Cursed To First - Sox and Pats forever.

Randy Circus comes to town, Randy Saga comes full circle -- UPDATED x3

UPDATE THE THIRD: Oh, wait, hold everything. Turns out maybe Brad Childress attempted to "establish dominance" over Randy by "going rogue", which would mean that now instead of one problem player to contend with, he has to face the ire of the rest of his roster, plus the consternation of team ownership.

But, then again, this story has now gone back and forth so much, I'm inclined to just wait a while to see how things settle out. No more tracking these zig-zagging updates, like a kitten teased with the beam of a flashlight on a wall, for me.

Well, until tomorrow, at least.

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UPDATE 2: NESN.com fills me in on the waiver rules:

If the report is indeed true, teams will be able to sign Moss in order of the worst record to the best record in the league. That puts the Bills, Panthers, Cowboys, Broncos, 49ers, Browns, Bengals, Lions and Chargers as the teams with the first chance to sign him.

The Patriots, with an NFL-best 6-1 record, would only have a chance to re-sign Moss if all other 31 teams passed on their chance. Given that he's now burned through two teams in the matter of a month, teams will likely be very hesitant to add a player like Moss at this point in the season. It's not out of the question that the Patriots take that gamble, as they have an intimate knowledge of Moss from his three-plus seasons in New England.

As this story has unfolded, it's reminded me a little bit of the time Brady got hurt -- and my cell phone immediately lit up. A coworker told me of the NFL.com report almost as soon as it happened, and then another shouted to a third coworker in the office about it. That third coworker shouted back to the second that I should be notified; I shouted to both of them over the cubicle walls that I'd already been informed. Which was when a fourth coworker IMed me to make sure I was aware.

It's a warm and fuzzy feeling to know there are people who think of you immediately when something happens with one of your teams. And a little bit of a worrying one, when you start to wonder if maybe that's a sign you're a little TOO obsessed...

Anyway, one of my coworker-friends is staunchly of the mindset that if Moss could still play--to wit, still get open like he used to--neither team would've let him go, despite his attitude issues. I'm not sure about that...top-flight play hides a multitude of sins, but Moss is second only to TO in his ability to be a "distraction."

I'm curious to know what the peanut gallery thinks. Is this mostly a mental issue with Moss, or is it because he's lost value on the field?

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UPDATE 1: Several hours after I wrote this post, NFL.com is reporting that Moss has been waived by the Vikings. I think it's safe to say he's worn out his welcome, and worn out any grace his talents might earn him, all over this league -- and yes, I'm sure right now he's DEFINITELY wishing he hadn't left New England.

On some level, I feel bad for the guy and think it's unfortunate that neither he or the Patriots can seem to benefit from each other anymore. On the other, he's had more than enough warnings and second chances for one lifetime, many more than most people who aren't preternaturally gifted athletes are afforded.

Meanwhile, there's also a tiny little part of me speaking up to wonder if New England might look to make a waiver wire deal fairly soon, if Moss seems sufficiently chastened and humbled by this experience...though that's just knee-jerk speculation. I don't know how the waiver rules would work in this case.

Patriots do the Monster Mash on Vikings, 28-18

When last we saw them, the Patriots had all but fallen apart, escaping San Diego with a 3-point win against a barely competent opponent. And now, on All Hallow's Eve, Randy Moss was back to haunt his former home, as well as a still-questionable Patriots secondary.

So you could say things were a little spooky coming in to today's game, and they stayed that way for Patriots fans until the second half, which began tied at 7-7.

Homecoming: one big Sunday for Deion Branch and Randy Moss

(AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

It was Homecoming at my alma mater this past weekend, and it was a poignant one at that. But Sunday in the NFL also featured homecomings: Deion Branch's first game back at Gillette as a Patriot; Randy Moss's first game back in Minnesota's Metrodome.

The two are linked by more than that, of course; while the contractual dealings that moved each wide receiver to a new (old) home in the last week were separate, from a Patriots' fan's perspective, it might as well have been a straight-up trade.

Branch is back to fill more than just the wide-receiver's role, you see. Even if Brandon Tate is being discussed as a potential deep-pass weapon (though he didn't seem to be used all that much in that capacity yesterday), it's clearly Branch that's stepped in to replace Moss in the role of Brady's sidekick.Yesterday he was seen sitting in the spot on the bench directly to Tom Brady's left, exactly where Moss used to be.

In his press conference following the harrowing, exhilarating overtime victory over the Ravens yesterday, Branch expressed gratitude to the Patriots organization for bringing him back (though the gratitude should've been theirs -- he took a stiff pay cut, about $4 million or so, to return). But when it came to Tom Brady, Branch made abundantly clear what his primary motivation was for returning to New England.

"Tom [Brady] makes everything so much easier," he said in response to the first question from reporters.

And then it continued:

Tuesday was kind of crazy. They pretty much had to hold Tom back because he was all antsy. 'I've got to get you the ball' and this and that. Coach was like, 'Look, son. I'm going to pretty much take you out of practice every now and then because Tom is trying to get you the ball 20 times.' This was the first day of practice. He was excited. I was excited, too. I just didn't want to get out there and get to moving around and start messing up the offense not knowing what to do...

And continued, to his concluding words:

...playing with this guy, he just makes you feel a little bit more than what you really are. I know this would never happen - I give him so much credit because he deserves it - but true enough I wish every receiver would get the opportunity to play with this guy because he's amazing. He's amazing.

In his first game back with the Patriots, Deion Branch led the receiving corps with 9 catches for 98 yards and a touchdown. He was lionized by Patriots fans from his first, relatively insignificant, routine 8-yard catch to the touchdown reception that put the Patriots within three points of tying the Ravens and overtime, to his crucial role in the later drive that would put the Patriots in range to score the tying field goal. Branch accounted for more than a third of the 90 yards the Patriots traversed from their own 14 to the Ravens' 6 in that instance, and racked up more than a third of his day's total with 37 yards receiving on that drive alone.

Afterwards, it looked like his smile would permanently split his face. There were times in that "yes, sir," "no, sir", press conference where it seemed like there were tears in his eyes.

Of course it's easy to say, now that Branch has made the money he sought with Seattle, that he wishes he'd never left the Patriots. And while he never put on a bombastic display of demands for 'respect' and attention, he made his rejection of the Patriots' 2006 contract offer unmistakably clear, with a holdout that drew at least some controversy.

But cut to a few hours later at the Metrodome, with Randy Moss back in purple, wearing his original No. 84 (which, perhaps coincidentally, had also been assigned to Branch by the Patriots). He had a respectable, if not spectacular day, and also led his team's receivers for the game with five receptions for 55 yards, though the game's single touchdown pass had gone elsewhere, and Moss didn't get a sniff of the ball in the first half.

And his face on that Minnesota sideline was a downright sulk. Sourness just radiated from him. He was as visibly dour as Branch had been exuberant.

The differences between Sunday's experiences for Branch and for Moss weren't as wide statistically or monetarily as they seemed emotionally. On that level, anyway, there was the sense of an allegory, an archetypal cycle, playing out. And it was a cautionary tale.

 
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