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  • 19 hours ago
Santana Moss joins the show to discuss the Commanders receivers and mindset heading into 2026.
Transcript
00:00Let's get to Tana, man.
00:01Hello, Santana.
00:02How do you do?
00:03JP, what's up, buddy?
00:05What up, brother?
00:06What's up, dude?
00:07I got to say congrats very briefly yesterday, but I was curious.
00:13I was told they were going to name that trophy after you probably towards the end of last season.
00:19JP, you've been holding out, man.
00:20I didn't want you to.
00:21I hadn't seen it either, right?
00:23Why you like surprising me all the time?
00:25You know I like surprising.
00:28One, what did it mean for you to get the trophy named after you?
00:31But two, how cool is that physical trophy?
00:35No, it's dope.
00:36Nice trophy.
00:38I think it's dope all around, man.
00:40I think one of the things that people fail to realize, man, you play this game as guys like me,
00:46B, all of us, Fred, that's still around London.
00:49It's so much that goes into what we do.
00:52We're not thinking about half of these accolades that we're being presented with nowadays.
00:58We play the game for a different purpose.
01:00One, you want to win Super Bowls.
01:03Two, you want to make sure that you're living out your dream.
01:05And then I think three is just for the love of the game.
01:08And so to kind of get some of the things I've been getting, man, that's just being able to see
01:14your roses.
01:14So, man, I'm truly appreciated.
01:17And I just, you know, I smile just knowing that, man, for so many years you go out there, you
01:23know, you put the work in.
01:24And when you get recognized for it, man, it all comes full circle.
01:30I was thinking, like, you're being at this side of it, Tanner.
01:32Like, you know, you and I both sitting on the media side and having to interview guys and seeing guys
01:37who come in.
01:37And, you know, you can tell the interview is going good or bad right off the bat.
01:42So basically what they're telling you is, like, you know what, although they know you was out there trying to
01:45play,
01:46you also took the time to help them with their job as well by talking to them.
01:53Yeah.
01:53Yeah.
01:53One of the things about the media back in those days when we was playing, man, like, I kid you
01:58not,
01:58for 10 years in the DMV where we had three winning seasons or three postseason, bro.
02:06And so it's not easy to get in front of that camera at the game and sit up there and
02:11talk about, you know,
02:12what was displayed during that time, during those 50 minutes.
02:17But I found it, you know, I learned at an early age when I was in New York.
02:21I told you I had that experience with that one reporter.
02:24And that was the action of the day.
02:26Even though that guy was dead wrong, that was the first time that I understood the job of those guys
02:33to come out there and get those, you know, those snippets, those sound bites.
02:38So out of respect, I'm like, okay, I understand that.
02:41So now I know.
02:42I'm a young pup, 22 years old.
02:44I didn't know that at that time.
02:46But if he would have explained that to me at that time, we could have both talked and said, hey,
02:50you know what,
02:51since I have something to do and you have something to do, let's find an equal medium and we can
02:56get it done.
02:56But he didn't do that.
02:58But at that moment when I learned that lesson, then I told myself I'm making my duty to make sure,
03:03regardless, win, lose, or draw, I would do what I have to do for them just as long as I
03:10have the time.
03:10And so, you know, it was funny at times when they would always come to me and, trust me, you
03:15know,
03:15I'm not going to shy away from it.
03:17You know, good game or bad game.
03:19I had something to say.
03:20And I found out also, even when you had those bad games, you get a chance to really, you know,
03:26write your own narrative, you know, instead of someone just sitting up there saying,
03:29well, since she was, you know, in disgust and didn't want to share your insights on the game,
03:34they get to talk about you on whatever level they want to.
03:38Yeah.
03:39Yeah.
03:39I mean, Tana, for me, you know, I've known you personally for a while now,
03:42but I covered the tail end of your career.
03:45And, I mean, those 13 and 14 seasons were rough, right?
03:49Yeah, what's up, man?
03:50And you were always a pro about it, and I was very green, and I always just appreciated it.
03:56I think it's a very well-deserved honor, and, you know, I'm glad.
04:01It was cool to see you in that moment yesterday, and then, of course, Fred being Fred.
04:04It was very cool, man.
04:06Congratulations.
04:07Yeah, I appreciate it again, brother.
04:09So, I'm curious for you, knowing you're in the facility and you're out there able to watch maybe more than
04:15I am,
04:16watching yesterday at OTAs, you went through this, I don't even know how many times in your career,
04:23where a new offense gets installed and you start in January and you've got to learn it quick.
04:29I was impressed yesterday that I didn't really see any miscues.
04:34It seemed like everybody was pretty up to speed.
04:37Now, obviously, they're going to install this offense in phases, but have you seen that similarly?
04:43Well, we don't get to stay out there that long, and I know Logan has chimed in.
04:48You know, he's out there more than us.
04:50But from the look that I did see, what impressed me the most is just seeing everybody look like, you
04:55know,
04:56look like they were ready to go.
