Wide receiver Santana Moss caught 55 pases for 790 yards and six touchdowns last season. He talked with Redskins.com shortly after the 2006 regular season came to an end:
Q: Did the results of last season motivate the team to come back in 2007 and prove that the 5-11 record was a fluke?
A: "You can say that it will motivate us, but you have to go out there and do it. It's all about doing it in this league. You can take last year and say we learned a lot from it. Then again it's something that we didn't picture ourselves going through in the first place. But it happened. In order to be one of the good teams, you have to have a taste of both sides. We were rolling in 2005, but last year we struggled. We showed signs of how good we can be, but until you put it together every week, that's when you can pat yourself on the back."
Q: How disappointing was last season for you personally?
A: "It was disappointing, and you have to deal with that. You have to be one of those players able to overcome things. One thing I can say about myself personally is that I have seen it all in this short career of mine, and I hope to see more. The way you grow as an individual is to experience it all. When you go through [a losing season], it does make you work a little harder. I'm not saying you didn't work hard before--I know I work hard every offseason--but it gives you that extra motivation to say, 'You know what, I'm going to put a little extra into this just to make sure I'm not leaving something undone.'"
Q: Were you encouraged by how well the offense played late in the season?
A: "We showed positive signs, but we didn't do enough to win games. So you can't say we played great. I think the offense is far from what it could have been. We just have to go out and do it next year."
Q: What sort of progress did you see from quarterback Jason Campbell in his first season as a starter?
A: "He made some mistakes and he'll make plenty more. It's hard for him to be a quarterback for this team--he came in late with us and we expected for him to be brilliant. We expected him to be on time [with his throws]. Those were some of the things we were dealing with, and it was going to be hard for him to come in and [lead the team to wins]. I think Jason did enough for us to give us a chance to win every week."
Q: What do you and Jason have to do to get a strong rapport on the football field?
A: "We want to get to the point where there's no issue with timing and we see eye-to-eye on certain pass routes and how they're supposed to be read. When he makes a read, he needs to have trust in me. You build that over time."
Q: Is it important for this team to maintain stability on the roster as much as possible?
A: "It all boils down to the [personnel officials] knowing what they have. You can't listen to outsiders who say, 'This [player] hasn't done anything for this team.' Some guys may not have had a fair chance to show what they can do. With that in mind, the only thing you can do is try to bring everybody back and hopefully things go a little bit better. You have a new offense, new quarterback, new running back, and as far as getting something out of it, you can see promise for next season."
Q: The Redskins' off-season workout program typically starts in March. It's voluntary, but players are often expected to be present at Redskins Park. What are your thoughts on it?
A: "I think it's all about the individual. I'm the type of guy who, if you don't have me here, I'm home doing [working out]. If it's not running around catching balls, it's making sure my body is in shape or lifting weights. In this day and age, if the individual knows how his body works, he has to be able to deal with that and say, 'Hey, this is what I have to do to get ready.'"
