The Sox have just taken two out of three from the Yankees in New York making it 5 out of six so far this year and they are in sole possession of first place in the American League East. At 16 wins and 8 losses they also possess the best record in the major leagues. Normally this would be enough to have the region in a complete state of euphoria.
The Patriots have managed to bump the Sox to the back pages for the moment. After blowing a big lead to the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship game and losing a chance at another super bowl, apparently Kraft/Belechik and company decided to go on a mission.
It started with revamping the receiving core. Despite the fact that it was the weakest part of the team this year the team would have won it all were it not for a couple of dropped passes. Reche Cauldwell twice was uncovered and twice he managed to let the ball go through his hands. With those two plays Cauldwell's excellent year will go unnoticed and subsequently has resulted in him dropping significantly down on the depth chart.
To be fair to Cauldwell those two balls would have been less significant if the defense could muster just one stop but they couldn't so the receivers position became the focus of the off season restocking. The position became a strength instead of a weakness when the team added a tough little nut named Wes Welker to play the slot and Donte Stallworth as a deep threat. For more depth at the position Kelley Washington also signed on.
With incumbents Cauldwell, Jabbar Gaffney (who performed quite nicely as a mid season addition) and Chad Jackson it appeared as though training camp was going to feature some very spirited competition.
The highlight to this point of the off season was the addition of Adalius Thomas to the linebacking core. With Sammy Morris added as insurance in the backfield it looked like the team could focus on adding some young guns for the defensive backfield and the special teams units during this NFL draft this weekend.
As draft day came around it seemed that anything the team added would simply be frosting on a cake that had a good chance of being served at the super bowl party next January. With two picks in the first round it seemed as though everything was going according to plan when the team selected Brandon Merriweather of Miami to back up aging veteran Rodney Harrison at safety.
The second first round pick was traded off to San Francisco when in typical Belechikian and Pioli style, they found greater value in taking a potentially better first rounder in next year's draft. If San Francisco falters again next year it could potentially be a top ten pick.
So we all sat back content to wait for all the new comers to get here in August and begin what would be a certain charge for another super bowl. Little did we know that the team brain trust was not through. There had been some whispers that the team was looking at Raiders mal content wide out Randy Moss. Nobody really took it seriously since Moss is due big money and had not been very productive the last two years and hardly seemed a character fit for this club.
Out of the blue this afternoon it has been announced that Moss is indeed headed for New England. The fact that he is coming here in exchange for a fourth round pick was surpassed only by the news that he is also re-structuring his contract to the tune of about 6 million dollars.
If Moss returns to anything near his prior performance we are talking about a huge impact player for the teams passing game. In 7 of 9 NFL seasons Moss has accumulated more than a 1000 yards and during a three year period was arguably the best wide out in the league.
There are of course some question marks beginning with his attitude as well as his health. Attitude is a simple problem to solve since the Patriots have not a lot invested in the situation and it will be made crystal clear to Moss from day one that he won't be a problem. If he is an on or off field distraction this club management is disciplined enough to simply send him packing.
There won't be any second chances for Moss here. If he wants to resurrect his career and place himself where he rightly belongs in the ranks of elite NFL receivers then this is his chance. Expectations for him will not be such that any extraordinary demands will be made. He need simply show up on time and fill his role on the club. He will be surrounded by impact players in every position and he will be getting throws from a certain hall of fame quarterback.
This is a golden opportunity for Randy Moss and for the Patriot fan base. This is a system set up to allow him to be just another face in the locker room along with other faces whose only goal is to win. He will be given the chance to showcase his enormous talents in the biggest of games. It will be interesting to see how he responds. Is he another Terrell Owens or is he serious about being a guy who has grown and understands that for him to reach his highest potential it has to be about the team?
