Moss OK with fans, but not with Vikings
By Sid Hartman, Star Tribune
Last update: August 15, 2006 – 12:02 AM
Randy Moss, wearing an Oakland uniform and still loved by the Metrodome crowd that cheered him with the Vikings, caught only one pass Monday night in the Raiders' 16-13 preseason victory and appeared upset when taken out of the game in the second quarter.
Moss made it clear he has no love for the Vikings organization that traded him after seven years when he wanted to stay here.
"It actually feels good," Moss said of his return when interviewed on the sideline Monday. "It's no different. It was good to see the fans and feel the love. I'm cool with the fans.
"But to hell with the organization. I'm still mad at them. I wanted to really stay.
"They change uniforms, change shoes and bring a defense in, and they wouldn't do that stuff when I was here. The organization can go to hell. As far as the state, and the fans, I still have love for them."
Moss said injuries played a big part in his disappointing 2005 season, when he had 60 catches for 1,005 yards and eight touchdowns.
"I tried to stay in there and hang in there for the team," he said. "It was a long offseason. I tried to get myself back to 100 percent, and now I'm ready to go."
Moss said he and Daunte Culpepper could have built a dynasty here, and now they are both gone and the Vikings will be the ones who suffer. Culpepper is now with the Miami Dolphins.
Moss, drafted by the Vikings in 1998, said he plans to sell his house here because "it's time for me to sell, and get out of Minnesota."
Asked what he thought of the Vikings' performance, he said: "They need to go back [to camp] and do a little more work."
McCombs' fault
The story has been told before about the conversation Vikings General Manager Jim Finks and his new coach, Bud Grant, had in 1967 as they went over the team's personnel.
The team Grant inherited included a bunch of malcontents, not the best players from a character standpoint. The Vikings had gone 4-9-1 under Norm Van Brocklin the year before.
At this meeting, Finks would mention reasons Grant might not want to keep the player, and each time Grant would ask, "Can he play?"
And if Finks said yes, then Grant would answer, "It's my job to handle that situation."
Well, as I look back, the worst trade ever made by the Vikings was the one last year that sent Moss to Oakland.
Yes, one thing about Moss: He could play. He was ranked as one of the top receivers in the league and gave headaches to every defensive coordinator who tried to defend against him.
Sure, Moss did some stupid things. But not only did he produce on the field, he also sold a lot of tickets. In fact, the team sold out every home game from the day he took the field. They didn't have to run ads in the newspaper to sell five-game packages the way they do now.
If you want to blame someone for the trade, blame former owner Red McCombs.
McCombs made a silly statement when he said that he had to either fire coach Mike Tice or trade Moss. McCombs said he chose to trade Moss.
The only reasons McCombs traded Moss were money, money and money.
Under the eight-year contract Moss signed with the Vikings in July 2001, he was due $7.25 million in 2005, $8.25 million in '06, $8.75 million in '07 and $11.25 million in '08.
Without Moss, Culpepper and even Nate Burleson, the Vikings don't have the big names that sell tickets. Right now, you can buy tickets for every game except the Packers game.
So now it's down to "just win, baby." This Vikings team doesn't have the attractions it had before, and there is more pressure on new coach Brad Childress to win.
I'll say one thing about Moss. When I quoted him as saying, "I play when I want to play," he could have told the media from coast to coast that he was misquoted. But he stood up and said that was exactly what he said.
Davis likes Moss
Al Davis, the man who runs the Raiders, has no regrets about making the trade for Moss.
Davis has never passed up the challenge of handling a player who might not have the best behavior as long as that player could play. And normally Davis can straighten that player out. And by the way, you didn't see Moss get in any trouble last season.
