as always florio stirs the pot
Belichick evades question about whether game film shows Moss quit | ProFootballTalk.com
Belichick evades question about whether game film shows Moss quit | ProFootballTalk.com
We've previously pointed out that ESPN has offered up to its fairly sizable audience grossly conflicting viewpoints regarding the question of whether Patriots receiver Randy Moss gave a half-hearted (hoof-hearted) effort on Sunday against the Panthers.
Former Moss teammate and current ESPN analyst Cris Carter has said that Randy's performance was "pathetic." ESPN analyst Merril Hoge has said that the coaching tape shows that Moss "did not take one play off," that Moss played "one of the best games he ever played without the ball in his hands," and that "[n]ot one time did I ever see [Moss] stop, quit, or stand during that game."
Appearing Friday morning on ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike In The Morning, ESPN's Ron Jaworski largely agreed with Hoge.
"Randy Moss gave great effort in that game, it was that simple," Jaworski said. "Anyone that questioned the effort would be dead wrong."
But then Mike Golic focused on the apparent lack of effort Moss displayed on a play in which a seemingly lazy pass route from Moss resulted in an interception. Though Hoge previously has said in no uncertain terms that Moss didn't quit on that play, either, Jaworski ultimately conceded that the effort from Moss was "inexcusable."
So then Greenberg and Golic welcomed Pats coach Bill Belichick onto the show, and to his credit Golic led with the money question: "When you watched the tape of that game, what did you see?"
And here's the response: "Well, you know, I'm glad Randy's on our football team. I think he's had a great body of work for us, he's been one of the most productive players in the league since he's been here and also in his career. So he's really an asset to our football team. I think that just in general fans and media and all that gotta be careful about watching a five or 10-second clip and characterizing a 60-minute game on 10 seconds of something that they see, particularly when it's not even on the field. I love the consistency and the leadership that Randy Moss has brought to our football team."
But, Coach, when you watched the tape of that game, what the hell did you see?
Maybe this is the recovering lawyer in me talking, but any time someone doesn't even begin to answer the question that was asked, the question gets asked again. And again. And again, until euther it's answered or it becomes so obvious that the person doesn't want to answer the question because the person is both unwilling to deliberately lie unable and to handle the truth.
In this case, neither Greenberg nor Golic called Belichick out for failing to answer the question. It was, after all, a simple question. And the answer would have been even simpler: "Yes, I agree with Hoge and Jaworski."
The fact that Belichick dodged the question makes us even more confused about whether Carter's assessment was accurate, whether Hoge's assessment was accurate, or whether they're both wrong and the truth resides somewhere in the middle.
