Stretching the field
Here's one way in which New England might be better offensively than ever -- and no, it's not a spying or signal-stealing reference.
They'll be better because of Randy Moss' big play capability, as long as Moss is happy and productive.
"It's a vertical dimension they didn't have after Deion Branch was (let go)," Chargers safety Marlon McCree said. "Now that he's there, Tom (Brady) has a guy that can stretch the field. He has two guys now, because he has (Donte') Stallworth, who hasn't really had his chance to debut yet because it's all Randy. But he can beat you just as well."
Moss wasn't really a factor in the Raiders' two games against the Chargers last year. He had four catches for 47 yards in the first game, but that was a 27-0 Chargers shutout at Oakland. In the rematch in San Diego on Nov. 26, a 21-14 Chargers victory, Moss caught three for 26 yards.
"I just don't think he was happy in Oakland," McCree said. "Now if you watch film he's a much more spirited player, and acting like he did back in Minnesota."
Brady, on a conference call interview earlier in the week, said Moss has been "a great teammate."
"What a Patriot is all about is someone who loves playing football, who puts the team first, works hard, speaks for themselves," Brady said. "That’s exactly what he does. He’s a prototypical Patriot player. We all love having him here."
He was asked if he'd ever looked longingly at other teams who'd had the deep threat his offense had lacked.
“I’ve had very talented receivers over the years in Troy Brown and David Patten, Deion Branch," he said. "I haven’t played with slouches at all.
"I think our passing game, we made improvements every year. This year we’re looking to do very much the same thing. We have a group of receivers who work very hard and are very unselfish. They work hard in the running game. They’re accountable to each other. We’ve played one game thus far, so I’m not coming to any huge proclamations at this point."
But this makes Brady even more dangerous, McCree said.
"Brady makes it all work," he said. "If you want to beat New England, you've got to make Brady have a bad day, however you do that. Now that he's got a weapon like Randy ... he's a bit more confident back there."