More on Moss - The Fans Speak Out

Football Digest, June, 2003 by Nicholas A. Maski

I've been a FOOTBALL DIGEST subscriber for a long time. I always expect better views and articles from this magazine than others, but I have a problem with what you printed about Randy Moss in the February 2003 issue ["Welcome to the Big Time"]. You have him as one of this season's biggest disappointments, saying that he failed to be a team leader and that he "provided no spark and few big plays in Minnesota's sputtering offense."

First of all, he was voted to the Pro Bowl after catching 106 passes for 1,347 yards and seven touchdowns and throwing one TD pass. He also made key, big plays to help the Vikings post a better record in 2002 than in 2001. And he did this with quarterback Daunte Culpepper playing poorly all season and without another receiving threat. Secondly, if you listen to what the Vikings coaches and players say about Moss, they all love him and say he is a leader on the team. The players voted him the offensive captain at the beginning of this season. Thirdly, the Vikings' overall offensive stats show that they did not sputter.

I still hold this magazine in higher regard than all the other ones, but I believe that little to no research was done about Moss and the situation he was in this year. Randy Moss is far from a saint, but his reputation is as bad as it is because of poorly done articles by unfair writers.

Nicholas A. Maski
Via e-mail