Kontradiction
On my retirement tour.
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Re: Moss:"I don't think they going to extend my contract here"
Probably because he realized after he said it the kind of after effect his words were going to have. As I said earlier, too late Randy. Damage is done. Now we're going to have this rehashed everytime Moss has a bad game this season. And, guess what? Florio won't be to blame. Moss will be for opening up the floodgates.
Now who is spinning things? His exact quote was, "They just don't pay." That can literally be taken to mean "they are cheap". Or, "they don't pay anybody". However, the interpretation doesn't really matter, does it? It's the fact that he broke the cardinal rule of the organization and that's opening up the media. It's the mere fact that he should have never said it. That he left what he said up to interpretation at all is all on Moss. If he had just kept his mouth shut or just said something simple like, "I'll just wait to see what next year brings", he wouldn't be in this situation.
Not sure what you're getting at with this. He left the decision up to the team... as opposed to whom, exactly? Rob Schneider? The lead singer of Pink Floyd? Patsfans.com? Of course it's the team that makes the decisions. It's the fact that he called the team cheap is what I care about.
This I agree with. And I'll be one of those fans clamoring for his re-signing.
Again, just because "everybody knows" does not give Moss the right to say it. And no, it isn't professional or business like. If you're going to leave your job and persue another career with a competitor, you wouldn't turn around and tell the local media that you'd like to go somewhere else next year if you don't get a raise and then have it broadcasted so your current employer could see it, would you? That's more or less what Moss just did. The only difference is that he wasn't asking for a raise (more like an extension) and wasn't saying it to the local media (more like the national media).
Reprucussions aren't, in any way, relevant to this conversation. The point is whether or not Moss should have said something that could be left so open to interpretation to the national media about his current employer, all the while feeding a negative perception about the team that is not 100% true.
Please name the last time a player currently on the Patriots and still under contract said that the team doesn't pay?
The coach has the authority to enforce that. One thing that many people don't realize (I guess) is that, when you're on a football team at any level, you aren't operating in a Democracy. You are not under a flag of freedom. Almost all of the time, you're under a dictatorship. If there's a rule in place, whether it's written or unwritten, you are expected to conduct yourself by it. Such is the reason Moss has more or less been kept away from the media since he's been here. And why would it be hypocritical for Belichick to enforce it? Because he talks to the media? Get out of here. Belichick, by signing his contract, MUST talk to the media. It's a league rule. However, he doesn't exactly give them much to run with. His quotes aren't as open to interpretation as this one was. Moss doesn't have to talk to Florio if he doesn't want to.
1. We might have preferred he kept his mouth shut. It is certainly what we're used to. It's the team ethos and all that, and it's what we expect.
1a. Mitigating factor: Over and over again he kept saying "no disrespect intended" etc.
Probably because he realized after he said it the kind of after effect his words were going to have. As I said earlier, too late Randy. Damage is done. Now we're going to have this rehashed everytime Moss has a bad game this season. And, guess what? Florio won't be to blame. Moss will be for opening up the floodgates.
1b. The content of what he said was, "I will want a big payday. The Pats are unlikely to deliver one." He's more than likely right.
Now who is spinning things? His exact quote was, "They just don't pay." That can literally be taken to mean "they are cheap". Or, "they don't pay anybody". However, the interpretation doesn't really matter, does it? It's the fact that he broke the cardinal rule of the organization and that's opening up the media. It's the mere fact that he should have never said it. That he left what he said up to interpretation at all is all on Moss. If he had just kept his mouth shut or just said something simple like, "I'll just wait to see what next year brings", he wouldn't be in this situation.
1c. However he placed that decision exactly where it belongs, on the team. He just recognized he's not likely to get the money he'll want in N.E.
2. That could be just idle talk, but I doubt it.
Not sure what you're getting at with this. He left the decision up to the team... as opposed to whom, exactly? Rob Schneider? The lead singer of Pink Floyd? Patsfans.com? Of course it's the team that makes the decisions. It's the fact that he called the team cheap is what I care about.
2a. A stellar '10 means he has set the stage for a "cross your fingers and pray for an extension" campaign. If '10 is like '07, you don't think an army of fans won't come out of the woodwork clamoring for his re-signing, whatever the cost?
This I agree with. And I'll be one of those fans clamoring for his re-signing.
2b. Failing that, a good '10 combined with the early broadside announces, "if you've got the money, yes I'll be out there -- no loyalty bonus"
I found the way he phrased his statement professional and businesslike, and actually quite non-egotistical. Everybody know the Pats aren't the guys to go to for top dollar at the elite end, unless you're the absolute cornerstone (i.e. Tom Brady) of the team.
Again, just because "everybody knows" does not give Moss the right to say it. And no, it isn't professional or business like. If you're going to leave your job and persue another career with a competitor, you wouldn't turn around and tell the local media that you'd like to go somewhere else next year if you don't get a raise and then have it broadcasted so your current employer could see it, would you? That's more or less what Moss just did. The only difference is that he wasn't asking for a raise (more like an extension) and wasn't saying it to the local media (more like the national media).
So to your "main point," it's an unwritten rule that a Patriot doesn't put that crap out into the media. Well wah. What are they gonna do, cut him? Preferable if he displays that discipline we're all accustomed to, of course. Of course, there's a question out there: how did the Pats ever develop that culture anyway? I doubt you can express contractually every possible situation regarding the media. I think it is voluntary self-discipline. Way easier to have when your team is a bunch of nobodies seeing the way out of irrelevance like nine years ago, than when you have a few high-dollar guys, many of them imports who see the biz through the filter of experiences around the league.
Reprucussions aren't, in any way, relevant to this conversation. The point is whether or not Moss should have said something that could be left so open to interpretation to the national media about his current employer, all the while feeding a negative perception about the team that is not 100% true.
As in many things we may not have known how magical the 2001-2004 years were. What may have been unthinkable then is thinkable now. We're post-Seymour, post-Deion. Our "media attention cherry" is long-ago popped. More people on the current team put up with the fairly baseless national hatred that set in in earnest in 07 than ever got a ring w/the Pats. Lots of the veteran leadership/"locker-room mafia" is gone, as you point out... well, if it was always self-policed, that sort of implies it can dissipate with no recourse on the part of the team. I noticed AD making comments in a similar vein during the season, I think... maybe that's normal behavior for a lot of high-priced FAs.
Please name the last time a player currently on the Patriots and still under contract said that the team doesn't pay?
Not arguing that it's definitely been one key of success, to avoid unnecessarily dragging in the press. But who has the authority to enforce that? I mean, if it came from BB, wouldn't that be viewed as insanely hypocritical?
The coach has the authority to enforce that. One thing that many people don't realize (I guess) is that, when you're on a football team at any level, you aren't operating in a Democracy. You are not under a flag of freedom. Almost all of the time, you're under a dictatorship. If there's a rule in place, whether it's written or unwritten, you are expected to conduct yourself by it. Such is the reason Moss has more or less been kept away from the media since he's been here. And why would it be hypocritical for Belichick to enforce it? Because he talks to the media? Get out of here. Belichick, by signing his contract, MUST talk to the media. It's a league rule. However, he doesn't exactly give them much to run with. His quotes aren't as open to interpretation as this one was. Moss doesn't have to talk to Florio if he doesn't want to.











