Hours Before Kickoff: Week 8

On the day that celebrates goblins, ghouls, and vampires, there will be countless references to monsters as the Patriots welcome the Minnesota Vikings to Gillette Stadium.

We’ll hear about WR Randy Moss coming back to Foxborough to haunt the team that traded him over three weeks ago. Or the quarterback that just keeps coming back from the dead like Jason Voorhees. Brett Favre made his third comeback before the season despite not being fully healed from ankle surgery. Favre slowly limped off the field last week, looking like a zombie with two fractures in his foot. But everyone expects Favre to emerge from the grave (or cold tub) and be under center Sunday afternoon.

Fitting in with this theme would be a curse. Specifically, a Patriots Curse.

This is a warning to Moss. Whether it was a mutual parting between the receiver and the Pats or there was animosity building, Moss could be the latest victim.

His return to Minnesota hasn’t been explosive as anticipated. In two games, Moss has a dozen catches for just 166 yards and two touchdowns. If he’s a true victim of the Patriots Curse, the production will continue at a meddling pace, or worse could happen.

Few players found themselves better off after their Patriots years. It isn’t always performance-related, but moving on from New England likely is a downgrade.

Ask WR Deion Branch. He spent four injury-filled seasons with Seattle, missing 17 of 64 games and never reached the playoffs after three straight years of post season action with the Pats.

Another current example is RB Laurence Maroney. He didn’t run like fans wanted him to, but he averaged 4.2 yards per carry in blue, silver, and red. Now he’s running his way out of the league in Denver averaging 2.1 yards per carry.

Look back at WR David Givens. He earned a lucrative contract with Tennessee but played just five games before suffering an injury that ultimately ended his career.

DL Jarvis Green signed a free agent deal with Denver last year, but he was cut before the 2010 season and is now out of the league.

DL Richard Seymour has been solid for his new employer, but he’s cursed by playing for the Oakland Raiders. It was similar stories for G Damien Woody going to Detroit, G Joe Andruzzi and OLB Willie McGinest off to Cleveland. In these new locations, these three players combined for zero playoff appearances.

In his second engagement with the Vikings, Randy is 0-2, dropping the Vikes’ record to 2-4. Seems like that curse already sunk its claws into Moss and it might be harder to shake than Darrell Revis. Good luck with the rest of your career, Randy. Starting to look like you’ll need it.

A few things I’m looking for:

Two-headed Monster: Brett Favre says he will start. Head coach Brad Childress might have a quick hook for Tavaris Jackson. Be ready for both.

All Afternoon: RB Adrian Peterson is known as All Day. Can the defense keep him contained for three hours?

GPS: Know where multi-faceted Percy Harvin is at all times.

I’m getting a bad vibe for this game. It feels like a trap. But I’ll trust the passing game against a soft secondary and the defense being opportunistic in a strange Patriots win.