After the readers of Baltimore Beatdown have spoken regarding whether or not they think WR Terrell Owens could have helped the Ravens last season, now comes the announcement that WR Randy Moss wants to get back into the NFL as well. Both receivers have Hall of Fame credentials that could make them interesting possibilities somewhere in the league for the 2012 season.
Although almost 60% of Ravens fans responding to the poll on the Owens story said "No thanks," would those same people also give a thumbs down to Moss too? There are lots of similarities between the two wide-outs, some good, some not-so-good.
NFL.com debated which wide receiver is more likely to play again in the NFL.
(Let's take a look at both player's stats after the 'Jump')
Terrell Owens is 38 years old and has 15 years of NFL experience. He has the second most receiving yards in NFL history (15,934) behind Jerry Rice. Owens has 1,078 career receptions and 153 TD's over that span. His final full season was in 2010 with the Cincinnati Bengals when he caught 72 passes for 983 yards and nine TD's. Not bad at all, considering it was his first and only year with the Bengals. See a recent story on Owens Arena Football League debut next week at Sports Radio Interviews.
Randy Moss is 35 years old and has 13 years of NFL experience. He has the fifth most receiving yards (14,858) in NFL history behind Rice, Owens, Isaac Bruce and Tim Brown. Moss has 954 career receptions and also 153 TD's just like Owens. His final full season with the same team (New England Patriots) was 2009 when he caught 83 passes for 1,264 yards and 13 TD's. He did play 16 games in 2010, but it was split between the Patriots, Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans and he didn't get a lot of playing time and never really made a noticeable impact for any of those three teams.
While it's obvious these two receivers will one day be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the big question is do they have anything left in the tank and even if they do, would either be a safe fit with the Baltimore Ravens. An effective Owens or Moss would be another deep threat and cause defenses to not be able to focus on any one receiver in QB Joe Flacco's arsenal. Combined with Anquan Boldin, Torrey Smith, Ray Rice and both Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta, would there be enough balls to go spread around to keep such a volatile personality happy?
Would either guy fit into the locker room and respect veteran leader Ray Lewis as their leader? A locker room cancer could destroy a team, especially one with a quarterback that may not be the strongest nor most outspoken leader. Could head coach John Harbaugh, much less offensive coordinator Cam Cameron control these two guys, who have been known to disrespect their coaches as well as their teammates?
Or, could both guys be so mature after a year away from the game that they are looking for that elusive last chance at a Super Bowl ring and be willing to just be part of a team for the final opportunity to get what has eluded them throughout their respective careers? That's the bigger question which will decide this dilemma for Coach Harbaugh and GM Ozzie Newsome.
So, the question rears it's ugly head once again, albeit in a slightly different form: Who would you rather have on the Ravens next season - Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, or.....neither?