Williamson’s eventual exit closes book on Moss

By Mike Schoemer  |   Tuesday, February 26, 2008  |  Comments( 6 )

Minnesota Vikings
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The announcement by the "Minnesota Vikings Organization," as Zygi Wilf so often puts it, came as no surprise.

Troy Williamson's drop deep in Denver Broncos territory in Week 17 of the latest National Football League season all but sealed his fate with the Vikings. So when head coach Brad Childress said Williamson and his agent were free to negotiate a trade, there was nary a raised eyebrow.

The assertion that Williamson was already in cahoots with more than half a dozen teams across the league, something pointed out by his agent, was laughable.

Here's a guy who never got it right. Speed is great. We all knew Williamson had speed. What we didn't know is if this burner out of Lou Holtz-led South Carolina had anything for hands.
Turns out, he didn't.

Williamson blamed his problems, all along, on his eyesight. He even went to the Nike Vision Clinic (which no one had heard of before last year) to get things right.

It seemed OK for a while. But then the drops kept coming. And the last nail went into the coffin.

It also writes the last chapter in the dismal departure of ways with all-everything wide receiver Randy Moss.

Williamson was supposed to make Viking fans forget about Moss as soon as he laid down his 4.3 in the 40-yard dash.

Anyone can run a go route, fans said. And after a while, even the media started to believe that. Moss was overrated.

Besides, Moss was broken down. He'd suffered a torn hamstring and a rash of ankle injuries in the seasons before his trade to Oakland, which happened just before Wilf purchased the team in 2005.

Minnesota would be better off without him. After all, a stud linebacker (Napoleon Harris, who turned in one good year) and a burner were going to outperform a diva no longer in his prime.
Then, last year came and went, and you had to wonder if the Moss deal ranks up there with the infamous Herschel Walker trade in Vikings lore.

Hold the phone. It will never be that bad, will it? After all, the Patriots lost the Super Bowl. Dallas, with the help of that trade, won three.

As bad as the deal that sent Moss to Oakland was, it may have worked out best for both sides. And maybe that's OK. Moss doesn't fit into a Childress-schemed offense, either. Eventually, the guy would have wallowed in self-pity under this regime. No Randy Ratio here. With a running game that's second to none, Minnesota is more like Adrian's Army now.

So while the Purple Faithful wonder about how to summarize the Williamson/Harris for Moss trade, let's remember this: It could have been worse.

But not by much.
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About Mike Schoemer

• Currently serving as managing editor of the award-winning Monticello Times after promotion in September of 2007. • Took the helm of the Edina, Minn., community newspaper, The Edina Sun Current in September 2006 in the heart of an election year. • Promoted to the Managing Editor of the...
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CommentsComments: 6  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
T		02:27 AM
02/26/2008
I don't think that the Vikins fans wanted them to draft a WR with the 7th pick. I know I wanted Shawn Merriman or Demarcus Ware....
No.2
Mike		08:07 PM
02/26/2008
Actually, long time Vikings fans HAVE heard of the Nike Vision Clinic. It helped former WR Jake Reed step up his game and I had...
No.3
James		01:24 PM
02/27/2008
Twill didn't play under Spurrier's offense. Lou Holtz was his coach in 2003-04 when he came out, Spurrier got there in 05....
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