Moss accepts Jerry Jones' apology for draft snub

Randy Moss has forgiven the Dallas Cowboys for not drafting him 13 years ago.

"I don't hold a grudge," Moss said. "I'm not bitter about the situation."

However, Moss still plans to punish the Cowboys like he does no other team when he faces them Sunday in what also happens to be his first home game since rejoining the Minnesota Vikings.

"I always forgive, man, that's in the Bible," Moss said Wednesday on a conference call with Dallas-area reporters. "I always forgive, but I never forget."

Moss has taken out his anger on the Cowboys the way an athlete should - on the field. He's 7-0 against Dallas, having scored 11 touchdowns. He's averaged 21 yards per catch, his most against any team.

The payback started on Thanksgiving of his rookie season, when Moss caught three passes - for 51, 56 and 56 yards, all going for touchdowns. He also drew a pass interference penalty for another 50 yards.

The bitterness started seven months earlier, when the Cowboys had the No. 8 pick and a dire need for a receiver. Moss was sure they were going to take him because of the special treatment he received during a pre-draft visit.

"I didn't do the normal things that the rest of the guys did," Moss said. "Jerry Jones told me I was going to skip what the plans were for that night and I was going to have a town car take me over to Deion Sanders' house because he wanted to talk to me. So I thought that was just a way of them telling me, 'We really want you, we're thinking about drafting you.' ... The love that I received and the conversations that I had for those 48 hours had me believing that I was going to be a Dallas Cowboy up until draft day."

Dallas was trying to clean up its image following Michael Irvin's legal troubles. Moss had undeniable talent, but there were enough questions about his character to persuade Jones to spend his top pick on defensive end Greg Ellis, a solid player and a solid citizen.

Moss fell to Minnesota at the 21st pick, so Dallas wasn't the only team that snubbed him. Yet he singles out the Cowboys because of how they teased him - and, in turn, his mother.

"I told my mom I might be a Cowboy, so she had her mind set on Dallas," he said. "I was kind of more depressed because she was more depressed. ... Just seeing her facial expression and how she looked, I really took that to heart, man, and I told myself any time I play the Dallas Cowboys I'm never going to forget that look."

When Moss was traded from New England to Minnesota last week, Jones was asked about having picked Ellis instead and how Moss has repeatedly punished the Cowboys owner for it.

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Cassel, Schaub took the same road to becoming NFL starters

The Chiefs have yet to give any hints that they are dissatisfied with their starting quarterback, Matt Cassel. But if in private moments they’re looking for encouragement that trading for a young, largely untested quarterback can indeed pay dividends, they need to look no further than the opposition in Sunday’s game against the Texans in Houston.

Houston’s Matt Schaub, like Cassel, was once traded from another team where he had no apparent future other than as a backup. Schaub has succeeded to the point that the Texans view him as a franchise quarterback.

“In this league, you’ve got to feel good about that position and you’ve got to have one, or it’s tough to be successful,” Houston coach Gary Kubiak said. “Sometimes you have to make some moves to go get you one, and sometimes you have to take a risk to get one and he may not have played much football. It’s a matter of you doing your homework and believing in what you’re getting, and sometimes they work out and sometimes they don’t.”

So far, at least, Schaub has worked out better for the Texans than Cassel for the Chiefs. Schaub was acquired by Houston in a 2007 trade with Atlanta, which at the time entrusted its future at quarterback to Michael Vick.

Schaub was the AFC’s starting quarterback in the Pro Bowl last season, when he led the NFL in passing yardage.

Cassel had one solid season as the starter in 2008 with New England, where he replaced the injured Tom Brady. He’s still trying to establish himself since coming to the Chiefs in last year’s trade.

Cassel this season has had a few shining moments, the most notable being his 250-yard, three-touchdown game last month against the 49ers. Otherwise, he has one of the league’s worst completion percentages (54.7) despite trying a small number of long passes. The Chiefs have tried fewer passes than all but one other NFL team, making it appear they have little confidence in their passing game.

More info: http://www.kansascity.com/

Goodell speaks publicly on Favre investigation

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says once the league completes its investigation of allegations Brett Favre sent racy messages and lewd photos to a Jets game hostess in 2008, it will "make a determination" if the Vikings quarterback should be punished.

The league is looking into the matter under its personal conduct policy.

"We are going through that and we are making sure we understand all the facts," Goodell said at halftime of the San Diego Chargers-Oakland Raiders game.

Goodell added once the investigation is complete, "we'll make a determination from there."

Should Favre be found to have violated the NFL's conduct policy, he could be fined or suspended.

The website Deadspin posted a story Thursday which included several voicemails allegedly sent by Favre to Jenn Sterger, who worked for the Jets at the time. The voicemails include a man asking to meet with Sterger, who now is a TV personality for the Versus network.

The website posted a video that contained the voicemails and several graphic pictures — said to be Favre — that were allegedly sent to Sterger's cellphone.

The website later reported that Favre also pursued two female massage therapists who worked part time for the team, according to one of the women. Deadspin did not identify the women, but a Jets spokesman said the team was giving contact information for the two women to the league.

Sterger's manager, Phil Reese, has said his client "did not provide Deadspin with any information." And a Deadspin editor said it paid a third party for the material and acknowledged it's possible the man who sent the voicemails and photos may not be Favre.

Favre refused to comment on the stories earlier in the week.

Minnesota is at the Jets on Monday night.

Vikings coach Brad Childress said he talked with Favre about the NFL investigation and that the Deadspin reports have not been a distraction for the team.

"We just talk about what's out there and look it right in the eye and deal with it to the extent we can," Childress said on Saturday. "It doesn't affect anybody else in this locker room, except Brett Favre."