Moss fair-weather fiend for Patriots

Throughout former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson’s heyday, his intimidation in the ring was legendary.

For years, it wasn’t unusual for Tyson’s opponents to fear his knockout punch so much, they were defeated before ever being hit.

New England receiver Randy Moss doesn’t wear boxing gloves but he has had a Tyson-like effect on NFL defenses this season.

After being acquired in an off-season trade from Oakland, Moss teamed with New England quarterback Tom Brady for a league-record 23 touchdowns this season.

Week after week, it was almost comical watching defensive backs try to stop Moss, who made one highlight catch after another in finishing the regular season with 98 receptions for 1,493 yards.

But in the playoffs, it has been a much different story.

In victories over Jacksonville and San Diego, Moss wasn’t a factor, with a total of two catches for 32 yards.

The most surprising part of Moss’ disappearing act was that New England was unable to get him more involved.

Jacksonville played a soft zone with a cornerback playing short and a safety deep in coverage most of the game. That kept Moss from making any big plays. Then, in the AFC championship game, Moss was held in check by the Chargers, who aggressively defended him at the line of scrimmage and did a good job of pressuring Brady.

At first glance, Moss seemed to be a victim of two effective defensive schemes, but unfortunately for the New York Giants, the Patriots’ opponent in the Super Bowl, the biggest factor in rendering Moss ineffective will not be an issue on Sunday: inclement weather.

After back-to-back home playoff games in cold and windy Gillette Stadium, New England will probably enjoy the fast and friendly conditions of the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., which has a retractable roof.

That should be a difference-maker for the Patriots and Moss, who could return to his intimidating ways as a deep threat against the Giants.

While Jacksonville and San Diego took advantage of poor weather to help shut down Moss -- whose biggest strengths are out-jumping and outrunning defenders -- New York will have to worry about a knockout punch on every play.

But don’t expect the Giants’ defensive backs to be intimidated -- not based on their impressive run through the NFC playoffs.

In road wins at Tampa Bay, Dallas and Green Bay, New York often played single coverage and received strong efforts from cornerbacks Corey Webster, R.W. McQuarters and Aaron Ross and safeties Gibril Wilson and James Butler.

The Giants also could benefit from familiarity with New England’s passing attack since they just played Moss and Co. on Dec. 29. Although New York lost, 38-35, the Patriots needed a fourth-quarter rally to remain unbeaten and the Giants seemed to gain confidence from the game.

They can only hope they do a better job on Moss than they did in the first meeting. Double covered most of the game, he still had six catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns.

It was Moss who helped turn the game in New England’s favor when, one play after he dropped an underthrown pass that might have gone for a touchdown, he and Brady connected on a 65-yard scoring play.

Summary: Moss doesn’t necessarily jump higher or run faster than every defensive back he faces, but his timing in catching the ball in traffic separates him from other wide receivers.

That’s why even when Moss appears covered he can make a game-changing play. So New York defenders might be better off concentrating on playing the ball instead of Moss when Brady tries to throw deep.

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lonnie.white@latimes.com