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For you AFC East fans who don't mosey over to the NASCAR page on a regular basis, I wanted to draw your attention to a Randy Moss Q&A you might find interesting.

Moss sat down with ESPN The Magazine writer Ryan McGee to discuss Randy Moss Motorsports, which has been about as successful lately as Randy Moss Football.

Randy Moss Motorsports, which runs on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, split with respected driver Mike Skinner in what McGee called "a bit of an ugly divorce" and took away prospect Tayler Malsam's ride in March.

"Like most teams in the series," McGee wrote, "Moss is struggling to rustle up sponsorship and just this week the team shut down one of its two trucks."

Even if you're not into auto racing, the interview shows off a lot of Moss' personality. He's clearly thrilled with being around the track.

At the beginning of the Q&A, he told McGee football talk was verboten, but Moss eventually made a statement about his future on the gridiron.

Moss stated:

"I want to play wherever they want me to play. Like I said, I'm a free agent. I know I'm 34. I know I didn't have a great season last year. But I also know that these still work [holds up his hands], and I know I can still play at a high level. We just need to get this season back on track so I can start working on finding that team that wants Randy Moss on their roster."

That's a subdued declaration compared to the time I spoke to Moss about his role with Randy Moss Motorsports. Our May 2009 interview was for a story that wondered whether LeBron James could be an NFL star if the NBA superstar wanted to switch. Moss offered terrific insight as a prep basketball star who was dabbling in a second sport, albeit auto racing.

During our interview, Moss had this to say:

"I'm the best wide receiver of all-time, hands down. ... I don't really like to judge people or other athletes. I know what I'm able to do on the field, but the things I'm able to do to dictate how a defense plays the game, I don't think there's no other receiver but myself and Jerry Rice to be able to do that."

Moss stalled last year with the New England Patriots, Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans. He caught 28 balls for 393 yards and five touchdowns.

Andre Reed and Curtis Martin received bad news about their Pro Football Hall of Fame bids.

Reed and Martin were among the 15 finalists for induction, but neither AFC East star made the cut Saturday when the next induction class was determined.

The 2011 class includes running back Marshall Faulk, tight end Shannon Sharpe, defensive end Richard Dent cornerback Deion Sanders and NFL Films patriarch Ed Sabol. Senior nominees headed to Canton are linebackers Chris Hanburger and Les Richter.

Reed has been a finalist five times. For the second year in a row, the Buffalo Bills legend finished ahead of Cris Carter and Tim Brown in the selection process, which pares down the group of finalists from 15 to 10. Reed made the top 10, while Carter and Brown did not.

But Reed didn't make the next cut to five. That's the group the selection committee makes a final yea or nay vote on, with 80 percent agreement required for induction. The committee approved all five.

Reed will have to wait to join his former teammates already honored in Canton: quarterback Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas, receiver James Lofton, defensive end Bruce Smith and head coach Marv Levy.

Reed made 951 catches for 13,198 yards and 87 touchdowns and played in four consecutive Super Bowls. He's known as one of the best yards-after-catch receivers in NFL history, perhaps second to only Jerry Rice, and among the grittiest over-the-middle threats.

Reed was a seven-time Pro Bowler. He posted 13 seasons with at least 50 receptions, tied for second all-time. He's tied for third in postseason history with five 100-yard games. His 85 postseason receptions rank third.

Martin, a star running back with the New England Patriots and New York Jets, was on the ballot for the first time. His former coach, Bill Parcells, advocated Martin be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Martin ranks fourth in all-time rushing yardage behind Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton and Barry Sanders, a pretty good crew -- if you're into that kind of thing.

Martin rushed for 14,101 yards and scored an even 100 touchdowns, 90 on the ground and 10 more off catches. He ran for 1,000 yards in 10 straight seasons, the second-longest streak in league history. Martin was the 1995 offensive rookie of the year and made five Pro Bowl rosters.

Carter was another Hall of Fame finalist with an AFC East connection, albeit barely. Carter finished his career with the Miami Dolphins, catching eight passes over five games in 2002. His 130th and final touchdown was with Miami.

That gave every AFC East club a link to Saturday's selection process.

Receptions come a lot cheaper these days.

