WR Randy Moss, San Francisco 49ers

HT: 6-4, WT: 210, Born: 2-13-1977, College: Marshall, Drafted: Round 1, Pick 21

2013 Projections

Latest News

NFL | Randy Moss' future undecided (Thu May 16, 04:07 PM) - Free-agent WR Randy Moss (49ers) is still undecided if he will play football this season. There was reportedly interest in Moss a few months ago, although nothing has transpired since. Moss had only 434 yards last season.

Our View: Moss feels he was underused last year. The 49ers didn't feature him enough as he'd like and we're not sure there's any team out there that would be willing to take a chance on Moss.
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2013 Schedule

2012 Game Summaries

Week 1 - For those hoping to see vintage Randy Moss on Sunday, you may have found yourself a little disappointed with the results. As was reported going in to the season, Moss only played about a quarter of the snaps as he and Manningham rotated opposite Crabtree. Not known for their vertical passing game, the 49ers seemed completely content having Moss use his threat of his speed to run the occasional dig, as he did on his first catch of the game. Moss’ first TD of the season saw him lining up in the slot and as Delanie Walker motioned to his side, the Packer pass coverage completely blew the coverage, jumping Walker underneath, leaving Moss running up the seam completely uncovered for the 13 yard TD pass. Interestingly Charles Woodson was lined up across from Moss on the play, but the motion into trips pulled Woodson off. Moss was again targeted in the red zone on a slant from the six-yard line, but the Packers did a nice job limiting the gain to two yards.

Week 2 - Randy Moss had virtually no impact on this game. The 49ers had no need to throw many deep passes in this game to suit Moss’ play style and he was largely under used. Moss was able to draw pass interference near the endzone early in the game. Moss also caught a deep curl against very soft zone defense but it was the only catch he would make all game. The 49ers largely have no need for Moss in games where they have the lead. Their best receiver is their tight end and they have a good running game which leaves Moss on the outside looking-in at for the most part.

Week 3 - Throughout the game, Minnesota gave Moss a large cushion, allowing him to catch short routes but not letting him beat them deep. Even so, Moss was still able to find space downfield, but on two separate occasions Smith badly missed him. The first occurred on a medium length crossing route, where Smith was flushed from the pocket and there wasn’t a single defender near Moss. Smith just overthrew him. The second, and more costly overthrow came when Moss had beat his man to the end zone, and under pressure Smith was wildly inaccurate. Better throws on both of those plays and Moss could have had a very good day; instead he finished the game with 3 receptions on 6 targets for 27 yards.

Week 4 - Moss spent the majority of his afternoon sealing the edges for runners. He was targeted once by Kaepernick on a seam route, but the ball was thrown into triple coverage. Moss continues to see a reduced snap count, but he hasn’t made any waves about it.

Week 5 - Moss rarely saw the field during the game, and his one catch was the result of finding the soft part of the zone and catching an accurate ball. With the success of Williams and Manningham, Moss’ role continues to be limited.

Week 6 - Randy Moss only had two catches on Sunday but he made them count for big plays. Moss got a short pass right that he turned into a 20 yard gain. Later in the third quarter, Moss was able to take advantage of aggressive safety play by NYG and got behind the defense for a big strike on a post route. Moss also had a shot at a small gain as he was open in the flat but his QB overthrew him. It’s difficult to tell if Moss has become so one dimensional that all he can run is deep streak/post patterns or if the 49ers lacklustre QB play is to blame but the entire offense struggled heavily vs. the Giants. Moss showed he still has the speed to beat defenders in one – on – one situations deep down the field but he contributed little else. QB Smith should shoulder most of the blame as he didn’t give his WR’s enough opportunities down the field. Moss and the 49ers receiving corps were merely a casualty as a result of Alex Smith imploding.

Week 7 - Moss' only reception on the day came on a comeback route when he got away with a push off down the sideline. He came back well to the football to make a clean catch. Moss dropped a slant route soon after that should have been a simple reception.

Week 8 - The mere presence of Moss caused fits for the Cardinals all night, as the defense always played him deep, which allowed space underneath for the 49ers to exploit. But not only did Moss create problems as a decoy, but on an out route Moss was able to gain separation, make a cut to elude one defender, then cut again to make another tackler miss and sprint the rest of the way for a touchdown. The catch and run was a flash of brilliance from the veteran who had largely been relegated to a decoy role.

