I'm so sick of this guy, our offense could've been scary dangerous, but he needs to go ahead and draft two WR's who probably won't see a snap this year and let one of the most prolific WR's slip thru his hands.
From the Wisconsin State Journal today
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/sports/ ... 28&ntpid=3
GREEN BAY - General manager Ted Thompson left Lambeau Field Saturday night convinced of two things: That his Green Bay Packers still had a legitimate shot at trading for Oakland Raiders wide receiver Randy Moss, and that Moss wasn't worth more than a fifth-round draft pick.
So it came as a surprise to Thompson when he arrived at work on Sunday morning for Day 2 of the NFL draft and learned - along with the rest of the football world - that the Raiders traded Moss to the New England Patriots for a fourth-round pick.
According to an NFL source with knowledge of the negotiations, the problem for the Packers wasn't that Moss preferred to play for the Patriots, or that they couldn't reach an accord on a new contract. Rather, it was that Patriots coach Bill Belichick decided after Day 1 of the draft to give up a fourth-rounder for Moss and Thompson wasn't going to surrender more than a fifth-rounder.
Another league source said Friday night that the Packers were willing to part with a fourth-rounder for Moss, but apparently once the draft began, Thompson decided the enigmatic wideout wasn't worth that high of a pick.
In his post-draft news conference, Thompson sidestepped questions as to why the Packers didn't get Moss ("Couldn't tell you"), whether there was anything he could have done differently to get Moss ("I can't really talk about stuff like that") and why he thought Moss, despite his character questions, was worth pursuing in the first place ("I think I'll just pass on that").
Packers pro personnel director Reggie McKenzie said reports that Moss chose the Patriots over the Packers were inaccurate, and that it was Raiders owner Al Davis' decision to send Moss to the Patriots. McKenzie said the Packers had engaged in contract talks with Moss and were willing to sign him to a two-year deal, as opposed to the one-year, $3 million contract he signed with the Patriots. Moss can make an additional $2 million in incentives.
"We were in the game," McKenzie said. "It came to the point where New England had the ammunition the Raiders wanted. It really came down to Al Davis' decision."
According to Belichick, the trade talks heated up on Saturday night, when he spoke with Davis and Moss, who had career lows in receptions (42), yards (553) and touchdowns (three) last season for the 2-14 Raiders.
"We felt like, if we were going to (trade) a pick that was in (Sunday's) round, that we would need to get that rolling (Saturday) night," Belichick said. "The wheels started spinning pretty fast.
"It was 2 (o'clock) in the morning. I could hear it in (Moss') voice - he was enthusiastic about it. That (was) great, (but) at that point, really, more than anything, we were just trying to get things done."
The Patriots got the trade bait they needed when they dealt the second of their two first-round picks (28th overall) to the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday for the Niners' 2008 first-round pick and 2007 fourth-round pick (110th). That fourth-rounder then went to the Raiders for Moss.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the teams came close to making the same deal Friday, but the Raiders backed away, presumably to see if they could get a better deal from the Packers.
They couldn't, and by Sunday morning, Moss was in Foxborough, Mass., where he passed his physical to make the deal official. McKenzie said the Packers never considered dealing the extra third-round pick they acquired in a Saturday trade with the New York Jets.
Moss, who tore up the two years he had remaining on his Raiders' contract - forfeiting base salaries of $9.75 million this season and $11.25 million in 2008 - to make the deal work, said in a conference call with Boston-area reporters Sunday that he was excited about playing for the Patriots, who have re-made their receiving corps and are a Super Bowl XLII favorite.
"When the opportunity came around for me to be traded to New England, and I talked to coach Belichick, once I started hearing the buzz in the air and on the TV, it was just more like me getting a chance to really get on that Super Bowl stage and really show the world who am I am and what I am able to do," said Moss, who hung up before he could be asked about his interest in playing in Green Bay with quarterback Brett Favre.
"I (think) that what I have done in my nine-year career was just a glimpse of what I can do. So me being able to get the right things in place for me being able to succeed on the field is right here in New England."
