How Good Was Randy Moss Actually?

Randy Moss started his NFL career with six straight a thousand yard seasons one of the many records still held by Moss a decade after his retirement but even as one of the greatest and most naturally gifted receivers of all time it wasn't without controversy so how good was Randy Moss actually the journey to the NFL was by no means an easy one but because he was so talented Moss would be afforded opportunities that others weren't from very early on it was obvious that Randy Moss was special he attended Dupont High School in West Virginia where he was a four sport athlete Moss starred in football basketball baseball and track and he even joined the school debate team but in 1992 and 1993 Moss began to separate himself from the rest the two-time All-American carried his high school football team to back-to-back state championships he not only caught passes as a star-wide receiver but he also played Safety on special teams he was the kickoff off and punt returner he was also the team's kicker and punter he did it all for the DuPont Panthers on his way to receiving the Kennedy award which was given to the best player in West Virginia having had one of the greatest High School careers in recent history Moss was not going to be short of college offers but he had his heart set on Notre Dame the head coach at the time Lou Holtz said Randy Moss was the best high school player he had ever seen but this is where things began to go downhill for Randy Moss immediately after signing his letter of intent moss found himself in a situation that sent shockwaves through the college World Notre Dame rescinded their offer to Moss after a series of violent misdemeanors which landed him 30 days behind bars but with Talent like moss he was always going to find an opportunity and it didn't take long the NCAA granted his request for a transfer to Florida State the Knowles head coach Bobby Bowden had a great reputation for handling players with a troubled past and helping them get their career on track it was a second chance for Moss but it didn't last long shortly after joining Moss tested positive for marijuana which violated his probation and he was sent back to serve an additional 60 days behind bars ending any hopes of him playing at the highest level of college football So Randy Moss packed his bags and transferred back home to Marshall University in West Virginia where he would remind people why he was widely regarded as one of the best high school players of all time Moss played at Marshall for two years two years that saw him break every record there was to be broken in 1996 Randy's first season playing in college he led his team to a championship on the back of an undefeated season Moss ended the year with the most games with a touchdown catch most consecutive games with a touchdown catch and most receiving yards by a freshman and he even tied the great Jerry Rice with the most touchdown passes caught in a season then 1997 was no different Moss was joined by Future NFL quarterback Chad Pennington the duo made everything look easy on their way to another record-breaking year Moss won the balitnikov award given to the best receiver in the nation and was a finalist for the 1997 Heisman Trophy finishing fourth behind winner Charles Woodson Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf and he ended his college career with at least one receiving touchdown in each of the 28 games he played then heading into the 1998 NFL draft Randy Moss was one of the most talked about players in the class not only because of his obvious game-changing ability but his off-the-field issues were a concern to many teams even with the great Peyton Manning in the same class it was Moss who stole all the headlines going into the draft Moss was ready for the pros but he chose not to take the traditional route he decided against showcasing himself with the NFL combine instead he put on a show at Marshall's pro day which team was going to roll the dice on Moss pick after pick and Moss was yet to be taken Moss was a lifelong cowboy and he felt that Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys made it clear that they would take him if he was available at number eight but that wasn't to be and with the 21st pick of the 1998 NFL draft the Minnesota Vikings selected Randy Moss and they would not regret it the jump from college to the NFL is usually the hardest jump in sports but not for Randy Moss he took the league by storm the Minnesota Vikings already had one of the best wide receivers in the league in Chris Carter partnering him up with moss would prove to be one of the most explosive wide receiver Duos in NFL history the league had never seen anything like this a 6-4 receiver with unbelievable hands running a 4.25 40. this guy was Unstoppable in his first game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Moss had four catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns a little preview of what was to come for the rest of his rookie season in week 5 the Minnesota Vikings traveled to Lambeau Field to take on their divisional rival the Green Bay Packers this would be Randy Moss's Monday Night Football debut and with the eyes of the Nation on him he put on a show exploding for 190 yards and two touchdowns if it wasn't obvious