To hear Nnamdi Asomugha tell the story yesterday, the Patriots wide receiver was largely responsible for helping him turn into one of the NFL's finest cornerbacks. When the two were teammates with the Raiders, Moss took Asomugha under his wing and taught him a few things about playing corner.

``He helped me a lot with confidence because I would do some good things,'' Asomugha said during a conference call yesterday. ``I have size and I have longer arms and long speed, those sort of things, and he would come up to me in training camp. He knew it was my first year starting, but he would tell me that receivers hate that type of stuff. They hate bigger corners. They don't like guys that have the attributes that I have and if I could continue to use them I could be pretty special.''

The word special doesn't totally capture how well Asomugha has blossomed into a star, even on a perpetually bad team. When Moss arrived in Oakland in 2005, the Raiders were switching the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Asomugha from safety to corner. He needed a friend to help coach him along and provide encouragement.

Moss did just that.

``(At that time) I wasn't really that sure of myself. But hearing things like that from a guy like Moss, who had already been in the league, tearing it up, it helped me a lot with my confidence,'' Asomugha said. ``I'm like, `If Moss is telling me this stuff, then I've got a chance.' It just helped me out a lot. He would help me out with different ways to play coverages that receivers hate to go against, just different nuances that can get under a receiver's skin. I've always kept those things in my pocket and have been grateful to him for that.''

Naturally, the Pro Bowl corner is looking forward to playing against his former teammate. He said the two really haven't spoken since Moss was traded in April 2007.

He's glad his former teammate was able to go somewhere and have a legitimate chance at winning. Asomugha was not surprised Moss set an NFL record for touchdown receptions last season.

``We would actually have talks about life and Football. He would let me know what he knows; he would let me know that it wasn't over for him. He would let me know that (Oakland was) just a road stop in his career,'' Asomugha said. ``He knew that he would have fun again and he would be happy again. He would be in an offense that he liked and he would be around a team and a group of players that were as committed to winning as he was.

``It kind of hurt him, while he was here, to see some of the things that were going on and you would see maybe a lack of production from him,'' Asomugha added. ``But he was frustrated and everybody deals with their frustration in different ways. I'm not shocked at all that he's been able to do what he's done and I've cheered him on since he's been with New England just because I knew the type of player he was. I knew the heart he had. I knew the type of person he was.''

Asomugha has read and heard a lot of the negative stuff from Moss' Oakland days, but that doesn't bother him. He knows Moss and what he did for him, and that's what counts.

``He gets a lot of flack from the media a lot of the times, but I've always said that he was one of the coolest, one of the best players that I've ever been around just because he was so carefree,'' Asomugha said. ``He didn't have any problems with anyone. I knew he'd be able to turn it around. I was just happy that he got that success last year with New England, with the Pro Bowl, and the records, and those sorts of things.''

Listening to Asomugha, it's clear he would love to follow Moss out of town. However, the Raiders placed the franchise tag on him last February and may do so again this upcoming offseason. - kguregian@bostonherald.com