The game has changed, and all you need for proof is a glance at Paul Warfield's career stats. He caught more than 50 passes once. He gained more than 1,000 yards once. In some of his Pro Bowl seasons, his numbers wouldn't have justified a roster spot in your 10-team fantasy league.

Yet Warfield is considered one the most dangerous receivers NFL history, a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer.

"Our game is beginning to resemble baseball in which everyone is looking at numbers," Warfield said this week from his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif. "Numbers tell the story to a degree, but I like to look at one's full body of work.

"I'm from the old-school generation. You might be termed a wide receiver, but you should be a football player first."

Steve Largent is another example of how stats don't quantify a receiver's worth like they used to. Largent retired after the 1989 season as the NFL's all-time leading receiver with 819 catches. He, too, was a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Twenty-one years later, Largent ranks 20th in receptions behind such names as Derrick Mason, Torry Holt, Keenan McCardell, Muhsin Muhammad and fullback Larry Centers.

In 1985, only four players had caught 600 passes. The list is 55 players long now.

"It doesn't necessarily undermine a player's ability to get into the Hall of Fame because he had great stats or doesn't have great stats," Largent said Monday from his office in Washington D.C. "You're looking for a guy who was the total package."

With that in mind, you might consider Andre Reed's stats if you choose when deciding if he belongs in the Hall of Fame. They're sterling -- if a little outdated and discounted by time.

To both Largent and Warfield and other legendary receivers, Reed qualifies for Canton without even looking at the numbers.

"I saw the value Reed had to that team not only as a receiver, but also as a leader," Largent said. "There are some attributes you don't keep statistics of, but you become aware of as one player watching another play the game."

Reed is Largent's "total package" and Warfield's unequivocal embodiment of "football player."

"It's long overdue for Andre," Warfield said.

Reed is among the 15 Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists who will learn Saturday whether they will be included in this year's induction class.

The star Buffalo Bills receiver has been a finalist five times. There's a belief this year offers his best chance yet. In previous years, he has shared the ballot with at least one receiver who took precedence because they were icons (Jerry Rice, Michael Irvin) or had been waiting longer (Art Monk).

Reed could become the sixth Hall of Famer from a team that went to four straight Super Bowls but failed to win one.

Already enshrined are Bills quarterback Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas, defensive end Bruce Smith and head coach Marv Levy. Wide receiver James Lofton also is in Canton, but he didn't play on all four Super Bowl teams, and is more closely associated with the Green Bay Packers.

"I was a part of something special, and I'll take that to my grave," said Reed, 47. "We were a family. But the Hall of Fame, I don't know how I would react. It would be a validation of your work and what you did.

"Hopefully on Saturday I can be in that fraternity with them, but every year it's a tough ballot."

The other finalists include running backs Marshall Faulk, Curtis Martin and Jerome Bettis, receivers Tim Brown and Cris Carter, tight end Shannon Sharpe, center Dermontti Dawson, tackle Willie Roaf, defensive ends Richard Dent, Charles Haley and Chris Doleman, defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy, cornerback Deion Sanders and NFL Films patriarch Ed Sabol.

The Hall of Fame's 44-member selection committee will decide Saturday. The group includes NFL writers, one representative per franchise, 11 at-large voters and one from the Pro Football Writers Association. The committee will pare the group of 15 finalists down to 10 and then to five. At that point, a vote will be held, with 80 percent agreement needed for induction.

Up to five modern-era candidates may be elected each year. First-time nominees Faulk and Sanders are virtual locks to get inducted. That leaves three spots available for Reed and the other finalists to get in.

Buffalo News reporter Mark Gaughan will make the case for Reed's induction. It's a compelling one.

"He certainly had a great career, one of the great clutch receivers," Warfield said. "He was consistent, one Jim Kelly could always go to and always find open in a situation where they're trying to make a big play. He's an all-encompassing receiver."

Reed was third on the NFL's all-time receptions list when he retired after the 2000 season with 951 catches, behind only Rice and Carter. Reed was a seven-time Pro Bowler and a superstar on a team that won four conference championships in a row.

"He was as dangerous a receiver as there is," former Bills quarterback Frank Reich said. "Versus press coverage, he was almost impossible to stop, coming off the ball. We always felt if they tried to play tight man on Andre it didn't matter who was guarding him. Any shutdown corner in the league in press coverage, Andre was going to beat him."

