| Let’s get mental. Could the surprisingly
slow fantasy starts of normally high-octane WRs Randy Moss and Terrell Owens have anything
to do with their questionable attitudes?
Let’s put it another way. Will the fact that both these guys can turn into real
head cases whenever the spirit moves them make all you dear readers out there who have
either of them on your fantasy teams sorry you ever considered selecting them?
Probably not.
After all, the Vikings’ Moss and the 49ers’ Owens are coming off eye-popping
fantasy campaigns — good enough to have them ranked first and third, respectively
among NFL wide receivers on Pro Football Weekly’s final draft board. Both of
them have tremendous physical skills that figure to ultimately outweigh any mental baggage
they might be carrying.
But as Sgt. Esterhaus used to say on the old "Hill Street Blues" TV series:
"Let’s be careful out there!"
Through two weeks, neither Moss nor Owens has caught a TD pass. Moss’ lack of
productivity — six catches for 109 yards with no gain longer than 28 yards —
raises particular cause for concern. The last time he went two straight games without a TD
was the middle of the ’99 season.
Owens’ yardage numbers are better (12 catches for 144 yards), but he has had a
hard time holding on to the ball. After dropping four catchable passes in the 49ers’
Week Two loss to the Rams, he went into a big-time funk, silently seething in the
Niners’ locker room while becoming totally unapproachable.
It was hardly the first time Owens’ considerable moodiness made its presence felt.
In this observer’s humble opinion, you should worry a lot more right now about
Moss than Owens, who spent the Sunday evening following the Rams’ loss in a darkened
video room for two hours, taking notes while watching a replay of his ragged performance.
He did the same thing following a September game last year in which he dropped a few
passes in a 38-22 loss to Carolina. Then he proceeded to score 10 touchdowns in the next
six games and became a Pro Bowl no-brainer.
However, Terrell needs to work real hard on the art of chilling out. The day after the
loss to the Rams, he opened up to the media and said some things he would have been better
off not saying. After initially taking full blame for the loss and admitting he was
"an emotional wreck" following a pregame tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11
terrorist atacks, he turned the tables and openly wondered about the 49ers’
play-calling, which included no plays designed to go to him in the team’s first three
offensive series.
And then he did something really dumb — not quite as stupid as his infamous TD
celebration in the Week Four victory at Dallas last year but pretty stupid nonetheless.
Owens bragged that, as bad as he played vs. the Rams, he was still better than his
heavyweight counterpart on the Rams, Isaac Bruce.
"I’m just as good if not better than Bruce," said Owens, whose comments
no doubt got deep under San Francisco head coach Steve Mariucci’s skin. "If you
ask me, I bring a lot more to the table than Bruce. Yeah, he’s got speed and can run
the deep ball, but I bring a lot more to the table as far as blocking and running routes
over the middle."
Think "The Reverend" might be a little extra fired-up the next time the Rams
face off vs. the 49ers?
Moss, meanwhile, has also been guilty of verbal meltdowns that were totally uncalled
for in both of Minnesota’s games so far. In addition to openly voicing his
disapproval with the play of Vikings QB Daunte Culpepper, he has taken it upon himself on
occasion to ignore called plays and run his own routes.
Excuse me, Randy? It’s time to cut Culpepper some slack and concentrate on your
coaching staff’s carefully orchestrated game plans. It’s obvious you entered the
Week One game vs. the fresh-faced Panthers way too overconfident, and you suffered the
consequences.
In Week Two vs. the Bears, another seemingly easy mark, you once again got caught with
your pants down and made matters worse with your highly visible pouting.
I know you’ve been through a lot already this season, considering the death of
good friend and teammate Korey Stringer in training camp followed up by the terrible Sept.
11 tragedy.
But enough is enough, pal. It’s time to prove that the first two weeks were just
an aberration.
It’s time to stop crying and start catching — which will make a lot of
fantasy teams that are banking on you being their big gun breathe a lot easier. |
