Minnesota Vikings

After shopping Randy Moss in Atlanta and Baltimore, the Minnesota Vikings are on the verge of trading their big-play wide receiver to the Oakland Raiders, a team that can comfortably absorb his capricious nature. First reported by the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press on its Web site yesterday, the deal will become official on Tuesday when the NFL's 2005 fiscal year begins. In return for Moss, the Vikings reportedly will receive linebacker Napoleon Harris, the seventh pick in the 2005 draft and a late-round pick this year.

MINNEAPOLIS - In a biographical fact sheet, Reggie Fowler - who earlier this week announced he had signed an agreement to buy the Minnesota Vikings - declared that he'd played in the Little League World Series, implied he'd earned a business administration degree from the University of Wyoming and said he played for the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals and the Canadian Football League's Calgary Stampeders. Apparently, none of those claims is accurate. Fowler, 46, announced Monday with Vikings owner Red McCombs that he had signed an agreement to buy the team.

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said yesterday that he has not had any discussions with Minnesota about trading for Randy Moss, and was unaware of Vikings owner Red McCombs giving his club permission to trade one of the league's top receivers. ESPN reported Sunday that McCombs gave the Vikings personnel office and coach Mike Tice permission to trade Moss last week, but newspaper accounts out of Minneapolis yesterday had McCombs and other team officials denying the report. "I have not talked to the Minnesota Vikings about Randy Moss," Newsome said.

PHILADELPHIA - The football game played yesterday at frozen Lincoln Financial Field was, in a sense, misidentified. Billed as the NFC championship game, it was really the Super Bowl for the Philadelphia Eagles and their fans. They weren't dealing with a large, metaphorical monkey on their backs because of the Eagles' failure to win the Super Bowl. The monkey's presence derived from the Eagles' failure to get to the Super Bowl, losing three straight conference title games. Beating the Atlanta Falcons yesterday gave the Eagles what they had to have this season, the one achievement that would keep them from becoming known as their generation's Buffalo Bills or Minnesota Vikings - the winning team that always loses when it matters.

To discover when the Philadelphia Eagles found their defensive self-esteem this season, you have to return to their defensive low point. That would be Nov. 7 in Pittsburgh, where the Eagles were gouged for 252 rushing yards in a grisly 27-3 loss to the Steelers. A week later, Jeremiah Trotter replaced Mark Simoneau at middle linebacker and the recovery began. Trotter had left the Eagles in a free-agent huff two years ago, only to resurface this season as a special teams ace and vocal locker room presence.

GREEN BAY, Wis. - The Minnesota Vikings are a hard team to take seriously, as the Green Bay Packers found out the hard way yesterday. The Vikings are hoping the Philadelphia Eagles are still giggling about Randy Moss in the conference semifinals Sunday in Philadelphia, where the Vikings will play after they ousted the NFC North champion Packers, 31-17. The Vikings followed the St. Louis Rams as the second 8-8 team in NFL history to win a playoff game, adding nothing to the awful reputation of the NFC but doing wonders for their confidence.

Who will be the Ravens' new offensive coordinator? It's up in the air at this point as the Ravens refuse to confirm any candidates. The most interesting possibility is Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, whose contract expires after this month. According to a league source, there appears to be mutual interest between Linehan and the Ravens. The Vikings' offense ranked fourth in the NFL this season and first in 2003. Where will they draft? The Ravens likely will pick 22nd, which is a tough break for them.

LANDOVER - The way the Washington Redskins played yesterday against the Minnesota Vikings, one would've thought the Redskins were in the hunt for an NFC playoff spot. With nothing left but pride on the line, Washington put a scare into Minnesota's hopes for a wild-card berth by outlasting the visitors, 21-18, before 76,876 at FedEx Field. The Vikings (8-8), who were denied a playoff berth last season when the Arizona Cardinals beat them on a last-second touchdown pass in the regular-season finale, yesterday qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2000 courtesy of the New Orleans Saints' 21-18 victory over the Carolina Panthers.

ASHBURN, Va. - In five seasons with the Washington Redskins, offensive tackle Chris Samuels has gotten to know and said goodbye to four head coaches, four offensive coordinators and three offensive line coaches. Despite that turnover, Samuels said he's willing to take a leap of faith and trust that the current coaching staff will return intact next year. "They said they're going to be around here, and I still have faith in them," said Samuels, who joins linebacker LaVar Arrington and offensive tackle Jon Jansen as the longest-tenured players on Washington's roster.

ASHBURN, Va. - At 64 and with three Super Bowl rings and a Hall of Fame bust in Canton, Ohio, Joe Gibbs doesn't need to waste time choosing his words carefully. So when Gibbs reviews the first half of the Washington Redskins' season, he doesn't hide his disappointment with the team's sub-.500 record. "Certainly I was hoping that we would be better than what we are," Gibbs said. "It's been extremely hard for all of us. ... I wish we weren't 3-5. I wish we were better than that." Gibbs' frustration has defined a season that started with promise but has delivered few results.