49ERS AT PATRIOTS Admiration mutual for Moss, Belichick
Wide receiver will face former coach Sunday night when 49ers visit Patriots.
SANTA CLARA, CALif. — Randy Moss joined the New England Patriots ffive years ago thinking he knew a lot about football.
Then, he began playing for Bill Belichick. Moss’ mindset regarding his own football knowledge changed in a hurry. Only then did he learn the intricacies of his sport from “A to Z,” as the 49ers wide receiver now puts it.
Moss returns to Foxborough, Mass., this weekend with his new team to face the high-scoring Patriots (10-3) in prime time — a matchup of Tom Brady and the AFC’s top ofiense against NFL sacks leader Aldon Smith and the NFC’s No. 2 defense.
“I’ve said time and time again, before I got to New England, I thought I knew a lot about football,” Moss said. “But I think he taught me a lot from A to Z. I still carry it to this day. The compliments are good and I respect coach Belichick and that organization still to this day. Hopefully, we’ll have a good game coming up Sunday night. I look forward to the game, and hope the fans do, too.”
Moss, 35, hardly has the playmaking role as a 14thyear pro that he did as a youngster in the league, yet that didn’t stop Belichick from piling on the praise this week.
Moss has 21 catches for 326 yards and two touchdowns this season for San Francisco (9-3-1). Not bad for a guy who spent the 2011 season out of football following a frustrating year in which he bounced from the Patriots to the Vikings to the Titans.
“He’s the greatest deepball receiver I think that’s ever played,” Belichick said. “Nobody runs better patterns, better at the deep part of the ffield, than Randy Moss can. I still see him doing that. You have to respect his ability to stretch the ffield so deep and get behind you. It’s hard to take that away and defend everything else that he can do. He’s an explosive, dynamic player. Probably the smartest receiver I’ve ever coached.”
Moss said earlier this week he didn’t watch New England’s Monday night rout of the Houston Texans because he already knew what the Patriots bring with Brady under center. Many remember that Moss’ best season came for the Patriots in 2007, when he caught 98 passes for 1,493 yards and a single-season record 23 touchdowns in helping lead New England