Vikes question Moss' maturity

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Easily one of the NFL's greatest talents, Randy Moss has never made things easy on himself or his teammates.\nProblems on and off the field have been just as much a part of Moss' playing career as touchdowns and tough catches.\nHours before the Minnesota Vikings began practice Wednesday, Moss' teammates were barraged with questions about the maturity of their star wide receiver and the effect of his latest transgression -- two misdemeanor traffic charges -- on their deteriorating season.\nQuestions about the team's preparations for its game against Seattle on Sunday night were pushed to the side.\n"We can't let this be a very, very big distraction to us," quarterback Daunte Culpepper said. "We've got to take care of business on the field."\nCoach Mike Tice wanted to speak this week about a trip to Seattle, where he played for 10 seasons, but he had to talk about Moss instead.\n"I can't go any further than to say that I'm disappointed," said Tice, who met with Moss, his agent and other team officials following practice and decided that he'd play Sunday.\nAfter losing scholarships at Notre Dame and Florida State to a battery charge and marijuana use, Moss set several NCAA receiving records in two seasons at Marshall. The Vikings drafted Moss in 1998 at No. 21 because other teams feared his past and reputation.\nHe was brash to be sure, but behaved himself and set a handful of rookie receiving records as the Vikings went 15-1 and came within three points from the Super Bowl.\nBut over the next three seasons, he had his share of on- and off-field problems as scrutiny of his actions increased. He was fined for taunting and squirting a referee with a water bottle, and his effort level waned from time to time last year.\nMoss once said that he played hard only when he felt like it. That certainly didn't help his reputation, although he and his teammates claimed the quotation was taken out of context.\nTice took over as coach this year, vowing to get Moss the ball more and make sure he stayed in line. It seemed to be working. Moss spent the entire offseason in Minnesota working out with young players, and he began the season in good spirits.\nBut he caught only four passes for 16 yards in Sunday's loss to Carolina and didn't appear to make a strong effort for the ball on a few of Culpepper's interceptions.\nThen came Tuesday's run-in with a traffic control officer. He was released Wednesday from the Hennepin County jail after spending the night there. Moss was charged with careless driving and failure to obey a traffic officer.\n"I really believe that Randy had done an outstanding job in the community, an outstanding job dealing with the media, an outstanding job dealing with adversity on the football field -- being triple-teamed and double-teamed," Tice said. "He was making great strides in maturing as a man and as a football player.\n"Obviously this is a setback. It's a disappointment to all of us who are fond of him."\nVikings offensive coaches concocted a game plan without Moss in it, and teammates tried to figure out what was going on. Still, the Vikings had nothing bad to say about Moss, who arrived at practice late Wednesday after his release from jail and apologized to the team when the workout was finished.\n"One thing he's really done this year was to try to be a better teammate," tight end Byron Chamberlain said. "There's nothing really negative he's done in the locker room or said that you could perceive as a bad boy image. He's one of the leaders of our team."\nAfter the news of Moss' arrest broke Tuesday night, cornerback Corey Chavous and several other players discussed heading to the jail to show their support. They decided not to only when they learned Moss wouldn't be able to see or talk to them.\n"He's an outstanding teammate," Chavous said. "I think Randy understands this year we're depending on him. He has a lot of responsibility. That's why the focus on him is always so high."\nCulpepper screamed at Moss on Sunday after one of his interceptions sailed over his receiver's outstretched hand. But he wouldn't criticize Moss on Wednesday.\n"Randy is a good friend of mine, and he's a great teammate," Culpepper said.\nThe team has endured its share of stress during the past year including the heatstroke death of lineman Korey Stringer last summer, Green's ouster as coach late last season and the death of offensive lineman Lewis Kelly's wife and unborn child in August.\nThe Vikings are trying to keep the distractions from affecting their play on the field.\n"You just have to learn to separate the two," center Matt Birk said. "Every guy here has a life outside here. Babies are up all night crying, or your roof's leaking. In order to be successful and hang around here, you've got to learn that when you're on the field or practicing, that's where your focus has to be. It can't be on other things"