US – Friday, July 30

Extreme makeover

Mates say Moss has ‘been great’

NFL. Six months into his new professional life, the transformation of Randy Moss is going better than the Patriots could have ever hoped.

When New England acquired the mercurial wide receiver for a fourth-round pick in April, eyebrows around the NFL went up. Randy Moss? The ultimate problem child? In Bill Belichick’s system? It’ll never work.

But, heading into the ninth week of the season, Moss has stayed away from trouble, both on and off the field. He’s got 47 catches for 779 yards and 11 touchdowns, and has brought a whole new dimension to the Patriots’ offense — the vertical passing game.

More importantly, according to many in the New England locker room, he’s been a model teammate, not the controversial character who courted trouble in both Minnesota and Oakland. There’s been no squirting water on officials. No mooning crowds. No sulking. No strolling off the field during a game. And no talk of paying fines with, “Straight cash, homey.” Instead, it’s been all business.

“In my experience, he’s been a real professional guy,” said veteran tight end Kyle Brady, one of the more respected players in the Patriots’ locker room. “He comes to work, ready to work every day, committed to being the best he can be. The way he practices, the way he plays, the way he prepares, there’s been no complaints, by any means.

“He’s been great.”

Moss certainly hasn’t had a problem fitting in among the wide receivers. He’s frequently seen laughing and joking with Donte Stallworth in the locker room, and even though he disputed the notion in an interview last week in the New Bedford Standard-Times that he’s a leader, he has reportedly been working closely with many of the young receivers like Chad Jackson.

For wide receiver Kelley Washington, any preconceived ideas he had of Moss have already been shattered.

“You never know what you’re going to get when you get a guy like that, that you hear so much about, until he becomes your teammate,” Washington said of Moss, who has even played safety in prevent defense a couple of times this season. “Until you get to know them and go to work with them every day, you don’t know what to expect until you see it. But, he’s a heck of a teammate and a real team player.”

Of course, when you have Tom Brady at the locker next to you, you’ll be more inclined to stay on point. Through eight weeks, the two have done a good job understanding what the other needs to succeed. After Brady ran for his first touchdown Sunday — on a play where Moss appeared to be wide open in the end zone — the quarterback made a point of seeking out Moss on the sidelines afterward, where it appeared Brady was explaining to Moss why he did what he did.

And, conversely, Brady has done his part to re-establish Moss as a preeminent offensive threat. That’s important for the wide receiver, especially after hearing the last two years he was a shell of his former self. He’s a free agent at the end of the season and could cash in if he continues to put up the sort of numbers he’s compiled this year.

“What Tom has done for Randy is take him beyond the elite status in this league,” former Redskins quarterback and ex-football analyst Joe Theismann said of the relationship between Moss and Brady.

“There hasn’t been a more dangerous football player in the National Football League than Randy Moss, except that he hasn’t had the complement to go with him. We saw it early with Daunte Culpepper when he was a one-man show. Now, he’s really part — a big part — of an explosive offense.”