Moss and Merriman on the Waiver Wire

So, today we saw two former Pro Bowl players, former San Diego Chargers outside linebacker Shawne Merriman and former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss, claimed off waivers. Merriman was claimed by the Buffalo Bills, and Moss was claimed by the Tennessee Titans. So, who wins? Does Minnesota benefit from losing the  “distraction” that Moss was? Does San Diego also rid themselves of a headache? Do the Bills get an impact player for their 3-4? Do the Titans finally have themselves an elite receiving threat?

 

Shawne Merriman

Released by: San Diego Chargers

Claimed by: Buffalo Bills

Winner: Both teams

Loser: No one

Merriman has not been a productive player since 2007, when he racked up 12 sacks. He missed most of 2008 with a knee injury, and he only had four sacks in 2009. In the three games he played in 2010 with the Chargers, he totaled zero sacks, and was subsequently waived. Merriman had also become a bit of a problem in the locker room, bringing in distractions with allegations about his steroid abuse, and his demands for a new contract from San Diego. Merriman had, in essence, already shown himself the door. San Diego isn’t losing much either; they have the league’s number one pass defense and second best pass rush (25 sacks so far this seasons). Outside linebacker Shaun Phillips has seven sacks already, and has shown he can produce as the featured rusher, as teams key in on him, and rather than Merriman as they had in years past.

 

Buffalo is hoping that Merriman can return to the form that got him three Pro Bowl nods and 39.5 sacks his first three years in the league. You can’t blame them either; they’ve produced only 11 sacks as a team, and only one of those has come from an outside linebacker (0.5 from Arthur Moats, 0.5 from Chris Kelsay). Former first round pick OLB Aaron Maybin has no sacks in his career, and was recently benched. Long story short, Merriman can’t be any worse than what they already have. And if he does flop, the Bills are only on the hook for about $1.5 million this year, bargain considering the potential Merriman brings to the table. San Diego gets rid of some dead weight, and Buffalo brings in a cheap, high reward, low risk player.

 

 

Randy Moss

Released by: Minnesota Vikings

Claimed by: Tennessee Titans

Winner: Tennessee

Loser: Minnesota

Just a month ago, Minnesota created headlines by bringing back former star Randy Moss, who had been a fan favorite for seven years when he played for the Vikings from 1998-2004. Minnesota traded a third round pick to the New England Patriots for their former game breaker. However, four weeks later, Minnesota inexplicably waived the future Hall of Famer, citing that head coach Brad Childress did like how Moss was representing the Minnesota Vikings organization (namely due to a curious “press conference” he gave after the Vikings 28-18 loss to New England). Tennessee, having just lost dynamic young WR Kenny Britt for an undisclosed amount of time due to a leg injury, scooped him up off the waiver wire. Minnesota loses because they drop a dynamic threat from an already stagnant offense (18^th overall, 21^st in the passing game). Moss did only have 13 catches, 174 yards and two touchdowns in four games with the Vikings, but anyone watching the game film could see what an impact he made. Intermediate routes for receivers like Percy Harvin and Visanthe Shiancoe were instantly opened up when Moss was on the field. Opposing defenses were so afraid of his deep speed that they’d play one of the safeties 15-20 yards down the field, giving plenty of room for crossing routes underneath. Harvin had only 12 catches, 106 receiving yards and one touchdown catch in the three games the Vikings played without Moss. When Moss arrived, Harvin’s production jumped to 19 catches, 287 receiving yards, and two touchdown catches in the four games he benefitted from Moss’ presence. Don’t be surprised when Harvin’s numbers take a dip in the coming weeks. And with no one respecting Old Man Favre and the Vikings’ passing attack, opposing defenses can key in on eliminating running back Adrian Peterson from the game.

 

Tennessee, meanwhile, replaces a 6’3” speedster in Britt with a 6’4” speedster in Moss. Tennessee won’t miss a beat when they insert Moss into the lineup. Not to mention, opposing teams will not be able to put eight men in the box to defend against speedy running back Chris Johnson. Teams will have to pick their poison when playing the Titans; will they try to stop the aerial threat of Moss, or the ground threat of Johnson? Either way, Tennessee becomes a much more dangerous team on offense because of the acquisition of Moss. Minnesota’s loss will be Tennessee’s gain.