The news -- leaked by various NFL anonymice -- that Randy Moss played the better part of the season with a shoulder separation will change exactly no minds around these parts. (At least he achieved separation in something this season! Thank you. No, you're too kind, really.) The people who have determined that he was an integral part of the team's mediocre finish will simply ignore the news -- or, without any evidence at all, decide that he and the Patriots are lying about the injury for their own reasons. At the very least, they'll minimize it, talk about what other players play through, and get around eventually to telling us (again) that Moss remains the antithesis of what the Patriots are Supposed To Be About. Personally, I still think that, even despite his injury, he should have done a much better job on personnel issues. Why he couldn't come up with a decent pass rush is beyond me.

Assuming the story is true, this is yet another cautionary tale about opining beyond the available evidence when it comes to issues like desire and the rest of the Intangibles. Exhibit A, always, is the case of former Astros pitcher J.R. Richard who, in 1980, after a dominant few seasons, complained of a dead arm. He was accused of jaking it, of being jealous of Nolan Ryan's contract, and of a number of other offenses against the Intangibles. Then, on July 30 of that year, Richard had a stroke, nearly died, and never really pitched again. (At one point, after his career ended, Richard was homeless and living under a bridge.) And this was 20 years before talk-radio and the Intertoobz, before the notion of "Having A Take" won out over the notion of "Knowing What The Hell You're Talking About," before unmoored opinion became a career catapult. Anyway, folks in that business should watch out. Sooner or later, real life can make you look like a jackass.  Just sayin'.