9 for 89: Counting down my 9 favorite memories from Santana Moss’ career with the Redskins

The Redskins season ends this Sunday against the Cowboys, but something much bigger could be coming to a close, too. All signs indicate that this will be the last game in the burgundy and gold for Santana Moss, who has been a stalwart in the Redskins receiving corps for the past ten seasons.

This is something that makes me very, very sad; I’m really not ready to watch my favorite athlete of all time leave my favorite team of all time, if Sunday is indeed his last game as a Skin. However, I know this league is a business first and foremost, and the Redskins, in all likelihood, will not ask Moss to return next year, which means its time to reflect on all he’s done for the organization.

Santana Moss has had a successful, consistent, memorable, and under appreciated career here in DC. Over his ten years with the team, Moss has racked up 578 catches, 7,842 receiving yards, and 47 touchdowns. He is, in every category, one of the most decorated receivers in the storied history of this franchise.

While Moss has said in multiple interviews over the season that he thinks he can still play (side note: I believe him. It obviously won’t be as a starter, but he clearly still loves the game and is in great shape for an older receiver…I think he can definitely still produce as a third or fourth wideout), I’m a realist, and I realize it is the smart move for the Redskins to move away from him.

Therefore, as a way to look back at all #89 has accomplished with this team, I’ve come up with a list, ranking my nine favorite moments from his ten years with this franchise. In this post, you’ll find pictures, videos, and quotes that describe the player Santana Moss was and the plays Santana Moss made.

He doesn’t have the name recognition that some of the other receivers of the past decade have, but as you scroll through this list, I hope you’re able to remember the amazing things he’s done for the team, and understand that watching this Redskins legend was nothing short of a privilege.

Here are my nine favorite memories of Santana Moss’ time with the Washington Redskins.

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9) The time he toe dragged all over the Eagles

2012 was my favorite Moss year, just ahead of his record setting 2005 season. 2012 Moss was older but wiser, slower but quicker, and less featured but more clutch. He had 41 catches two years ago, eight of which were touchdowns; essentially, one out of every five catches made by Santana resulted in six points for the Skins, which is a pretty decent rate if you ask me.

One of my favorite Tana highlights from that year (and there were a lot of them, with a few more coming later in this countdown) happened against Philly in Week 16. RGIII floated a pass to Moss in the corner of the end zone that looked like a throwaway at first, and I thought there was absolutely no way Moss could catch it.

Boy, was I wrong:

That is filthy. That footwork along the sidelines is f.i.l.t.h.y. I can watch those slow motion replays all day long. That was perfect placement by Griffin on the throw, but Moss was working with about a foot of space to get both feet in and he did it to perfection.

You would think that one clinic-worthy toe dragging catch would be enough for most receivers, but for 2012 Santana, it wasn’t. An even better sideline catch is further on down the list. I know, it sounds crazy, because this one seems impossible to top.

8) The times he celebrated with so much swag my TV almost broke

Santana Moss is a great wide receiver, and Santana Moss is also a great big play celebrator. Some of his best/classic moves:

The first down point, which every Skins fan of the last ten years would recognize.

The “21” salute, which he has thrown up countless times in memory of Sean Taylor.

And the time he celebrated a new shoe deal with Under Armor by wiping down his cleats after a touchdown in Cincinatti.

However, I couldn’t find an image or video of my favorite Tana celebration: his trademark ball spin. This is a move I try to emulate almost every time I pick up a football, but I’ve never succeeded. I literally have no idea how he does it. The man can pull it off on turf or on grass, in the sun or in the rain, in September or in January; it’s remarkable.

The ball spin is a move utilized by many receivers today, but I’ll go to my grave debating that it was #89 who made it popular. He didn’t have the flamboyancy of a Chad Johnson or Terrell Owens, but he had a quiet swag that made his celebrations so much cooler than those clowns.

Hold on, gimmie a sec, I’m gonna go work on my ball spins for a bit.

7) The time he jumped all over the Eagles

Santana Moss and the Eagles didn’t get along very well in 2012. We’ve already seen the mind bending toe drag against Philly on the road, but this play at home was even more eye opening:

That’s the definition of a chuck and pray, a true Hail Mary, and it’s even more ridiculous when you consider it was thrown to a 5’11” 34 year old receiver. When the ball was halfway through its flight, I was mentally trying to guess who would be on the other end ; Garcon? Hankerson? Aldrick? Santana was the LAST guy I expected to see, so when he jumped over the first defensive back, somehow hauled in Griffin’s bomb, fought through the second defensive back, and finally stretched the ball over the goal line, I went berserk.

I’ve seen Moss make a lot of surprising plays in his career as a Skin, but no single play shocked me like this one. Long live Random Santana Moss Hail Mary’s. They’re the best.

6) The time he housed a punt return against the Lions

Back in the beginning of the Jim Zorn era in 2008, the Skins, who were 5-2 at the time, were locked in a battle against the Lions in Detroit. With the team needing a spark in the fourth quarter, Zorn asked Santana to replace regular punt returner Antwaan Randle El and make a play. What happened next was magic:

Santana avoided a tackle by his own teammate (Devin Thomas, I wish you never came to DC), hit a nasty jump cut that split two Lions defenders, hesitated for a split second, and was gone. Adios amigos.

The 80 yard punt return was in addition to a 50 yard receiving TD in the previous quarter, and showcased one of my favorite qualities about Moss: the man is CLUTCH. From a 2008 post game story in the Washington Post:

I love that quote. He’s a big time player for sure, and few plays illustrate that more than the punt return to beat Detroit.

