One of the hardest decisions a professional athlete must make, is when to retire from the game they love.
While questions and jokes have been made over recent years in regard to Brett Favre's long and eventful career, it is the guy he only played four games with this season that should be considering it.
While the Vikings have been a disappointment this season, all of the blame can't be put on Brett.
The defense is not the top-notch defense that was crushing people last season. The defense didn't lose anything on defense, they just haven't been producing this year. The head coach was canned a couple of weeks ago, and Favre has been battling injuries all year.
I don't want to make this all about Brett, though.
Looking at what Moss has done this season, it would be shocking to see any team trying to sign him next year.
There really isn't any potential left in him.
Maybe you could use him as a decoy, but even if he has a shot to make a diving catch, a spectacular grab, or even a key block, he is likely going to disappoint you.
The most recent example of this came last week in the Titans loss to the Houston Texans. The game was overshadowed by the Andre Johnson/Cortland Finnegan incident, but what everyone should be talking about was the effort—or lack there of—that Moss gave towards the end of the game.
Rusty Smith is not Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, or Phillip Rivers, I know.
Still, when a ball is thrown your way in the end zone in the final minutes of a game where you are being shut out, the least you can do is look at the ball and extend your arms.
Randy watched Rusty throw his way, and before the ball was above his head, just stopped running and looked straight ahead with his arms at his side. If he would have caught it, it would have been a great catch, but he could have at least gotten his hands on the ball.
The point is, any other receiver in the league would have tried to come down with that ball, yes, even Terrell Owens.
Looking at the statistics for Randy this season, you have to wonder if he has anything left.
Playing the role of a decoy can only last for so long, before defenses stop worrying about him. Until he proves he can hurt them, he isn't going to help your offense at all.
If he can't put up good numbers with Tom Brady and Brett Favre, what makes anyone think he is going to try for someone like Josh Freeman or Matt Cassell?
In the four games he played with New England this year, he caught nine passes for 139 yards and three touchdowns.
After being traded to the Vikings, Moss was able to catch 13 balls for 174 yards and two touchdowns from Favre in four games.
Since being picked up by the Titans, he has been virtually invisible, catching just four passes for 39 yards and no touchdowns in three games so far.
Looking at the teams around the league, if you added Moss to the roster, I don't know of any team where he would be the clear number one receiver. The only ones that are debatable, would be the Rams and Raiders. Even then they both have had breakout candidates this year.
The Bills have Steve Johnson, the Bears have Devin Hester, and the 49ers have Michael Crabtree. The Jaguars could also be in the debate, but both Sims-Walker and Mike Thomas have been decent this year.
Looking at next season, I don't see Randy Moss as a number one receiver for any team in the NFL.
When you get to that point in your career, and you haven't been producing, or even trying for that matter, then it's time to hang up the cleats.
Yes, Randy has made a lot of money in his career and if the opportunity is out there to make even more, of course he is going to stick around. It will be interesting to see if anyone makes him an offer.
The only team I could see bringing him back might be the Patriots.
I think Randy knew after he went to Minnesota, how great he had it in New England with Brady and Bellicheck. I don't think he would want to play anywhere else. If it can't work out with that organization and those players and coaches, you have to wonder if it is possible anywhere else.
If there is anything fans hate to see, it's the guy they watched growing up as a superstar, not be able to perform at a later age.
Being born in 1985 and growing up as a kid in the 90's, I lived for the epic match ups between the Pacers, Bulls, and Knicks.
Guys like Reggie Miller, Michael Jordan, and Patrick Ewing were the reason I became a fan.
Toward the end of their careers, it was really sad to see how far they had fallen.
Not so much Reggie, but watching Ewing with the Magic, and Jordan with the Wizards, it was sort of depressing in a sense.
It's easy to see the same thing in the NFL if you look at Moss.
Though people may compare it to the situation that Jerry Rice was in towards the end of his career, it couldn't be further from the truth.
Rice played hard every single game and gave it everything he had.
He didn't care what team he was playing for, what the score was, who the quarterback was, or what the team's record was. He was going to give maximum effort every time the ball was snapped.
If he can come back next season, he will have to be more productive than he has been this year.
If it gets any worse, we may see the end of him before the regular season is over with.
If he isn't going to be able to perform better than he has this year, then there is no reason for him to come back, just to pick up a paycheck. Better for him to leave at the end of the season, than to come back next year and be non-existant.
This could also work out well in the future, in the way that it could prevent the Hall-of-Fame induction in Canton from being so Favre-heavy.
