Now that Randy Moss has twice taken to a podium in Gillette Stadium this season and essentially shot his way out of town with his mouth, maybe we're starting to realize why the ex-Patriots, ex-Vikings receiver isn't always eager to talk to the media in the first place. Moss talks, and then he walks.

Vikings shocker: Minnesota waives Randy Moss

The great irony is that with that rambling and bizarro-world post-game press conference in Foxboro on Sunday evening, Moss just did to the Vikings what the Patriots feared he would do to them at some point this season -- create the kind of internal problem that can't be smoothed over or minimized. It all but forced the organization to cut ties with the talented but mercurial veteran.

What should us amaze us all is how well the Patriots navigated the landmine field that is Moss. Not only did they glean a 2011 third-round pick for a guy who only cost them a 2007 fourth-round pick, but after getting rid of him, they still some how wound up on the receiving end of all Moss's verbal bouquets Sunday evening. Somewhere right now, Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft are grinning like Cheshire cats.

The Vikings? They lost the draft pick, and then got dumped on by Moss, who second-guessed their coaching decisions, and basically told the NFL world that being a Viking would never compare to the honor and thrill he felt being a Patriot. It was as if Moss went back to his old hometown and so openly pined for his former girlfriend that he felt compelled to tell his new girlfriend that she would never measure up. Along the way, Moss somehow forgot that he was the one who instigated the breakup in New England to begin with.

And did we mention that this all happened just hours after Moss was virtually no factor in New England's 28-18 conquest of the reeling Vikings, a game that vaulted the Patriots into first place in the AFC East and further sealed Minnesota's gloomy fate as a Super Bowl pretender? So the Vikings didn't even get the benefit of any impact from Moss in the one game they figured he would want to win more than any other.

All told, the Vikings got 13 catches for 174 yards and two touchdowns out of Moss in four games. And one giant dose of embarrassment. Is there any single element of this story that Minnesota comes out looking the better for in their 25-day dalliance with No. 84? I simply can't find one.

In Moss's re-introductory press conference at the Vikings team complex on Oct. 7, he said: "To all the Vikings fans that are coming to the Metrodome, pull your 84 jerseys out, man. I think this is going to be a fun ride.''

Uh, when exactly did the fun start again? It must have been at some point in the Vikings' 24-21 Desperation Bowl win over Dallas on Oct. 17, because that's the only game Minnesota won with Moss back in purple. Otherwise, a Vikings team that was struggling along at 1-2 traded for Moss and then proceeded to continue its freefall, to 2-5.

So, how's the Super Bowl-or-bust season going so far in Minnesota, Brad Childress? Because the all-in approach doesn't seem to be working out. The Vikings sure went for it all this season, and now it's all blowing up in their face.

Coaxing Brett Favre off the tractor once more with repeated recruiting trips to Hattiesburg? Childress said go for it, because he knew how much his team wanted Favre back. Trading for Moss in early October even though all the signs of the old, selfish-Randy were again on full display? Childress said go for it, because adding a talent like Moss made any downside risk all but moot.

Just last week, this was Childress' assessment of Moss's impact so far in Minnesota, as told to members of the New England area media:

"He's been a positive in the locker room and on the field,'' Childress said. "He's obviously an 'A' competitor, smart football player. I think for a guy who has played as long as he has played, it was more about just getting him up to speed with our system. He understands a lot of things that are happening on the other side of the football against him, so it's not something that you have to teach both. He's been a joy to be around.''

I'm guessing the coach they call Chilly wishes he had a few of those sentences back. He might still call Moss something that starts with a capital A, and Moss definitely has a feel for the opposing team (the Patriots, in this case), but if he was such a joy to be around, how comes Childress doesn't want him around any more?

If you're going to have a problem with Moss and his giving of less than full effort on some plays, as the Vikings apparently did in their recent losses at Green Bay and New England, part of the issue was self-delusion all along.

This was, after all, the guy who once famously said he plays when he wants to play. Did you think a stint playing for Belichick and the Patriots cured Moss of that attitude once and for all? Moss has never given maximum effort in a losing environment, and a check of the NFL standings again this morning definitively proved that the 2-5 Vikings qualify.

Minnesota got from Moss what every losing team has always received from Moss: Only the effort he deemed worth giving.

Brett Favre openly lobbied for years to play with Moss, and really his ugly divorce from Green Bay in early 2008 had its roots in the Packers' steadfast refusal to do what it took to acquire Moss in 2007 and placate their veteran quarterback.

I wonder what No. 4's reaction will be this time, having gotten to throw passes in Moss's direction for only a month of NFL Sundays? It wouldn't be surprising in the least to see Favre fail to fall in lock step with his organization once again, second-guessing the wisdom of the team's decision-maker(s). I'd almost bank on it at this point, given Favre's strained relationship with Childress.

In some ways, I really believe Childress laid down the law with Moss in part because that's something he really can't do yet with Favre. But would like to.

Showing Moss who's boss in Minnesota is something of a proxy for showing Favre who's in charge. To have Moss walk in the door less than a month ago and already be criticizing Childress's calls and undermining his authority to some degree had to be something the Vikings head coach couldn't take. Not when there is already the perception that his celebrated star quarterback calls the shots that really matter in Minnesota.

