ooo yea rob, Moss can jump and run, what a big difference. I am not debating that Moss' skill set is based upon his athleticism. Certainly it has to be, but you act as if that is a bad thing.
We don't stretch the field much because we dont have anyone who can stratch the feild. That is no a tough concept. You know as well as I do that it would open up the inside for the slot WR.
Moss doesn't have to be a sreen-catching-over-the-middle guy. That would be a waste of his talent. We have 4 other WR that already do that. Moss would add a depth we do not have. Again the Pats do not throw his type of ball because they do not have anyone that cancatch his type of ball.
You estimating what Culpepper through to him is all guess with no fact--smoke out your wazoo. No way you can stand by that statement.
I am not debating with you that Moss is a long ball catcher. There is no doubt that he has that ability, that is why some want him in the first place, but you try to agrue thats all he can do. That is totally wrong. 67.5% of the time Moss catches the ball less than 20 yards. The majority of his catches come less than 20 yards!!!!
Here is the point. You keep saying that Moss is a very limited WR and that he would not fit the Pats because the majority of what he does is 30+ yards. You want to claim that the only talent he has is outrunning and outjumping his defender. 32.5% of the time you are correct in that Moss has done those things well. 67.5% of the time he does not do what you claim he only does. The majority of his catches are not bombs like you have been saying. The majority have been catches less than 20 yards just like a normal WR. In th 67.5 % he must run routes and patters just like anyone else. The thing that made him so different is his explosiveness with the 32.5%. That is not a bad thing, nor is it the only thing the guy does as you want to suggest.
The reason the Pats do not throw downfield more often is because they do not have the deep threat we all are looking for.
I am not advocating bringing Moss in. I have mixed emotions on it, but don't paint the guy out to be something he athletically is not.
Last time I checked, there is a big difference between running and jumping. I guess if you think they are the same thing, so be it. I don't so don't make it as if I mean the same thing.
Moss works best in a vertical offense. It doesn't means that they pass down the field 30 yards on every play. It means the WRs typical run at a straight line of the line of scrimmage. There could be some cutting, but mostly the WR's primary responsibility is to outrun the defender even in shorter routes.
The Pats run a short passing game where they use a lot of cut routes, screens, out routes, and slants. There is a lot of presnap adjustments that I don't know if Moss can handle because he played in a lot of very basic offenses because of his QBs. Culpepper is not a smart QB and he needed to keep the playbook simple. The offenses in Oakland were not all that complicated either.
As for Moss' percentages, Moss can outrun defenders in 10-15 yards. He can outjump a defender anywhere. It is the type of routes he runs. Moss is a guy who runs more basic and vertical routes. He is the king of fade route. He is limited because he doesn't run the routes the Pats want to run.
If you don't think that over 30% of his completions are for over 20 yards doesn't mean that the Vikings didn't throw the ball down the field tons, you are kidding yourself. Moss averages 4.9 catches a game and 1.6 of them are for over 20 yards. What WR averages 1.6 catches a game for over 20 yards except for a guy who is primarily a deep threat. That means Culpepper hucked the ball a lot down the field.
Also, that doesn't mean that 67.5% of the time he ran like any one else. That means he ran like any other WR in a vertical offense. Meaning a lot of fades and straight line routes.
You see you are looking at the numbers and going overboard. These numbers support my case as much as your's. Moss has an unusually amount of catches over 20 yards. No starting WR with the number years Moss has even a guy who is primarily a burner is going to have over 35-38% of his catches over 20 yards. It just doesn't happen.
What's the number of under 10 yards? That is more important in the discussion for whether he fits with the Patriots? If it is about as much or less than what it is under what it is for 20 plus yards, then he is what I say he is.
As for the Pats, I agree they don't go deep as much because they don't have the WRs. But they don't do a vertical offense because that is not their philosophy. There is a big difference. I would be surprised if Branch caught more than 15% or so of his catches over 20 yards.
You are looking at these numbers in a vacuum. Compare Moss' stats to guys who spent most of their career with the Pats like Branch and Givens. Compare it to Harrison or other elite WRs who aren't known as burners. I bet you will get a whole new perspective.
