Moss grew in new climate
GLENDALE, Ariz. – There was a time when Randy Moss would sulk, pout, throw a fit, even quit when things – especially footballs – didn’t go his way.
But after catching only one pass for 18 yards in the AFC championship game against San Diego, and only one pass for 14 yards in the AFC divisional game against Jacksonville, Moss said he has no complaints – and sounds like he means it.
“To be honest with you, the last couple of weeks, they’ve taken me out of the game and it’s allowing other guys to do their thing,” Moss said. “This being my first Super Bowl, you’d expect me to say I want the ball. Or that I want to put up numbers. But at this point, I just want to win.”
Of course, when you pile up the kind of numbers Moss did during the regular season for New England, a reservoir of goodwill is built up. Acquired for a mere fourth-round draft pick from Oakland last April, Moss gave the Patriots the kind of big-play receiving threat they’d been lacking for years.
The five-time Pro Bowler hadn’t caught more than 60 passes in any of his three previous seasons. He hadn’t even topped 800 receiving yards in two of those three campaigns. But he clicked instantly with Tom Brady and the Patriots this season, with 98 catches for 1,493 yards and 23 touchdowns.
The 23 TD catches set an NFL record, eclipsing Jerry Rice’s previous league mark of 22 in 1987.
It’s a monster number. To put it in perspective, it’s more TD catches than 18 NFL teams managed this season, including the Rams, who had 19.
“With all the talk about me coming into the season, what I really wanted to do was to come out and have a good year,” Moss said. “I didn’t care too much about the statistics.”
After a nightmarish two seasons in Oakland, it was only natural to wonder if Moss could adapt to the Patriot way.
“I think everyone probably had … they were pretty skeptical,” Patriots safety Rodney Harrison said. “Can he really fit in and do the things that we wanted him to do?”
For the man who signs the paychecks, New England owner Robert Kraft, any apprehensions were eased in a one-hour meeting with Moss the morning of the trade.
“We had a good heart-to-heart, and I found him to be someone who looked me straight in the eye,” Kraft said. “He told me he just wanted to come and win, and it wasn’t about the money. And you know, he took a big pay cut to come to us. … He’s lived up to every commitment that he has made, and he also treats people very well in the organization. Everything that I’ve seen, he has conducted himself very well.”
But Moss didn’t make it through the season without an allegation of misconduct. Just a few days before the AFC championship game, a Florida woman sought a restraining order against him, alleging he committed “battery causing serious injury” on Jan. 6. Moss denied the allegation, calling it “extortion.”
He has declared the issue off-limits this week at the Super Bowl.
“I don’t want to get into that,” Moss said.