I'm about to get preachy/sappy. Even when the Patriots took a chance on guys like Corey Dillon, they were using roster spots on guys who were never accused of not hustling. To me, and to Bob Kraft, Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli, cheating the game is the worst crime a player can commit. Moss has done it regularly, going back to the infamous dogging it that Merril Hoge proved on ESPN years ago.
I seem to remember, and correct me if I’m wrong, that the knock on Dillon was that he was a bad actor that didn’t try his hardest on the Bengals. Didn’t he draw some heat for saying it was hard to give his all because the team was so bad, or some such like that? At the least he had the infamous “bad attitude” tag that can tank a player’s value so much.
Also, projection is a risky business. How can King be sure that “cheating the game” is the worst crime a player can commit? Seems to me that to the Patriots, asking for more money is a far worse crime than dogging it. I mean, that’s why they routinely ax veterans from the roster, isn’t it?
Next he throws out a really hilarious statement, albeit unintentionally:
People around the Raiders had a major beef with Moss -- he regularly dogged it. I'm not going to kill the Patriots for this, because Moss might well turn into Pete Rose, and if he does, good for him.Newsflash: PETER KING ENDORSES IN-GAME GAMBLING BY PLAYERS!!
Okay, not really. But couldn’t King have found a different player to use in this instance, maybe even a football player? I know that Rose was nicknamed “Charlie Hustle”, but with all the backstory of gambling and being exiled from baseball, maybe a different player might be a better choice. Peyton Manning, for example, is also legendary for his preparation. Or perhaps Troy Brown or Tom Brady, to keep it “inter-Patriots” for his example.
Overall, I’ll say that I agree with King’s general sentiment, that the Patriots might have been better off to let somebody else take the risk on Moss. But, given that they desperately need a receiver and they have a remarkable track record of picking players that fit, they probably deserve the benefit of the doubt on this one.
