Owens

by Arthur-N

Created on: January 09, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Randy Moss and Terrell Owens are two of the best wide receivers in the game. Both are dominant and amazing athletes, but if I had to pick between the two, I would pick Terrell Owens. Don't get me wrong, Randy Moss is amazing, but in the long run, Terrell will give you the better result, and that doesn't just mean his individual stats.
Here are the key differences between T.O. and Randy Moss.

1. Blocking - Terrell Owens has showed himself to be one of the strongest receivers, and one of the best blockers. I've seen T.O. block for Patrick Crayton, Julius Jones, and Marion Barber. Those blocks end up getting the team 1 or 2 more yards, which can give them a key first down. If Randy had Hines Ward's blocking abilities, maybe the Patriots can go 16-0 more often. Blocking is essential, for all positions, whether or not you're a guard or tailback.

2. Consistency - T.O. has got to be one of the most consistent players of all time. He's never had a bad year. In his rookie year in 1996, he caught for 520 yards. His second year, he replaced Jerry Rice because he got injured, and he delivered with more than 900 receiving yards. In 1999, he caught 754 yards after the 49ers went 4-12. Since 2000, he's caught for 1000 yards each season except for 2005, where he caught 763 yards in just 7 games.
Moss, in his respect, has great numbers too, some seasons much better than T.O.'s best. Moss averaged 87.2 YPG and 0.8 TD/game during 1998-2003, but during the next 3 years, he averaged 55.4 YPG and 0.57 TD/game. In 2006, he only received for 553 yards and caught 3 TD passes.

3. Attitude - Although T.O. and Randy Moss have a negative attitude toward the media, Randy Moss has actually deserted his own team during games and seasons. In November of 2006, Moss stated that the reason of his dropped passes and lack of effort was that "Maybe because I'm unhappy and I'm not too much excited about what's going on, so, my concentration and focus level tend to go down sometimes when I'm in a bad mood." He's also said that the losing seasons at Oakland negatively affected his playing and discouraged him at team practices.
During the last game of the regular season in 2004, with 2 seconds left on the clock, he walked back to his team's locker room. Minnesota was down 3 and were attempting for an onside kick. They wound up losing the game. Randy's excuse of this was that he didn't believe his team would recover it.

4. Influence - T.O. has made quarterbacks such as Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb, and Tony Romo significantly better.
Garcia became a 3 time pro bowler, throwing for more than 4000 yards in 1 season, and having back to back 30+ TD seasons.
Donovan McNabb threw a career high 31 TD passes and went to the Super Bowl that same year.
Tony Romo has become a 2 time Pro Bowler in only his 2nd year, and passed for more than 4200 yards and 36 TDs in 2007.
There is no doubt that these players got better because of Terrell Owens. Many would argue Randy has done the same thing with Daunte Culpepper and Tom Brady. For Daunte, there is no doubt that Randy helped establish his career. It's unfortunate however that during Daunte's breakout season, there wasn't much that Randy could do to help. However for Tom Brady, he had already established his legacy, with 3 Super Bowls and consistently throwing several TD passes per year. During Tom's breakout year in 2007, it's hard to not notice Randy's contributions. It's important to note however that other receivers such as Dont Stallworth, Kyle Brady, and especially Wes Welker contributed a lot to Brady's season.
For Donovan McNabb, in 2003, Eagle's wide receivers only caught 5 TD passes. In 2004, T.O. caught 14 himself, proving he was the main reason for McNabb's success.

5. Ability - Terrell Owens has single-handedly taken the Eagles to the Super Bowl. If Moss can take them to the Super Bowl in 2008, and in other seasons with the Patriots, it is clear that Tom Brady is the main reason, as he has done it many times before. T.O.'s stats prove that he will have many more great years, regardless of the team he plays for, while Randy Moss has shown that he can only achieve true greatness with a great quarterback. For example, his terrific seasons with Culpepper and Brady.

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