Before the NFL Draft, we mentioned a pair of trade rumors that involved the Green Bay Packers acquiring Chiefs running back Larry Johnson and/or Raiders receiver Randy Moss. Neither of those deals came to fruition. Johnson is still in Kansas City and Moss was traded to New England for a paltry 4th round pick. This doesn’t please Brett Favre, who has taken it on himself to play the role of angry veteran upset at front office.

“It is disappointing,” Favre said on Saturday. “We could have gotten him for less money than New England did. He wanted to play in Green Bay for the amount of money we would have paid him. It [was] well worth the risk.”

Although the Packers should have tried to pull the trigger on the deals, it doesn’t mean their elder statesman should bitch and complain about it. Favre came back to play, not be a distraction. Moss would have helped but the Packers’ receiving core isn’t bad. Donald Driver and Gregg Jennings are both coming off good seasons. They also have Robert Ferguson likely returning from a foot injury. Together, that’s a group of receivers that should get the job done.

While I’m not in disagreement about the Packers having a pretty bad front office, they had other needs to address with those picks. One of those needs was wide receiver because the Packers picked up two of them in the draft. We’ll just have to see how well Favre can utilize the new targets while ruining the progress keeping the seat warm for Aaron Rodgers.

In the past, the New England Patriots were known for having a huge collection of gritty, classy veterans. This weekend, they’ve decided to shake that up a little bit. They landed Brandon Merriweather in the first round, a Miami safety with some baggage. And today, they acquired Raiders wide receiver Randy Moss. And all it took was a 4th round pick.

If you can remember that far back, Moss used to be compared to the one and only Jerry Rice. That all changed when he went to a bad Oakland team. He never got comfortable and never put up the numbers he was capable of. He was lazy and unmotivated. But he’s still Randy Moss. And this is still the New England Patriots. So I expect this partnership to be a great success.

“We felt this was the best scenario for both the Raiders and Randy,” Oakland coach Lane Kiffin said. “We wish him nothing but the best.”

Talk about an overhaul for the Patriots. Last year, their wide receivers were Reche Caldwell, Jabar Gaffney, and Troy Brown. This year, it will be Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Donte’ Stallworth, and Kelley Washington. All of those players (minus Welker) have had some ups and downs in their career but I wouldn’t put it past Bill Belichick to get the best from them. Add in Adalius Thomas and you have a Patriots team committed to getting back on top of the NFL.

With the NFL Draft just two(!) days away, the rumor mill is running at full power. Earlier in the week, nearly every possible move involved the Denver Broncos. The new team to watch on Saturday? The Green Bay Packers. They’re rumored to be in trade talks for both Larry Johnson and Randy Moss.

Word is spreading that the Packers have offered the Chiefs their 1st (16th overall) and 4th round picks in exchange for the star running back. It’s not out of the question to see KC cut ties with a volatile personality and start the rebuilding process. After all, Johnson will be a free agent and he’s already stated that he would like a contract larger than LaDainian Tomlinson’s $60 million contract. Michael Turner is also a name to consider but Johnson’s talks appear more serious at this point.

As if that wasn’t crazy enough, there’s also some talk of Randy Moss and the Packers. It’s hard to see this deal going down, mainly because of the hatred that Packers fans have for Moss. Then again, Terrell Owens plays for the Cowboys and Johnny Damon plays for the Yankees so maybe it’s not that far-fetched. According to RealGM, Moss could very well be a Packer by the end of the weekend. In fact, the deal might be done already.

With this possibly being Brett Favre’s last season, it’d be nice to see him go out with a bang. If the Packers land one of these guys, it’ll make the offensive side of the ball a hell of a lot better. Considering Vernand Morency and Noah Herron are at the top of the depth chart in Green Bay, adding Larry Johnson would be a godsend to this offense. Throw in Randy Moss and you have something scary. Because these are draft rumors, look for both to go unfulfilled. But it’s fun to imagine, right?