enough already Randy Moss was a superstar in just five games to start his NFL career Moss racked up 463 yards and six touchdowns however in a four-game slump saw Moss failed to get over 70 yards or a touchdown and people started to think maybe he is Human After All But Then Came the famous Thanksgiving game against the team that made him believe they would pick him the Dallas Cowboys Moss made sure they paid for their mistake and he put the world on notice he only had three receptions on eight targets but each reception went for over 50 yards and a touchdown he ended the game with 106 three yards and three touchdowns and he made it look easy Randy Moss finished his rookie season with 1 313 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns an NFL rookie record that still stands today Moss was selected to the pro bar and was first team All-Pro which was unheard of as a rookie with the duo of moss and Carter spearheading the offense the Vikings went 15-1 and broke the record for the most points scored in a season with 556. the Vikings would go on to make three straight playoff appearances Moss would continue to be a major factor and a player that defenses would game plan for but even in triple coverage he was always able to make opposing players look silly in his first three seasons in the league Moss was selected to the Pro Bowl all three years as well as two first-team All-Pro honors the Hall of Fame career was well and truly underway Moss went into the 2001 off-season hoping to secure his long-term few future with the Minnesota Vikings he wanted to become the highest paid player in the NFL and Randy got his wish and even though he wasn't the highest paid player his eight-year 75 million dollar deal was one of the most lucrative in the league following his big payday Moss posted a fourth consecutive season with over 1200 yards and 10 touchdowns but failed to make the pro ball for the first time in his career in 2002 new Vikings head coach Mike Tice was tasked with finding ways to get Randy Moss the bar and scheming him open teams began to game plan specifically for moss and he would rarely find himself facing one-on-one coverage even though he had a career high of 106 catches seven touchdowns were the lowest up to this point in his career after a couple down years by Moss's standards the 2003 regular season saw him return to his superhuman self he became the second receiver ever to play over 12 games and average over 100 yards and a touchdown per game he finished with 111 receptions for 1 632 yards and 17 touchdowns one of the most memorable plays of that season came against the Denver Broncos where he lateraled the ball to his teammate Mo Williams on his way to the ground his field awareness despite being surrounded by multiple Defenders is what puts him above most who ever played and in 2004 Moss again started the season on fire with eight touchdowns in the first five games it looked as though he was going to have another All-Pro season until a hamstring injury left him to struggle for the remainder of the season for the first time in his career he had ended a season with less than 1 000 receiving yards and this would end up being his last season with the Vikings after seven years in Minnesota moss and the Vikings felt that a change was needed it was time for a new adventure and that came in the form of the Oakland Raiders who needed a spark the Raiders had recent lost in the 2002 Super Bowl in the following years they were one of the worst teams in the NFL they had won just a total of 10 games in the previous three seasons so they traded for the most electric player in the league the trade however didn't have the desired effect Moss continued to struggle with injuries during his first season nonetheless he was still Randy Moss even when he looked uninspired and lazy he was able to reach another a thousand yard season to go with his eight touchdowns then his next season with the Raiders was a nightmare Moss was clearly unhappy and when he was criticized for his poor play and overall lack of effort he responded maybe because I'm unhappy and I'm not too much excited about what's going on so my concentration and focus level tend to go down sometimes when I'm in a bad mood his days in Oakland were numbered and Moss made it clear that he was looking for a new adventure there was no shortage of availability for Moss but his eyes were set on two potential Landing spots the Green Bay Packers with Brett Favre or the new England Patriots with Tom Brady nothing else mattered when Bill Belichick called and a few hours later he was on a flight to Boston to join the New England Patriots the idea of Tom Brady having a weapon like Randy Moss was scary and the hunt for a Super Bowl ring was on every fan was excited to see the Brady Damas connection and in 2007 the Patriots were the runaway favorites to win it all however when Moss got hurt in training camp re-aggravating the hamstring that had been bothering him for a while all the talk resurfaced that he was no longer the player he was during his earlier years in the league but this only lit a flame inside of moss and it didn't take him long to remind everyone exactly who they were dealing with in week one against the Jets Moss caught nine passes for a massive 181 yards and the touchdown Randy Moss