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Struggles due to 'bad mood,' Raiders' Moss says

Oakland coach disagrees with star wide receiver: 'You hate to hear that'

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Denver's Champ Bailey breaks up a pass intended for Randy Moss. The Raiders receiver has struggled this season, scoring only three touchdowns.
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msnbc.com staff and news service reports
updated 12:49 a.m. ET Nov. 15, 2006

Is this how a team captain is supposed to act?

Randy Moss, the Raiders' star wide receiver and the team's highest paid player, says he's dropping passes and struggling because he's feeling down.

"Maybe because I'm unhappy, and I'm not too much excited about what's going on, so my concentration and focus level tends to go down when I'm in a bad mood," Moss told the Oakland Tribune on Monday. "So all I can say is, if you put me in a good situation and make me happy, man, you get good results."

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Moss talked to reporters during a press conference at the Oakland Airport Hilton to announce an award in his honor: The Randy Moss Award, which will be given each year to the top return specialist in college football.

When notified of Moss' comments during his weekly press conference, Raiders coach Art Shell disagreed with his receiver.

"Is that what he said? Well, then that's a problem he has. I don't have that problem," Shell was quoted in the Tribune. "You hate to hear that. You hate to see that."


Shell added that a player shouldn't base performance on moods.

"You're paid to play a game you've played for many years and that you love, and once you hit the field, you compete," Shell told the Tribune. "That's the way Art Shell sees it."

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Moss is Oakland's leading receiver, catching 33 passes for 455 yards and three touchdowns, but the numbers are well below what he did as a Pro Bowler at Minnesota.

Is Moss the same player he was when he and Daunte Culpepper torched offenses?

"Given the opportunity to be myself and to make plays, a nine-year vet knowing that, no, I might not be able to do the things I used to do back in the day," Moss told the Tribune. "But if you give me some help, I'll show you something."

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