You Complete Me

We all remember the look on Tom Cruise’s face when he looked deeply into Renee Zellweger‘s eyes in the climax of 1996’s “Jerry Maguire.” He had barged into her home in a heroic attempt to win her back. There’s not a dry eye in the theater when Tom utters those now famous words: you complete me. How about Jack Nicholson in the endearing 1997 film, “As Good as it Gets?” Nicholson plays a profoundly unpleasant curmudgeon, who slowly learns to find love after meeting the kind and patient Helen Hunt. After mumbling about his pills over dinner, Nicholson musters up the courage to make cinematic history with these words: you make me want to be a better man.

Romantic love, football, and other important things require interdependence. Like Tom Cruise, the successful football player requires teammates who “complete” him, or teammates who allow him to be successful. As Robin Williams said in “Good Will Hunting,” the question is not whether you’re perfect but rather “whether or not you’re perfect for each other.”


Randy Moss epitomizes football’s interdependence. Between 1998 and 2005, Moss played for the Minnesota Vikings. He posted six seasons of double digit touchdowns and 1,200 plus yards receiving. He was a power wide receiver catching passes from a power quarterback, Daunte Culpepper. Moss quickly emerged as an elite receiver- perhaps one of the best to ever play the game. But in 2005, Moss was acquired by the Oakland Raiders. A roulette of quarterbacks and predictable offensive game plans doomed the once unstoppable wide receiver. As a result, Moss posted two pedestrian seasons with the Raiders, barely reaching 1,000 yards once and never reaching double digit touchdowns. After thirteen games during the 2005-2006 season, Moss finished with 553 yards, three touchdowns, and 42 receptions. The pundits said that Moss was washed up, over-the-hill, and apathetic. Enter the New England Patriots in 2006. As a Patriot during the 2006-2007 season, Moss was an elite wide receiver again. He posted one of the best seasons by any wide receiver, finishing with 1,493 yards, 98 receptions, and an NFL record 23 touchdowns. Moss put together the best season of his career in New England just one year after posting the worst season of his career in Oakland. (Moss now appears to be back in “free fall” mode as he bounces from the Patriots back to the Minnesota Vikings and most recently to the Tennessee Titans.)

Did Randy Moss’s skill set and knowledge of the game fluctuate dramatically through the years? No. Did he find the fountain of youth? No. Randy Moss’s performance is clearly dependent upon his team’s offensive system and his teammates’ efforts. Moss succeeded in New England not simply because he had the instinctive and accurate Tom Brady throwing to him. Moss succeeded because the 2006-2007 Patriots had one of the best offensive lines to ever play the game. Brady had time to tie his shoe and make a phone call before he even needed to consider passing the ball. In Oakland, Moss had the forgettable Andrew Walter throwing to him behind a crumbling offensive line. The pocket was often crashed before Moss even had time to run a route. Inevitably, Moss’s statistics suffered.

Culpepper and Moss are perhaps a more intriguing combination. Like Moss, Culpepper was a break-out star in Minnesota. He was a three-time pro-bowler who led the Vikings to the playoffs twice, and threw for 4,717 yards and 39 touchdowns in 2004. But Culpepper struggled mightily after leaving the Vikings. He floundered around for the Raiders, Miami Dolphins, and Detroit Lions. After leaving Minnesota, Culpepper went 3-17 as a starter, and never threw more than five touchdowns in a season. Perhaps Robin Williams would tell you that both Culpepper and Moss are far from perfect, but in Minnesota, they were “perfect for each other.”

In many ways, it is ironic that football is the most popular fantasy sport. Football statistics are unpredictable and hopelessly interdependent. A baseball player’s statistics are predominantly dependent upon his ability to hit the ball. A basketball player’s statistics are predominantly dependent upon his ability to shoot the ball into the basket. But the football player’s statistics are dependent upon his teammates’ ability to catch his pass, block for him, or throw him the ball.

Consider the Indianapolis Colts’ latest tight end, Jacob Tamme. Three weeks ago, you never heard of him. Today, he is owned and perhaps starting in all 12 team leagues. Is he an undiscovered talent? No. Instead, he is the lucky recipient of Peyton Manning’s beautifully thrown footballs. Manning has the ability to turn unknown players (i.e., Pierre Garcon, Austin Collie, Anthony Gonzales, Blair White, and now Jacob Tamme) into reliable fantasy starters. Yes, Peyton is that good. Would Jack Nicholson tell you that Peyton makes his receivers want to be better men? I don’t know. But Peyton does make them better receivers.

-By Kevin Hammon