* Moss hasn't been the 2007 guy for some time. He certainly demands a lot of attention and that aids in getting guys open and usually gives NE a half man advantage in the run game. That said, his big play ability just isn't special anymore. You don't see him outjump guys much and he'll have plenty of plays like this past weekend where he gets two hands on a tough ball and can't pull it in. As I said in the game wrap up thread, Moss' biggest asset to the offense since the middle of last year was that of a decoy. If you can trade a decoy for at least a 2nd rounder in the middle of the year you have to consider it.
* If Randy really did ask for a trade, then you have to make it happen. An unhappy Randy is precisely the type of guy these kids don't need right now.
* I have to imagine Edelman has a role in this. He hasn't really seen the field all that much (largely due to injury) but he is a serious weapon.
* Something I've been thinking for a while is how, as good as Moss is, he does give the opposing offense a pretty clear defensive strategy. What made the 2001-2005 offense unique is you had 3-4 equally talented guys so it wasn't obvious what the role of each would be on any given play. It also wasn't as obvious who was the #1 read on any given play.
* This also indicates to me that the Pats are going to be running even more multi TE sets, which I think is a good thing. Those kids are for real.
All told, I'm not surprised that this is happening. It will likely have an immediate impact for a few games, but I think that the year end offense will resemble the 2003 bunch, and that is a good thing IMO. I'm personally intrigued at seeing what this rag-tag bunch can do without its star receiver. It is also possible that NE might then swing a 2nd trade with SD to get VJ, which would obviously counter some of the points above (Edelman, no true #1) but he is a different receiver than Moss, a more precise route runner, better blocker though not as much of a deep threat.