Q.  Is Moss slowing down?

A.  When Moss first came into the league, it seemed to me that he could run past anybody, and now it seems like he can run past nobody.

But that happened with Steve Largent, to a different degree, of course.  Up to age 25, he could burst past corners.  At 26-27 he was still kind of dangerous.  From 28 on, it was routes and hands.

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Q.  For those of us who are casual fans -- what is the shelf life for an All-Pro receiver?

A.  Oh, I dunno, age 37? 

:- )

Here is where we baseball fans see the football manifestation of "fast players age better."  Pro Football Reference gives the following top-10 comparables for Randy Moss, each player at his 12th season in the league:

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1 Marvin Harrison, last great season, age 34.  He had 95 catches, 1300-1400 yards, though Marvin seemed beat up.  He was a possession guy who caught 140+ balls one year.  High mileage.

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2.  Terrell Owens, still starring at age 37.  This year he has 45 catches and 600+ yards in less than half a season.

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3.  Michael Irvin's last big season was at 32.  He was forced out of football with a spinal injury and a spinal cord condition, which isn't relevant to this list.

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4.  Rod Smith caught 85 balls at age 35, but tailed off at age 36.  I never thought of Smith as a truly great wideout - more a function of his context - but more erudite football fans could judge that.

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5.  Jerry Rice is Moss' fifth-best comparable at 12 seasons for both. Rice made the Pro Bowl at 40, and retired at 43.

Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I fancy Rice as the most stylistically-similar to Rice of these first five guys.  Great hands, smooth gliding speed, same 30-yard sideline ball, etc.

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6.  Torry Holt, at 34, is currently a free agent with a knee injury.

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7.  Ray Berry, now there's a name from my early childhood... kind of a different game in the 1950's, and a different WR/CB demographic...

Berry wouldn't be able to play football in the Pac-12 nowadays, probably.

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8.  Steve Largent, hm, now I hadn't realized that his last Pro Bowl-type year was at 33.  He does pull the average age down here, though you have a demographic issue here as well...

Will cheerfully admit, as a big Moss fan, that Largent and Moss have more in common than people tend to realize.  But Largent's biggest fans wouldn't accuse him of having the physical talent that Moss has.

Two years ago, I wrote a tribute to Moss, praising him for his head not his hammys, and comparing him to a better Largent.

Still think that Moss' freakish talent distracts people from his intelligence.

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Part 2

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