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By Tom E. Curran
CSNNE.com
You go by what you're told. If a source you trust tells you something and it's first-hand knowledge, you go with it. If it's not first-hand knowledge but you can confirm it elsewhere and it passes the sniff test, you go with that.
In the end, our reports are only as good and reliable as the people who share the information with us.
That said, I have no doubt that The Boston Globe's Shalise Manza-Young had a trustworthy source for her story in Sunday's Globe about Randy Moss' departure from New England.
It's just that this portion -- which has generated a fair amount of conversation -- doesn't compute.
"During camp, the source said, (Bill) Belichick reversed course (on offering Moss a new contract). As the team stretched one day, the coach approached Moss about starting talks on a new deal.
"Moss, however, told Belichick it wasn't the right time, that they could talk after the season. Around that time, the source indicates, Moss began to believe that he would be traded before the season began."
On September 12, after the Patriots win over the Bengals, Moss didn't sound like a player uninterested in talking about a contract. A sampling of his statements.
"If the opportunity later on in the season presents itself for me to be a New England Patriot, I would accept that. If it doesn't, I must move on. That's basically what I'm telling you."
"This offseason (for a new contract)? I don’t really want to get to that. For me to be offered a contract after the season is over, I think that would be a smack in my face. So I don't even really want to get into that."
"This is the last year of my contract. Nothing has been discussed. There’s not been anything said. Not a letter. Nothing. I’m not saying that I want to stay here, but I love playing here."
"If an opportunity later on in the season presents itself for me to be a New England Patriot, I will accept that."
Hey, maybe Moss did pooh-pooh Belichick's offer of a contract chat while the team was stretching sometime during training camp.
But even if he did, his statements September 12 are more than enough evidence that he was all ears at that point.
Tom E. Curran can be reached at tcurran@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Tom on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tomecurran
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