Randy Moss -- Put up or shut up

I never like to start an article off with someone else's material, but in this instance I think it will absolutely help me make my point.

In an interview with NFL.COM, Minnesota Viking's wide receiver Randy Moss was asked if he could think of any advice that he received as a child that carried over to his adult life.

Here is his answer.

"I don't really, I didn't really get tips when it came to sports. I think the only tip that I got with life itself, to me, is it's all about respect. No matter if a guy's five or 50 years old, it's all about respect. So, that's the way I was brought up, and that's the way I want to bring my kids up. That you're not going to get anywhere in this world unless you have respect for one another."

I think whoever gave that advice should have made sure that Moss understood it completely. To get respect you have to give respect.

In fact I'll ask a rhetorical question, as if Randy were here.

Is respect when you tell your teammates that you only play hard when you get the ball? Or is it when you verbally abuse a team sponsor on the bus when you think that they are in your seat? Help me out here because this always confuses me.

Now I can't speak for every player in the NFL, but I am willing to bet that all of them, with the exception of Moss, appreciate where they are.

All-pro wide receiver and future Hall-of-Famer Cris Carter took Moss under his wing and into his home when Moss was drafted in 1997. Over the last three seasons, it appeared that Moss had turned a corner because of this new friendship and the fact that the Vikings were the only team willing to take a chance on the often-troubled receiver.

However this season, Moss has regressed back into a more-trouble-than-he is worth prima donna. Moss was fined numerous times for taunting this season by the league and often times belittled his own teammates by his on and off the field antics.

Many times there were heated discussions on the sidelines between the talented trio of Moss, Carter, and quarterback Daunte Culpeper. Moss ripped the very fabric of this team because, frankly, he did not have the respect that he relishes so much, for his team, the fans, or for himself.

Former Viking's head coach Dennis Green took a chance on Moss and that decision probably cost Green his job. Carter has said that he does not want to come back to Minnesota and new Head Coach Mike Tice has enough to worry about without having to baby-sit Moss.

I do not expect much of this team, not because the talent is not there, but because the distractions are overwhelming. New coach, new system, feuding players, and the Korey Stringer lawsuit, that shadows the entire organization.

I sincerely hope that I am wrong because I hate to see a good team brought down for non-football related incidents.

Anyway back to my original point. Moss should remember one thing about football. The game giveth and the game taketh away. With all of that "respect" that you have if your career would end for one reason or another, you could always get a job as the team towel boy.

Respect that.