Time For Moss To Put $ Where His Mouth Is

Let me start this rant by stating that I have no problem with Randy Moss' comments about wanting a new contract after Sunday's win over the Bengals. One of the best receivers in the NFL wants a new deal - to stay with the Patriots, by the way - and he said that although he will play hard regardless of if he gets the contract or not, he would feel better with a new contract.

The fact is that a football player is just one play away from the end of their career so if Moss wants to cash in when he is healthy and still producing at a high level, no one should say he is being greedy.

Moss has a chance to backup his claim this week that he will play hard regardless of the contract situation and that his priority is for the team to win football games. The Patriots will travel to the Meadowlands to take on the hated Jets this Sunday, and their star cornerback Darrell Revis. Revis famously called Moss a "slouch" after dominating their individual matchup in 2009 and their will be a lot of focus on the Moss-Revis matchup this week.

Now I will not pretend to know anything about the offensive gameplan of Bill Belichick or the defensive schemes of Rex Ryan and the Jets but I get the feeling that Revis will spend most of Sunday trying to keep Moss out of the endzone. If that is indeed the case, Moss can prove to his doubters that he is serious about helping the Patriots win by...

... playing the role of decoy.

Everyone knows that Tom Brady loves to throw the deep ball to Moss and the Jets are hip to that fan favorite play. However, if Moss runs a majority of deep routes, taking Revis along for the ride, the rest of the field will be open for Brady to find Wes Welker, Kevin Faulk, Rob Gronkowski, Alge Crumpler, Brandon Tate, and Aaron Hernandez. By keeping Revis occupied, Moss will give the Patriots offense an advantage and will be doing what it takes for the Patriots to get an important road win within the division.

So, Randy, if you want to prove to everyone - especially your teammates, coaches, and ownership - that your primary goal is doing whatever it takes to help your team win, show them you would just as much care to run a series of glorified windsprints in order to take away the opponents best defender as you would grab multiple touchdowns.

Hey, in the end, it might be what earns you your next big contract. Or, more importantly, your first Super Bowl.