HEAD COACH JOE GIBBS
On WR Santana Moss:
"Let me open with a little bit about Santana. Last year the Jets had a very good football team--Santana was a very big part of that. He led the team in yards with 838 yards and had five TDs and 45 receptions. One of the things I was sharing with him as we got to know each other over the last couple of days, we had dinner and spent some time with each other, is that I was kidding him about running back kicks and punt returns and that he reminded me of Darrell Green. I always felt like if we put Darrell back there we could hit a homerun but we were afraid to put him back there because he could get hurt. In Santana's case he is a terrific return guy. He has 88 returns in the NFL for over 1,000 yards. Danny (Smith) is probably going to talk to him about maybe returning punts. He is good in big games, in the playoffs last year Santana had eight receptions for 131 yards in those games and a 75-yard punt return for a score."
"The other thing that I would like to mention is that Santana joins three of his other teammates from Miami. We are proud of our Miami guys, Sean Taylor, Mike Barrow, and of course his buddy Clinton Portis. I had to laugh the whole time we were trying to court Santana trying to get this done Clinton would call me, sometimes from Las Vegas, Miami, or the Bahamas, I would say, 'How come I am doing all of the hard work and you are running all over the world' and he would go, 'How are we doing?'
"In any case, Santana has some buddies here that he will be playing with. I think the biggest thing for us is that we researched just about every player and in Santana's case we went back to 2003 film and we went all the way back in his entire career. I think we watched every catch and ever play that he has made in the NFL. We became convinced that he is a big play guy. As you know last year we struggled with big plays and did not get the ball down field. I think Santana brings that to the team. We are just excited about him and I think he is the right kind of person."
SANTANA MOSS
On signing with Washington:
"I want to first thank Coach (Gibbs) and thanks to as we all know our wonderful owner Mr. Snyder. I just want to thank those guys for giving me a chance to come here and be a big play guy like I drive on being. I think in life you have opportunities and one thing I have been known to do in my history is that every time opportunity knocks I came through. That is one thing I have behind me. I want everyone to know that I am going to come up here and give my all. I always give my all. I practice and play at 150 percent. That is the only way I know how to do it. I want to have fun. I am happy to be a Redskin today."
On if he feels this is a fresh start for him:
"Yes, it is a fresh start. Change is always good. I had fun in New York. I really learned how to be a pro in New York. Coach Herm Edwards he was wonderful in making sure his guys really knew what they were here for. I came into the NFL pretty much in a professional level. I came from the University of Miami where we had coaches that taught us how to prepare ourselves and taught us how to be ready for this level. I am happy to say that I came in ready. When I got here it was a little more than what I thought it was going to be but it was not hard to adjust."
On why he felt he needed a fresh start:
"I am not saying that I needed one but now that I have one it is good. When change is given to you, you mine as well accept it and make the best out of it."
On how when he replaced Laveranues Coles in New York he had a break out year and if he feels he will do that again:
"It is so crazy. I just thought of that two nights ago. I was sitting there and I remember when he left when I was in New York and I really had a chance to step up and do some big things. Now I am coming over here to Washington and he is leaving and going back over there. I am one of those guys that I pretty much let my play speak for itself. I am going to work to do the best that I can do for this team and work to be the guy that I am and work to be the guy that I'm known to be in the past."
On some of his abilities:
"I don't like to talk about myself that much but I have some pretty good wheels. I can run. I don't consider myself as the fastest. There are a lot of guys in this league that are fast. I consider myself a guy on the football field where there is no telling how fast I can go. I have seen myself run faster when the ball is in the air and I have seen myself do more things when I have the ball in my hands. I have a good track record as far as my speed but when it comes down to it I have been blessed with some God given abilities that I use to my advantage."
On if there is something besides his speed that he feels he does well:
"Coaches would always ask me what outside of my speed do I have? I think to me I use to my advantage my route running. I think I run some pretty good routes. I watch other players, old and present, and take something from them and try to out it with my game. That is what I have always done as a child. I remember myself in high school when I played for a school where we were an option team and I never really had the ball thrown my way. When it was time people always wondered how I was so prepared. I just stayed focused and watched and made sure I was ready for the opportunity. My job is to separate myself from the defender so catching the ball wouldn't be a problem."
On his production drop off from last season with the Jets:
"Actually I took myself off punt returns midseason. Pretty much everyone knew that I had a hamstring that was bothering me the whole year. As far as catches wise the opportunities didn't present themselves that much. We had another guy come in and we shared the ball well and we ran the ball so much. Pretty much our offense we threw the ball. Our full backs and running backs had over 40 catches so we really shared the ball a lot more than the year I had 70 something catches. As far as the punt return thing I took myself off because of my hamstring. I didn't feel like I was helping myself or my team."
