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Raiders Notes: Moss ready to face his old team
Jerry McDonald
Speaking to the Bay Area media for the first time in 11 months, Oakland Raiders wide receiver Randy Moss said he was looking forward to returning to Minnesota to face his former team.
"Hopefully, the Metrodome will sell out because I'm coming back, but I'm a Raider now," Moss said in the locker room following Oakland's 16-10 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the Hall of Fame Bowl. "In a certain sense, it's going to be special, but at the same time, I have a job to do. What I accomplished in Minnesota is way, way behind me."
Although Moss has done radio and television interviews, he hasn't spoken on the record to the Bay Area media since last Sept. 8 after the Raiders' season-opening loss to the New England Patriots.
Moss happily greeted the new Hall of Fame class before the game but admitted he froze when it came to speak Sara White, the widow of defensive end Reggie White.
"I didn't know what to say," Moss said. "I didn't want to say the wrong thing. I didn't want to say nothing that she thought would have been bad, or got my tongue stuck. I wanted to hug her, wave at her, I didn't know what to do, so I just left her alone."
Moss gave the new coaching regime under Art Shell his approval.
"Guys are a lot more tuned in and more disciplined, on and off the field," Moss said. "The addition of Art Shell coming to our team, he's very soft-spoken, and he demands a lot. That's one thing you can appreciate in a man, if he doesn't really have to be too verbal. Just his presence alone, he got our attention.
THE SHELL REVIEW: In his first game on the sideline as a head coach in 12 years, Shell saw a lot of room for improvement.
"At the beginning of the game I didn't think we were as physical as we needed to be on both sides of the ball," Shell told Bay Area reporters by conference call Tuesday evening. "They played with a lot more
intensity than we played with for whatever reason up front."
That issue figures to be dealt with today. Although Shell thought the defense got more physical as the game wore on, he thought the offensive line lapsed into blocking techniques the club had used in previous years.
The way Shell and his staff want it done is for blockers to be aggressive and drive forward, rather than attempt to get opposing players sideways or use finesse.
"We kind of reverted," Shell said.
Shell saw good and bad in all three quarterbacks, although he was willing to accept Roderick Hood's interception of Aaron Brooks because of the boldness of the play.
"In this system we talk about getting the ball downfield, and he took a shot," Shell said. "We can live with that."
EXTRA POINTS: Among the rookie free-agent longshots to put some big moments on film were Stanford linebacker Timi Wusu and wide receiver Will Buchanon. ... WR Kevin McMahan will see a specialist for a sore jaw after biting his tongue on a vicious hit in the secondary. McMahan received stitches in his tongue. ... When asked why injured WR Jerry Porter (calf) was left home and WR Ronald Curry (recovering from Achilles' surgery) made the trip, Shell said it was a "coaches decision" and would not elaborate. Shell said Curry is "getting close" to getting on the field for practice. ... Shell said he wasn't nervous in first game back. ... CB Duane Starks (back) and Porter may return on a limited basis today, while TE James Adkisson (knee) and CB Tyrone Poole (hamstring) may be a few days away, Shell said.
Jerry McDonald
Speaking to the Bay Area media for the first time in 11 months, Oakland Raiders wide receiver Randy Moss said he was looking forward to returning to Minnesota to face his former team.
"Hopefully, the Metrodome will sell out because I'm coming back, but I'm a Raider now," Moss said in the locker room following Oakland's 16-10 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the Hall of Fame Bowl. "In a certain sense, it's going to be special, but at the same time, I have a job to do. What I accomplished in Minnesota is way, way behind me."
Although Moss has done radio and television interviews, he hasn't spoken on the record to the Bay Area media since last Sept. 8 after the Raiders' season-opening loss to the New England Patriots.
Moss happily greeted the new Hall of Fame class before the game but admitted he froze when it came to speak Sara White, the widow of defensive end Reggie White.
"I didn't know what to say," Moss said. "I didn't want to say the wrong thing. I didn't want to say nothing that she thought would have been bad, or got my tongue stuck. I wanted to hug her, wave at her, I didn't know what to do, so I just left her alone."
Moss gave the new coaching regime under Art Shell his approval.
"Guys are a lot more tuned in and more disciplined, on and off the field," Moss said. "The addition of Art Shell coming to our team, he's very soft-spoken, and he demands a lot. That's one thing you can appreciate in a man, if he doesn't really have to be too verbal. Just his presence alone, he got our attention.
THE SHELL REVIEW: In his first game on the sideline as a head coach in 12 years, Shell saw a lot of room for improvement.
"At the beginning of the game I didn't think we were as physical as we needed to be on both sides of the ball," Shell told Bay Area reporters by conference call Tuesday evening. "They played with a lot more
intensity than we played with for whatever reason up front."
That issue figures to be dealt with today. Although Shell thought the defense got more physical as the game wore on, he thought the offensive line lapsed into blocking techniques the club had used in previous years.
The way Shell and his staff want it done is for blockers to be aggressive and drive forward, rather than attempt to get opposing players sideways or use finesse.
"We kind of reverted," Shell said.
Shell saw good and bad in all three quarterbacks, although he was willing to accept Roderick Hood's interception of Aaron Brooks because of the boldness of the play.
"In this system we talk about getting the ball downfield, and he took a shot," Shell said. "We can live with that."
EXTRA POINTS: Among the rookie free-agent longshots to put some big moments on film were Stanford linebacker Timi Wusu and wide receiver Will Buchanon. ... WR Kevin McMahan will see a specialist for a sore jaw after biting his tongue on a vicious hit in the secondary. McMahan received stitches in his tongue. ... When asked why injured WR Jerry Porter (calf) was left home and WR Ronald Curry (recovering from Achilles' surgery) made the trip, Shell said it was a "coaches decision" and would not elaborate. Shell said Curry is "getting close" to getting on the field for practice. ... Shell said he wasn't nervous in first game back. ... CB Duane Starks (back) and Porter may return on a limited basis today, while TE James Adkisson (knee) and CB Tyrone Poole (hamstring) may be a few days away, Shell said.