Reed was a force on the big stage. In 19 postseason games he had 85 receptions for 1,229 yards and nine touchdowns. He didn't score any Super Bowl touchdowns, but he did have 27 receptions for 323 yards.

In the Bills' epic comeback against the Houston Oilers in the 1992 postseason, he made eight catches for 136 yards and three touchdowns.

Reed is known as tremendously durable. He played 253 games, counting playoffs. He often darted into traffic to make plays in a crowd of defenders.

"No fear," Reich said.

Reed was one the greatest ever when it came to yards after the catch, second perhaps only to Rice.

"Most people that were on that team or played against us will remember how explosive he was in run-after-the-catch," said Reich, now Peyton Manning's position coach with the Indianapolis Colts. "He rivaled Jerry Rice in that category. Like Jerry Rice, his 40 time was good and probably not great. But there was nobody faster with the ball in his hands."

What put Reed's production in even greater context is a closer look at Buffalo's offense in the 1990s.

Many fans, even those who closely followed the Bills then, recall a prolific aerial attack. They remember Kelly running the no-huddle, K-Gun offense and slinging the ball all over the field to Reed and Lofton.

As Gaughan will point out again Saturday, the Bills ranked 17th in passing offense throughout Reed's career. In Reed's six prime seasons from 1988 through 1993, the Bills passed 51 percent of the time. By comparison, the Washington Redskins' famed "Hogs" offense passed 50 percent of the time when Monk was there.

Reed didn't have much receiving help either. He played with Lofton for four seasons, but Lofton was 33 years old when he joined Buffalo. In 1988, for instance, Reed's second and third receivers were Trumaine Johnson and Chris Burkett.

So far, the chief impediment for Reed's induction hasn't been his resume, but the other names on the ballot.

A wide receiver has been inducted each of the past four years, and in seven classes out of the past decade.

Gaughan noted there is room in Canton for at least two more receivers from the 1990s. A breakdown of membership shows seven receivers who predominantly played in the 1960s, four from 1970s, four from the 1980s and two from the 1990s.

Reed, Carter and Brown are the worthiest receiver candidates to join Rice and Irvin from that decade.

There's a velvet rope. This is Reed's fifth year as a finalist. Carter has been a finalist four times, Brown twice.

Reed apparently jockeyed to the head of the receiver line last year. In the selection process, Carter and Brown didn't make the top-10 stage, but Reed did.

That development has raised Reed's hopes for 2011.

"I'll be more nervous because of the way the voting went last year," Reed said. "I feel I'm more deserving of it. It was pretty close. The anticipation is enhanced this year."

But there are no guarantees. Several legendary receivers have waited longer than five years to get the Canton call. Don Maynard, John Stallworth and Monk got in on their eighth time as finalists. Lynn Swann was a finalist 14 times. The Seniors Committee was necessary to induct Bob Hayes 34 years after his last NFL game.

Reed admitted he has fantasized about the phone call too many times to count. He's even tried to research the moment.

"I've talked to a bunch of Hall of Famers who say when they get the call they're at a loss for words," said Reed, who plays a lot of golf and sells his own line of barbeque sauce in the San Diego area. "They don't know how to react.

"I'll just have to wait and see."

And hopefully not have to wait some more.

The NFL Network on Thursday night concluded its persuasive series "The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players" by revealing the best 10 in league history.

As expected, no AFC East players made the top 10 because all of the big names already had been revealed. Some New England Patriots fans probably would argue about their three-time champion quarterback being listed 21st compared to a certain Indianapolis Colts quarterback being eighth.

Here's the rundown of players from the AFC East (with the fan ranking):

• 11 (17). Ronnie Lott, Jets safety
• 20 (6). Brett Favre, Jets quarterback
• 21 (20). Tom Brady, Patriots quarterback
• 24 (--). John Hannah, Patriots guard
• 25 (7). Dan Marino, Dolphins quarterback
• 31 (33). Bruce Smith, Bills defensive end
• 40 (44). O.J. Simpson, Bills running back
• 49 (--). Mike Haynes, Patriots cornerback
• 61 (31). LaDainian Tomlinson, Jets running back
• 65 (24). Randy Moss, Patriots receiver
• 71 (--). Paul Warfield, Dolphins receiver
• 100 (42). Joe Namath, Jets quarterback

What do you think of the list?

