VJCPatriot

Randy Moss said that he wasn't going to get into the battle of the 81s and all Terrell Owens said was that the Patriots weren't the best team, despite his team losing 48-27. However we the fans are free to carry on the debate that the receivers themselves will not. Who is the BEST #81 in football today?

So why do I pick Randy Moss over TO?
It's not just team affiliation, i think that ability-wise Randy Moss has more to offer than TO.

Randy Moss is just as big a target as TO at 6'4. But Moss is also faster, and drops fewer balls. Those dropped balls can really hurt, especially when they come on 3rd down. As a pure wide receiver, I think that Moss is the better football player.

And as far as a team player, I think Moss provides fewer distractions on a GOOD team. TO will always run his mouth. That is TO being TO. Moss tends to be the quiet type. The only documented drawback to Randy Moss is that when he is feeling down he will take plays off or dog it on the football field. Moss has not shown any of that in New England, so perhaps he has matured in that respect. To give TO credit, he has never been known to dog it on the field and he did give a super performance in the Pats-Eagles superbowl game despite being injured.

The problem with TO has been his intereaction with his teammates, as he went to war with Donovan Mcnabb, his own QB, and also had differences with the Eagles coach Andy Reid. The Eagles subsequently sent him packing in a trade to Dallas for a 2nd round pick.

TO's conflicts with Parcells in Dallas also led in part to that coach getting fired. In other words, TO, when unhappy, can be a team killer. Not just a lazy guy that dogs it, but a guy that can blow apart a franchise.

Ok enough of analyzing the personalities of these talented receivers, let's get down to the numbers.

Randy Moss 2007
40 catches 610 yards 15.2 ypc 8 tds

Terrell Owens 2007
27 catches 453 yards 16.8 ypc 4 tds

As we can see here, Moss has clearly outperformed TO thus far in the 2007 campaign. Moss has more yardage, more catches, and double the touchdowns. More importantly Moss has freed up his teammates to run free in opposing secondaries. In the game vs the Dallas Cowboys, Stallworth and Welker each had over 100 yards receiving and 3 touchdown receptions combined. What were the receiving totals for the other Cowboy receivers opposite from TO? A grand total of 46 yards and 1 td for Patrick Crayton. The only other catches were made by Cowboy tight ends or runningbacks. Not exactly impressive numbers.

Ok you say, granted Moss has a bigger impact on freeing up his teammates, but what about as an individual receiver? How do their numbers compare?

Randy Moss Career (144 games)

716 catches 11310 yards 15.8 ypc 109 touchdowns

Terrell Owens Career (164 games)

828 catches 12168 yards 14.7 ypc 118 touchdowns

As you can see both of these players have been incredibly prolific. However what I would like to note is that Randy Moss has compiled all these numbers in 20 fewer games and despite the fact that he wasted 2 years of his career in Oakland. Let's normalize these numbers to average production per game, shall we?

Randy Moss Avg Game
4.97 catches 78.54 yards .76 td

Terrell Owens Avg Game
5.05 catches 74.20 yards .72 td

These numbers are highly comparable although Moss has the edge in yards per game and touchdowns per game, again despite his two wasted years in Oakland.

Ultimately though when you factor in TO's tendency to drop passes, sometimes in crucial situations and the fact that he does not stretch the field as much as Moss and then add in his personality issues that can be destructive for his team, the choice becomes clear. Randy Moss is the ultimate #81 in today's NFL. Hands down.

Disagree? Feel free to throw in your two cents.

(Stats provided courtesy of http://www.pro-football-reference.com/)

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patsox23

I think it's pretty clear that Moss is the better receiver, and quite possibly the better human. T.O. is a JERK, whereas Moss, warts and all, is immature more than petulant and mean.

Kdo5

Moss was by far the winner. He should have had about 200 yards and 3 TDs. Unfortunately most of Brady's worse passes were to an open Moss for an easy touchdown. Overthrown.

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VJCPatriot

Yeah, Moss had 2 TDs taken away from him. One on a very close play in the endzone that was overturned and the other on an iffy pushing off penalty. Guess the refs didn't want Dallas to get embarassed TOO badly. Despite the final numbers being close, I think Moss had the bigger impact on the game as evidenced by Stallworth and Welker's huge numbers.

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Xzibit23

I also think Moss, in his career, has been the focal point of defenses much more than TO has been. When Moss was a Viking, teams would routinely gear their defense to limit Moss by double and triple teaming. While TO has seen some of that throughout his career, a lot of teams have also taken the "we'll let him get his" approach.