Watching Randy Moss tear up the Buffalo secondary on Sunday night and continue his ridiculous season (sixteen TDs in ten games so far), it's difficult for a Vikings fan not to feel a hint of jealousy. And for those of us who opposed trading him in the first place, it's hard not to ponder what might have been.
While it's true that Moss never lived up to expectations in Oakland, he has always been an athlete of rare talent. Now that he's found a place to once again showcase that talent, you realize just how damn good he really is.
When it comes to professional sports, I believe that in the end the only thing that matters is winning. If a player can help you win, you have to find a way to make it work. Moss might have been selfish, lazy, and acted like an idiot at times when he was with the Vikings. But the bottom line was that his amazing talent made the team better. Consider the bottom line:
With Moss, the Vikings went 64-48 a .571 winning clip. Post-Moss the Vikings are 19-23 for a .453 winning percentage.
With Moss, the Vikings went 4-4 in the playoffs, twice reaching the NFC Championship game. Without him, they haven't lost a playoff game. They haven't won one either.
You can argue about all the other factors that explain the Vikings failures post-Moss. But watch him play now with the Patriots and tell me that he isn't one of top ten players in the league. You don't get a chance at talent like that very often and when you do, you have to hold onto those special players for as long as you can and build teams around them.
Thankfully for Vikings fans, it looks like we might have another player with game-changing talent in Adrian Peterson. We can only hope that organization doesn't squander it this time around.
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