"Fans who expected Randy Moss to make bucketfuls of catches as soon as he slipped on a Titans uniform were left scratching their heads after Sunday's loss to the Dolphins.

How could a future Hall of Famer wind up with just one reception in his debut performance?

The question now is what kind of timetable is fair when it comes to Moss making the kind of big splash the Titans envisioned when they claimed him off waivers.

It could come as early as this Sunday, when the Titans take on a Redskins team that surrendered 59 points Monday and is ranked 31st in the league in pass defense.

But Hall of Fame receiver James Lofton says that Moss' circumstances — he joined the Titans at the midpoint of the season, is playing for a third team in six weeks and is working with a different quarterback this week — could mean his adjustment will take time.

"You can see his body of work over the years, but you also have to factor in what a tough situation this is," said Lofton, now an NFL analyst for CBS Radio. "Playing in three distinctly different offenses in a matter of weeks would be challenging for anybody.

"I equate going to a different team to learning a different language, and right now, Randy is trying to forget what he learned in a couple of other places because he has to transfer to what the Titans speak. That's the hardest part."

Had the Titans acquired Moss during the offseason, they would have had the ability to create more sets and devise more plays that targeted the 13th-year pro. But his arrival after eight games made such wholesale alterations impractical.

"That's why I said in the beginning — when everyone was saying, 'Oh, (adding Moss) is going to change everything' — that we're not going to change," Titans offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger said. "We've already had all our OTAs and our two-a-days, so it's impossible.

"We've got in what we've got in. Now I have to find out what he is good at and what he's comfortable at, and use him that way. It's going to be between Vince (Young) and Randy feelin"