Who is missing? Who is overrated? Who isn't high enough?

Reviewing the list made me think back to a phone call I had with Moss two springs ago. In addition to forecasting better offensive numbers in 2009 than the Patriots posted in their record-breaking 2007 season, Moss proclaimed himself the greatest receiver -- and maybe player -- in NFL history.

"I'm the best wide receiver of all-time, hands down," Moss told me.

"I don't really like to judge people or other athletes. I know what I'm able to do on the field, but the things I'm able to do to dictate how a defense plays the game, I don't think there's no other receiver but myself and Jerry Rice to be able to do that."

Moss later added: "To hell with wide receiver. I think I go down as one of the greatest players to ever play this game."

The NFL Network rated Rice as the greatest player of all-time and Don Hutson ninth. Moss was ranked the third-best receiver on the list.

When it comes to running pass routes, Brandon Marshall claims Miami Dolphins teammate Davone Bess is elite.

Marshall doesn't merely mean on the Dolphins' roster or in the game today.

Marshall means of all-time, as in alongside Jerry Rice and Torry Holt and Marvin Harrison and Wes Welker and Steve Largent and Paul Warfield and Raymond Berry and ...

"In all of football," Marshall said of Bess, "he's one of the best route runners in all of football ever, not just in today's receivers. Ever."

While Marshall's assertion sounds quite hyperbolic, there's no denying Bess is one of the NFL's most underrated receivers. He wasn't drafted out of Hawaii in 2008 because he wasn't considered fast enough (40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds) or big enough (5-foot-10, 190 pounds).

"He plays big, man," Marshall said. "He's an all-around wide receiver."

Bess had to become a masterful route runner to make it in the pros. His meticulousness -- like Greg Camarillo for Miami before him -- is why Bess has been heavily involved in the Dolphins' offense since they signed him and why they traded Camarillo last month.

Bess' compact size actually helps him as a route runner more than the gazelles who lope up the sideline and rarely need to worry about gaining separation through craftiness or precision.

Bess has been one of the league's top third-down targets since last season. He's tied for second in the NFL in third-down receptions with 10 for 109 yards, one touchdown and eight first downs.

Marshall leads the league with 11 third-down receptions. Anquan Boldin is the only receiver with more third-down conversions than Bess.

In Week 4, Bess had one of his bigger games before heading into the bye. He made eight catches for 96 yards and a touchdown against the New England Patriots on Monday night.

"When you put in the tape, this guy's amazing, what he's able to make his body do," Marshall said of Bess. "He gets open almost every single play."

"The guy doesn't catch [76] balls last year just because. There's a reason for that, and he's on pace to probably catch almost 100 balls this year [84]. I'm excited for him, and I'm excited to be able to be on the other side and on the same side as him."

Andre Reed knew this wasn't going to be the year he entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith were eligible for the first time, and both were no-brainers. Space is limited in each class, and the voters weren't going to induct two receivers.

But Reed views 2010 as a step in the right direction. The legendary Buffalo Bills receiver won't get into the Hall of Fame this weekend, but he's walking up the front steps.

Reed this year finished among the 17 semifinalists a fourth time. Although the board of selectors didn't vote to enshrine him this year, he finished in the top 10, something he'd never done before.

"My phone was blowing up when we got to the final 10," Reed recalled of the selection process, which concludes Super Bowl weekend. "I hadn't gotten to the final 10 yet. You're only a stone's throw away then."

He also received more votes than Cris Carter for the first time, indicating Reed's candidacy is on the rise.

Reed's case is an interesting one that has been explored on this blog before. When the seven-time Pro Bowler retired in 2000, he ranked third all-time with 951 receptions. He has slid to eighth and probably will drop out of the top 10 this year. Randy Moss, Torry Holt and Hines Ward are closing in.

"That's just how it is," Reed said. "A lot of guys are going to have a lot of catches. The game has changed. Now it's pass to set up the run. Before it was run to set up the pass. But maybe catches won't be as much of a factor. It'll be how many championships, how many times did you go to the Super Bowl? It'll be more team-oriented because anybody can catch 800 balls nowadays.

"In 1989, I caught 88 balls. That was a career year. These guys are catching 100 balls left and right now. Wes Welker had 100 balls three years in a row. Is Wes Welker going to be a Hall of Famer? I don't know. It's an accomplishment to catch 100 balls a year, but ...

