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Rob Viking -> RE: PLAYOFF CHANCES (12/7/2010 11:07:02 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Duane Sampson
Cris Carter Criticizes Deion Branch
Sat Dec 4, 2010
WEEI reports ESPN analyst Cris Carter, in an appearance on The Big Show on Friday, suggested that the New England Patriots traded WR Randy Moss at the perfect time. That said, he also insisted that the Patriots' offense is much less dynamic without Moss and offered a harsh assessment of current Patriots WR Deion Branch. Though he praised Branch as a "great route-runner," Carter also suggested that Branch is too frequently injured and often "disappears" in games. "The ceiling with Moss with their offense is a lot higher. … They can be really dynamic. Like frightening. Now, if they don’t play well offensively, they’ll lose, because they have a defense that doesn’t dominate the games," said Carter. "Deion disappears too much against regular corners. He disappears in the game. He’s made, like, three guest appearances since the Super Bowl. ... Look at his stats. Look at his game. He’s just a guy. You guys have to be real about it. Great players, they don’t get hurt as much as the other players. There’s a difference between great ones and good ones and average ones." As for Moss, with whom Carter has a close relationship dating to their time together in Minnesota, the ESPN analyst suggested that the ex-Patriots receiver regretted both his ill-timed rant about the Patriots after a Week 1 win, and that Moss wished that he had never left New England. "When they got Randy, they got the absolute best out of him. And when they got rid of Randy, they got rid of him at the right time," said Carter. "When he spoke out against them, he made a serious mistake. I know personally that Randy wishes he could have that back. ... He wishes he had never left New England. He definitely wanted out of Minnesota with HC Brad Childress because he didn’t really respect his offensive philosophy."
A combination of Moss slowing down considerably (aside from the TD vs Cromartie from Favre) and the Pats OLine being unable to sustain blocks for Moss to get down field have altered their offensive philosophy. There was too much on Moss' plate for him to be that dominant deep threat, thus there was too much emphasis on getting the ball to Moss when it wasn't going to be as effective in years past and I think the Patriots brass began coming to grips with this by December of last season. Now the Pats can pound with Green-Ellis, hit shorter quick receivers in stride and basically transform into the Pats of 2004, though Brady is better now than he was then. It has helped their OLine immensely. The Pats are the only team that can literally change their offensive philosophy in one half for the whole season, not including injuries of course. They did that on the Monday night game in Miami.
I do think Randy can be effective again though it doesn't look promising atm.
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