Trade landed Moss in comfort zone

Randy Moss celebrated with his teammates - although the party was short-lived - after his fourth-quarter TD catch. (Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff)

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Fast legs, Velcro hands, and a leap factor not seen since the Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.

And, oh yes, that chip.

For all his talents, Randy Moss assuredly wouldn't be Randy Moss without that chip.

"Because it is a brutal sport," said Moss, explaining that trademark confidence and swagger that helped deliver him here yesterday, parked on the far side of the Patriots offensive line against the Giants in Super Bowl XLII. "I mean, you can pull up films of guys just being brutal - if it's a cheap shot or a fair hit, it's a brutal sport. I think the chip a man has to carry on his shoulder has to be . . . not to the extreme of being angry. But to a certain extent you really have to have a chip on your shoulder because of the game we play."

It was that chip, in part, that helped the 6-foot-4-inch Moss haul in a record 23 touchdowns during the regular season, a key reason the Patriots arrived here with their remarkable 18-0 record. For the first two games of the postseason, however, the Notorious Jumping Moss of Norfolk County was limited to only two catches, good for 32 yards and not a single touchdown.

Entering his first Super Bowl game, the No. 1 question surrounding Moss, if not the entire team, was whether he would be a factor in the biggest game of his career. Would he be able to rise above, perhaps jump above, the tenacious double and triple coverages the Giants undoubtedly planned to assign to him?

And would he have that chip?

"I still have the chip, and it's going to continue to stay there until I leave this game," Moss said this week. "I mean, the game of football . . . this is football man . . . it's just a brutal sport."

Moss, who will turn 31 this month, entered the game with a chance to continue refurbishing and rehabilitating a reputation that was, at best, quirky before he landed on the Patriots. An incredible talent in high school, and for his two years at Marshall, he dropped to the 21st spot in the 1998 draft because NFL clubs were concerned about his violent behavior as a teenager and later transgressions that led to a couple of short jail stays.

In his seven years with the Minnesota Vikings, Moss was, without doubt, one of the game's premier receivers, totaling 53 touchdowns his first four years in the league. But as the years went by, despite catching 90 career TD passes with the Vikings, he slowly wore out his welcome in Minny, and ultimately was traded to Oakland in 2005.

Upon his arrival in the Bay Area, Moss was perceived to be the missing piece in bringing Al Davis's notorious squad back to their swashbuckling, winning ways. But it just never happened. A marriage seemingly made in heaven turned into a partnership in purgatory.

"What really took place in Oakland . . ." explained Moss, ". . . I am a football player. That's what I do. Things weren't really going like I expected them to go - not as an individual, but collectively as team. We had [Warren] Sapp and [Derrick] Burgess, guys with names throughout league. Expectations were very high. I think a lot of things got in the way. Football wasn't a main priority around there any more, and I knew I had a few more years, and I wanted to make the best of those years."

In his two arduous seasons with the Raiders, Moss caught 102 passes, but only 11 for touchdowns. He was often perceived as being reluctant to play, and was rumored to be intent on finding a way out of town, ultimately leading to the April 29 trade last year that brought him to Foxborough for a fourth-round pick.

"To be a New England Patriot is something I never dreamed would happen," he said. "I am still living a dream, and still happy to be part of this. As special as this seems now, I am still living a dream."

Moss, due more than $9 million for 2007 had he stayed in Oakland, took a dramatic paycut, with a guaranteed base of $3 million to play for the Patriots. The deal also included $2 million in bonus clauses, all of which he reportedly collected in his record-breaking season as Tom Brady's primary receiver.

A model citizen under the thumb of Patriots coach Bill Belichick, Moss actually needed only about half of the 2007 season to reclaim his spot as the league's No. 1 threat. Tuesday, during Super Bowl media day, he made it clear he believes he is the game's top all-time receiver, better than the hallowed Jerry Rice, contending that no receiver has had to deal with the intense defensive coverage he faced this season.

"I think I have grown up and matured, and I think the game has helped me to grow and mature," said Moss, who was involved in an incident Jan. 6 in which a longtime female acquaintance, Rachelle Washington, claimed the receiver committed "battery causing serious injury" when the two were together in her home. Washington received a temporary restraining order against Moss Jan. 14. "The reason I say that is because of what I have been through as far as the good seasons, the bad seasons, the mediocre so-so seasons. I think that has helped me. And also, being young coming in with veteran guys, and now I'm a veteran guy seeing the young guys coming in. I think the overall whole picture of being a football player has matured me."

Asked here early this week if he were concerned with his image in the public's eye, Moss shrugged off the question the way he might shed a bothersome cornerback.

"Not really," he said. "And the reason why I say that is, whatever is said about me, good or bad, has already been said. And I don't really live for how people see me and how people judge me. I have a job to do, and I have family, so to be able to say that I care what other people think and what other people say, I really don't."

Oh, yes, that chip.