On Saturday night, Randy Moss was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In his induction speech, Moss had plenty of kind words for the New England Patriots.
Saturday night was a very special one for Randy Moss. The legendary wide receiver was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame where his legacy will live on forever. During his induction speech, Moss expressed how grateful he was for his opportunity with the New England Patriots.
Moss only spent 4 of his 15 years in the NFL with the Patriots but the organization seemed to have a humongous impact on his career.
Prior to Saturday, I assumed Moss was primarily going to talk about Minnesota. It was where the wideout got his start and rose to prominence. The invisible mooning of the crowd would not be well received by Bill Belichick.
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Moss’s numbers do the talking. He has almost 1,000 catches, 15,292 yards, and 156 touchdowns. Moss was one of the best deep threats to ever play the game. All you had to do was throw the ball up and just let Moss go up and grab it.
They don’t call him “The Freak” for no reason.
Moss’s best season came in the New England Patriots undefeated season of 2007. Tom Brady and Moss were playing on another level. Brady took advantage of having a supreme deep threat.
Moss even broke the single-season record for TD’s with 23. Sadly the Patriots didn’t finish the postseason undefeated as they lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.
So let’s look at Moss’s thoughts about the Patriots in his hall of fame induction speech.
Bill Belichick and Randy Moss were BFF’s
Bill Belichick and Randy Moss seemed to be polar opposites. Belichick is quiet and reserved while Moss is loud and outgoing.
It appears that Moss and Belichick managed to get really close during Moss’s tenure in New England.
"“Bill Belichick, I’m not gonna forget about you. I wanna thank you for being a friend when it wasn’t always about football. You showed me how much I loved the game, you challenged me every day to go out there and be great, you challenged me to be great, coach. And I’m sorry we did not bring it home. All those individual awards don’t really mean anything to me. Football is a team sport, football is a team sport."
First off, even though it may sound crazy, I am stunned to hear that Belichick doesn’t think about football 24/7. He seems like this football robot who is always soaking up knowledge. To see that Belichick actually cared about Moss was like seeing the Tin Man all of a sudden have a heart. I thought this man was incapable of being nice.
The end speaks to how great Moss’s character is. Moss may have seemed braggadocious at times but he wanted to win. Sadly the hall of famer was never able to get his Super Bowl ring.
A gold jacket is still pretty sweet though.
Dante Scarnecchia made Randy Moss love football again
Sorry, but I did not expect to hear Dante Scarnecchia’s name come out of Randy Moss’s mouth on Saturday. Why on Earth would a wide receiver talk about an offensive lineman coach?
Scarnecchia wrote Moss a note during a low point in Moss’s career, and it revived his love for the game.
"“I received a letter from you, telling me what you had learned from me and what an inspiration I was to you. Coach, that uplifted me so much. You have no idea, because I was down and out. I wanted to leave the game. Scar, you talked me back into the game.”"
This just shows how impactful words are. Scarnecchia saved a legend’s career.
You know, with everyone talking about how terrible it is to play in New England this is just what needed to be said. The Patriots coaches may be hard on you, but they are doing it because they care about their players and want them to succeed. They genuinely care about all the players on the team.
Moss showed in his speech that the New England Patriots are the best organization to play for in the entire NFL.
Grateful for the opportunity
Randy Moss expressed how grateful he was that the Patriots “ignored the noise” and took a chance on the 30-year-old. Moss was viewed as a locker room nightmare, but the Patriots knew he could work well in their system.
Randy Moss thanked the Kraft family for “ignoring the noise” and welcoming him with open arms. As he mentioned the late Myra Kraft, and how she shook his hand to say how happy she was to have him in New England, the emotion from Robert Kraft during the speech was palpable.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) August 5, 2018
I would definitely say the risk paid off.
Moss is one of the best receivers to play the game. In the red zone, there is no one I would rather throw the ball to. Moss can catch anything.
New England Patriots fans will always remember Moss for his fantastic 2007 season. His single-season touchdown record may never be broken. He was performing at such a high level. It seemed like no one could cover Moss, and even when they did Tom Brady made a great throw or Moss made an amazing catch.
His time in New England may have been short, but his impact will be felt for much longer.
Randy Moss was such a unique player on and off the field. There will never be another player quite like him.