"Keyshawn Johnson caught 800 balls, but nobody really talks about him. Great receiver, but do you put him in? Steve Smith? Keenan McCardell? Those guys are on the wayside."

Reed was the best receiver on a team that won an unprecedented four consecutive conference titles. The Bills couldn't manage to win one Super Bowl, but that hasn't barred Reed's teammates from the Hall of Fame.

Twenty years from now there likely will be more inductees from the Bills of the 1990s than the New England Patriots of the 2000s. Already in are quarterback Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas, defensive end Bruce Smith and head coach Marv Levy. So is James Lofton, who spent four seasons with Buffalo.

"I played in the best era of wide receivers ever, if you ask me," Reed said. "All the guys that are in my era are Hall of Famers. The next group of guys will be Terrell Owens and Marvin Harrison and Randy Moss.

"They'll be arguing about those guys, but it'll be a different argument because of how the game has evolved."

While folks are formulating those arguments, Reed is content to wait his turn.

"I'm humbled by it," he said. "I don't trip and say 'Aw, man!' If it's going to happen, it's not on my time. It's on somebody else's.

"My friends and family are more upset about it that I am. When it's my time, it's my time."

If given the chance to decide, who'd you rather have: Randy Moss or Andre Johnson?

ESPN.com fantasy analysts Ken Daube and Christopher Harris debate who's better for 2010.

Daube calls Johnson the safer selection, but Moss the smarter pick because their projected difference is negligible (in Johnson's favor), while Moss has the better likelihood of blowing up statistically.

Obviously, Moss will be 33 years old this season, and historically not many receivers maintain their elite status once acquiring that many birthday candles. However, if you are going to be fair, you should see how players of his stature have performed at that age. The only receiver in history that it's fair to compare Moss against -- based on pure dominance and talent -- is Jerry Rice, and I'll remind you that Mr. Rice had one of the greatest receiving seasons ever during the season that he turned 33 (15 touchdowns, 1,848 receiving yards). I'm not saying that Randy Moss is better than Jerry Rice, that's for another discussion. I am saying that whenever Moss has applied himself, he's outperformed even Rice.

Harris considers Moss second to Johnson in his fantasy rankings because Moss "doesn't exactly have a history of manning up and playing great when his contract is at issue" and has concerns Wes Welker will be ready from the start of the season.

For me, the gap between Andre Johnson and Moss is far greater than the distance between Moss and whoever you care to make No. 3. AJ led all wideouts in receiving yards each of the past two seasons, the second man to accomplish that task in back-to-back seasons in NFL history (Rice is the other). He led the NFL in catches of 20-plus yards last season. He had the most targets in the league and the second-most red-zone targets. And he's 29. Of course, you don't earn 2010 fantasy points for last year's stats. Can AJ do it again? I've yet to hear a convincing reason why he won't.

The mathemagicians at Football Outsiders are close to releasing their annual yearbook.

Luckily for New York Jets fans, Gang Green's dossier is the free sample chapter to promote the looming release of Football Outsiders Almanac 2010.

If you enjoy smart, statistical-based analysis, then you can immerse yourself in this reference staple. Any given paragraph of this book can provide information you didn't know could be tracked.

To get an idea of the type of insight you can pick up, here are highlights from the Jets' section, written by Football Outsiders managing editor Bill Barnwell:

• Football Outsiders projects the Jets to win 9.8 games, but they have a 39 percent chance of winning 11 or more.
• The Jets have a 7 percent chance to win six or fewer games.
• The odds of opposing kickers missing five straight field goals, which happened in the postseason, was 5,292-to-1.
• Cornerback Darrelle Revis limited receivers to 3.5 yards a catch. The league average for qualifying cornerbacks was 7.5 yards. Revis was targeted 96 times, more than any other cornerback.
• Football Outsiders "Revisized" other players' stats to put his season in context: "A player playing at Revis' level while getting a comparable usage rate at a different position in 2009 would have set the NFL passing record by nearly 500 yards, beat out Jerry Rice for the single-season receiving record or run for 2,000 yards while averaging a record-tying 6.4 yards per carry."
• Peyton Manning's "Revisized" season would have given him 5,532 passing yards. Brandon Marshall would have gained 1,922 receiving yards.
• Among the 11 quarterbacks from 1978 through 2008 with statistical seasons most similar to Mark Sanchez's are David Woodley (1981), Troy Aikman (1990) and John Elway (1984). Then again JaMarcus Russell (2008) and Tony Banks (1996) are in there, too.
• The Jets' defense forced opponents to go three-and-out on a league-best 34.4 percent of drives.
• The Jets allowed an NFL-high 10.6 yards on every screen pass against them. On offense, they tried an NFL-low 10 screen passes for a measly 2.6 yards a try.

