Santana Moss: 'You Want To Be That Guy'

Although no player wants to be reminded, Washington Redskins wide receiver Santana Moss hit an unsavory milestone on Sunday, suffering his 100th loss since arriving in the NFL in 2002.

While none have been enjoyable, few stung as much as the meltdown against the Denver Broncos last Sunday.

Despite being up by 14 on one of the NFL’s heavyweights, the Redskins let the Broncos off the ropes and exposed themselves to a series of haymakers through their own deficiencies.

By the final whistle, the Broncos had scored the last 38 points of the contest.

With five turnovers on offense and only 154 passing yards, the Redskins left Denver with more questions than answers.

Questions on play-call, decision-making and inability to protect the quarterback or the football combining with errant passes, route running and an alarming rise in dropped passes, the passing attack had its worst statistical performance since Week 8 of the 2011 season, when John Beck and Co. were shutout by the Buffalo Bills.

Moss, one of only four Redskins all-time with 500 receptions, said he and his teammates must relish their opportunities, whether it is catching the ball, blocking or creating a decoy to free a teammate.

“There are a lot of guys that want the ball,” Moss said on Wednesday. “[But] there’s only a few that can get it at a time and as long as you have that in your mind and know that this game is much more than catching balls and you’re out there sacrificing for your teammates, then you have a better understanding of what your role is.”

Moss and fellow recievers Pierre Garcon, Leonard Hankerson and rookie tight end Jordan Reed have all been targeted at least 30 times this season. Only Reed has been able to secure more than 60 percent of throws in his direction.

A model of fundamentals, Moss’ number of drops has increased this year. While frustrated by the trend, the typically sure-handed receiver said the best thing he can do psychologically is shake off the mistakes and look to make better on his next opportunity.

“As a player, you know that happens,” Moss said. “It’s a part of the game. You have to be one with yourself and know that [you] have to make that play.

“When you don’t, you have to tell yourself you don’t get them often so when it comes to next time you make the play. It’s a hard task and at the end of the day, somebody has to come up with [the ball] and you want to be that guy.”

He admitted that Griffin III has done a good job of distributing the ball to his various weapons, but with defenses like the Broncos keying on the run game, the offense must do a better job of making adjustments to free Robert Griffin III to make the necessary play.

“It’s all about what we did with Robert [Griffin III],” Moss said in reference to last year’s high-octane offense. “Robert was new to this league and a lot of things he did wowed people because they didn’t know what was going on. They didn’t know if he was going to tuck it or run it.

“When you look at our running games and the things we’ve been able to do with Robert running the ball, a lot of times that wouldn’t get done if it weren’t for the outside guys.

“So defenses sit back and try to find a way to prevent him from doing that because when he’s doing that than everything is wide open because you don’t know what to stop. When he’s not, than we have to be a little more creative and find a way to beat them without having to run Robert.

The elder statesman of the receiving corps also wants his teammates to remain patient; their number will be called.

When it is, they’ll have the chance to flash their skills. 

“Wait your turn, it will come,” Moss said. “That’s how I look at it. You might have to block more, it might be the tight end getting off this week or it might be the X receiver getting off this week. You might be playing a team that has light coverage on the inside and the gator guy might [get it], so it varies.

“We play games based on what the defense is weak at and you try to scheme your gameplan around what we can attack most. Your job might be to get a lot of attention so that somebody else can get open. It’s about you being ready, and if you’re ready you never have to worry about being ready because you’re expecting it.”

After last season’s late run and no NFC East team above .500 entering Week 9 action, Moss knows that Redskins are still very much in the thick of the race.
But they will need to improve internally before doing any sort of scoreboard watching.

“I don’t think it’s too late for all that to happen for us right now. We’re going to get on eventually.”


(redskins.com)