NFL News & Rumors » Belichick: No problems with Moss

Belichick: No problems with Moss

Topics: Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots

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When news first broke of a possible trade involving the Vikings and wide receiver Randy Moss, the general consensus was that the Patriots were fed up with Moss’ antics in trying to drum up a new contract for himself and decided to get the best deal they could right now, instead of letting him walk in the off-season.

That feeling was backed up by numerous claims of internal strife between Moss and head coach Bill Belichick, along with his zero catch performance last Monday night in Miami.

Much of that was put to rest this morning, as Belichick met with reporters in New England to discuss the trade, and the team’s impetus for making it happen. While it’s obvious that Belichick wasn’t going to throw Moss under the bus or anything close to it, his comments indicate a much different vibe within the confines of the organization, than what was thought to be the case by the outside world.

“There was never any incident or discipline problem with Randy,” Belichick said.”There never has been one with me in four years. And it certainly wasn’t about contract and money. I think Randy showed the first year he was here what that was all about, he re-did his contract and made the whole deal work. I think you can eliminate those two things.”

From www.bostonherald.com (share this quote)

Belichick went on to praise Moss for being a model teammate during his time in New England, but refrained from talking about Moss’ relationship with the rest of the coaching staff, which had been documented as being a big part of the reasoning behind the trade happening now.

A lot of what Belichick said is coach speak, in that he deliberately buried the notion that the Patriots and Moss were unhappy with each other, but the reality is that neither side was particularly pleased with the situation as it stood before the trade went down, making it relatively easy for New England to move Moss when the Vikings offered the draft pick they were looking for.

In the end, the Patriots were able to get three solid seasons from Moss and a higher draft pick than they paid to obtain him in the first place, so the clear winner in this trade has to be New England.

Time will tell if Moss is capable of providing the Vikings with the spark they need to get over the hump, so to speak, and into the Super Bowl, but it’s obvious that Minnesota is in a win now mode, making their re-acquisition of Moss a definite no brainer as well.