Projo Pats Blog

We don't know how Randy Moss feels about playing in Oakland again, but it's a safe bet to assume that the Raider fans -- who don't have much to cheer for -- will be ready to let Moss have it on Sunday (Masslive.com). Moss was considered a huge acquisition for the Raiders when they landed him from the Minnesota Vikings in a trade. Oakland sent the Vikings linebacker Napoleon Harris and a first-round draft pick, which Minnesota used to select now-departed wide receiver Troy Williamson.

Moss' two-year stop in Oakland turned out to be a big-time detour on his road to the Hall of Fame. After averaging 82 catches for 1,306 yards and 13 touchdowns over seven seasons in Minnesota, Moss averaged 51 catches for 779 yards and 5.5 touchdowns per season in two years in Oakland. Contra Costa Times reporter Jerry McDonald recalls that Moss "used indifference as a weapon" to express his dissatisfaction with being in Oakland. (If you care to read how much some Raiders fans still resent Moss, check out the comments at the bottom of McDonald's posting.) Eventually he was traded for a measly fourth-round draft choice, then went on to have a season for the ages in New England in 2007 (98 catches, 1,493 yards, 23 touchdowns).

The embarrassing turn of events for the Raiders is obviously still a sore spot for owner Al Davis, who earlier this season after firing head coach Lane Kiffin accused Kiffin of talking him into making the move when he didn't want to do it, and also alleged that the Patriots had tampered with Moss.

I'm sure Moss hopes to have a big game against the Raiders, who like to play a lot of single coverage. But if the Raiders put cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha on Moss, then we could get an awful lot of Wes Welker again this week, because Raiders opponents almost never throw the ball toward Asomugha (Boston Globe). However much they end up throwing to Moss on Sunday, head coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots are counting on Moss and LaMont Jordan, another player who had a disappointing tenure in Oakland, to provide some insight in practice on the Raiders' schemes (projo.com). But if Moss continues having problems with dropped passes, he should really hear it on Sunday.

Still, Belichick doesn't think Moss will let the game get to him, and uses terms to describe him that will probably make Moss' Oakland detractors cringe (Boston Herald): "Randy's pretty professional. He's one of the most professional guys we have. "I'm not really too concerned about (his emotions)."

TAKING THE DAY: Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel will return home to be with his family following the death of his father, and is not expected to practice today (Boston Globe). The Patriots are practicing this week at San Jose State University; Cassel is a native of the Los Angeles area.

SETTING A NEW STANDARD: Mike Reiss of The Globe notes that the Patriots are on pace to break the 1997 Seahawks' record for fewest accepted penalties called against any single team in a 16-game season. Those Seahawks, by the way, were an 8-8 team.

TOO BAD THIS ISN'T THE PLAYOFF TIEBREAKER: The latest power rankings on ColdHardFootballFacts.com and ESPN each have the Patriots as the best team in the deadlocked AFC East.

JOEY PORTER ON PLAXICO BURRESS: You might not be surprised to hear that the Dolphins linebacker -- formerly a teammate of Plax's in Pittsburgh -- has a different take on the subject of Burress' self-inflicted gunshot wounds and subsequent career (and legal) troubles. In an interview that aired this morning on ESPN's First Take, Porter defended Burress and athletes who carry guns: "Plaxico is like a brother to me. I take it real personal how he's being treated. Everybody has their mistakes, but that's exactly what they are ... Until you've been in that situation, when you've been robbed at gunpoint or you've had a gun waved in your face or had your house broken into before or been carjacked, you really don't know what it's like." And these things happened to Burress, when?

THAT WILL COST YOU: The Detroit Lions have fined center Domenic Raiola, who Monday expressed his desire to physically harm certain local fans, $7,500 for flipping off said fans during the team's latest loss (ESPN).

WHAT I MEANT TO SAY WAS... Raiola isn't exactly taking any of his inflammatory comments back, which is more than you can say about Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who is now insisting that he never meant to question the toughness of running back Marion Barber (San Antonio Express-News).

EASY COME, EASY GO: There's a report on the web site Fanball.com that Adam "Pacman" Jones suffered a neck injury against the Steelers and will miss the rest of the season -- one week after he was reinstated by the NFL.

NOT SO FAST: Although Romeo Crennel is widely thought to have one foot out the door in Cleveland, and general manager Phil Savage's job may also be in trouble, Browns vice chairman Bob Kain told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that no decision has been made, or will be made until after the season. Meanwhile, according to ProFootballTalk.com, ESPN's John Clayton appeared on a Cleveland radio show and threw cold water on the notion that Bill Cowher will be the next Browns head coach. Clayton also said the Browns might be interested in adding Patriots vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli to their front office.

MAN OF STEEL: Bucky Brooks of Sports Illustrated lays out a case for why Pittsburgh's James Harrison could become the third defensive player in NFL history (the others were Lawrence Taylor and Alan Page) to be named league MVP.

FAMILY FEUD: Redskins running back Clinton Portis didn't agree with head coach Jim Zorn's decision to sit him down halfway through Sunday night's loss to the Ravens, and he wasn't shy about expressing his opinion on The John Thompson radio show. Here's a sample of Portis' rather sarcastic remarks: "We got a genius for a head coach, I don't know, I'm sure he on top of things. He's got everything figured out. Hey, that's up to him. All I can do is when he calls a play is go out and try to execute to the best of my ability."

AND HE'S NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO'S UNHAPPY: As Rick Snider reports in the DC Examiner, Redskins fans have been calling for Zorn's head on sports-talk radio shows, and team owner Dan Snyder is said to be disenchanted with his rookie coach as well, and there is talk that he might be interested in hiring the aforementioned Bill Cowher to take over next season.

MORE COACHING CRITICISMS: Michael David Smith of the FanHouse blog explains why the Packers' recent struggles can be attributed to poor coaching of the defense.

AND MORE PACKER TRIALS: A judge has set a March 27 trial date for Green Bay defensive tackle Johnny Jolly, who faces felony drug charges (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).

 Tags  Football Today Oakland Raiders Randy Moss

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