Tom Brady is eighth on the all-time passer rating list (88.36), ahead of such notables as Dan Marino (86.38), Brett Favre (85.05) and Jim Kelly (84.39). He's achieved that status tossing the ball to a collection of journeymen and castoffs who, in many cases, proved unable to cut it on other teams. His only Pro Bowl batterymate has been Troy Brown, who caught 101 passes back in 2001.
Naturally, fans around the NFL have wondered what kind of numbers the future Hall of Fame quarterback would put up if he were surrounded by first-rate talent at the receiver position.
It looks like we'll soon find out. New England is finally caving to fan and media demands of the past several years, and loading up with a bevy of talent at the skill positions.
Numerous sources, including Adam Schefter of NFL Network, have reported that New England today traded a fourth-round pick to Oakland in exchange for wide receiver Randy Moss. Sports radio WEEI in Boston has reported that Moss will take a physical in New England as early as today.
"Day Two of the draft rarely brings the biggest news of the offseason," said Schefter.
Moss has grabbed 101 TD receptions in his nine-year NFL career. To put that into perspective, New England's entire receiving corps last year (Troy Brown, Reche Caldwell, Bam Childress, Doug Gabriel, Jabar Gaffney, Chad Jackson and Kelvin Kight) has just 61 TD receptions combined.
In fact, here's how Moss's career stacks up against the combined career numbers of New England's entire receiving corps from 2006:
|
|
Years |
Games |
Rec. |
Yards |
Avg. |
TDs |
First Downs |
|
2006 Patriots receivers |
34 |
406 |
996 |
11,977 |
12.0 |
61 |
601 |
|
Randy Moss |
9 |
138 |
676 |
10,700 |
15.8 |
101 |
480 |
The addition of Moss marks a near complete makeover at the offensive skill positions for a team that finished 12-4 last year and was one play away from appearing in Super Bowl XLI.
Already in free agency, the Patriots have added three wide receivers: Donte' Stallworth, Kelley Washington and Wes Welker. They've also signed venerable tight end Kyle Brady and running back Sammy Morris, while releasing former No. 1 RB Corey Dillon. In fact, with the exception of LB Adalius Thomas, every free-agent signing in New England has been on the offensive side of the ball.
Moss would clearly be the biggest gamebreaker the Patriots have had in the Tom Brady Era. In fact, he may be the biggest gamebreaker in franchise history.
Moss has been in the NFL just nine years, but is already on the leaderboard of almost every major receiving category:
- 676 catches (29th all time)
- 10,700 yards (21st all time)
- 101 TDs (5th all time)
New England fans will certainly jump through the roof in anticipation of what the Patriots offense might look like in 2007. It certainly has the potential to be a very explosive offense.
But keep in mind: Moss went to Oakland in 2005 with the same potential, only to be on hand for the worst debacle in Raiders franchise history. Oakland was 2-14 last year, and ranked dead last in scoring offense, scoring just 168 points (10.5 PPG). It was the worst offensive output in franchise history.
Of course, Oakland didn't have Tom Brady taking the snaps last year.
