Thunder and lighting. Fire and ice. Hammer and nails. Whatever phrase you want to use, there's no denying that there have been some great tandems in sports history.In the year 2000, however, the may have had the best receiving duo the has ever seen: Cris Carter and Randy Mo s.The timing was absolutely perfect -- Carter was in his 14th year, nearing the end of his Hall of Fame career but still one of the league's best.
Mark Giordano Kids Jersey Mo s was in his third season and already had people asking whether he could wind up as the greatest receiver of all time."Even as an aging player, I felt more confident playing with Randy than at any point in my career," Carter said. "I felt like we could do damage against any defensive back, any defense in the league. I didn't think that we could be stopped." Throw in quarterback Daunte Culpepper, and on paper the Vikings offense looked like a surefire contender. The sheer size that Carter (6-foot-2) and Mo s (6-foot-4) brought to the field gave defenses fits and provided the Vikings with incredible offensive versatility.Mo s' presence allowed Carter to occasionally move to the slot, which is typically reserved for shorter receivers. Defenses weren't used to someone with Carter's physicality in that position."I was a more physical receiver, and Randy was an immediate deep threat," Carter said. "He had a lot of attributes that I didn't have. He had the deep, blazing speed down the field." But, as we often see in sports, things that look great on paper don't just automatically work out. It took a lot of work and chemistry-building between Carter and Mo s to turn them into such a powerful combination.Carter and the Vikings never expected to get Mo s in the first place. With the 21st pick in the draft, thought Mo s would be long gone -- after all, his jaw-dropping performance at a pro day for scouts made him one of the most intriguing and talented prospects in draft history.The lanky wideout ran the 40-yard dash in a blazing 4.25 seconds. If the time were run at the NFL Combine, it would be the third-fastest in history. Mo s po se sed a rare combination of speed, size and catching ability, which made it that much more shocking when he continued to fall down the draft board in 1998. In addition to a once-in-a-lifetime physical skill set, Mo s was equipped with a brilliant football mind."He was able
Jaden Schwartz Jersey to learn and retain a lot of things," Carter said. "He's the smartest wide receiver that I ever played with."It was clear that a history of off-the-field i sues had made some teams steer clear. Mo s had been arrested while he was in high school, which caused to rescind its scholarship offer. He then transferred to , but before he could even suit up he was dismi sed for testing positive for marijuana. Mo s finally began his college career at in 1996, where he put up incredible numbers for two seasons before entering the draft. Miraculously Mo s fell into Minnesota's lap at 21, and Carter soon received a phone call."I remember drafting him, we were very, very excited," Carter said. " Mo s called me on draft day, told me he wanted to work with me and he wanted to be the best wide receiver in the league -- he wanted to be the best wide receiver in NFL history."Carter told Mo s that if he was serious about learning, he needed to move to so that he could work out with Carter during the offseason. Mo s moved immediately. Carter also spoke with Mo s about how to handle himself off the field, something he says all rookies need to learn when they come into the league."He's not the first player to have some i sues as a young person, so that's not a big deal. It wasn't a big deal to us," Carter said. "But you're in pro football now, not . And the repercu sions of making bad decisions are drastic ... if you
Chris Driedger Women Jersey want to have a career, these are the things that you have to do."And he did all the nece sary things that we thought would lead him to be a great player." Carter taught Mo s how to train, take care of his body and eat right. He also had the Vikings quarterbacks come down to and work out with the duo over the summer to familiarize Mo s with their offense. While Carter helped Mo s learn how to be a profe sional, Mo s helped Carter push himself past his physical limits."We used to make each other play to a higher level," Carter
Riley Sheahan Jersey said. "We expected the best of each other and I think we brought out the best in each other."Carter said Mo s' high football IQ allowed him to absorb everything the Vikings threw his way, and the results were immediate. Mo s' first career game was against the vaunted defense, which featured Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks and John Lynch, among others. Mo s caught two touchdown pa ses (for 48 and 31 yards) and had 95 receiving yards for the game. Carter also caught two touchdowns in the game. From that moment it was pretty clear that Mo s was on his way toward being an elite receiver. He put up 1,313 receiving yards in his first year and shattered the rookie record with 17 touchdowns (the previous high was 13).Carter and Mo s continued to develop their bond, spending a lot of time together off the field. One of their favorite pastimes in Minnesota was fishing. "We spent a lot of time on the boat, nice and quiet, cracking jokes," Carter said. "We spent more time together off the field than we did on the field."The chemistry clearly paid off during the 2000 season. With Culpepper
Brandon Tanev Men Jersey at the helm the Vikings offense started off the season red-hot. They went 7-0 to begin the year while averaging over 26 points per game.Minnesota finished the season 11-5, with Carter and Mo s both putting up spectacular numbers. Carter ended the year with 1,274 yards and nine touchdowns while Mo s added 1,437 yards and 15 touchdowns. Culpepper, who threw for nearly 4,000 yards that season, was a big reason why the talented receivers were able to thrive. "Daunte Culpepper had a rare combination of size, explosivene s, but also football IQ," Carter said. "He was a pocket pa ser who was a great athlete, and that was a rarity to have. Just to watch Culpepper and Mo s grow in the league and not only become superstars, but also become team leaders -- it evolved right before my eyes."Carter finished his career after the 2002 season and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013. Mo s went on to have a prolific, sometimes controversial career and set a career high with 23 touchdowns while paired with in New England in 2007." Mo s was a great teammate. He gave the team extra juice," said Carter. "Guys loved having him around. When he comes into the room, he lights up the room. On game day, you want to have someone like Randy Mo s, because he's never fearful."
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