Article: Moss Viking stories leaking out...

[Snarf]

Looks like some (alleged) details about Moss's stint with the Vikings are starting to come out...

"As is the team’s custom on Fridays, a local food establishment was invited to the training facility to serve a catered, post-practice meal in the locker room. In this case, a St. Paul restaurant that is a favorite of former Vikings center Matt Birk(notes). As the proprietors helped serve chicken, ribs, pasta and other dishes to Vikings players, Moss paced up and down the serving line and loudly expressed his displeasure with the offerings.

According to one player who witnessed the scene, Moss yelled, “What the [expletive]? Who ordered this crap? I wouldn’t feed this to my dog!”

Said the witness: “It was brutal. The truth is, he deserved to be cut after that. It was such an uncomfortable moment. You know that feeling where you just can tell someone feels so small? That’s what it was like being there.

“This wasn’t a chain – it was a mom-and-pop restaurant, and you could tell it was their best stuff. They had a special carving station set up, and there were players and other support staff lining up to eat it. And [Moss] is at his locker saying, ‘You know, I used to have to eat that crap – but now I’ve got money.’ You just felt so sad for them. I had never seen anyone treated like that."

Boorish behavior also contributed to Moss' demise - NFL - Yahoo! Sports

 

[Grizzafted]

with the way the sports media functions i have a hard time swallowing this on face value but still...

moss kind of seems like he's having some sort of psychological breakdown this year. that press conference on sunday was uncomfortable.

edit: hmmm michael silver tends to have good sources. didn't realize this was him.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Dear god...I thought that was an Onion piece...

Well, Randy did say the week leading up to this matchup was a roller coaster of emotions for him. The food service at Gillette is also said to be tops in the league so I'm sure his supporters will flock in soon to defend Randy's right to disrespect poor nutrition as well as lousy coaching...

 

[sbpatfan]

Damn, I'm starting to worry that maybe Randy's problems extend past just the game of football.

 

[SoonerPatriot]

with the way the sports media functions i have a hard time swallowing this on face value but still...

moss kind of seems like he's having some sort of psychological breakdown this year. that press conference on sunday was uncomfortable.

edit: hmmm michael silver tends to have good sources. didn't realize this was him.

I think there's at least of hint of truth in that. If the Silver item is true, which it may very well be, it's an example of Randy acting out because he realizes he made a mistake shooting his way out of NE. Pissing and moaning about the food was a convenient opportunity to lash out.

I think from his display Sunday he was all but saying he realized he messed up a good thing because of his anger over his contract situation (as shown in the Cincy post game presser week 1).

4 weeks in an environment with a moonbat head coach and an ego maniac QB on a 2 win team would just about do the trick when it comes to clarity, even for someone who already has emotional/maturity issues.

In fairness to Randy this hasn't extended to the criminal realm. Could be wrong but I think his nose has been pretty clean since he ran over that meter reader in Minneapolis in 2002 (or 2003). But TO doesn't get in trouble either and he may be nuttier than Randy.

Not excusing his behavior at all. He clearly has issues with how he handles things.

 

[PatsBoy12]

I don't know if I believe any of this . . . just seems like a made up story to me.

 

[Calciumee]

If this is true, I can't help but think Moss is a douche! Think it, don't say it!

 

[Nikolai]

I'm not buying this at face value either. I'm not saying this is the case, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the Vikings PR machine hard at work, trying to make it look like ol' Chilly had no other choice. From what I can see from their message boards, about 65% of Viking fans are pissed about this decision.

edit: hmmm michael silver tends to have good sources. didn't realize this was him.

The fact that Silver is reporting it makes it even more suspect in my opinion. Anyone remember that big disconnect between Brady and the Krafts?

Edit: In that same link, Tiki Barber is saying this is a good deal for the Vikings. Really?

 

[FloridaHerb]

Before I go and condemn Mr. Moss for his behavior I must say that there's nothing worse than bad BBQ...

 

[blackglass3]

I am sure this happened. Also, I am sure Tom Brady and Randy Moss came to blows over Tom's haircut.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

Well it probably was crap food. Almost all restaurant food is especially the chains. The mom & pop places usually are the only places to get real non-synthetic food so this is a litte surprising and ahem Randy needs more diplomacy ... He was probably PO'd about something else...probably something Childless did.

I was thinking that Randy needs a press conference coach...

 

[Bostonian1962]

My source tells me he looked right at the person cutting a slice of roast beef for him, and yelled: "Tom Brady looks like a girl." It got ugly.

 

[BSR]

What a hack piece. Does they really expect us to believe that he was cut because he complained about the food? Even if the story is true, the notion that you cut a hall of fame type player over it is ridiculous. This is clearly one of those articles meant to show how he was such a bad guy. It has about as much credibility as the BradyMoss blow up story.

 

[BTTA]

Unfortunately, there is enough similar behavior from Moss in the past that we can't fully dismiss this.

