On pure talent there's no way Brown outranks Moss. Luckily this list isn't about talent; it's about greatness.
Moss put up baffling statistics, but he never won a ring. Troy Brown won three. For all his talent, Moss was still a one-dimensional player. Troy Brown's game had more dimensions than a space-age sci-fi comic.
Fair or not, real or imagined, Moss has the perception of being a problem child. Brown never said a word unless it had to do with his next opponent.
I'm not trying to disparage Moss, or as Mark Antony said in Julius Caesar, "I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke, but here I am to speak what I do know."
I do know that Brown was one of the most reliable players at any position I've ever seen.
Troy Brown was everything Patriots fans love; a down to earth, hard-working overachiever who maximized his talents by giving max effort and finding new ways each week to help the team win.
He is the team's all-time leader in receptions, second in yards and seventh in touchdowns. He only made the Pro Bowl once, but like Kevin Faulk his worth to the team couldn't be measured by awards.
If one game encapsulates a player's entire career, it would be the 2001 AFC Championship Game in Troy Brown's case.
Despite being the team's best WR and finding points hard to come by against a tough Steelers defense, Brown instead changed the game on special teams. He scored the game's first touchdown on a punt return, and later he recovered a blocked field goal and then lateraled to Antwan Harris, who ran the rest of the way for a score.
Even later in his career when he began being phased out of the offense, he found ways to contribute. Rather than pout and mope, Brown worked harder than ever and undertook the challenge of learning to play defense. It paid in a big way in 2004 when injuries ravaged the Patriots secondary. Brown played cornerback on numerous occasions, including during the Super Bowl, and tallied three interceptions.
Not bad for an eighth-round pick that Bill Parcells once cut from the team.
