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It's something I hear all the time.

"What's the deal with Randy Moss? Is he sulking at the end of the bench? Did he complain to the coaches about not getting the ball? Is he going to become a cancer in the locker room?"

And so on. All legitimate concerns, I suppose, given the behavior of the Patriots' talented wide receiver in other cities, at other times of his career.

It's also a classic example of how New Englanders are so unwilling to cut a guy some slack until there's reason to believe that he's acting in a particular way. Just because a player comes here with baggage, it's not fair to make him carry it down the field with him on every play. But we do it anyway.

Moss, of course, had a wildly successful first year with the Patriots. The catches and runs and touchdowns are all that the general public sees of him, however. We in the New England media get to see a little more of Moss from his locker-room presence and his occasional press conferences, and while that's not a lot more, it certainly is a better sample than what fans see, or what they are told by the talking heads at ESPN, or even some local talk show hosts and guests whose only exposure to the Patriots comes during compensated, contractual appearances by the coaches and some players on their radio stations.

A groundswell of "Moss is grumbling" talk seemed to take hold in the last couple of weeks since the Patriots' 38-13 loss to Miami in which Matt Cassel again struggled to get the ball to his team's most talented receiver. That's going to happen at times and would have even if Mr. Wonderful, Tom Brady, had been at quarterback. That's football.

In the two weeks of preparation that followed to loss to the Dolphins, the Patriots obviously addressed that situation. Moss caught five passes for 111 yards in New England's 30-21 victory at San Francisco, including a 66-yard touchdown pass over the middle early on the game that reminded the 49ers exactly who they were dealing with.

With Moss restored as a weapon, that opened the door for Wes Welker to catch another eight balls for 73 yards, and for the running attack to be more effective. In other words, the Patriots got Moss more involved in the game because it was the prudent thing to do, not because he or anyone else was grumbling about it.

Late last week, Moss spoke to the media - something he used to avoid totally, but now apparently sees as one of his responsibilities as a captain - and while he is a little more of a straight-shooter in his responses than some of his longer-tenured teammates who have more indoctrination in the ways of "Patriot-Speak," he still said the right things.

One response was particularly telling, from a question about how Cassel has progressed since taking over as the starting quarterback.

"I think, first of all, he has to believe in himself, and I think it will trickle on down to the whole offense," Moss said. "We've seen Matt progress these last couple of weeks quicker than we expected him to. We just have to put guys around him. He's the quarterback so he gets the good and the bad.

"With the 10 guys that we put around him, we have to make it happen so that not really everything's on him or on his shoulders," Moss continued, "He has to be smart, distribute the ball, but at the same time he still has (10) guys out there that have to get the job done. We like what we're doing as a whole offensive unit. Hopefully, we can keep it going."

Translated from the jock-ese, that means, "I know things are a work in progress. We'll take care of it."

And yes, it clearly still is a work in progress. Cassel doesn't have Brady's arm. That was proven when he sent Moss deep on the fifth play of the second quarter and left the throw 5 yards short, an easy pick for San Francisco's Nate Clements, who was dragged down immediately by Moss at the Niners' 6 to prevent a damaging gain. Things will be different in the post-Brady era. Moss knows that - and at least to this point, I've seen no evidence to question his acceptance of finding solutions within the parameters of the Patriots' commitment to team play.

It makes sense. Moss is happy here. He appreciates the success he's had as a Patriot and the support structure that exists in the organization and within the locker room that removes him from the center of the vortex - a place he found distasteful and dangerous elsewhere.

And while he hasn't said it himself, I'm sure that in the back of his mind, Moss also knows his tenure with the Patriots has the potential of wiping the slate clean for him. If he continues to succeed on the field and displays leadership in the locker room, people will tend to forget the mistakes of his youth when it comes time for him to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

To this point, enshrinement hasn't been a slam dunk. More than anything else, those in the position to decide his legacy remember the time he said publicly that he'd play only when he wanted to play, a reference to evidence that he'd "take plays off" and just go through the motions when he wasn't the focus of the offense.

Time has passed. Moss has grown up some, and he now plays for a team for which, until recently, he didn't always have to be the star. He had one of the greatest seasons of any receiver last year, but given the talent around him, he knew that his contributions were not of an all-or-nothing sort.

That may still be the case, but as Matt Cassel grows into his job, it's clear that he needs the "star" of Randy Moss to be as big and shiny as he can get it.

Maybe this time, because Moss knows he has the faith of those around him, he may be finally prepared to accept and embrace that role.

MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com. Read Farinella's blog, "Blogging Fearlessly," at thesunchronicle.com/farinella.