While questions and jokes have been made over recent years in regard to Brett Favre's long and eventful career, it is the guy he only played four games with this season that should be considering it.
While the Vikings have been a disappointment this season, all of the blame can't be put on Brett.
The defense is not the top-notch defense that was crushing people last season. The defense didn't lose anything on defense, they just haven't been producing this year. The head coach was canned a couple of weeks ago, and Favre has been battling injuries all year.
I don't want to make this all about Brett, though.
Looking at what Moss has done this season, it would be shocking to see any team trying to sign him next year.
There really isn't any potential left in him.
Maybe you could use him as a decoy, but even if he has a shot to make a diving catch, a spectacular grab, or even a key block, he is likely going to disappoint you.
The most recent example of this came last week in the Titans loss to the Houston Texans. The game was overshadowed by the Andre Johnson/Cortland Finnegan incident, but what everyone should be talking about was the effort—or lack there of—that Moss gave towards the end of the game.
Rusty Smith is not Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, or Phillip Rivers, I know.
Still, when a ball is thrown your way in the end zone in the final minutes of a game where you are being shut out, the least you can do is look at the ball and extend your arms.
Randy watched Rusty throw his way, and before the ball was above his head, just stopped running and looked straight ahead with his arms at his side. If he would have caught it, it would have been a great catch, but he could have at least gotten his hands on the ball.
The point is, any other receiver in the league would have tried to come down with that ball, yes, even Terrell Owens.
Looking at the statistics for Randy this season, you have to wonder if he has anything left.
Playing the role of a decoy can only last for so long, before defenses stop worrying about him. Until he proves he can hurt them, he isn't going to help your offense at all.
If he can't put up good numbers with Tom Brady and Brett Favre, what makes anyone think he is going to try for someone like Josh Freeman or Matt Cassell?
In the four games he played with New England this year, he caught nine passes for 139 yards and three touchdowns.
After being traded to the Vikings, Moss was able to catch 13 balls for 174 yards and two touchdowns from Favre in four games.
Since being picked up by the Titans, he has been virtually invisible, catching just four passes for 39 yards and no touchdowns in three games so far.
Looking at the teams around the league, if you added Moss to the roster, I don't know of any team where he would be the clear number one receiver. The only ones that are debatable, would be the Rams and Raiders. Even then they both have had breakout candidates this year.
The Bills have Steve Johnson, the Bears have Devin Hester, and the 49ers have Michael Crabtree. The Jaguars could also be in the debate, but both Sims-Walker and Mike Thomas have been decent this year.
Looking at next season, I don't see Randy Moss as a number one receiver for any team in the NFL.
When you get to that point in your career, and you haven't been producing, or even trying for that matter, then it's time to hang up the cleats.
Yes, Randy has made a lot of money in his career and if the opportunity is out there to make even more, of course he is going to stick around. It will be interesting to see if anyone makes him an offer.
The only team I could see bringing him back might be the Patriots.
I think Randy knew after he went to Minnesota, how great he had it in New England with Brady and Bellicheck. I don't think he would want to play anywhere else. If it can't work out with that organization and those players and coaches, you have to wonder if it is possible anywhere else.
If there is anything fans hate to see, it's the guy they watched growing up as a superstar, not be able to perform at a later age.
Being born in 1985 and growing up as a kid in the 90's, I lived for the epic match ups between the Pacers, Bulls, and Knicks.
Guys like Reggie Miller, Michael Jordan, and Patrick Ewing were the reason I became a fan.
Toward the end of their careers, it was really sad to see how far they had fallen.
Not so much Reggie, but watching Ewing with the Magic, and Jordan with the Wizards, it was sort of depressing in a sense.
It's easy to see the same thing in the NFL if you look at Moss.
Though people may compare it to the situation that Jerry Rice was in towards the end of his career, it couldn't be further from the truth.
Rice played hard every single game and gave it everything he had.
He didn't care what team he was playing for, what the score was, who the quarterback was, or what the team's record was. He was going to give maximum effort every time the ball was snapped.
If he can come back next season, he will have to be more productive than he has been this year.
If it gets any worse, we may see the end of him before the regular season is over with.
If he isn't going to be able to perform better than he has this year, then there is no reason for him to come back, just to pick up a paycheck. Better for him to leave at the end of the season, than to come back next year and be non-existant.
This could also work out well in the future, in the way that it could prevent the Hall-of-Fame induction in Canton from being so Favre-heavy.
