I know many people, especially Patriots fans, are still scratching their heads, even after coach Bill Belichick held a press conference on Wednesday in which he opened by saying, "I thought I would try to shed a little light on the trade with Randy."
If anything, Belichick pushed people further into the darkness by saying he never had any problems with Randy and that Randy's contract situation wasn't a factor either.
To many, those were the only two reasons the Patriots would possibly trade a great player and their No. 1 receiver during the season for a third-round pick.
When pressed on the matter by reporters, Belichick simply dodged the question and said, "it's pretty much a longer discussion than we're going to have."
To understand Belichick, or to at least try and understand him, one can't look at the present. One has to envision the future the way he does so well. It's not easy, but let's try.
I believe Belichick did have a good relationship with Moss. But I also believe Belichick knew those days were numbered. Moss had already gone public with his dissatisfaction about his contract. He also reportedly asked for a trade. He did both of those things after a win.
We can assume the Patriots weren't going to negotiate a contract with him during the season, so I think Belichick beat Randy to the punch. He got rid of him before the minor complaints about his contract festered to the point where it became a major distraction.
Belichick has a history of taking short-term risks for potential long-term rewards. His first came in 1993 while coaching the Browns. He had benched Bernie Kosar in favor of his hand-picked QB Vinny Testaverde.
Testaverde was injured in Week 7. Kosar replaced him as starter the following week in a 29-14 loss at home to Denver.
The last pass Kosar threw as a Brown was a touchdown to Michael Jackson. After the game, Kosar, who never got along with Belichick, told reporters that he had drawn the play up in the dirt. That didn't sit too well with Belichick, who was also the offensive coordinator.
Belichick released Kosar, even though No. 3 QB Todd Philcox was his only other option to start. The Browns were 5-3 at the time. They lost their next three games and six of their final eight.
So nothing short of releasing Tom Brady would really surprise me when it comes to Belichick.