"When he's playing, you have to account for him. I have no reason to think he's not the player he was, but to be honest, I don't know because he wasn't much of a factor against us the past two years."
That, of course, is the great mystery and the great drama surrounding Randy Moss. Once among the most feared wide receivers in football, Moss has fallen off the planet the past three years. After not missing a start for five seasons, Moss has not played 16 games in a season since 2003, and his production has slid noticeably.
It began during his final season in Minnesota when that franchise was in turmoil. He caught only 49 passes for 767 yards, yet even then he scored 13 touchdowns and averaged nearly 16 yards per catch, numbers that convinced the Raiders a change of scenery was all he needed to blossom once again.
Now it is the Patriots who feel that way after Moss's two disappointing seasons in Oakland, including last year's slide to 42 catches for 553 yards and only three scores, the worst season of his career. Moss was not active for the last three games because of persistently aching legs and his constant criticism of the offense and the organization.
Yet Michael Lombardi, who until last Wednesday headed up the Raiders' personnel department, warned Moss's critics, "Don't go negative on this guy. Don't make that mistake. When he's healthy, nobody can run with him. Watch the tape of Champ Bailey trying to cover him. You've got to remember, his first four games here he was dynamic. Then he got hurt. When he was healthy, he never missed a practice."
In those four games in 2005, Moss caught 19 passes for 466 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 116.4 yards a game and 24.5 yards a reception. Then he got hurt against the Chargers and nothing seemed to be the same again with the exception of the final game that year, when he had seven catches for 116 yards and two scores against the Giants on New Year's Eve.