was back the nightmare in Oakland was well behind him and he was ready to take over the league once again the Patriots continued to shatter multiple often offensive records and Moss was the centerpiece of the offense on his way to his sixth Pro Bowl selection and earned first team All-Pro honors for the fourth time Moss ended the season with 98 catches for 1493 yards and 23 touchdown receptions breaking Jerry Rice's previous NFL record of 22. a record that still stands led by Brady and Moss the Patriots ended the regular season with a perfect 16-0 record they scored an incredible 589 points which was an NFL record at the time unfortunately when the Super Bowl came around the moment Moss had been waiting for his entire life a final two minute drive by Eli Manning and the New York Giants ended what would have been a truly historic season the following year the plan was to run it back but Tom Brady tore his ACL in week one and was out for the entirety of the season but even without Brady Moss was able to once again surpass one thousand receiving yards and haul in 11 touchdowns then in 2009 it didn't take Brady and Moss long to pick up right where they left off in the season opener Moss caught a career-high 12 passes for 141 yards and a comeback 25-24 victory over the Buffalo Bills Bill Belichick was full of praise for Moss not just for his athletic talent but his ability to see the field and anticipate plays coach Belichick once called Moss the smartest receiver he has ever been around and in a Prime Time game against Arch Rivals the Indianapolis Colts Randy Moss went for 179 yards and two touchdowns to move him ahead of Terrell Owens in second place for all-time receiving touchdowns the game also saw Moss become just the 11th player in NFL history with 900 plus receptions and the seventh player to reach 14 000 career receiving yards he finished the season with 83 reception for 1264 yards and for the fifth time he led the league in touchdown receptions with 13. however this would be Moss's final season with a thousand yards and heading into the 2010 season Randy said he didn't feel wanted because he was entering the final year of his contract and there was no sign of an extension after just four games into the new season Moss was traded back to the Minnesota Vikings but a dream scenario quickly turned into a nightmare after Moss criticized his coach and teammates in a press conference following a loss to the Patriots Moss reportedly told team owner Ziggy wilf the head coach was unfit to coach in the NFL and should be fired wolf actually considered firing the head coach and keeping Moss but it just wasn't meant to be Moss was waived just three weeks into his Vikings return the Tennessee Titans were the only team to claim moss and that's where he ended his season playing in all eight games ending the year with career lows and receptions and yards while catching only five touchdown passes and in August of 2011 Randy Moss announced his retirement from football but six months later on his 35th birthday in a live chat with his fans Moss stated I want to play football your boy is going to come back here and play some football so I'm really excited I had some things to adjust in my life and just like that he was back all time receiving touchdowns Moss ended the regular season with 28 catches for 434 yards and three touchdowns Randy Moss's final game would be the Super Bowl where he had two receptions for 41 yards and a 31-34 loss to the Baltimore Ravens what a story that could have been whether it was fines for verbally abusing sponsors on the bus or pretending to pull your pants down in the end zone against your bitter Rivals there was no denying that Randy Moss was box office the cameras would always go out of their way to find moss because it was pure entertainment he was one of the few players that could tell you exactly what he was going to do and no one could do a thing about it Moss ended his career with 982 receptions 15 292 yards and 156 touchdowns Randy Moss once said just throw it up above his head they can't jump with me and golly he was right it didn't matter how fast you were Randy was faster it didn't matter how big you were Randy was bigger and it didn't matter how many guys were covering him because he would rise above them awe and pluck the ball right out of the air this spectacular athletic ability is probably why you've heard the phrase you got mossed and in his own words until I leave this game I'm gonna always do what I want to do regardless and he did just that when you're as good as Randy Moss who's really going to tell you otherwise after all he is a first ballot Hall of Famer only the second receiver ever to be inducted in the first year of Eligibility so say what you want about Randy Moss but he is without a doubt one of the greatest football all players to ever lace up the cleats so what do you guys think what's your favorite Randy Moss moment let me know in the comments down below if you enjoyed the video make sure to leave a like subscribe and turn on post notifications and as always you're watching non-stop Sports I'll catch you next time

Channel: Nonstop

Views: 1,126,392

Keywords: NFL, Randy Moss, Nonstop Sports

Id: 3NlZX0OoPKI

Length: 16min 16sec (976 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 17 2022