Where you fall on the “Randy Moss: Dog, Not a Dog” argument depends on whether you believe a pack of agenda-driven members of the Boston media or some ex-football players who actually watched the coaches’ film of last week’s game against the Carolina Panthers.

The ink-stained and microphone-wielding wretches in Beantown have been sharpening their knives for Moss ever since he got to Foxborough, just waiting for him to revert to the Recalcitrant Randy of Minnesota and Oakland fame. Poised to strike after Moss was sent home from practice for being late, they got the signal they’ve been waiting for when Moss turned  in a one catch, one fumble performance on Sunday.

Moss played poorly. No one is disputing that. The question is why he played poorly. Some think it was a lack of effort. Some think it was Carolina’s game plan and the way the Patriots chose to counter it.

Frankly, I don’t know which it is. And I’m quite certain the vast majority of the people with an opinion of the subject don’t really have any idea, either.

The people who think he dogged it have little more than circumstantial evidence to make their case.

Every one of the critics I’ve listened to or read either watched the game on television or are using television replays to illustrate their point. On television, you can see about six offensive players on every play — the five linemen and the quarterback. Sometimes you can watch the running back(s) the entire play, sometimes a tight end or two blocks at the line of scrimmage.

Usually, though, it’s those six guys on your screen (at least until the QB throws the ball). If it’s a pass play, you can’t see what route the receivers are running unless it’s a slant or a very short underneath route, and often, parts of those take place out of camera range. If it’s a run play, you usually can’t see if the receiver is blocking downfield the entire play. If it weren’t for instant replay, we wouldn’t know 95 percent of what receivers do when they don’t have the ball. 

Moss’ critics have been relying largely on replays to determine that his heart wasn’t into the game. They point to a first-quarter interception as evidence of Moss not going all-out on a route. Fox also showed a couple of replays where Moss appeared to not go full extension for Tom Brady passes, as well as video of a clearly frustrated Moss sitting on the bench with Brady in his ear. 

What Moss did the other 50 or 60 plays he was on the field is a mystery to everyone who didn’t see the game film. Some who did see the coaches’ film, most notably ex-players and ESPN analysts Merrill Hoge and Ron Jaworski, effusively praised the wide receiver’s effort after viewing the film during this week. While Jaworski has developed an annoying penchant for not criticizing players on Monday Night Football, he’s as good a x-and-o guy as there is on television. Hoge usually holds a Pittsburgh Steelers pom-pom in one hand and a Patriot doll with a rope tied around its neck in the other when he’s on camera. So, speaking only for myself, I’d have to give Jaws and Hoge the check mark in the “football knowledge” column and give the “having an ax to grind against Moss” check mark to the most shrill segments of the Boston media.

(On a parenthetical note, in the event you are reading this before 7:30 a.m. Sunday, do yourself a favor and watch NFL Matchup on ESPN, where I’m sure Jaworski and Hoge will provide actual visual evidence to back their claims up. Why the best football show on the network is buried in such a time slot tells you pretty much all you need to know about the World Wide Leader in Self-Promotion.)

Of course, no one knows better what happened Sunday than those who played and coached. Brady and Bill Belichick defended Moss from the slings and arrows during the week, stating that they were happy with his effort but, as Brady indicated, perhaps Moss was getting a little frustrated not getting the ball. But then, Brady and Belichick never call out individual Patriots through the media, and one could certainly argue that they know doing so with Moss could make a bad situation worse.

A couple of members of the Panthers were eager to comment on Moss’ performance after the game. They said Moss’ frustration was evident in his body language and that he “shut it down,” as cornerback Chris Gamble put it. They said they used a lot of safety help on Moss to get him to do just that.

Moss’ detractors couldn’t repeat those comments enough. Of course, what they failed to point out was that the secondary also got picked apart by Wes Welker all day, and that it was in their best interest to bring attention to Moss’ lack of production rather than the carving job Welker did on them. 

The raging controversy this week would lead some to believe that Moss is the full sum of New England’s problems. Far from it. The quarterback and defensive line are banged up. The offensive line is underperforming. The secondary hasn’t improved with time. 

Regardless, Moss’ production has been declining over the last month and the offense has noticeably suffered. Perhaps it’s an undisclosed injury. Maybe he isn’t on the same page with Brady (who hasn’t exactly been setting the world on fire lately, himself). Maybe opponents are just playing excellent coverage against him. Or, yes, maybe he has mentally checked out. The only people who know for sure are Moss, his coach and his teammates.

The folks with the notebooks and microphones have no idea. Yet they continue to make reckless charges against Moss, based mostly on his reputation. Jim Mora put it best when it comes to these nitwits:

“You think you know, but you don’t know.”

Randy Whitehouse is a staff writer. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].