We also don't know what causes Moss' outbursts; people are wired differently. Some people have neurological wiring that makes it virtually impossible for them to suppress negative emotion when under the slightest stress. It's like insisting that everyone walk up stairs - some people are in wheelchairs and just don't have use of their legs.

All of Moss's issues over the years could be essentially a medical problem, not a character or effort problem. We just can't know from this distance.

The other players may sense this - that he is doing his best and has challenges greater than theirs, and that's why they rally around him, like Brady does.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

Before I go and condemn Mr. Moss for his behavior I must say that there's nothing worse than bad BBQ...

Amen.

As for the story, on the one hand, it's Michael Silver, who I don't trust after that ridiculous Brady "story." But I could see Moss doing this. It wouldn't even be about the food. All the anger and frustration he was feeling about Minny probably manifested itself into complaining about anything and everything around him. He didn't hate the food so much as he hated being in Minnesota on a dysfunctional team with a moronic head coach.

Or maybe the ribs really did suck. I mean Randy's from the south, so he knows good BBQ.

That this story comes out now reeks of PR on the Vikings behalf though.

 

[ausbacker]

Hasn't taken long for the mudslinging at Moss to begin.

 

[Triumph]

Dear god...I thought that was an Onion piece...

Well, Randy did say the week leading up to this matchup was a roller coaster of emotions for him. The food service at Gillette is also said to be tops in the league so I'm sure his supporters will flock in soon to defend Randy's right to disrespect poor nutrition as well as lousy coaching...

Ha Ha

More evidence that Moss did not want to leave.

 

[Triumph]

Well it probably was crap food. Almost all restaurant food is especially the chains. The mom & pop places usually are the only places to get real non-synthetic food so this is a litte surprising and ahem Randy needs more diplomacy ... He was probably PO'd about something else...probably something Childless did.

I was thinking that Randy needs a press conference coach...

Rumor has that Chilly had a choice between Prime Rib and Walleye vs Ribs and Chicken.

He opted to go for the later.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Unfortunately, there is enough similar behavior from Moss in the past that we can't fully dismiss this.

We also don't know what causes Moss' outbursts; people are wired differently. Some people have neurological wiring that makes it virtually impossible for them to suppress negative emotion when under the slightest stress. It's like insisting that everyone walk up stairs - some people are in wheelchairs and just don't have use of their legs.

All of Moss's issues over the years could be essentially a medical problem, not a character or effort problem. We just can't know from this distance.

The other players may sense this - that he is doing his best and has challenges greater than theirs, and that's why they rally around him, like Brady does.

Well said. Brady's response (the deep sigh followed by no comment) is likely a reflection of his deep concern for the friend going forward IMO. I think teamates for the most part admire the talent and under normal circumstances enjoy the personality. That said, those in denial here (and even among his past teamates) about the cumulative draining effect of the bad/emotional Randy episodes over time are just wishful thinkers. There were certainly those on this team who to varying degrees had kinda had it with the balancing act tradeoff position Randy increasingly put them in. And apparently not all Vikings were overjoyed in the wake of his arrival. Winning 18 in a row buys you lots of good will he wasn't going to benefit from in Eden Prairie.

This piece from one of the Vikings beat guys seems to substantiate Silver's account.

The case of Moss is an interesting one. There are reports that some Vikings players really liked him, but it's known that feeling wasn't universal. At 33 years of age, Moss is still an extremely talented player but he isn't the guy who wowed fans during his first stint in Minnesota from 1998 to 2004.

After Sunday's game, Moss broke a media silence that earned him a $25,000 fine by giving a rambling statement in which he praised his former team, the Patriots, and criticized the Vikings for not listening to his ideas on how to scheme for New England.

Childress said Monday that he had allowed Moss to stay in Boston after the game for a few days but an NFL source said it was Moss who informed the team he would be staying out East.

That likely didn't sit well at all with Childress. Neither did the fact that, according to those around the team, Moss treated few people with respect and last Friday when the Vikings had food brought into their locker room he loudly announced in front of the people who had prepared it that he wouldn't feed it to his dog.

While Childress' realization about Moss' character appears to be behind the reason for the move, one does have to wonder how on earth the Vikings coach didn't do his due diligence beforehand and realize what a high-maintenance person Moss is before he signed off on the trade for him. Moss has been like this for years and so no one should have been surprised by the off-the-field issues he brought.

The fact Childress evidently was surprised -- or couldn't handle Moss -- likely isn't going to be viewed in a favorable light by his employer.

It's all about ego on both sides of the equation. It will be interesting to see who the next fool is who thinks he has the cache to handle Randall... Reportedly Shannihan is considering entering the fray (LOL) as is Fisher following the loss of Britt... Houston might also be a contender given Kubiak seems intent on throwing the ball.



Childress gets his way, but will there be a price? | StarTribune.com

 

[mosi]

The food problem aside, the real reason they cut moss is that his play and effort have been poor. That article mentions a couple of plays in which Moss did not show great effort and I agree. I was re-watching the first game (Cincy) and noticed Moss' poor blocking and the ball bouncing of his hands...