FOXBORO — Even for a franchise historically accustomed to chaos, it’s been an extraordinary season.

Since the start of training camp just over three months ago, there’s been an almost constant wave of potential distractions for the Patriots, both on and off the field, a run that would have crippled most teams. You name it, it’s happened to them: contentious contract negotiations, big trades, injuries to key players, sex tapes, player-coach confrontations and massive fines for defensive infractions.

Here’s a look at the timeline of notable events since the start of training camp:

Aug. 13: Defensive lineman Ty Warren is placed on season-ending injured reserve with a hip injury, and linebacker Derrick Burgess — who was missing for the first two weeks of training camp — is activated. (Burgess is later released on Sept. 4.)

Aug. 30: News surfaces of rookie linebacker Brandon Spikes’ involvement in a sex tape that has been disseminated on the Internet.

Aug. 31: Cornerback Leigh Bodden, who was the team’s best defensive back in 2009, is placed on injured reserve with a shoulder problem.

Sept. 4: Safety Brandon McGowan was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a chest injury, marking the third defensive starter to go on IR in just over two weeks.

Sept. 10: Tom Brady is involved in an automobile accident blocks from his Back Bay apartment. Later that day, he signs a four-year extension that makes him the NFL’s highest-paid player.

Sept. 12: After a season-opening win over Cincinnati, wide receiver Randy Moss — who is in the final year of his deal — delivers a postgame soliloquy about his contract situation, saying he expects 2010 to be his final year with the Patriots.

Sept. 14: The Patriots trade Laurence Maroney — who led New England in rushing two of the last three seasons — to Denver for a fourth-round pick.

Sept. 22: Running back Kevin Faulk, the only player on the roster who was with the Patriots before Bill Belichick was named head coach and one of the most respected people in the locker room, is placed on IR with a knee injury he suffered in a loss to the Jets.

Oct. 6: Days after a locker room confrontation with quarterbacks coach Bill O’Brien and in the wake of a zero-catch performance against the Dolphins, Moss is dealt to Minnesota for a third-round draft pick.

Oct. 12: The Patriots acquire wide receiver Deion Branch — who previously played for New England from 2002-2005 — from Seattle for a fourth-round draft pick.

Oct. 17: Brandon Meriweather is flagged for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Baltimore’s Todd Heap, which brings a $50,000 fine. The hit is one of several around the league that afternoon to draw the attention of the league, and prompts NFL officials to say they will immediately begin suspending players for dangerous and flagrant hits that violate rules, particularly those involving helmets.

Oct. 31: In his last public act as a member of the Vikings, Moss has another memorable postgame press conference. This one also takes place at Gillette Stadium, and in a rambling postgame monologue, he talked despondently of missing the Patriots and Bill Belichick. He is waived by Minnesota the next day, and despite rumors about a possible return to New England, is claimed on waivers by Tennessee.

Nov. 2: Pro Bowl left guard Logan Mankins, who has stayed away since spring workouts because he was upset about his contract situation, signs his tender and reports to Gillette Stadium.

It has been an exhausting run of events, but despite the upheaval, eight weeks into the regular season, the Patriots hold the best record in the NFL with a 6-1 mark. While many teams would wilt under that sort of activity — hello, Minnesota Vikings — New England has been able to feed off of it, continuing to grow stronger and build confidence heading into an important stretch of games that begins Sunday in Cleveland.

In the wake of last Sunday’s win over the Vikings, Brady said that while all the action certainly isn’t par for the course, the mental toughness that comes with dealing with distractions has been built up over the years like an extra layer of skin.

“There’re so many things that have happened over the course of this season,” Brady said. “[But] it’s the way it’s always been around here: It’s really one game at a time.”

While the sample size remains smaller, thus far, the 2010 Patriots have certainly displayed a mental toughness that the 2008 and 2009 teams did not exhibit, winning tough games on the road and beating playoff-caliber teams at home. In fact, the fortitude they’ve displayed on occasion in the face of outside interference has been reminiscent of several of the Patriots teams of the past, most notably the 2001 and 2007 squads, two teams that were able to shut out the tumult and distraction from assorted events very early in the season and focus on the task at hand: winning ballgames.

According to players, that ability to rise above the noise comes from the mantra that’s written on a big sign at the players’ entrance.

“I guess we’re naïve, because I don’t realize we’ve had a lot of distractions, to be honest with you,” said tight end Alge Crumpler. “I think the only message that coach gets across: Just do your job. I don’t think there’s been a day I’ve come in this building and coach Belichick hasn’t said, ‘Just do your job.’”

“How do you block out distractions? Just worry about what affects you,” said offensive lineman Stephen Neal. “What affects me is: How am I going to practice today? How am I going to play on Sunday? Nothing else matters. All that matters is what can I do today to improve. And then all the other distractions — who really cares?”

Despite the myriad events and even with the best record in the league, the Patriots continue to operate largely out of the national spotlight. On the NFL Network last Sunday, Deion Sanders, Steve Mariucci and Michael Irvin dismissed the Patriots' long-term chances for success. Meanwhile, the headlines have gone to the brash Jets, to Pittsburgh’s James Harrison and the collection of fines he continues to accumulate and to the dysfunctional Vikings and Cowboys.

“Maybe we’d get more attention if we were playing more consistently as an offense and scoring more points and being more effective on third down and in the red area,” Brady grumped earlier this week. “I don’t think our goal is to win six games this year, and certainly we’ve won a lot more games than that around here.

“I’m not in a great mood coming in here every day; I think there are plenty of things that we have to do to get to work, and you try to keep the pressure on the younger players, and hopefully that leads to better execution and pressure on the older players, too.”

In 2001, Belichick used several motivational techniques to try and inspire his team, including a training camp visit to the movies to see a documentary about explorer William Shackleton, who led the 1914-1916 Trans-Antarctic Expedition. It was an ill-fated voyage in which 28 men worked together to overcome obstacle after obstacle to survive the nearly two years they were stranded in the Antarctic, with no means of contacting the outside world.

The message?

No matter what happens, we’re all in this together. The only ones you can trust are the men around you. There are going to be obstacles, but if you believe in one another, you can do anything.

There have been no mentions of Shackleton this year, but the theme in the locker room is the same as it was nine years ago: Do your job.

“For us, we have a common goal in mind,” Crumpler said. “And we try and do everything we can to make sure we’re getting the job done.”