(Think about how much rougher it would’ve been if it wasn’t for Tiger Woods.)
Way back in 2007, the Oakland Raiders virtually gave away Moss to the Patriots for the hefty price of a fourth-round draft pick. Why? Attitude problems. Moss was infamous for being Chad Ochocinco before there was Chad Ochocinco — albeit not quite as harmless and a little less amusing. Moss got in too many off-the-field altercations, made too many off-color remarks about his, um, drug habits, mooned too many cameras, and allegedly gave up too frequently when he didn’t feel like his team was capable of winning. He was the prototypical superstar athlete with too little discipline to realize his full potential.
Then, he came to New England, became Tom Brady’s BFF, helped the Patriots set a whole bunch of offensive records, and everyone stopped talking about what a bad seed he was.
Now, for the first time since his days in Oakland, the old Randy Moss seems to have reared his ugly head — or has he? What if he’s just been having a rough week/month/year? What if he was still feeling down about getting sent home from practice for being late to a team meeting — which isn’t all that crazy — and it showed when he stepped on the field on Sunday?
According to Panthers defensive backs Chris Gamble and Chris Harris, Moss "shut it down" on Sunday, and that’s why he finished with one catch, two tackles and a whole bunch of flak from the national and local media.
Some of us aren’t buying it — and that includes quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick. And aren’t they the ones who know best?
In this week’s edition of "Word Around Here," Brady comes to his favorite target’s defense and Belichick tells you exactly what to do with your precious stats. In other news, the Tiger drama still isn’t over — that’s what PED allegations will do for you — and now, Ron Artest and Charles Barkley want to get in on the fun. (50 Cent also chimed in with his own advice to Tiger, but his comments were a bit inappropriate for this forum.)
"We knew he was going to shut it down. That's what we wanted him to do. That's what we did … He'd just give up a lot. Slow down, he's not going deep, not trying to run a route. You can tell, his body language."
–Panthers cornerback Chris Gamble, in The Boston Globe, on Randy Moss’ performance in the Patriots’ 20-10 win
"My response is, that’s a lot of conversation coming from a team that just lost another game."
–Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, on Boston.com, after two Panthers defensive backs insisted Randy Moss didn’t give his full effort on Sunday
"You know how I feel about stats. Stats are for losers. The final score is for winners."
–Belichick, on Boston.com, downplaying Moss’ bad numbers against the Panthers on Sunday
"When guys play Randy, they want to show everyone what they can do. I guess [Chris Gamble and Chris Harris] came out of the game pretty confident. Randy is one of the best players in the history of the NFL. When it doesn't go perfect out there, everyone wants to jump on Randy. It's all of us, and we all have to do a better job."
–Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, on WEEI, on Randy Moss’ effort
"He always used to tell us, 'If you can't figure this out now … you will be one of the prime candidates to be working at 7-Eleven.'"
–Red Sox outfielder Mike Cameron, on NESN, on advice given to him by Terry Francona early in his career
"I asked Pierre Woods yesterday if he ever gets frustrated for lack of playing time on D: 'How could you complain about a job like this?'"
–Boston Herald reporter Ian Rapoport, via Twitter
"I would really ask that you guys don't write this? If Tiger is NOT implicated, and won't be, let's please give the kid a break."
–Agent Mark Steinberg, in the AP, after a doctor previously associated with Tiger Woods was investigated for PED distribution
"This is your first publicly known issue since you started your career, compared to my 50 or more publicly known issues and mistakes."
–Lakers forward Ron Artest, on ronartest.com, on Tiger Woods’ problems
"But I do think there is something sinister where they pay women who have slept with a married man to keep texts and e-mails from him. That's wrong."
–Former NBA star Charles Barkley, on HLN, regarding Tiger Woods’ alleged mistresses
"Obviously, I've been here for some big games. I'm here to win. The bottom line is that I've always had a lot of respect for this organization from the other side. Winning is the biggest thing for me and I know the organization has a great chance to do that. Hopefully, I can help."
–Red Sox pitcher John Lackey, on NESN, after signing a five-year deal with Boston
"I get up to go to mass this morning, and there's like 100 text messages, and I'm like what in the world happened? And I get word and what I can tell you is I'm a big fan, respect him as a basketball coach, always have."
–Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari, in the AP, upon hearing that coaching legend Bob Knight publicly criticized his integrity at an Indiana fundraiser on Thursday night