5) The times he lost his temper

Santana Moss, by all accounts, is a true professional. Media members say he’s always willing to participate in an interview (in 2013, he won the team’s Media “Good Guy” award), never sounds off or calls out teammates or coaches despite being a part of a really dysfunctional franchise for ten seasons now, and is absolutely team-first guy. I love all of those qualities about him and they are big reasons why he’s my favorite athlete.

With that being said, I have certainly enjoyed the rare occasions in which he loses his cool and does something crazy. My favorite Santana Moss freak outs:

So why do I enjoy watching Moss, a normally very quite and humble player, get flagged/start brawls/get ejected? Because it shows that underneath his almost always calm exterior lies a cold blooded competitor who plays with a ton of fire, passion, and intensity.

It’s much easier rooting for a guy that goes about his career the right way like Moss does than the other “look at me” divas that typically show up at the receiver position, but I have LOVED watching the few instances in which he let his emotions get the better of him; being reminded that my favorite player puts on his helmet every Sunday and plays with such an extreme intensity that he sometimes throws a punch or gets in the face of a ref was well worth the 15 yard penalties and early showers.

4) The times we interacted on various social media outlets and were practically BFFs

Santana and I have interacted on Twitter and Instagram multiple times, so we’re basically friends. A few years ago, we had the following conversation on Twitter:

I asked him to “remember that one time” he caught a clutch touchdown pass, but then remembered that there was simply “too many to count.” Santana saw it, retweeted it, and attached an “Lol” at the beginning, because he pretty much thinks I’m the most hilarious person in the world. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he showed all of his teammates in the locker room my hilarious tweet, and then they all talked about how funny I am for the rest of the week.

Unfortunately, Tana stopped using Twitter for some reason, and is now solely on Instagram. Now, I had been following him on Insta for quite awhile, when one day I opened up the app on my phone and saw that I had a new follower and a random “like” on one of my older Skins themed photos. That’s when these words popped up on my screen:

If I remember correctly, I immediately succumbed to cardiac arrest and woke up two weeks later with my phone still in my hand. Moss found an old photo collage I made saluting his Miami, Jets, and early Redskins days, liked it, and then decided to follow me. It was simply too much…

Okay, yes, I’m well aware he probably didn’t actually laugh out loud at my tweet, and I also know that liking a photo is a process that takes .1 seconds to do, but in all seriousness, these moments were still pretty special to me. I love social media because it allows people to get in touch with their favorite athletes and celebrities, something that was impossible five years ago; nowadays, though, interactions like these happen all the time.

“EightToDaNine” didn’t think twice when he retweeted me or followed me, but on my end, it meant a lot.

3) The day he singlehandedly beat the Jacksonville Jaguars

In October of 2006, in an early season game against the Jaguars, Santana Moss decided to give the rest of the Redskins offense a break and win the game all by himself.

Try this stat line on for size: 4 catches, 138 yards, and three touchdowns. The following video, which is very pixelated and kinda looks like it was made in the 50s, shows the game winner, a 68 yard snag and sprint down the sideline in overtime:

I know the video is pretty low quality, so basically what happened was this: Moss, aka the really fast, blurry guy in the white jersey, jumped, caught a pass thrown by Mark Brunell that was lobbed up in between two defenders, and in one motion, landed, somehow evaded the safety, and then turned on the after burners. FedEx field exploded once he made it into the clear, and the Redskins won 36-30.

I hope the training staff was nice enough to give him an ice pack and a heating pad after the game, because his back must’ve been pretty sore after HE CARRIED THE TEAM TO VICTORY.

2) The time he toe tapped on Dallas’ hearts on Thanksgiving

The second quarter of the 2012 Redskins-Cowboys Thanksgiving game was the best 15 minutes of my life as sports fan.

RGIII threw three TDs and Alfred Morris ran one in on the ground, as the Redskins straight up assaulted the Cowboys on national television by scoring 28 points in 15 minutes. The unbelievable quarter was capped off by this unbelievable Santana Moss sideline catch:

I was watching the game in my basement, and I yelled so loudly after the ref signaled the play was a TD I almost threw up all of my turkey. This catch was SICK. For him to turn around, catch that back shoulder pass, and then somehow have the body control to get both feet in bounds (he was barely in bounds…OMG I HAVE BEEN WAITING TO MAKE A JOKE LIKE THAT FOR MONTHS!!!!!!!) while falling backwards was insane. Arguably the prettiest of Santana’s 66 career touchdowns, and a play from his career that I’ll always remember.

1) The time he orchestrated a miracle

I mean, c’mon, this can’t come as a surprise to anyone, can it?

In just his second game in the burgundy and gold, Santana Moss etched his name into Redskins history forever.

In a 2005 Week 2 Monday Night showdown in Dallas, #89 ran two deep routes and hauled in two long touchdowns that ensured he would always be loved by Redskins nation, even if he never caught another pass in his career. That unreal night is captured from the start of this video up to the 1:57 mark, which you should definitely watch; I just hope you’re ready for the chills and goosebumps that come with watching it:

In what would later be dubbed the “Monday Night Miracle,” Santana Moss gave Redskins teammates, coaches, and fans alike the first taste of all the things that would make his next ten years here so special: cartoonish speed, impeccable route running, and a knack for coming up big when the offense absolutely needed him to. The “Cowboy Killer” started his unforgettable Redskins career with a performance that many Redskins fans say made that night the greatest they’ve ever experienced.

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If Sunday is indeed his last game with the Redskins, I’ll be very sad, but mostly, I’ll be thankful. I started my Redskins fandom in 2005, the year Santana arrived in DC, and I got to grow up with him. My only regret is that he will end his time here without a Super Bowl ring, but besides that, it’s been a hell of a ride. Thanks for the memories, Santana!

Like the blog’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/barelyinbounds), because it will make me really happy, but more importantly, I can relate to the struggles that you’re going through, DC sports fan