What most football writers don't like about Randy Moss is that he has no time for them. His indifference toward them definitely influences their writing. Moss could care less about idle chit-chat in the locker room.

One of the problems in our society is that we generally don't accept people for who they are. Moss is definitely different and he has his own football standards. It doesn't mean we have to accept Moss' actions, like his penchant to be lazy off the line when he knows he's a decoy on a particular play. He's been pretty much a front-runner as a receiver; great when the team is winning; lackadaisical at times when it is losing.

To me, it's almost perfect that he will play in Boston, where the Red Sox employ talented Manny Ramirez, who smiles a lot more than Randy and also has a familiar quirk about taking a few days off. Last season, Manny pretty much ditched September, but the Fenway faithful still cheer him on.

While there is some dog in Moss, he usually worked hard and ran hard in the practices I have attended throughout his career. He wasn't like Michael Irvin, but he definitely gave a quality effort. He was even busting his butt last summer in Napa, where the Raiders hold training camp, despite the most disconcerting offensive practices I have ever witnessed in almost 30 years. There were literally five minutes at times between plays; it looked like junior high football.

You could see frustration on the players' faces. It was only August, but you could sense that the Raiders would be lucky to win a few games despite a pretty talented defense. The offense was a Tom Walsh mess and then head coach Art Shell was allowing it to happen. Plus, Moss knew that quarterback Aaron Brooks was the worst kind of leader.

Moss, who was generally hurt much of last season, basically threw up his arms, knowing he had better offensive training at Marshall in the late 1990s.

Does that condone his lack of effort? No, but it explains him a little.

To understand his thinking, consider this: If you had a choice between playing for a rookie head coach (Lane Kiffin) who wasn't even the owner's first choice or Bill Belichick, whom would you pick? If we polled every NFL player, the results would be above 90 percent for Belichick.

Hey, Kiffin might turn out to be pretty good. But Moss wants to win now. And I believe all he wants is some structure to his football existence.

Moss-Packers

Without question, Randy Moss preferred Tom Brady to Brett Favre and Belichick to Mike McCarthy. But if you were Packers GM Ted Thompson, and you really wanted Moss, plus you've known Oakland's asking price, why would you play hardball with the receiver? I mean, don't give him the same one-year salary deal he received in New England?

Better yet, Thompson should have given Moss a better deal than the one the Patriots were offering. That possibly would have tipped the scales in Green Bay's favor. The bottom line is that Thompson and the Packers really didn't want Moss, a receiver who has torched them for 14 of his 101 career receiving touchdowns.

Cleveland flashback

The Browns did very well in the draft when you consider they had Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn rated fourth overall on their draft board. They were able to pick him with the Cowboys' 22nd overall pick. Granted, they surrendered next year's first-round pick for Brady, but GM Phil Savage is hoping that it won't be as high as the Browns' pick was this year.

Cleveland doesn't get a free pass on Wisconsin left tackle Joe Thomas. Last year, Savage gave Atlanta tackle Kevin Shaffer a 6-year, $36 million contract to play left tackle. Thomas will eventually receive a contract more expensive than Shaffer's and now the Browns are trying to unload Shaffer. The Giants, who are desperate for a left tackle with the release of Luke Petitgout, wouldn't surrender a fourth-round pick for Shaffer.

So while Savage deserves credit for this year's draft, he deserves low marks for signing Shaffer to such a huge contract.

Turner off the market

I don't blame San Diego GM A.J. Smith for announcing he's keeping Michael Turner as LaDainian Tomlinson's backup. The Chargers need every quality player they have in order to compete with the Patriots and Colts this season.

But I do find a lot of fault with Tennessee and Green Bay. Neither team was willing to trade a second-round pick for Turner, who is better than any running back currently on either team's roster. Instead, the Titans may have wasted their second-round pick on Arizona running back Chris Henry, who started 10 games in college. Henry's stock soared in the draft because he was a workout warrior.

Call him a steal

Who is the only NFL tight end to catch two touchdowns in the playoffs last season? If you guessed Indy's Dallas Clark, you would be wrong.

Tampa Bay's new tight end, Jerramy Stevens, did. He scored twice in Seattle's wild-card victory over Dallas. Tony Gonzalez and Daniel Graham of the Patriots had one each.

Even though Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren highly recommended Stevens, the Panthers and Jets turned their noses up on him. Stevens is considered a bad guy even though he currently isn't in the NFL drug program. His problem is alcohol, not illegal drugs. Of course, he recently was arrested for a DUI, so his standing could change. The Bucs signed him for $600,000 and that could prove to be a bargain.