ASHBURN, Va.: Santana Moss
stood in the biting wind with a red and white ski
cap on his head and his fists tucked inside hand
warmers on the front of his jersey.
The nimble Washington Redskins receiver, who on
Wednesday became the unlikely recipient of the NFC
special teams player of the week award, was given the
day off because of a slightly strained hamstring.
He's expected to play Monday night against Pittsburgh
— after all, Moss is arguably the most
indispensable player on the roster.
How much so? Coach Jim Zorn literally shuddered when
asked to imagine life without Moss.
"It would be very hard," Zorn said. "Because you lose
all that run-after-the-catch, you lose the quick
escape. We've put him a little more inside and out, so
he's playing different sets from
different positions."
The coach paused, shook his head and added: "That would
really hurt us. Don't even talk about that."
Moss scored both of Washington's touchdowns in Sunday's
25-17 win over Detroit, one on a 50-yard reception and
the other on an 80-yard punt return. It was only his
second punt return of the season and the only time he
touched the ball all game on special teams, yet the
runback was so compelling, it was deemed worthy of the
NFC award.
"I think everybody should get up off their seats when
you see him on the field," Zorn said, "because he's a
tremendous athlete. Is he doing the extraordinary? He's
kind of playing to his ability. He really is."
Moss hasn't returned punts regularly since his
four-year stint with the New York Jets before coming to
the Redskins in 2005, so winning a special teams award
wasn't at the top of a list of predictions
for 2008.
Moss was offered several congratulations during an
interview Wednesday outside the locker room — and
accepted them in stride.
"That's why I never predict nothing at the beginning of
the year," Moss said. "You never know what can happen.
You just stick to what you do and put your best out
there. I don't make goals. I never make goals. That's
why I leave it wide open for anything to happen."
Moss said he didn't lobby to return punts, but he did
plant the seed in the coaches' minds earlier this
season. Regular returner Antwaan Randle El's numbers
have been average at best, so putting Moss back there
once a game seemed a good way to provide a spark.
It certainly worked against the Lions, who trailed by
only six before Moss' fourth-quarter return.
"Antwaan Randle El is our punt returner and, every once
in a while, we'd like to see Santana come in and return
a punt," Zorn said. "I'm hoping to
do that at some point each game."
Moss' value as a receiver is even greater, because the
drop-off would be huge if he couldn't play. Moss (40)
and Randle El (33) account for all but 12 of the
catches made by Redskins wideouts this season.
Moss' 658 receiving yards rank fifth in the NFL, a
considerable achievement given how much attention he
gets from defenses. He was double-teamed and had zero
catches against Philadelphia earlier this month and had
only two the following week against St. Louis —
but he's also had three games of 140-plus yards and
four games with at least seven catches.
Since his arrival in Washington, Moss has maintained
that statistics don't determine the best receiver, so
it would be hypocritical of him to harp on numbers.
Asked to explain his "I never make goals" proclamation,
Moss said it came from his younger days when his stats
didn't measure up to those of another receiver.
"So what I always told myself is you can't judge me
because he had more yards," Moss said. "You can't say
he's a better receiver than I am — that's what
his team allowed him to do. All I want to do is do what
my team allows me to do. If my team allows me to catch
that many yards, then I should have it.
"Just because this guy caught for a zillion yards or
caught for a zillion catches, that doesn't mean he's
the best receiver in the league. That just means he's
just had a better year stats-wise, but did his team win
the championship? Did his team go to the playoffs? How
big was his role in the team's success?"
(iht.com)