Moss (genuinely) excited about Manningham

Say what you will about Sinorice Moss. And I know you have. I've heard you.

But never say that he's not a team player, a humble human being or selfless. The fact is he is all of those things.

When asked today about the Giants' drafting Mario Manningham in the third round, Moss went right past sulking, feeling bad for himself, ripping his new teammate or anything else that might reflect a selfish attitude. Instead, he genuinely (and I mean that) expressed excitement about adding another potential weapon to the team's receiving corps - even if that weapon might soon knock him off the roster.

"It's good for us to have a guy like that - a great talent, good hands," Moss said. "I didn't expect him to be there that late, but it was a big plus for us to have another young guy coming in. You talk about looking toward the future with this organization, I think that's a big plus for us."

Moss was supposed to be a big plus for the Giants when the team picked him in the second round two years ago. Check that: When the team traded up to pick him. But so far, the 5-8, 185-pound younger brother of Redskins receiver Santana Moss hasn't quite had the impact the team thought he would. He missed most of his rookie season with a quad injury that just wouldn't heal then bounced back a bit last season to catch 21 passes in the regular season.

But Moss got hurt late in the season and was inactive for all four postseason games. In his place, then-rookie Steve Smith recorded 14 catches in the playoffs and vaulted ahead of Moss on the depth chart after struggling with his own injury issues.

On Sunday, after the selection of Manningham, Giants GM Jerry Reese said the team still has confidence in Moss and looks at this past season as his rookie year because of all the missed time in 2006.

"If they want to look at it as my rookie year, they can, but I'm not looking at it as my rookie year, just another year in this league for me," Moss said. "I'm going into my third year and I'm trying to come out here and help this team the best I can - whether it's returning punts or catching footballs and catching touchdowns for this team."

Moss thinks he'll get a chance to do all of that, even though Manningham's arrival threatens his playing time.

"They didn't even mention anything to me about this guy since they drafted him. That's not a concern to me," Moss said. "I know what I bring to this team and I know what I can do for this organization. I'm not worried about them drafting another guy. I'm happy they drafted another guy because it's good toward our future. You never know what can happen, so drafting this guy is good for us."

He honestly believes that. Instead of viewing Manningham as competition, he is choosing to see him as the third member of a young corps of receivers that will be catching balls from Eli Manning for years to come.

"I mean, I'm thinking so far ahead, but I just think it's a big plus for this organization to draft that guy there, have Steve last year and myself the year before that," Moss said. "It's just big for this organization. I'm not taking anything away from Plax and Amani because these guys are great athletes and they showed us the ropes. I just think it's big."

Of course, Moss is the eldest of this young crew. That would make him the grandfather, right?

"No I'm the uncle," he said with a smile. "Steve's the nephew and (Manningham's) the cousin."

We'll see if this family can stay together.

(blog.nj.com)