Michael Ventre

The Minnesota Vikings probably didn’t flinch back in 2002 when Randy Moss pushed a city traffic employee a half-block after she tried to stop him from making an illegal U-turn. They just went into Randy mode, which is a little like pulling on a poncho and waiting for a storm to pass. They knew what to expect. It came with the territory.

Sadly, the New England Patriots know little about this technique. The Randy Moss they traded for before this NFL campaign was supposedly not the same guy who admitted in a TV interview to smoking marijuana during the season, who fake-mooned Green Bay fans, and who had a reputation for mailing it in more often than contestants for Publishers Clearing House. During this season, Moss was on his best behavior.

But even though the Patriots undoubtedly were blindsided by the latest Moss controversy, it won’t matter. They’ve been through so much in their march toward perfection that Moss could drive club owner Robert Kraft around Boston on the hood of his car and he’d be met with a rousing version of “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow.”

A Florida radio station reported that a woman filed for an order of protection from Moss, and later was granted a temporary injunction. Moss reacted strongly to the report, suggesting the woman was out to make money.

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Although Moss may have shown himself to be immature and irresponsible in the past, he’s right when he suggests the media withhold judgment until all the facts are out. Violence against a woman is an ugly allegation, although that aforementioned Minneapolis traffic agent might be quick to point out that she’s a woman and that incident could be construed as the opposite of a loving gesture.

Still, while the “He said, she said” is being hashed out, the relatively unimportant matter of Moss and his residual effect on the Patriots’ drive toward a Super Bowl championship — with the AFC title game Sunday against the San Diego Chargers representing the penultimate step — needs to be addressed.

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Maybe, in a sense, the Patriots feel lucky that they went the entire season without a major Moss brouhaha, something the Vikings and Oakland Raiders can’t say. Although many might feel that such a dustup arriving just a few days before the clash with the Chargers is incredibly bad timing, the Patriots actually might look at it as a welcome respite from the barrage of questions like “Why are you so good?” and “Is Bill Belichick really as boring as he sounds?”

The Patriots knew what they were getting into back in April when they sent a fourth-round draft choice to the Raiders in exchange for Moss. It was Moss’ third team in four seasons.  He didn’t participate in the Raiders’ offseason conditioning program before the trade, not exactly a sign of dedication. Yet the Patriots went ahead and made the deal anyway, figuring he would thrive in their veteran-heavy locker room.