Posts tagged Randy Moss

Randy Moss and Exceptions to the Rule

You’ve seen this eRumor:

It is time to elect a new world leader, and only your vote counts. Here are the facts about the three leading candidates.

Candidate A associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologers.
He’s had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.

Candidate B was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used
opium in college and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening.

Candidate C was a decorated war hero. He’s a vegetarian, doesn’t smoke, drinks an occasional beer, and never cheated on his wife.

Candidate A was Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Candidate B was Winston Churchill.
Candidate C was Adolph Hitler.

Although there is no record that Churchill ever used opium and Hitler’s “wife” became his wife shortly before he offed himself in his bunker, there’s a lot of documented truth in these statements that make a sound point: It is sometimes dangerous to deify or damn our public figures for behavior outside their role. This is especially true with athletes.

“To be great is to be misunderstood”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Given this point, I shouldn’t find it incredible that the NFL fan base is polarized when Randy Moss is mentioned as one of the greatest receivers in the history of the game. Continue reading

Reads Listens Views 7/6/2012

Busts of (diagonal from l-r) Jim Brown, Vince Lombardi, and Bronko Nagurski at the Pro Football Hall of Fame last summer.
Happy Birthday Sigmund Bloom

If you are a Footballguys subscriber, an Audible listener, Bleacher Report reader, or a frequenter of Twitter, then odds are you know the peripatetic football intellectual that is Sigmund Bloom. Happy birthday to my colleague, football muse, and friend and thank you for what you contribute to this community – substantial is too bland of a word for what you do. I think if Bloom could have the equivalent of a Parisian salon and be the Gertrude Stein of football, he’d be hosting writers yesterday. In a sense, I have a feeling he already is doing so in the virtual sense. Continue reading

RSP Writers Roster: DraftBreakdown’s Eric Stoner

Eric Stoner’s RSP roster includes “the moveable chess piece,” Aaron Hernandez, who might be the team’s least dangerous receiving threat when it’s all said and done. Photo by Patriotworld.

Eric Stoner is a legal assistant by day, and a writer and video guy for DraftBreakdown.com for the remaining hours he’s awake. He specializes in quarterback evaluation. His YouTube videos are a quality service for football fans seeking more than the typical highlight packages that fans put together of college stars. Stoner’s videos are actually more like Continue reading

Lesson One of a Route Clinic From Wes Welker

Video of Wes Welker running routes in practice is like the MGs giving a clinic on the Stax sound. Photo by Brian J. McDermott

I believe the best way to prepare to watch college players is to study the pros. The reason is that if I’m trying to project a prospect’s potential at the NFL level then I need to have good reference points of what works in the NFL. I also have to understand the differences between the college and NFL games when it comes to execution.

I can tell you that the process is ongoing and I’m still learning. This week, Coach Rob Paschall, PR director for the site Coach Huey, tweeted a link to a video titled, “Wide Receiver Technique Release Drills.” I expected an  instructional video.

However, if my eyes aren’t betraying me – and they might be – it was something a lot better. Continue reading

Arkansas WR Greg Childs: Career Resurrection?

Ryan Williams is working his way back from a Career Near-Death Experience. See what WR Greg Childs was like before his.

The Career Near-Death Experience. This is one of my favorite Bloomisms of football writing. A Bloomism is what I call the slang that Footballguys and Bleacher Report Draft Analyst Sigmund Bloom (who is also a medalist in some Writer-Olympiad) creates to encompass various football experiences, states of mind, or rights of passage in the sport.

The Career Near-Death Experience is an event where a player faces his career mortality. All players face it at some point. Those that don’t cross to the other side discover a new and better way to approach the game. Former wide receiver Cris Carter had a career near-death experience as drug addict when playing with the Philadelphia Eagles and Coach Buddy Ryan helped save the receiver with a southern fried reprise of the ghost of Christmas Future.

The career near-death experience can also manifest Continue reading

History Lesson: Three Pros You Should Know

Before Randy Moss, there was John Jefferson. Photo by DevilBrent47

Every era of the game has players that were great in many aspects of their game, but didn’t have an extended opportunity to prove it statistically. Brandon Lloyd is one of the greatest receivers in the history of the league when it comes to adjusting to the football, but he approached the precipice of his career death before pulling back just in time – perhaps the greatest catch of his life thus far. This got me thinking about other players who I thought were great talents, but didn’t have the commensurate statistics to earn that label in the traditional sense. Here are three. Continue reading

RSP Readers Poll: 2011 NFL Season

With the 2011 NFL season approaching fast I want to know your takes. Photo by Matt McGee

I have great readers and I’m curious about your takes heading into the 2011 NFL season. Since I’ve spent all summer giving my takes on the NFL, now it’s your turn to share yours.  Below are 15 questions. Continue reading