Bad Boy Comes To Foxboro

Now, it may be hypocritical of me to talk about the Patriots' acquisition of Randy Moss after decrying all the draft hype and second-guessing yesterday. However, it's my team and it's a marquee name, so I feel compelled to chime in.

The news initially jarred me, knowing how the Patriots have steered well clear of such troublesome characters in the past. Moss, a well-known malcontent, has confessed to playing hard only when he wants and smoking marijuana every day during his NFL career. He also made a mooning gesture to the crowd at Lambeau Field and ran his car into a meter maid who was trying to write him a ticket. Have the Patriots sold out their moral high ground in a semi-desperate attempt to regain NFL supremacy?

Then again, In Bill We Trust. You don't win three Super Bowls by making questionable personnel decisions and then letting the inmates run the asylum. I trust that Bill Belichick and Bob Kraft met with Moss before the deal went through and laid down the law. They did the same thing with Corey Dillon, explaining the Patriots' team-before-individual philosophy and then putting their money where their mouth is by making Dillon's performance bonuses contingent upon team milestones, not individual ones.

I'll give Belichick and company the benefit of the doubt on this guy. It's only fair. Temperment aside, there is no doubt but that an already productive offseason for the Pats became even better. Only 132 days until kickoff!