The Real Reason the Vikings Cut Randy Moss

Much has been made about Randy Moss’s tirade over a catered lunch as a major reason for his release from the Vikings.  As deplorable as that behavior certainly was, it probably more of a symptom than a cause for the Vikings decision to cut the receiver.  If there’s one thing that Bill Belichick and Brad Childress share in common it’s that they will tolerate prima donnas as long as they can make big play contributions on the field.

So I submit the real reason Moss was cut from his second team in a month, and will likely be short-lived on the Titans – the only team that submitted a waiver claim for him, is that he no longer does make big play contributions on the field.  To wit, check out this photo from Moss’s last-play effort against the Packers.

When I watched this play in real-time, I thought it was a badly overthrown ball.  Uncatchable.  But from this angle, you can clearly see that it was actually a perfectly thrown ball – high enough to clear the defense but low enough that the receiver could make a play on it.  Unfortunately, that receiver was Moss, whose 6-inch vertical leap and dinosaur arms resulted in it sailing out of bounds.  It not only could have been caught, it probably should have been caught.  Especially by someone with Moss's physical talent.

Had Randy done what everyone knows he’s still perfectly capable of doing, that play would have gone the other way and it would have changed the season for both the Packers and the Vikings.  Minnesota would have been essentially a half game behind Green Bay and just a game behind the first place Bears, going against Chicago this weekend.  The Favre monkey would have still been on the back of Aaron Rodgers, the rest of the team, and every Packer fan.  The media swell of “Favre demons still haunt Packers” and “Rodgers can’t win close games” would be swirling intensely.  And who knows what would have happened to the Packers against the Jets and Cowboys.  That play could have unraveled us.

But luckily for Packer fans it was Randy in the back corner of that end zone.  Not Percy Harvin.  Not a healthy Sidney Rice.  And that is why Randy is no longer a Viking.  Hopefully, our good luck can continue against these same Vikings in week 11.