Randy Moss' first game with the Titans was not as productive as he had wished. After being tossed around by two teams, the receiver apparently needs time to get settled and for the spotlight to get off him.
The Dolphins' secondary did not let Moss out of reach the entire game in their 29-17 win over the Titans. Dolphins cornerback Vontae Davis was in charge of covering Moss, but did receive help over the top from safeties in double-team situations.
Moss was held to just one reception the whole game for 26 yards. After the game, Davis explained that he had Moss' routes down to a science from studying film on him all week.
"Know thy opponent," the Dolphins' second-year cornerback said. "Every receiver has tendencies, and I know his tendencies. I've figured him out. I know what type of plays he's running."
Moss doesn't feel discouraged with his performance because being a decoy is what he does best. Right?
"I just want to fit within the offense and help this team win. If me being a decoy and moving the ball and helping us win, then that's what I need to do," Moss said, according to TitanInsider. "I don't think we were planning to lose this game. This loss hurts. I just think how much energy and effort we put in this week, including the coaches. This is something that we've got to look at film tomorrow, correct our mistakes and go back in again next week."
Along with being a decoy who caught one pass the entire game, Moss also received a pass interference penalty which put the Titans back 33 yards. Davis was trailing Moss on a long pass from Titans quarterback Vince Young when Moss initiated contact before attempting to catch the pass.
Dolphins cornerback Sean Smith worked with Davis all week studying film of Moss. Smith was as proud as Davis that his team held the veteran receiver to one catch.
"We had him running past double-teams and brackets all game," Smith said.
It is hard for a receiver to get around double-teams and brackets all game but Moss could have been much more of a help for the offense if he put more effort into blocking for running or screen plays. Moss wasn't happy with his performance, and he explained that he had a bad game and hopes to shrug it off and come back to the positive yardage club with next week's matchup against Donovan McNabb and the Redskins.
"It was actually a bad game for me. I think I just tried to do as much hustling as I could," Moss said. "I just tried to stay within the offense. I felt comfortable out there, but I don't think I had a very good overall game. I think my blocking really wasn't that good, wasn't where I wanted it to be. I'll just go back to the drawing board and come back again next week."
Moss did significantly worse than his first game with the Minnesota Vikings earlier this season when he had four receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown in the Week 5 game against the Jets.
