Moss Seeks Improvement

Today is Santana Moss's 30th birthday -- a benchmark in football that often indicates there are fewer years ahead of a player than behind him. Moss practiced during the day's organized team activity as part of the wide receivers corps that included the return of Malcolm Kelly from offseason surgery.

Moss exited the locker room after practices without the cornrows fans have become accustomed to seeing.

"The season went so bad the second half, I was like, 'Man, I'll do something different. I'll cut my hair to get all the bad funk off me,'" Moss said.

Hair aside, Moss is preparing for a pivotal ninth season in the league. He is the Redskins' most productive wide receiver after a year that was among the best in his career. Moss finished 2008 with 79 catches for 1,044 yards and six touchdowns. It was his third 1,000-yard season and his first since 2005 -- his first year in Washington.

"Every year I look forward. I don't need anything I look for," Moss said. "I just need to go out and do it. Every year I look to just get better. I don't settle for less. I never plan or set goals, because you got to have it in mind that you want to get better."

Moss's totals came during a season in which production from 2008 second-round picks Devin Thomas and Kelly was limited. Moss has mentored the younger wide receivers, although they seem to fit the mold for the Redskins' offense more than Moss.

Moss's experience will be critical. After the Redskins released tackle Jon Jansen on Friday, Moss is one of 16 players left on the Redskins roster with eight or more years in the NFL.

"You got to understand, we're all professionals. You have to be able to accept whatever," Moss said. "With that said, you never know when it's going to happen. You got to prepare yourself that what it does, you can understand what part of the game it is. Business is business."

(voices.washigtonpost.com)