Week 10 - Moss’ first catch was a short route hook route, and Moss was unable to get away from the defender to get any yards after the catch. On his second reception, Moss found the soft part of the zone downfield and was able to secure the catch for a 1st down.

Week 11 - Moss was severely limited, catching only one ball on a 12 yard slant and getting hit by three defenders. Later in the game, Kaepernick rifled a ball at the wide receiver, which seemed to have damaged one of Moss’ fingers and ended Moss’ day.

Week 12 - Moss didn’t record a catch in the game, but his block on Kaepernick’s touchdown run was instrumental to the success of the play. His lone target was in the end zone, but Kaepernick threw the ball behind where Moss was running, and the receiver had to pull Malcolm Jenkins to the ground to prevent an interception.

Week 13 - The cushion that Moss was given by Janoris Jenkins allowed the veteran to easily pick up yardage on his two short catches. With a cushion on 3rd and 12, Moss was able to catch and turn on a slant, but was stopped short of the 1st down. The cushion given on 3rd and short was much more inexcusable, as Moss just ran a simple hook route beyond the 1st down marker. With so much space, Moss caught the ball and picked up the 1st easily. Moss’ more impressive catch came on a medium route where Moss came back and caught a hard throw in his chest. Though he showed good hands and some quicks on these three routes, he was unable to generate many yards after the catch, usually going down at first contact.

Week 14 - Moss was thrust in to a larger role due to the injuries to Mario Manningham and Kyle Williams. When given a cushion, Kaepernick got the ball in to his hands immediately and Moss cut inside and past his man for a gain of 13 yards. The next play, Moss ran a good route and Kaepernick rifled the ball to the receiver in the soft part of the zone for a gain of 17 yards. Moss was close to having a big day when Kaepernick threw a perfect deep ball on a flea-flicker. Moss got both of his hands on the throw in the end zone, but the corner pulled Moss’ arm and the veteran was unable to make the catch or draw pass interference.

Week 15 - The first catch of Randy Moss’ day was more impressive than the second, as the wide receiver showed an incredible amount of toughness catching a hard throw 12 yards downfield while being hit from the front and behind simultaneously. The hits cracked Moss in two but the receiver held on and was visibly unscathed. His touchdown catch came on a good run, blowing past the coverage and streaking towards the end zone. Kaepernick delivered a perfect ball that hit Moss in stride, landing in Moss’ hands as the receiver crossed the goal line. Moss could have had a second touchdown, but Kaepernick overthrew a fade route while Moss committed offensive pass interference, arm barring the corner. Moss’ two catches came in the 1st quarter, and the receiver was only targeted in the 2nd half on a play where Moss couldn’t escape double coverage. Kaepernick forced it to him anyways, and the ball was under thrown, allowing the safety to undercut and intercept the pass.

Week 16 - Moss’ long catch of the game came in the 2nd quarter, as the wide receiver ran a post route in to the middle and gained inside position on his corner. Kaepernick was able to rifle the ball to his receiver and Moss was tackled for a 25 yard gain. Moss also had a nice catch in the beginning of the 3rd quarter as he ran a medium comeback route and Kaepernick hit him in space. But that was mostly the extent of Moss’ day, his third catch being a deflection from the corner that landed in his hands. Kaepernick looked to Moss in the end zone as a primary read on more than one occasion, but the veteran was unable to gain any separation when the coverage pressed him.

Week 17 - Moss could have had a bigger day, as he beat his man on a corner route in the end zone but instead of delivering the ball with touch to the outside, Kaepernick attempted to throw it low and inside, wasting Moss’ separation. Regardless, Moss still had a serviceable performance, making a good play on a hard play-action throw downfield, as well as a solid catch on an out route when he caught a rifled ball on the outside.

Week 19 - Moss was wide open deep down the field on the 49ers' second drive, but having just thrown an interception, Kaepernick looked to run instead of hitting him deep. On a completely atypical play for Randy Moss, he came out of the slot and ran a curl route when he worked back to the football ahead of the cornerback for a first down and gain of 12. Moss then caught a crossing route for another 14 yards on the very next play, when he initially bobbled the ball before coralling it. He initially bobbled the ball as it wobbled awkwardly in the air.

Week 20 - Moss was used on situational snaps against Atlanta, but still made an impact. After just a single catch in the first half, Moss caught two deep targets as the Atlanta secondary showed respect for his deep speed with a big cushion on most plays. After failing to win a Super Bowl with the undefeated Patriots team in 2007, Moss will get another chance for a ring this season.