enlarge The Associated Press

Randy Moss is preparing for the biggest game of his career and also looking forward to the end of the season. No, that’s not a contradiction. That’s just Randy Moss, the New England Patriots’ wide receiver who says he’s used to people trying to examine him, trying to look under his hood.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Randy Moss felt tired Thursday, and no wonder. He's played the Super Bowl three times already.

Each time, the Patriots beat the New York Giants. In each game he made a big play.

"It's good to say you daydream," said Moss. "I've been daydreaming every day."

Which isn't to say he's been sleepwalking through practices. Moss knows better. "Coach Belichick is sort of like a Green Beret. That's how he runs his practices. He puts us through the test seven days a week."

Who doesn't put Moss through some sort of test? For much of his career he's been one of the poster boys for bad behavior, the flip side to the acknowledgement that he may be the best wide receiver in football today. In the run-up to the Super Bowl on Sunday, Moss' mouth was getting as much attention as Tom Brady's ankle.

Brady is fine. So is Moss, who's been more introspective than petulant. He's turned aside questions over the temporary restraining order that was filed against him by a female friend and was renewed recently.

"I'm not talking about that," he's repeated. Next question?

He last caught a touchdown in the season-ending game against the Giants just before Christmas. The 65-yard TD broke Jerry Rice's single-season record for touchdown receptions. In the two playoff games since, he's caught two passes. He hasn't scored again.

"I'm not really too worried about statistics. I want to win the game. I can leave it at that. If it's blocking, if it's just running and being a decoy, I can do that."

Say what? The old Randy Moss didn't talk that way.

Outside the Patriots' locker room, he says he's not concerned about his image, even if it is better. "I don't know if the perception of me has changed and I don't really care. Nobody helps me to play my game but me."

He was frustrated during his time in Minnesota. The Vikings were close, he said, to becoming a championship team but it didn't happen. He moved on to Oakland and the losing got worse.

"One of the hardest things, early in my career, was to adjust to a loss. Being able to lose consecutive weeks and three or four weeks in a row with nobody saying anything and nobody wanting to do anything, I am sitting there, looking like, is this normal?

"I had to understand it's a game. At the end of the day you go home and kiss the kids, kiss the missus and remember it's only a game."

Go ahead. Analyze Moss by his comments and his play. "A lot of people try to look under my hood," said Moss. "That's why I stay at home."

But he can't stop talking. The Giants arrived Monday in Arizona all dressed in black. Some say they did so to bury the Patriots' perfect season. Moss' reaction?

"Yes, you are supposed to wear black to a funeral. We'll see who has black on after the game."

Brady says his teammate isn't complicated. "He's very authentic as a person. What you see is what you get. I think people don't realize Randy's understanding of the games. He's the smartest offensive football player I've ever been around. He's a great teammate."

The respect is mutual. Someone asked Moss if there was any situation that could rattle Brady.

"If you take the five offensive linemen out of the picture, make him snap the ball to himself and let (Michael) Strahan and them rush with no protection, that would probably rattle him. Six-on-11. I think that will rattle him. That's about it."

Moss scratched at his beard. "I wanted mine to get like (guard Logan) Mankins. I love his beard. I tried to grow it long like his but it just itched too much."

In the next breath Moss said he was ready to go home. Two weeks waiting to play the Super Bowl was, in his words, wasted time. "I love coming to work, but mentally and physically I'm ready to end this season."

He says he'll watch a movie Saturday night before the game. He'll get something...