FOXBORO — As Randy Moss noted in his introductory press conference with the Patriots’ media, he knows that there is a large microscope on him.

Yesterday morning, there were nearly as many television and still cameras on the sidelines of the New England practice fields as there were players on them, and nearly every lens was trained on one man: Moss.

Though he was wearing a temporary jersey number (6 ), it would have been easy to tell Moss regardless. He was sporting his trademark cornrows and flashed his wide smile more than once, and when they were not actively participating in a drill, Moss was most often next to his new quarterback, Tom Brady.

On the field, Moss had uneven results. He slipped on the wet grass during one drill, when there was no defense, and shouted his displeasure at missing the catch. He did drop a couple of passes, including one in the back of the end zone with double coverage. The ball hit his hands, but Moss was not able to pull it in. For the record, Reche Caldwell and Jabar Gaffney also had drops on the same route.

Moss also was knocked to the ground on one deep sideline route, when safety Rashad Baker and rookie Mike Richardson converged on the ball at the same time.

But he did get one touchdown, pulling in a rainbow from Brady with free-agent signee Tory James in coverage.

Roll call

Among those missing yesterday were running back Laurence Maroney, tight end David Thomas, receivers Chad Jackson and Donte Stallworth, cornerback Randall Gay, defensive lineman Jarvis Green, linebacker Eric Alexander and first-round draft pick Brandon Meriweather, a defensive back.

Maroney, Thomas and Jackson are all recovering from off-season surgery; Green, Gay and Alexander were in Louisiana with the family of Marquise Hill.

Corner Asante Samuel, not surprisingly, was not present, and is under no obligation to be since he is not under contract with the Patriots.

But on the field were Rodney Harrison — flying around the field, as one would expect — Eugene Wilson, Junior Seau and Vinny Testaverde. Testaverde is not officially signed by the Patriots, but he has been with the team the last week-plus, participating in the passing camp last week, as well.

Running back Sammy Morris was wearing a red no-contact jersey (the players were in jerseys and helmets, no shells or pads) as he went through drills.

Quick kicks

There will be no on-field activities today, as the team will depart for New Orleans after morning meetings. ... Most of the team is expected to attend the New England Patriots’ Charitable Foundation Golf Tournament on Monday at The International in Bolton, Mass. ... Mandatory minicamp will be held Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week. The sessions are not open to the public, but media will be in attendance.

smanza@projo.com