The one point about Moss that no one has mentioned was his ability to change the game on special teams. He was incredible at setting our team up with good field position. Hindsight being 20/20 I would have been comfortable giving Moss his money based on return ability with the hope that he would develop as a receiver.
He wasn't that good in 2004, he was solid, but he wasn't spectacular. I think the trade made sense... sucks for coles that he doesn't have a healthy chad throwing him the ball.
Why does everyone say Moss wouldn't do as well on the Jets? This may be true, but Coles was on the Redskins and didn't have the year Moss had, and even if Coles was on the Redskins last year he wouldn't have had the year Moss had. We made a mistake. Whatever, let's not sit here in denial, or worry about it. We'll just fix up the offense so it doesn't matter. Coles will probably be gone in 2 years anyway.
Okay, most of the points I would make have already been stated, but it looks like there is still room for more. Recapping, Moss is too fast for his own good here. He would have overrun the vast majority of throws last year. Moss would never go over the middle, like him or not, he is sassy. As far as Moss being a special teams playmaker, you have got to be kidding. I know I am not the only one who remembers Moss waving his right arm in the air a full half-second before catching a kickoff. As soon as he heard approaching footsteps he was calling for a fair catch. When he actually decided to return a kick, he would show blazing speed, 5 yards forward, 10 sideways. Coles is a complete receiver. He will do whatever is asked of him on any play. Don't fool yourself and believe Moss is anything but fast. He has bad hands, poor concentration, and will only make a play when in open field. He is like the Deion Sanders of WRs. All flash, no bash. Moss is small. Tiny actually. Since he won't make jumps for balls, this makes him a kid in a league of men. I watched Moss last year. I saw all of his supposed great plays, mostly because this board was lit up with people saying how much of a mistake it was to trade him. If you can find it, go back and watch the film. EVERY play he supposedly "made" was simply just "there." He was never touched. My best example is the Giants game last year. The one people were going crazy over. Moss caught a ball behind the LOS, and took it for a long one (I think he scored on it if I remember correctly.) Amazingly though, he was NEVER touched! NOT ONCE! When he caught the ball, there were two defenders right NEXT to him. They TRIPPED over each other. Moss scooted past them. Then, on his way past the LBs, some fantastic blocks gave him the chance at open field. I don't remember it clearly after that, but I think I made the point. Over and over Moss has been overrated. Yes, he is blazingly fast, there is no denying that. The thing is, speed means nothing if you don't have football speed and heart, which Moss doesn't. He has track speed. Put him in a marathon, and he beats most people in the NFL. Allow bumps and elbows to be used, and he won't even move past the starting line. Let's see how Moss does this year. After a full year of his division seeing the film on him, I wonder just how well he does. Keep in mind, a lot of things that people are saying now are the same things they said about Coles after his first Jetskin year.
And Moss only proved that in ONE season with the Jets. I think he's an excellent player but the wrong receiver for teh JETS system AT THE TIME. We have a new coaching staff and Coles is ALOT tougher receiver than Moss. So lets see what happens.
Some people forget that coles isnt just some slow posession reciever who can just go over the middle. He is pretty damn fast and i can bet you that if he is slower than moss, its not by much. He played running back in college and apparently ran in the 4.2's. Coles is a very explosive player and i think we have yet to see that until we have a strong armed qb throwing to him, and a coordinator who will attack down field, and i think this year might be the year when people realize that he is no slouch.
Are you NUTZ!!!??? Next to penny Brunnell has a Cannon! Don't let his age fool you, Brunnell has an arm.
According to the coaches, Coles had the fastest 40-time they ever recorded (4.19; most scouts had him around 4.3), and his time was even better than that of former Seminole Deion Sanders. http://archive.profootballweekly.com/content/archives/draft_1999/prospects_wr_011700.asp There's others, that's just the first one that came up.
Bingo, great post. I was talking to my friend about this the other day, how Moss is overrated as a punt returner. I remember how the commentators would always say how dangerous of a punt returner he is, and use to wonder WTF they meant. He either fair catched it, or ran out of bounds with it. The only time I saw him do something on special teams was during the playoffs against SD. Outside of that, I cant recall one punt return he had that made a difference.
Coles isn't fast?????Then who is the Laverneous Coles they are talking about in this article from back in 1998 from Florida State University?Coles has a toe injury that has slowed him some,but he is still faster than most recievers in the NFL!Read on and learn something about Coles that you guys obviously don't know....... 1998 April Patchwork Wide receiver LAVERANUES COLES broke his fibula just above the ankle during the game. Coles, FSU's No. 1 flanker, will be in a walking cast for four weeks. The good news is this injury will not require surgery and should not affect his season. Coles turned in the fastest 40-yard dash time ever by a Seminole on Feb. 27, blistering Mike Long Track in times of 4.16, 4.17, 4.18 and 4.20. Deion Sanders held the previous best time of 4.21. In late March, FSU hosted the FSU RELAYS. Welcoming more than 1,000 athletes from around the country, a FSU freshman CHINETTE JOHNSON lead the way by placing first in the heptathlon. Another of the wins was the men's 4x100m relay team. Team members were PATRICK HAYES, TRAVIS MINOR, LAVERANUES COLES and TAVARIS SPRADLEY. This team beat the Gator team by .23 second. Competing at Gainesville for the 1998 Coca Cola Florida Relays saw a first place finish in the collegiate women's 100m dash by All-American ZUZETTE MULLINGS. SHANNON STEELE placed second in the high jump, and for the men; standouts were TRAVIS MINOR, GERMAINE STRINGER, TAVARIS SPRADLEY, PATRICK HAYES, and LAVERANUES COLES.
