Moss Traded to Raiders

Where do you even start with a story like this? Do you start with how bad this trade really is for the Vikings? With how inept the Vikings front office and coaching staff are? Or do you start by talking about how the Vikings have gone downhill under Red McCombs?

It is only right that Moss should go to the Raiders. He belongs there. Good luck catching touch passes from Collins and Tuis-whatever, Randy. It is also ironic that the Raiders made this trade because it is obvious the Vikings were raided. Pillaged might be a better word. This is Herschel Walker in reverse. Napoleon Harris?!? Are you kidding me? An average linebacker, a 1st round pick, and a low round pick? For the 2nd best receiver in the league? Unbelievable!

The chronology of events makes you wonder what has been happening at HQ. Are the front office, owners, and coaching staff even talking to each other? First the trade rumors started flying, then Moss said he would be happy elsewhere, then the Vikings denied they were shopping Moss, then McCombs gave permission to trade him, then they sold the team, then Moss said he wanted to stay, then more rumors, then Tice said they would probably keep him, then the new owners said they were looking forward to working with Moss, and then he was traded away for virtually nothing. The Three Stooges look like brilliant engineers compared to the Vikings right now.

Randy Moss should have brought one great defender or at least two defensive starters, plus draft picks. Instead, Rob Brzezinski took an average linebacker, the 7th overall pick, and a low-round pick. He traded away the only player the Vikings can't win without, they are .500 without Moss and can't beat a good team without him. The 3-7 end of season slide started when Moss got injured.

Tice says he wants to be more of a running team. Really? The Vikings were in the top 4 last season in yards per rush. So far, so good. But they were among the league's worst in rush yards per game. Does that sound like the coaching staff knows how to run the ball? No! Tice doesn't know how to use the running game and they just traded away the only receiver on the team that can stop other teams from stacking the line against the run. Brilliant!

The other line they used when shopping Moss was that they could upgrade the defense. Napoleon Harris is a good linebacker, but he will not single-handedly improve the Vikings defense. Will they improve in the draft? Remember, this is the team that failed to make a pick in a draft and allowed another team to move into their spot and grab a great defender. Can we trust them to draft wisely? No matter who the Vikings get with those draft picks, they won't compare in value to Moss.

Should the Vikings have traded Moss? It depends. For 2 defenders and 2 high-round picks? Yes. For an average LB and any 2 picks? No. This was a bad trade for the Vikings and all but guarantees a sub-.500 season. We have all known for quite some time that Minnesota had one of the worst owners in the NFL and one of the worst coaching staffs in the league. Now we see that the front office is equally inept.

Reggie Fowler has paid big money for a team that just traded away one of its most valuable assets. You have to wonder if he had any say in this at all. He's not supposed to, but, for the money he spent, he could have laid down a few ground rules. When he takes over the team we will find out. If he gets control early enough, he should do a thorough house-cleaning starting in the front office. This trade demonstrates that the people there are not qualified.

The one thing that makes this trade look truly bad, is the fact that the Vikings are $30 million dollars under the cap. They could have signed 4 quality defenders that would have improved the defense, kept their potent offense intact, reinforced the running game, and drafted more quality defenders and turned this team into a contender in the NFC. Instead, they chose to re-tool the offense before making any improvements on defense. This is a trade that could have waited. This is a trade that should not have been made.

There is only one way this trade makes sense. If the Vikings now get Plaxico Burress or Derrick Mason, draft another big-time receiver, and spend most of their available cap money on defensive studs, they could turn this around. But that won't change the fact that they gave Randy Moss away for half of what he is worth. And that simple fact tells you all you need to know about the Vikings current organization. Fowler can't take control soon enough!