets with Hernandez, Crumpler, and Gronk. The money saved on Moss will then be used to sign holdout guard Logan Mankins. 3) The Pats have enough draft picks to trade for Chargers holdout Vincent Jackson.

Whatever it is, it better be worth potentially seeing Moss light up rookie CB Devin McCourty on Halloween when the Vikes visit Gillette.