2012-GameRelease-Divisional

Player Feature Story
Moss gathering praise for model behavior, work ethic in 49ers camp
By Clark Judge, CBSSports.com
The more you watch Randy Moss at work and the more you listen to his coaches and teammates, the
more you start to believe that maybe, just maybe, he can make a difference with the San Francisco
49ers.
I know, I didn't like the move when they made it, but there's something a veteran wide receiver told me
this summer that makes me think it could work: Moss is one of the game's "great frontrunners" and an
asset when everything is going right. That's why he was no problem in New England and a headache in
Minnesota and Tennessee. One team won; the others did not.
"All he wants," one GM told me, "is a ring. The guy loves the game and wants a Super Bowl ring."
Well then, he might be at the right address. First, the 49ers are good. Real good. They didn't lose a
starter from one of the NFL's top defenses and padded themselves on offense at nearly every position.
Second, they were only a couple of punt returns from the Super Bowl last year. Third, they didn't invest
heavily in Moss. They're on the hook for $2.5 million if he makes the team -- which he should -- and it's a
one-year deal. So there's little financial risk.
Granted, I didn't like the idea of pairing Moss with diva Michael Crabtree, but from all accounts Moss has
been a model camper. He's the first to team meetings and one of the first to show up at work. He schools
teammates on how to read defensive backs, how to run routes, how to position themselves to make
catches and how to take care of themselves to prevent or reduce serious injuries.
Basically, people insist, he's an ideal teammate.
Then, of course, there's Moss on the field. Though at 35 he's older than everyone on the 49ers but long
snapper Brian Jennings, in the practices I witnessed he made more catches for scores than any of his
teammates.
"I find myself saying, 'Wow!' a couple of times," said tight end Vernon Davis. "He's been in the league,
what? Fourteen years? Yet he can still do some of the things he's done in the past."
"Can he run?" I asked.
"Yes," he said. "I watched him on film the other day, then I tapped Delanie [Walker, another tight end] and
said, 'Man, he's moving.' He ran a go route, and he left the corner behind. I looked at Delanie and said,
'Wow, he's moving. I can't believe he can still run.'
"But he runs well. You can tell he's getting older and that he doesn't have some of the attributes he did
when he was younger. But he can still get it done."
That's crucial for the 49ers because, frankly, they didn't have a wide receiver who could get it done when
things mattered last year. Davis was their biggest threat, and he was marvelous. But in the NFC
Championship Game loss to the New York Giants, the 49ers had one catch by a wide receiver ... and it
was for 3 yards.
So the 49ers went out and found Moss, signed Super Bowl hero Mario Manningham, drafted A.J. Jenkins
in the first round and, suddenly, are deeper ... much deeper ... at a position of need. Of course, that's
provided Moss can do something more than he did last time he played, which was two years ago when
he fizzled with Minnesota and Tennessee after New England got rid of him.