Sinorice Moss ready to return kicks

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Don't blame Sinorice Moss if he wasn't more of a return man while he was at the University of Miami. He returned kicks sparingly because the Hurricanes had future NFL all-pro return man Devin Hester and future Bills return specialist Roscoe Parrish on those teams.

"We had so many different guys," Moss said, smiling. "Team was lit."

But if the Hurricanes needed a guy to go back there, he'd go and perform. That was the first thing the Eagles talked to Moss about before signing him in February, before the league's lockout took effect: Could he be a punt- and kick-returner for the Eagles?

The 5-foot-8 Moss said he's comfortable doing it even though he has been used sparingly throughout his collegiate and NFL careers. After being selected No. 44 overall in the second round of the 2006 draft, the Giants barely used him as a kick returner - he had only 24 returns in four seasons - and even less as a punt returner.

Moss certainly has speed to burn. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds at the 2006 combine. But he missed all of 2010 after having surgery to repair a sports hernia right before the season.

Now, he said he's 100 percent healed and claims his explosiveness never left as he dealt with the injury. The Eagles offer a chance at redemption for Moss, who played in just 37 games in five years and collected just 421 receiving yards in New York because of a myriad of injuries. Understanding how to return kicks may be Moss's ticket in.

"You definitely have to focus," Moss said. "The first thing is getting possession of the football and catching the football. That's the main thing. Then after that, that's when talent and everything else takes over, knowing when to cut, when to make certain moves, and knowing to block."

The opportunity is there. The Eagles ranked 25th in the league last year in kick returns, averaging 20.5 yards per return, with no touchdowns. And DeSean Jackson could also use a sidekick on punt returns. Moss has a rare opportunity to play receiver for the Eagles, too.

At practice on Sunday, with DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin both missing, Moss didn't drop a single pass and showed he could be a playmaker. In one instance, Michael Vick found Moss on a route over the middle, and Moss dived to haul in the pass. Moss' next catch came deep down the right sideline, during a 7-on-7 drill.

"There's definitely an opportunity for me and the rest of the other guys to really showcase our talents and show that we can play ball," Moss said. "With those guys being out right now, it's giving us a lot more reps to go out there with the ones and the twos to actually showcase [ourselves]."

Over the summer, Vick called Moss and invited the receiver to work out with him and backup quarterback Mike Kafka as well as a few of the other starting receivers in South Jersey. That's where Moss was able to get used to the way Vick throws the ball.

Jason Avant was at those workouts, too. Moss knows Avant because they both were drafted the same season, so Moss has leaned on Avant to learn the plays and different route combinations. Another teacher who has stayed in Moss' ear is his brother, Santana, a wide receiver for the Redskins.

All their lives, Santana has answered Sinorice's questions. He has watched Sinorice play growing up, critiquing his game. Sinorice has picked his brother's brain about being a receiver and a returner, as Santana, who is four years older, was the Jets' primary punt returner early in his career.

Returning kicks is in Moss' blood. So is being a dynamic receiver, perfect for imaginative offensive schemes.

"When I look at the playbook, man, it's wide open," Moss said. "You see how guys open up. And when DeSean and [Maclin] and Jason are in the slot, they do certain things. And now that I'm here and able to do that, I think it's amazing.

Click here to order Sinorice Moss’s proCane Rookie Card.


(philly.com)