In the upcoming issue of ESPN The Magazine, senior writer Shaun Assael considers what makes New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis the best defender in football.

The thorough feature, which you can read now if you're an ESPN Insider, takes a look at Revis' childhood in Aliquippa, Pa., his relationship with Uncle Sean Gilbert, his development at Pitt, what drives him to be great and how playing for Jets head coach Rex Ryan thrust him into prominence.

Assael compares Revis' impact on a game to that of Lawrence Taylor, Ray Lewis and Deion Sanders.

The Revis effect washes over the Jets. Rex Ryan's 3-4 defense is already the most intricate in the NFL, with linebackers always in motion, shifting between the strong and weak sides, so that offenses never know who's rushing on any given play. When defensive coordinator Mike Pettine says that Revis "helps us heavy up the box," he means that by shutting down the league's best playmakers, Revis frees the other Jets D-backs to crowd the line, which provides more blitzing power. No wonder Gang Green held opponents to just 215 yards a game over their final eight contests before their AFC title game loss to the Colts. "Most teams use their best corner on the second-best receiver and double-team the No. 1," Ryan says. "But with Darrelle we can man-to-man their best. It makes you feel like you're playing with 12 guys."

While it's more difficult to quantify defensive performance levels, the story notes the researchers at Football Outsiders put Revis' 2009 in the same context as what Dan Marino did in 1984 or Jerry Rice did in 1995.

Revis held opposing receivers to 33 percent completions and a league-low 3.5 yards per attempt.

Based on the patience Bill Belichick showed with Joey Galloway last summer, we can assume Torry Holt won't ruin his chances of dressing for the New England Patriots on opening day.

When that happens, the Patriots will field the most prolific receiving duo in NFL history that didn't include Jerry Rice.

Holt and Patriots receiver Randy Moss will be only the second pair of teammates to enter a season with at least 900 receptions, the Elias Sports Bureau found. The only others to do it were Rice and Tim Brown for the Oakland Raiders in 2002 and 2003.

To further illustrate how rare it is for a team to have two receivers with such gaudy numbers, no other duo has opened a season with at least 800 catches apiece.

Moss ranks 10th on the NFL's all-time receptions list with 926. Holt is one place and six catches behind him, giving them a total of 1,846.

"You’re talking about playing with some of the most prolific offensive football players that the National Football League has," Holt said upon joining the Patriots. "To have the opportunity to fit in with those guys, to learn the offense, I think the sky’s the limit."

But they would have to stick together several more seasons to break the record. Rice and Brown started 2003 with 2,474 receptions.

As reader LFR2010 pointed out in the comments section, Moss and Holt will be a combined 67 years old when the season starts.

While that might sound ancient to some, Rice and Brown totaled 76 years at the start of 2002. That year, Rice went to the Pro Bowl with 92 catches for 1,211 yards, while Brown had 81 receptions for 930 yards. The Raiders won the AFC West and went to the Super Bowl.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports the Miami Dolphins did make a contract offer to outside linebacker Jason Taylor after the season.

Schefter, citing an unnamed "source close to the situation," writes the Dolphins proposed a one-year deal worth more than $2 million.

Taylor and his agent, Gary Wichard, each claimed there were no offers to consider other than the one Taylor signed Wednesday with the New York Jets.

"This is the only offer," Taylor said at a news conference Tuesday night. "There is no other offer. It's this or go join the Nationwide Tour with Jerry Rice, and I'm not very good at golf."

Wichard told Miami radio station 790 The Ticket the Dolphins "made no commitment to him. And he made a total commitment to [the Dolphins]. If there was an offer, I promise you he would have signed it last week."

In a text message to 790 The Ticket host Dan LeBatard, Taylor wrote "They offered me an extension in November for the same money as 2009. When I said I would like to negotiate in an uncapped year, they pulled the offer in December and said nothing since."

