Randy Moss

A few friends sent texts messages the other day to me wondering what a die hard Niner fan thought of the Randy Moss signing. There are a few reasons to view it as a negative when you consider how the Braylon Edwards experiment went last year, Moss's age and recent productivity,  and the other available WR's in free agency. But over-all Baalke, Harbaugh, and Co. are taking a low-risk-high-reward option here and I like it.

Many people are going to turn to the Edwards debacle last year and claim that Moss will not fit either because he's even more of a diva and will in turn have a harder time adapting to the new 49er culture, which is team based. But keep in mind that Edwards suffered an injury early on and never quite recovered both mentally and physically, the timing never was right within the offense for him. Therefore we can quickly discard any notion that that situation should be any indicator for the one with Moss.

Another argument I've read on comments for different new sites and sports pages has been that Moss simply was not good in his last year. In 2010 Moss posted the following numbers; 28 rec., 393 yds., 14.0 ypr., and 5 td's. And he was retired all of 2011. This is grounds for spitting your tongue out to get rid of the nasty taste, but don't forget that Moss is arguably the second best WR to ever play the game and he still holds a career number line of; 73 rec., 1,142 yds., 15.5 ypr., and 12 td's per season. In fact Moss put up these numbers in 2009, just before his disastrous 2010 season and brief retirement; 83 rec., 1,264 yds., 15.2 ypr., and 13 td's. If anything the year off could have been a blessing for a guy who was on an emotional roller coaster in '10, he was dogged in New England then traded to Minnesota, hated by the coach there and cut from the team only to be picked up off waivers by a very mediocre Titans squad who was having troubles of their own. The numbers he put up that year were obviously outliers from the mean of his body of work. The bet is that the time off has allowed him to gather himself and have his mind right to give it his all again, not to mention that he now has a fire under his ass because of all the people that he could blame for his 2010 woes.

The argument has been raised that the free agent WR crop is deep this year and we just picked a guy up off the unemployment line. First of all, this isn't just some guy, it's future first ballot HOFer Randy Moss. Secondly, the free agent crop shrunk greatly before the start of free agency because of the franchise tag's being put on some of the premium talent. Thirdly Moss was cheap, some where around 2.5 million cheap. The Niners were going to have to pay too much more for another WR of the potential caliber that Moss brings.

The last issue I will comment on is the Terrell Owens comparison. I've actually heard some people say that if we were going to bring in Moss then we should have brought in Owens first. To this I suggest seeing a doctor of some kind because something just isn't right with you. Don't forget that T.O. was out of football all last year as well, he has pretty much burnt every bridge every where he's gone (including San Francisco), and he's coming off a torn knee from last year he injured while working out. T.O. is 38, Moss is 35 enough said I think...

I'm not delusional, I know Alex Smith has had his troubles getting the ball to his WR's over his career and I don't expect this to magically be fixed, but, if the Niners get 50 rec., 700 yds., 14.0 ypr., and 7 td's out of Moss then I think they can call this situation a win. Brent Jones #84 jersey hasn't been officially retired but I think Moss could take a huge first step by calling him up and asking to wear his number, it would show maturity, respect, and historical knowledge (of the game and franchise).

I'm all for this move. I think Baalke and Harbaugh deserve our trust as fans and keep in mind that they can cut this guy at any time. I will admit that my biggest concern is that no other offensive starter for the 49ers has tweeted about the signing to my knowledge, which can only mean that players may be suspect themselves as to what to expect.

To my friends who sent me those texts I answer; Would you want Randy Moss on your team?