Who Would You Rather Have Randy Moss or Terrell Owens on Your Team?

Let’s say you’re a NFL general manager. A real general manager and not someone picking for a fantasy football team. You have your choice of having on your team Randy Moss or Terrell Owens. They both are asking for the same amount of money. Both were once the best receivers in the league. Now they seems to be older and more of a headache. They give their respective team public relations nightmares on and off the field. They both have baggage. They command pricey contracts but do not perform anywhere near their worth. Depending on your what you can deal with, this could be an easy or difficult decision.

You’re picking the 2006 version of either player. That means whatever baggage they have you can’t take that back. Randy Moss mooning? Check. Running over a police officer? Check. Terrell Owens destroying the Philadelphia Eagles? Yep. Tried to overdose on drugs? Yep. Let’s quickly take a look at each player’s positives and negatives.

The story of Terrell Owens is well documented. Everything he does, no matter how small, makes sports headlines. He wore out his welcome in San Francisco and Philadelphia. He alienated teammates and coaches. He wanted a new contract after one season into his Eagles’ contract. He speaks his mind and that can be a bad thing. He’ll get in the faces of his quarterbacks and confront them if he’s not happy on the field. He loves the spotlight and pouts if the attention is not on him. He likes to blame everyone else but himself. He gets so much media attention that even Bill Parcells is so tired talking about him. He can be cancer for an organization.

When on the field he can still be a dominant receiver. He blocks well down field. He might get frustrated that he doesn’t get the ball because he knows when he does he can make a difference for his team. He did come back from a broken ankle to play in Super Bowl XXIX and caught 9 balls for 122 yards. He may have learned his lesson from San Francisco and Philadelphia and now wants to unify a locker room and not destroy it. But he’s volatile will always be T.O.

Randy Moss was once so talented many teams felt stupid for passing him in the draft. In August 2005, Moss created a public relations faux pas for himself and the Raiders when he told HBO’s Bryant Gumbel that he has smoked marijuana during his NFL career “once in a blue moon.” He was known to take plays off with the Vikings. Once responding to a reporter about writing a check for a fine Moss said, “When you’re rich, you don’t write checks!” The reporter followed up by asking Moss how he paid the fine. Moss responded, saying “Straight cash, homey. What’s 10 grand to me? Next time I’ll just shake my dick!” Recently he said, “I’m not concerned about football right now. I’m loving life. I don’t see anybody else having a concern, so why should I?” Sounds like he’s playing just for a paycheck.

Now Randy Moss is the best player on the worst team in the league this season. The problem is no one can get him the ball. He’s frustrated that it seems no one on the team cares that they’re losing. He’s been very critical of the team and Art Shell but who wouldn’t? Put him on a better offense and he’ll still produce solid numbers. Winning should give him motivation. He seems to be done getting arrested off the field. But he still does not act like a team player and a leader. He never has and he probably never will.

So who would it be for you?