Everybody Panic!

To hear the talk about Randy Moss's injury, you'd think one of his legs had had to be amputated rather than iced down after a tweak in practice. Coverage on Boston.com was written in the clinical yet shrill language usually reserved for murders and house fires:

 Moss...pulled up midway through Wednesday's practice. Medical trainers applied ice to his upper left leg, and he later left the field under his own power.

Obviously, when your marquee offseason acquisition walks off the field with an apparent injury and then misses practice, it's natural to connect the two. And also to freak out. But as the Patriots in typical fashion have yet to release any official statement on Moss other than to describe him as "good, day-to-day," it's impossible to prove the connection or definitively use Moss's absence as evidence of the injury's severity. It's true the Patriots as a general rule downplay the severity and hide the nature of injuries, but I can't recall them outright lying about whether or not a player was generally in okay shape. They won't tell you, "It's his left fibula and the trainers are trying to figure out WTF to do," but I can't remember them saying a player was "good" when he was flat on his back.

But into that gap, between knowledge and speculation, can live a news story and its associated followups as difficult to dispense with as cockroaches. In fact, unless Moss returns to every session of practice between tomorrow and the opening game of the season, if there isn't much other news out of training camp we could conceivably still be talking about this when the season opens. Speculating about whether or not this will mean he has a slow start to the season. Might the hamstring problems come back? Will he be plauged with hamstring problems throughout the season?! Are we all gonna die?!? I can hear Bob Ryan on Around the Horn even now.

I could eat these words, but until I hear more, I'm not sweating this story overmuch. Injuries of this nature, particularly strain / tweak injuries, are common in training camps as athletes prepare for a season. In baseball, pitchers go through a period of "dead arm" in spring training as a matter of routine. Moss is surely not the only Patriots player nursing soreness somewhere as his body adjusts to an in-season schedule of play.

Personally, I can only imagine whatever sportswriters were covering camp on assignment jumped for joy when Moss grabbed his leg. It's the best thing that could've happened to them on a slow off-season news day.

Especially in a town where the local sports squads have become year-round obsessions, considering the state of the news cycle when seeing reports like this one can sometimes be a balm to jangled nerves.

However, if he misses a week of camp... that'll be another post.

Comments

[J. Mark English]

I don't think you guys have anything to fear...

http://www.americanlegends.blogspot.com/

[Jameros]

hahaha I totally agree. Players have hamstring porblems all the time in camp. On ESPN today (believe it was on Around the Horn), they were even sayng that veterans will pull up with a "hamstring" problem to get some time off from the two-a-days. Not saying this is what Moss is doing, but it's not a big deal.

[JB]

the jets are panicing, not the patriots. Whos gonna cover number 81??

[Patrick Patterson]

Welcome to the world of having Randy "I play when I want to play" Moss on your team. After watching him and his antics for two years in Oakland, I am glad to see him in another uniform.

I thought the same thing as JB when he came to Oakland, but I spent the last half of last season anxiously awaiting him getting shipped out of town, as he admittedly tanked it because he was "not happy."

Just wait until something happens and he starts pouting. Not even your golden boy Tom "Snow Job" Brady will be able to save him. I doubt he will turn things inside out there in Tuck Rule land like he did in Oakland, because he doesn't have the leverage of that huge cap number. But he will start tanking it, or run a nine route when a six route was called... bank on it...

[Brent]

Until Moss has a reason to be unhappy, the Patriots expect him to play. The Patriots veterans will make sure he understands what is expected to be a Patriot. Also remember Moss was not the only 'unhappy' player in Oakland.

Also Moss' contract is specifically designed to get rid of him during the season (ala Keyshawn Johnson/Tampa Bay) if he does not perform.

Most people outside of New England need to remember that Moss is not the KEY player for the Patriots. He is a valuable contributer, but the Patriots can still win without him. Plus I do not see any other fourth round pick starting at WR in the NFL.

Bill Belichick does not take any crap from players and unlike OT in Dallas where the owner had the say over Parcells, Kraft allows Bill to make the right call. Even the Raiders owner/coach do not have enough trust for Art to not get involved.

The Raiders are still rebuilding with various QB's and a rookie coach. So although you are happy to be rid of Moss, are you happy with what you now have?

[beth]

STILL whining about the tuck rule. my goodness.

[Jameros]

LOL "snow job" Still can't get over that?? Great job knocking that one out of the park Brent (or should I say rushing it into the endzone?)! Besides, I'm fairly certain my old college flag team could've beaten the Raiders last year...