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Last modified: Monday, April 30, 2007 12:31 AM EDT
NFL bad boy ready for rebirth
BY MARK FARINELLA / SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
FOXBORO - Randy Moss made it sound Sunday as if he had found the Fountain of Youth and divine redemption all rolled into one.
And he made a promise to the assembled media at Gillette Stadium.
"Let's put it this way the Moss of olde is back, and we'll leave it at that," the Patriots' newest wide receiver said.
Entering his 10th season in the NFL, the former Marshall standout and five-time Pro Bowl participant could propel a rebuilt Patriots' receiving corps into the stratosphere - or he could bring it crashing down in flames if he pouts and whines and fails to produce as he did in Minnesota and Oakland when things didn't go his way.
But to him, the opportunity to play for the Patriots represents a chance to wipe the slate clean. Moss, 30, said that playing for an organization with the reputation enjoyed by the Patriots is an opportunity that demands and deserves his best efforts.
"I don't think you all understand how excited I am to really be a part of this organization," Moss said via conference call while en route to Logan Airport following his physical and a meeting with team officials. "Their record and what they're about speaks massive volumes, and I'm just very happy to find some happiness and to get back to what I love to do, which is to play football and to go out there and compete."
Moss became a Patriot late Saturday night, after seven productive but tumultuous seasons with Minnesota and two disappointing campaigns with Oakland, although the deal for a fourth-round draft choice wasn't announced until late Sunday morning. A late-night talk with Bill Belichick apparently sealed the deal.
"Really, I was overwhelmed because I didn't really expect to hear from Coach Belichick," Moss said. "Things worked themselves out and I was very overwhelmed, but I'm still in shock at the same time. I can't believe I'm a Patriot."
Moss had to accept a significant alteration to his contract to make the deal work. According to published reports, he will earn $3 million for one year with incentives that could add another $2 million to the pact. He was originally scheduled to earn base salaries of $9.75 million this year and $11.25 million next year according to figured released by the NFL Players Association.
But Moss said that money was not the most important factor at this stage of his career.
"(The Patriots) have a massive reputation of what they stand for, and that's winning," he said. "Through the course of my career or just the course of my life of playing sports, I've always tried to be a winner ... I didn't really think that money was a big factor to me.
"I've made a lot of money and I still have money in the bank," he continued. "So by me coming to an organization such as the New England Patriots, why would money be a factor? I know I have to get paid something ... I knew something had to be done with my contract, and I didn't have a problem with it."
Admittedly, Moss comes to the Patriots with a lot of baggage to go along with 10,700 receiving yards. He has been in the NFL's substance abuse testing program in the past because of an affinity for marijuana (although reportedly he is no longer in the program), and has caused ripples from time to time because of off-field incidents or a lack of on-field effort borne from his frustration over losing.
Not surprisingly, Moss blamed the media for dwelling on the negatives.
"I think that you guys, the media, has put the reputation and all this stuff out there about me," he said. "My coaches that I've played for, the players I've played with, never seemed to have a problem about my character. Only the media does. So one thing I'm going to promise you guys - I'm going to try my best to give you all a little bit of short interviews, but at the same time I'm going to stay away from it."
But he also said that playing with a proven winner may help him mature and feel a greater sense of commitment.
"I think it's frustrating for any player, any athlete, not just football," he said of the losing seasons he experienced recently. "Any athlete, if it's golf, an individual sport, if it was a team sport, it's always frustrating. When it happens, it's like you're going week in and week out and losing and can't find ways to win, it's very frustrating.
"I think that what I've done in the past as far as losing and sometimes getting out of control, that's just my competitive nature of wanting to win and helping my team getting into position to win," he said. "Like I said, losing sometimes gets contagious. As a player you can't let that settle in. That's one of the things that bothered me. I didn't want it to set in. It didn't set in. It was just really nerve-wracking, knowing it was hard for me to win."
Moss also bristled a little bit when he was asked how he felt about those who questioned his work ethic.
"I don't really like to answer questions like that, because the people that question probably never played football in their life or been on the same pedestal I've been on," he said. "I have a microscope and my microscope is very big. So the people that talk about me as far as my work ethic and my competitive nature and me going out there playing football, the best thing I can say to you, male or female, is you have to line up against me and we'll see what happens."
One of the first Patriots to whom Moss spoke Sunday was the one who will have the largest role in reviving his career.
"I talked to Tom Brady today, just to jump some things off, and to let him know how excited I am to play with him," he said. "I've done my homework on this organization, because they've won three Super Bowls, so who hasn't? They have players in place who are well respected and well known throughout the league."
Knowing that Brady likes to spread the ball among several different receivers, Moss said he was comfortable with the concept of being a part of a successful unit.
"I just want to win," he said. "I have never been a selfish ballplayer. I've been selfish about winning, but as far as me getting the ball and getting my numbers, I've never been selfish. I understand that an organization pays me a certain amount of dollars to make things happen and when things don't happen, of course I get mad. Of course I get angry."
But with a run at a Super Bowl a distinct possibility, Moss said that this might be the first time in his career when the planets have been aligned properly for him.
"When the opportunity came around for me to be traded to New England, and I talked to Coach Belichick, once I started hearing the buzz in the air and on the TV, it was just more like me getting a chance to really get on that Super Bowl stage and really show the world who am I am and what I am able to do," he said. "I think that what I have done in my nine-year career was just a glimpse of what I can do. So me being able to get the right things in place for me being able to succeed on the field is right here in New England."
MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com |