We ran a series of these tribute videos last week, those all concerned quarterbacks. Thankfully for everyone, BradyFan83 over at youtube didn’t stop there. He has a much more broad subject matter, and today we bring you his tribute video to Randy Moss. Because of his habit of doing stupid stuff (see: running into a traffic cop) this video has plenty of comedy.

Randy Moss is in a bad mood. And apparently, it’s affecting his play. He only has 33 catches this year and has recently attributed his drop in production to his unhappiness at the current situation. He has a point; the Raiders are absolutely dismal. But maybe Moss is a part of that rather than an innocent party in this matter.

This was a guy that was being hailed as one of the all time greats in Minnesota. Everybody knew he had issues, unless you don’t consider dragging a traffic cop on the hood of a car an issue. But even when he was nuts in Minnesota, you could rely on 100 catches and 10+ touchdowns. Even his production is gone now. His comments were relayed to Art Shell, who responded with coaching cliches and more confusion.

“Is that what he said? Well, then that’s a problem he has. I don’t have that problem,” Shell said. “You hate to hear that. You hate to see that.”

“You’re paid to play a game you’ve played for many years and that you love and once you hit the field, you compete,” Shell said. “That’s the way Art Shell sees it.”

First of all, who in the hell gave Art Shell permission to speak in 3rd person? Ricky Henderson spoke in 3rd person because he was awesome. Art Shell simply isn’t. Shell’s response is also ironic because he’s the guy that looks bored as hell on the sideline. From the opening game beatdown on September 11th to Sunday’s loss to Denver, Shell has looked aloof and uninspired on the sidelines. He may be a ball of fire during practice or in the locker room but I think a corpse would have more excitement on game day.
Surely, Randy Moss has a point. It might be hard to get up for a game when your team is awful and has been for several years. But that’s where the incentives come in. You’re a professional athlete that makes millions of dollars. The Raiders suck but Moss certainly hasn’t helped matters. He simply isn’t the same receiver he was in Minnesota and he hasn’t tried to be. If Moss returned to his 1998-2003 form, don’t you think it would coincide with some Raider improvement? Moss hasn’t blown up ala T.O. But he certainly hasn’t shown the effort on the field like Owens always has either. Moss should look into the mirror and realize he’s also a reason for the Raiders’ struggles, not just a victim.

Remember Randy Moss fake mooning the crowd at Lambeau Field? Now imagine the reaction from Joe Buck if Moss had actually dropped his pants. Because that is exactly what happened in England. Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton mooned opposing fans not once, but twice following a victory. The fact of the matter is this is absolutely hilarious and immature, who wouldn’t like someone who has to show up fans by showing them his ass.

Somehow Barton managed to escape with only a fine, but after doing a little more research I am shocked he got off so lightly. This guy is worse than Stephen Jackson, and the entire Cincinnati Bengals team. We’re talking about the same guy who shoved a lit cigar into his teammates eye at a Christmas party. There’s one hell of a way to celebrate the Christmas spirit, damn why didn’t I ever think of shoving a cigar into my friends eye. He did manage to get a years suspension as a result of that incident. Think anyone invites him to parties anymore? Neither did I.

Barton also was involved in a fight with a 15 year old (yes, 15) fan in Thailand. If Barton is letting a 15 year old get under his skin, he might be in the wrong business, he should at least consider getting some anger management.

Barton responded to all of this by further ruining his reputation by harassing and attacking a female steward at an away game. And of course, not to be finished, Barton urged Manchester City fans to storm the field. Keeping in mind this was an away game we realize the complete idiocy of Barton.

Throw in the other minor reports of running over a pedestrian and breaking his leg, as well as starting a brawl at a random friendly match and I begin to question what people can get away with in Europe.

Here is a full list of all of his insane actions. Needless to say I’m now a Manchester City fan and am scouring ebay for a Barton jersey.