vikings/nfl

FOXBORO, MASS. -- Maybe it has something to do with winning three Super Bowls since 2001. Or perhaps it's the team photo sprinkled with at least six or so future Hall of Famers. Whatever it is, the New England Patriots aren't easily impressed by the new guys who arrive each offseason looking for their piece of NFL history.

But on Aug. 1, things were a little different on the three practice fields just outside of Gillette Stadium. The Patriots were impressed. Really impressed.

Randy Moss, the immensely talented receiver who has carried personal and professional baggage of nearly equal size from Minnesota to Oakland and now back across the country, was showing off. In a good way.

"You should have seen him," Patriots cornerback Randall Gay said. "He was showing us some of that speed everybody always talks about. So deceptive. So smooth. He's like a horse or something."

He's also 30. And that, too, was painfully apparent on Aug. 1. Later in the practice, on a deep pass from Tom Brady, Moss tweaked a hamstring that has nagged at him often since he crumpled to the turf as a Viking inside the New Orleans Superdome the night of Oct. 17, 2004.

Moss missed a month's worth of practice and all four preseason games before finally returning to the field five days ago. His status for Sunday's season opener against the New York Jets is uncertain.

What did the Patriots get?

So here we are, still wondering how this odd marriage between the enigmatic receiver and the unyielding throwback coach (Bill Belichick) will work. Did the Patriots land the steal of the offseason and the final piece they needed to wrest control of the powerful AFC back from Indianapolis? Or did they ship a fourth-round pick to Oakland for an aging, ailing superstar whose volatile attitude could threaten the revered "Patriot Way"?

"Here's what I think," said Moss' former Vikings coach Mike Tice, now a Jacksonville Jaguars assistant. "I think being in that organization is a perfect situation for Randy. I think you will see Randy Moss' return to greatness."

We'll see. Moss was supposed to be a perfect fit in Oakland, where Raiders owner Al Davis has worshipped the deep pass since, well, forever. And remember how happy Moss was initially when he arrived there from the Vikings in March 2005 in exchange for the seventh overall draft pick, linebacker Napoleon Harris and a seventh-round pick?

Two dysfunctional years later, Moss is coming off an injury-marred season in which he posted career lows for receptions (42), receiving yards (553) and touchdowns (three). Moss' reputation as a selfish player also resurfaced often as the Raiders flopped to a league-worst 2-14 record.

Finally, after unsuccessfully shopping Moss to the Packers, Davis decided to cut his losses in a late-night conversation with Belichick following the first day of the 2007 draft. Essentially, it was Davis siding with his 32-year-old head coach, Lane Kiffin, who couldn't coexist with Moss.

"This," Kiffin told reporters, "was the best scenario for both the Raiders and Randy."

Confidence in the 'Patriot Way'

Belichick spoke to Davis at about 11:30 p.m. on the first day of the draft. The Patriots agreed to send their fourth-round pick to Oakland provided that Moss fly to New England for a physical, rework his contract to fit the salary cap and, no matter what, sit down for a 1-on-1 meeting with Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

And, oh yeah, all this had to be done in about 12 hours, since the Patriots' pick (110th overall) would be made near the top of the fourth round the next morning.

Belichick, who has admired Moss from afar for years, spoke to him at 2:30 a.m. on the second day of the draft. It was the first time the two spoke. Ever.

"But I had already talked to a lot of people before we made the trade," Belichick said. "I felt comfortable trading for the player."