A Retort To My Randy Moss Idea

I knew yesterday when I wrote that the Bears should try and sign Randy Moss that not everybody was going to agree. Moss is just too polarizing a figure amongst football fans to assume everybody would go along with the idea.

Plus, I'm kind of an idiot, so if everybody agreed with me all the time, this world would be in a lot of trouble.

Gepetto from Luol's Dong was so adamantly against my theory that a comment on the post just didn't suffice. Instead, he was kind enough to write a whole post about it, breaking it down with three reasons why the Bears shouldn't go after Moss.

#1. Personality. The Bears of the 1980's were all about flashiness and style, things that Moss would have excelled in. However, the current Bears team is very much about teamwork and selflessness (see: universal hatred of Cedric Benson for his holdout). If Moss continues to be his usual entertaining self, he may find that he doesn't have an audience for it.

Oh, and then there's all the crime and anti-team behavior. You know: not playing games when you don't feel like it, marijuana, and, of course, the Straight Cash Homey incident.

I agree that Moss' personality could clash with any team, but it wasn't evident in New England this season. It's important to note that when Moss was getting in all sorts of trouble, he was still in his early 20's. He's 31 now, and maybe you haven't noticed, but he hasn't really gotten into any trouble the last few years. When I'm 31, if I'm still being judged by things I did in my early 20's, well, that would just be fucked.

Also, as for the Bears selflessness and hatred for Cedric Benson for holding out, they sure didn't seem to mind when Lance Briggs was threatening to sit out an entire season because he was only going to be paid a palty $7 million. The team was resentful of Benson not because he was holding out, but because he was holding out before he'd ever set foot on an NFL playing field and hadn't earned that right.

The Bears knew what Lance Briggs was worth, and trust me, they've been victimized by Randy Moss enough to know what he's worth as well.

#2. Oakland. I cannot stress this enough. Bringing in an A+ receiver does not a good team make. The Raiders brought in Moss to give their team a legit receiving threat (to go along with LaMont Jordan on the ground) in what seemed like a surefire move to get the Raiders back into contention. Well, except that the rest of the team still sucked, and Moss didn't see why he should put himself on the line for a bad team. This says it all.

Moss flopped around like a dead fish, and underperformed for a team that likes to throw the deep ball. Heck, they even had a speedster (Porter) to take some heat off of Moss on the deep routes. It just doesn't matter if Moss doesn't care. If Moss can turn his back on Oakland (which had a much better run game than we do), why not Chicago?

Again, a very valid point, but before we all just turn to Moss' tenure in Oakland as a reason he won't work in Chicago, we have to actually look at the situation in Oakland. There's quite a difference between the Raiders and the Bears, and it starts with Al Davis, who's clearly lost his mind as he approaches his 150th birthday.

Besides, when your owner gives up on finding a real coach and instead recycles one that couldn't do the job the first time around, Art Shell, it's hard to stay motivated. Not that I'm trying to give Moss an excuse for the way he played in Oakland, but why should he run out his routes? The Raiders kept sacrificing mediocre quarterback after mediocre quarterback, putting them behind an offensive line that couldn't block a Pop-Warner team. By the time Randy was getting to his cut, his quarterback was on his back.

Sure, Oakland had talent at running back and wide receiver when Moss came to the team, but none of that works without an offensive line.

#3. Money. As much cap room as we've saved, I find it hard to believe that the Bears would go after the top WR available with so many other holes to fill. Moss had a 2007 performance that nets him the big bucks, and it's not likely that the Bears would blow all that cap room on just one player (Unless his name is Lance Briggs).

This is the best reason of the three. It's the one reason why I don't think the Bears would sign Moss. Like I said in my post yesterday, I think the Bears have to try and sign Moss. Just find out exactly what he's looking for, you never know, it might be financially reasonable.

Much like the Raiders, the Bears need help on the offensive line first or Moss wouldn't be able to make any difference.

Foul Balls

The Sox Have Not Made An Offer To Bartolo Colon - Late last night I wrote about a rumor over at FanHouse that the White Sox had made an offer to Bartolo Colon. I openly questioned the validity of the report I found on Impacto Deportivo, and as it turns out, my suspicion was well founded.

According to Ozzie Guillen, the story is incorrect.

Manager Ozzie Guillen shot down a report that the White Sox were on the verge of signing free agent pitcher Bartolo Colon.

According to Dominican site Impactodeportivo.com.do, Colon is close to finalizing a contract with the White Sox. The media outlet states that the pitcher needs only to pass a physical examination.

Guillen, who personally scouted Colon and met earlier Wednesday morning with assistant general manager Rick Hahn, said he hasn't spoken to Colon's representatives in a few weeks. That doesn't mean that the Sox have completely closed the door on Colon, but merely that a signing isn't imminent.

As I said in my FanHouse post, I wouldn't mind if the White Sox did sign Colon for an encore performance on the south side. He's been plagued by injuries the last few seasons, but if he were able to recover and have a strong season, the Sox would be in a much better position to make a playoff run.

If he isn't able to recover, it's not like he could be much worse than Gavin Floyd.

Northwestern Sucks - After losing to the Iowa Hawkeyes on Tuesday night, the Northwestern Wildcats are now 7-17 on the season, and 0-13 in the Big Ten. It's enough to make me wonder, are the Wildcats the worst team in the history of the Big Ten conference?

Looking at the Wildcats remaining schedule, I won't be surprised if they're 0-18 by the end of the season.

I know that Northwestern is one of those academic schools that foolishly values education over its sports programs, but could the school really keep coach Bill Carmody around if they manage to finish the season without a win? Don't they have to at least try to make it look like they're trying to win?

The Knicks Show Team Unity - With the Bulls set to get back to action tonight against what used to be the New Jersey Nets, I'm sure you're all as depressed as I am. I've noticed that over the last few days, without the Bulls to drag me down, there's been a certain bounce in my step.

Colors are brighter. Jokes are funnier. I'm just happier.

I'm afraid it's all going to end tonight when I watch the Bulls play, even if Luol Deng does return.

Still, I just have to remind myself things could be worse. I could be watching the Knicks. Though, at least if I was watching the Knicks I'd be able to laugh at my team fighting each other.