System grows on Moss

SantanaMoss
--In the moment, the impact of the 67-yard touchdown catch was clear.

Santana Moss burst past his defender and then he burst toward the end zone and then the FedEx Field crowd burst with joy. The catch had capped the Redskins' unlikely fourth-quarter comeback against the New Orleans Saints, and it had kept Washington from slipping to an 0-2 start.

But yesterday afternoon, Moss stood in front of his locker and seemed certain that play will have more of a lasting impact.

"Now it just opens up chances for us to do more," Moss said. "You're gonna have teams that play you for that. We have a great opportunity now to pretty much run our offense when it comes to deep, short or intermediate routes because we've done them all, especially when it comes to deep passes."

For Moss, who finished with seven catches for 164 yards, the long touchdown reception was 18 yards longer than his longest catch last season. And there are still 14 games left.

Moss said he's rejuvenated by the West Coast offense of first-year head coach Jim Zorn.

"Just being able to say you're depended on," Moss said. "When you're a receiver, you don't want to be out there just to be out there. It's a boring job if you're running around and blocking all day."

Zorn said Moss was the first receiver to have such a dominant game because he was the first receiver to truly grasp the scheme. The coach said that when receivers are comfortable, they play faster, are able to create more space, and do not over-think their position.

"That's what's happening with Santana," Zorn said. "He's the first guy in our group that all of a sudden you can see a burst. You can see in, out, catch, run. Things kind of rolled for him this week, not as a fluke, but just as an, 'Ah, I get it.' He could start running patterns with greater confidence."

In 2005, Moss had 84 catches for 1,483 yards, and he was selected to go to the Pro Bowl. But over the past two years, he was slowed by leg injuries, totaling 790 receiving yards two seasons ago and 808 last year.

Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell was a rookie in 2005, and though he did not throw any passes to Moss that year, he watched Moss catch plenty of them. So far this year, Campbell has seen some similarities.

"Now he looks like the same Santana that can make two or three people miss and get 20 yards on a 5-yard catch," Campbell said. "We do everything at such a high speed and a high tempo right now."

Moss, for one, is excited about the possibilities.

"You hope it's contagious and keeps coming up," he said. "You hope it just doesn't stop."

(fredericksburg.com)