With 10 days remaining in the NFL's attempt to determine the 75 greatest draft picks of all-time, the league released the top 20 candidates after fans have cast nearly 40 million votes.

The project was put together to celebrate the 75th draft, which begins April 22. NFL.com editors got us started by narrowing each team's list of candidates down to the top 10.

Fans can vote through April 18 at NFL.com. Parts of the list will be revealed on NFL.com and the NFL Network beginning April 19. The top 10 will be saved for the draft telecast.

These 20 players, listed in alphabetical order, have received the most votes so far:

• Troy Aikman, Dallas Cowboys (first overall, 1989)
• Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh Steelers (first, 1970)
• Tom Brady, New England Patriots (199th, 2000)
• Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns (sixth, 1957)
• Dick Butkus, Chicago Bears (third, 1965)
• Brett Favre, Atlanta Falcons (33rd, 1991)
• Ray Lewis, Baltimore Ravens (26th, 1996)
• Ronnie Lott, San Francisco 49ers (eighth, 1981)
• Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts (first, 1998)
• Dan Marino, Miami Dolphins (27th, 1983)
• Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers (82nd, 1979)
• Randy Moss, Minnesota Vikings (21st, 1998)
• Walter Payton, Chicago Bears (fourth, 1975)
• Jerry Rice, San Francisco 49ers (16th, 1985)
• Barry Sanders, Detroit Lions (third, 1989)
• Deion Sanders, Atlanta Falcons (fifth, 1989)
• Mike Singletary, Chicago Bears (38th, 1981)
• Emmitt Smith, Dallas Cowboys (17th, 1990)
• Lawrence Taylor, New York Giants (second, 1981)
• Rod Woodson, Pittsburgh Steelers (10th, 1987)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Andre Reed deserves to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

He just has to wait his turn.

For the fourth time, the legendary Buffalo Bills receiver was a semifinalist who didn't make the cut. Receiver Jerry Rice, running backs Emmitt Smith and Floyd Little, guard Russ Grimm, defensive tackle John Randle, linebacker Rickey Jackson and cornerback and esteemed coach Dick LeBeau were selected Saturday for the class of 2010.

Nobody expected Reed to be honored with Rice and Smith on the ballot for the first time. That left two fewer spots available for the others.

But there were some interesting developments in this year's selection process that bode well for Reed's candidacy in 2011.

There had been a belief among Hall of Fame voters Cris Carter must be inducted before Reed could make it. But for the first time, Reed finished ahead of Carter in the process.

When the list of 15 semifinalists was pared down to 10, Carter and Tim Brown (in his first year of eligibility) didn't advance. Reed did after failing to make the final 10 last year.

And as Reed's career numbers continue to slide down the all-time list each season -- a tight end passed him this year, and Randy Moss, Torry Holt and Hines Ward probably will knock him out of the top 10 next year -- there was concern Reed's credentials would dim.

Maybe that won't be the case.

Reed caught 951 passes for 13,198 yards and 87 touchdowns. He went to four straight Super Bowls. Had the Bills won one of them, the chances for his induction would be moot. He'd probably already be in.

"It's not just about how many you caught, but when you caught them," Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin said on the NFL Network's induction show. "To go to four Super Bowls, that means all of your catches meant something. So hopefully he will be here one day."

Buffalo Bills receiver Andre Reed made the Pro Football Hall of Fame's list of finalists for induction this year.


Unfortunately, that's as far as Reed will get in 2010.

Reed owns numbers deserving of the Hall of Fame. He made 951 receptions and won four AFC championships. But he has been left standing outside the velvet rope because other worthy candidates have passed him by.

Several more will breeze past him this year.

The 15 finalists comprise a loaded group that includes hallowed record-holders Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith, both eligible for the first time.

Reed's chances are impacted substantially by the number of receivers in line ahead of him. A maximum of five modern-era nominees can be selected when the Hall of Fame's selection committee convenes Feb. 6.

In addition to Rice, other receiver finalists who should get consideration before Reed are Cris Carter (the only other finalists with AFC East ties), Tim Brown and pass-catching tight end Shannon Sharpe. Carter and Sharpe finished ahead of Reed in last year's balloting.