Despite Childress clearly having concerns about Favre's health and his playing status Sunday in New England, Favre found a way to control the issue and get back into the starting lineup for the 315th consecutive time since early 1992. It did nothing but reinforce the appearance that Favre runs the Vikings show, and Childress takes his cues from No. 4.

For now, Favre can apparently still get away with that. But Moss didn't have that same clout, or a history of production under Childress. So with his team and its season going down in flames around him, Childress at least got to flex his authority in a way that his deal with Favre has never allowed.

As much as the blame for this whole debacle will rightfully fall on Childress for not knowing what he was getting his team into in dealing for Moss, I've already heard the commentary that somehow Moss has been mistreated and disrespected by Minnesota.

Please. I'm not buying that line of thinking for a minute. There's plenty of blame to go around in this mess. Moss has been tone deaf at least twice this season, and there's not a head coach in the league who would have been happy to hear what he had to say in either his press conference after Sunday's loss to New England or the one he gave after the Patriots' season-opening win at home against Cincinnati.

On Sunday, he came pretty close to insubordination against the team he suited up for. In Week 1, he chose to shift the spotlight from a huge team win to his own selfish contract situation. In neither case did he come off as someone capable of seeing the forest for the trees.

Don't weep for Moss. He's been told by two different teams this season that his services were no longer required. That's not just a coincidence. My way of seeing it, he had it coming both times.

Coach Brad Childress long ago made it clear that he has final say over the Vikings' 53-man roster. On Monday, he used that authority by making a decision that could come back to bite him in a big way.

Already fed up with Randy Moss' antics only four games into his second tenure with the Vikings, Childress informed his players at a team meeting that he would be placing the wide receivers on waivers. But there was one important issue.

Childress hadn't first told owner Zygi Wilf that he was going to jettison a guy the Vikings had acquired less than a month ago for a third-round pick from New England. Wilf was extremely upset, according to NFL sources and other reports, and he had good reason to be mad.

Not only had the Vikings traded away a piece of their future to get Moss, but they also took on a contract with a $6.4 million base salary for 2010. Wilf has been willing to spend money whenever he's asked but the Vikings don't generate enough revenue to be acquiring big-name players and then releasing them.

Obviously, Childress didn't want any push back from Wilf or others in the front office and so he decided to go forward with the plan to place Moss on waivers. The old act first, ask questions later. That's a move, however, that could cost Childress his job and definitely puts him on a very hot seat. The Vikings 2-5 start doesn't help matters and neither does the icy relationship between Childress and quarterback Brett Favre.

There are some of the Vikings coaching staff who are concerned this actually might be their last week of work. Because of Childress' attempt to get rid of Moss on his own, he was not placed on waivers by the 3 p.m. deadline Monday. The Vikings did issue a release from Childress on Monday night confirming the sides will be parting.

This is all interesting because one would think Childress had learned his lesson about making moves without telling ownership. In Childress' first season in 2006, he cut wide receiver Marcus Robinson on Christmas Eve and created a public relations disaster. Childress has since admitted he could have handled the situation much better and still gotten the same result.

The case of Moss is an interesting one. There are reports that some Vikings players really liked him, but it's known that feeling wasn't universal. At 33 years of age, Moss is still an extremely talented player but he isn't the guy who wowed fans during his first stint in Minnesota from 1998 to 2004. He had 13 receptions for 174 yards and two touchdowns in four games with the Vikings, who went 1-3 in that stretch.

Moss caught only one pass for 8 yards and no touchdowns in the Vikings' 28-18 loss on Sunday at New England. The upside was Moss' presence -- and the attention paid to him -- helped create favorable matchups for wide receiver Percy Harvin.

After Sunday's game, Moss broke a media silence that earned him a $25,000 fine by giving a rambling statement in which he praised his former team, the Patriots, and criticized the Vikings for not listening to his ideas on how to scheme for New England.

Childress said Monday that he had allowed Moss to stay in Boston after the game for a few days but an NFL source said it was Moss who informed the team he would be staying out East.

That likely didn't sit well at all with Childress. Neither did the fact that, according to those around the team, Moss treated few people with respect and last Friday when the Vikings had food brought into their locker room he loudly announced in front of the people who had prepared it that he wouldn't feed it to his dog.

While Childress' realization about Moss' character appears to be behind the reason for the move, one does have to wonder how on earth the Vikings coach didn't do his due diligence beforehand and realize what a high-maintenance person Moss is before he signed off on the trade for him. Moss has been like this for years and so no one should have been surprised by the off-the-field issues he brought.

The fact Childress evidently was surprised -- or couldn't handle Moss -- likely isn't going to be viewed in a favorable light by his employer.

That likely didn't sit well at all with Childress. Neither did the fact that, according to those around the team, Moss treated few people with respect and last Friday when the Vikings had food brought into their locker room he loudly announced in front of the people who had prepared it that he wouldn't feed it to his dog.

"pack93z" wrote:

People, he somehow managed to dump a girlfriend then have the girlfriend tell the world that he was the best lover he's ever had and misses him badly. That's freaking amazing.

"zombieslayer" wrote:

Hell, I did that all the time except with she's not he's. Cut em off begging for more. Then I went and got married to a woman who cut me off. God can be cruel.

"DakotaT" wrote:

"DakotaT" wrote:

why a 1000 word article when not official?

LOL

"longtimefan" wrote:

Moss' name did not appear on the league's official waiver report Monday

article wrote: