National Football League

Jerry McDonald: Latest chapter in the Randy Moss saga leaves him happy -- for now

Published Oct. 10, 2010 10:13 p.m. ET

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Only Bill Belichick knows when he decided it was time for the New England Patriots and Randy Moss to go their separate ways.

The guess here is it was when Moss dropped an easy would-be touchdown pass from Tom Brady in the end zone in what turned out to be a 41-14 win over the Miami Dolphins.

Dropped passes are an indicator of how Moss feels at a given time. He said as much when I asked him about a spate of dropped passes with the Raiders in 2006.

"Maybe because I'm unhappy, and I'm not too excited about what's going on, so my concentration and focus level tends to go down when I'm in a bad mood," Moss said. "All I can say is, if you put me in a good situation and make me happy, man, you get good results."

We can assume Moss is happy again, having been dealt Minnesota to play with Brett Favre. Given his track record, watch out. For the next few weeks at least, it should be a sight to behold.

The Moss "I play when I want to play" drama, in three parts:

Act I: Stinging from being bypassed by the Cowboys in the draft over character concerns, Moss lays waste to the NFL as a rookie -- 69 receptions, 1,313 yards, 17 touchdowns. Moss catches 90 touchdown passes in seven seasons with Minnesota before his production drops ever so slightly and he pouts his way out of town. He's traded to the Raiders for linebacker Napoleon Harris, a first-round and a seventh-round draft pick.

Act II: Moss is touched by a greeting which included shipping Raider gear to his family and a police escort to the facility upon his arrival.

He enjoys the most spectacular training camp I've ever seen, a miracle a day.

Through four games, Moss has 19 catches for 466 yards, two touchdowns and plays of 73, 74 and 79 yards.

He goes up for a catch against San Diego in the fifth game and comes down with rib and tailbone injuries which affect him the rest of the 2005 season.

Disillusioned by the new Art Shell-Tom Walsh regime in 2006, there are no spectacular training camp catches. Moss is indifferent, drops balls repeatedly and has the worst season of his career (42 catches, 553 yards, 3 TDs).

Act III: Al Davis, at the urging of Lane Kiffin, dumps Moss for a fourth-round draft pick to New England. Davis says Moss is still a star. Kiffin says he'll never be a star for the Raiders. They're both right.

In 2007, Moss has one of the most productive seasons ever by a wide receiver -- 98 receptions, 1,493 yards, 23 touchdowns. He plays 52 games for the Patriots and scores 50 touchdowns. Over the same 52-game span, a dozen Raiders receivers catch 42 touchdown passes.

Following the Patriots' Week 1 win over Cincinnati, Moss expresses concern about his long-term future with New England. Three games later, Belichick ships Moss back to the Vikings.

He's seen this act before.

Jumping to more Week 5 conclusions:

Packers exec Ted Thompson made the right call on the Favre-Aaron Rodgers decision, but if Green Bay comes up short because of problems in the offensive backfield, he'll have to answer for failing to make a move on Marshawn Lynch.

Getting Lynch for a fourth-round pick and a conditional pick was a steal for Seattle.

Guess it was premature to label Charles Woodson a Hall of Fame talent who never achieved his true potential when he left the Raiders and reluctantly signed with Green Bay as a free agent.

Now he's the defending NFL defensive player of the year, became the third player in NFL history with at least 10 interception-return touchdowns (Rod Woodson has 12, Darren Sharper 11) and is in the Canton conversation.

Cornerbacks are supposed to fade when they get older. Woodson keeps getting better.

Run-challenged Denver can't seem to keep enough backs healthy to give Kyle Orton and the offense some balance.

Too bad they didn't see fit to hold on to Peyton Hillis, a third-wheel at Arkansas behind Darren McFadden and Felix Jones who became the first Cleveland running back to score a rushing touchdowns in four straight games since Greg Pruitt in 1975.

If I'm in a fix and need someone to diffuse a bomb with the clock ticking in the background and time running out, the last person I want in charge is Philadelphia coach Andy Reid, frantically looking at the directions, adjusting his glasses, and asking for input.

Inspector Clouseau handled a crisis better than Reid managed the clock at the end of the first half of Philadelphia's loss to Washington, with a delay of game forcing the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a potential touchdown.

By the numbers: 499 -- Favre's NFL-record number of touchdown passes. You just know No. 500 is going to Moss.

Quotable: "Running up, jumping and high-fiving with his players. They're over there dogging us and you just sit there watching them having all this fun like, 'Man, what is he doing? Run me to that sideline so I can hit him one time,'" newly acquired running back Marshawn Lynch describing how he felt about new coach Pete Carroll when Cal played USC.

Game of the week: Minnesota at New York Jets. Moss and Favre, with Darrelle Revis defending. Santonio Holmes, spectacular at training camp, instantly strengthens Jets passing game. Plus the always entertaining Rex Ryan. Lots of star power.

Game of the weak: Chicago at Carolina. What really makes this game weak is that Bears defensive end Julius Peppers is angry at his former team. Apparently for being paid $17 million last year as a franchise player who occasionally took plays off.

Contact Jerry McDonald at jmcdonald@bayareanewsgroup.com .