Carter had to wait a year to get in because Bills owner Ralph Wilson was included in the 2009 class and knocked him out.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Randy Moss breezed through a side door and began addressing reporters before he reached the microphone. So focused was he on making a statement, he tripped as he stepped onto the podium.

"I'm gonna make it real brief," Moss blurted shortly after the New England Patriots breathed in a therapeutic 17-10 victory over the Buffalo Bills. "Y'all had all two weeks to do all y'all's talking. Let me do mine."

Moss, in a black stocking cap and a natty trench coat over a designer suit, leaned his right elbow on the lectern for effect, like a judge about to lecture a defendant before sentencing.

"I'd like to really thank ..." Moss paused, stroked his beard and started again. "It's been really a tough couple of weeks, but you move on. That’s the nature of the game. So I'm happy that we got this victory. I appreciate all the support from my true fans, the players, the coaches, my family and loved ones.

"I've been in this league 12 years, man, and I've been through a lot. And these shoulders that I have on my body, you can put the earth on it. So just to let you know, I bounce back. I appreciate it."

The gallery didn't ask a question. Moss bolted stage left and out the door.

In those 45 seconds, Moss didn't say much.

He didn't have to. He revealed plenty.

Moss was hurt by the onslaught of criticism he has faced over the previous dozen days, and Sunday provided deliverance.

Moss generated 113 yards for the Patriots and scored their first touchdown, a sweet tippy-toe grab in the back of the end zone. He finished with a game-high five receptions for 70 yards and drew another 43 yards on a Bills pass interference near the goal line.

"My father always said, 'Tall trees experience high winds,'" Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said. "He's been at the top for a long time. When it doesn't go right, that's just part of the profession.

"Randy's mature enough to handle that. He's a fighter, and he came out today and really made some great catches for us. Missed him on a couple of deep ones that certainly I wish we would have hit. But he was running his butt off today."

Moss had been called a quitter, a dog, a malcontent.

With the Patriots enduring three losses in four games, Patriots coach Bill Belichick booted Moss and three other players from Gillette Stadium on Dec. 9 for showing up late for a meeting.

Four days later against the Carolina Panthers, Moss caught one pass and fumbled it away, appeared to give less than full effort on a Brady interception and committed a false start. Panthers defensive backs Chris Gamble and Chris Harris proclaimed they made him submit.

A pair of future Hall of Fame receivers, Jerry Rice and Cris Carter, publicly ripped him as a lollygagger. We should have known, the media declared. He was trouble in Minnesota and Oakland. It was bound to happen in New England too.

A cancer, this guy.

Through it all, Moss said nothing. He had no answers, no words to defend himself.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft defended him. So did head coach Bill Belichick, who uncharacteristically took shots at Gamble and Harris as guys who haven't won enough games this year to have a credible opinion.

NFL Films analyst Greg Cosell and ESPN’s Ron Jaworski and Merril Hoge -- with access to the sacred coaches' tapes -- were unanimous in their defense of Moss. They insisted he gave a high effort against the Panthers, but those voices didn't make nearly enough noise amid the condemnation.

A productive game would be Moss' only response.

The Patriots wanted him involved right away. They went deep to him twice -- and quickly. Brady fired a long ball too far down the left sideline on their sixth play. That pass interference chunk came on the first possession of the second quarter.

Despite facing the NFL's worst run defense, the Patriots wanted to help Moss prove a point.

"He's a competitor, and he wasn't happy with his performance the week before," Patriots receiver Wes Welker said. "He came out there and showed why he's one of the best to play the game. There's no doubt in my mind or anybody else's that he was going to bounce back from last week and have a great game."

Moss caught more flak than passes over his four previous games. He made six catches for 183 yards and two touchdowns. OK numbers for Chansi Stuckey or Josh Reed, not for one of the greatest receivers there ever was.

But on Sunday he came through. His afternoon wasn't prolific, but in sub-freezing conditions and with the Patriots desperately seeking their first true road win of the year, he made his presence felt.

Brady threw for only 115 yards. Laurence Maroney averaged 3.5 yards a carry.

Moss' shoulders didn't have to carry the earth Sunday, but he carried his offense again.

Atlas shrugged off the past two weeks.

"He always wants to prove something," Brady said. "He's a very competitive guy. The way he played today, he made some tough catches in traffic, made some nice catch-and-runs. He did a great job."