Teams mostly passed on players with ‘issues’
Character questions dogged prospects, while Pats didn’t pay much for Moss
 AP file Former Florida defensive tackle Marcus Thomas was labeled as a player with "issues" before the NFL draft, which probably prevented him from being selected on Day 1, writes columnist Dave Goldberg. |
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NEW YORK - The trade of Randy Moss from Oakland to New England says a lot about the way the NFL treats character — or characters.
When Moss was traded to the Raiders two years ago, the Vikings got back a first-round pick and a starting linebacker. On Sunday, the Patriots got him for a fourth-round choice, largely because he dogged it in Oakland, where the worst work ethic in the NFL overrode his huge talent.
The Moss trade was part of an NFL draft where behavior was a major issue, especially since commissioner Roger Goodell has demonstrated he’ll be tough on players who get in trouble with the law. He already has suspended Tennessee’s Adam “Pacman” Jones for a year and Cincinnati’s Chris Henry for eight games. Further disciplinary action for other could be coming.
Only two players with “issues,” Jarvis Moss of Florida and Brandon Meriweather of Miami, were taken in the first round.
Meriweather, suspended for a game last season, for stomping on Florida International players during a fight, went to New England to join Randy Moss. Jarvis Moss, suspended for a game for marijuana use, went to Denver, which on Sunday drafted another “problem player” from the Gators, defensive tackle Marcus Thomas in the fourth round.
Thomas is considered to have first-round talent. But after being suspended for a game last season for marijuana use, he was kicked off the team by coach Urban Meyer for leaving Gainesville with friends to go to Orlando against Meyer’s orders.
“There are going to be a lot of questions about some of the things he has done, including being suspended from Florida,” said coach Mike Shanahan, who two years ago took a chance by picking the troubled Maurice Clarett late in the third round.
“Marcus is probably one of the luckiest guys. We are giving him the opportunity to come back here, and here there is no second chance. He is obviously a good football player and a guy that we think a lot of; I think he has learned that he will not get a second chance in the NFL, and we are extremely excited to have him with the organization.”
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Now he gets to play for Bill Belichick, as strong-willed as Shanahan. Both are coaches who think they can deal with troubled players, although Shanahan got nowhere with Clarett, who was cut because he was too slow and too fat, not because he caused trouble.
And Belichick got three productive seasons from Corey Dillon, a talented running back with a reputation for me-first behavior.
He could salvage Moss, who said Sunday, “I was overwhelmed, because I didn’t expect to hear from coach Belichick.”
Randy Moss and Dillon are established NFL players — stars at there best. Especially Moss, although during his two seasons in Oakland, the lethargic habits he sometimes demonstrated in Minnesota (“I play when I feel like it”) were on display regularly on the NFL’s worst team.
The draft picks haven’t proven their ability yet. But the most talented certainly get the chance.
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