04:57And that's one of the things that me, Lee, we talked about at nauseam last season.
05:02Like, you know, we can't afford to come into any season like we did last year.
05:07I don't care what time of the year it is, whether it's the springtime, OTAs, we need to be looking
05:13like a football team.
05:14And I think yesterday, just a little snippet I saw, you know, those guys was, you know,
05:18they was going through their drills and they looked like a football team.
05:21That's what I want to see going forward.
05:23Now, I'm pretty sure I get a chance to see more of the offense, more of the defense, you know,
05:27as these weeks go on.
05:28But from the little snippet, I saw the receivers, you know, doing their little, you know, patting goals,
05:35quarterbacks going over their drills to run it.
05:36But the linebackers, they jump off the charts.
05:39Those guys all look young, fast, and athletic.
05:41Receivers, you know, Terry's a guy.
05:44Terry does his thing.
05:45The young dude, did he impress you?
05:47Or who caught your eye at the receiver core?
05:50Well, when it comes to just looking at the attire, Antonio looks like a guy who's been in before.
05:56He's got his shield on, he's got his little hoodie on coming out of his jersey and whatever.
06:01And it's always good to see that.
06:03Rookie's not looking like rookies.
06:04Rookie's not looking wide-eyed and looking like they're not ready for the moment.
06:09I see the bounce in De'Ami that I saw when he, you know, that season he had right before
06:15he left us.
06:16So that's a great sign.
06:18Jefferson looked like the, you know, the wide-out that I've been seeing for years.
06:22You know, he's going to be a guy that's going to come out there and probably give us everything he
06:26got.
06:26Because he comes from this, you know what I mean?
06:28He's a legacy baby.
06:29You know, he's the baby that dad played in the league and his dad coached him.
06:32So it's great just to see that we have that talent in the room.
06:35And then you can't forget about the guys like Lane and Luke.
06:38All those guys, man, seem like they're chopping at the bits to go out there and be able to strut
06:43their stuff.
06:43So I'm looking forward to it.
06:44I think when you get into this time of the year, man, I was just telling Fred and Logan when
06:49we was doing command center, I'm like, bro, I know I didn't say much, but this is my time to
06:56show everybody in that receiver room or in those individual rooms who I was.
07:01You know what I mean?
07:01I don't have to talk about it.
07:03I'm going to get out there and I'm going to show you how I work.
07:06And so that's what Terry did.
07:08He set the tone and those guys just followed.
07:10Yeah, I think it's that time of the year where the young guys are trying to get your attention and
07:14they're older guys out there saying, hey, don't forget about me.
07:18I can still do this thing.
07:20There you go.
07:21Dude, I got to say, Tana, to your point, I was impressed with Deami yesterday.
07:26And I know that he really did.
07:30And having another vertical threat.
07:32And I think, listen, this fan base, you know how they operate.
07:36There's going to be more conversation about guys they don't have than guys they do have.
07:42But now maybe this is crazy.
07:44No, we're going to have a lot of problems, JP.
07:45It's going to be a lot of problems this year.
07:47And that's a good problem to have because it's a lot of talent on this team right now.
07:52I'm talking about from every position.
07:54So the problem that we're going to have that we haven't had in a lot of years,
07:57there's going to be some names that don't get picked or don't make the squad.
08:04So it's a great problem to have.
08:06But it's one of those situations, man, that we want to know probably leading up to that time of period
08:12when we start making those cuts, how many guys can we keep on the practice squad
08:15without somebody else coming to claim them?
08:17You know what I mean?
08:18Yeah.
08:18Yeah.
08:19It's a super valid point.
08:20And I don't mean this as a shot at any player that has proved their ability to be in the
08:26NFL a long time.
08:27But I think adding Van Jefferson and Deami Brown to your point in free agency raised the floor of this
08:34receiver room
08:35by a significant margin.
08:37And the floor of the receiver room, once you had the Terry injury and the Noah injury last year,
08:42you had guys that were on the field probably more so than their play dictated, but just out of necessity.
08:49And ideally, that kind of stuff won't happen again.
08:53Man, I'm curious for you, I got to talk to Terry a little bit last week at that golf event,
09:01and then I got to see Terry yesterday, interact with his teammates, interact with the media kind of as he
09:06jogged off the field,
09:07watch all those guys take extra jugs work at the end of practice.
09:11Do you think Terry has that F you, I'm about to remind everybody who I am season in him?
09:18I mean, you know what, it's one of those things as competitors, you know, you might not see it in
09:23us,
09:23but we all think that way.
09:25You know, we don't have to see it.
09:27There's certain guys that speak it, and then there's guys like Terry, he's going to go out there,
09:32and trust me, he's not happy with how things was last year, even from the start of it,
09:37from having to wait, then he finally get paid, and then he get hurt.
09:40No guy wants to have that image or that memory, you know, esched in their brain like he has.
09:47So I'm pretty sure this offseason, you know, he got after it, and I'm looking forward to whatever he has,
09:52because I'm pretty sure he understands just like me and B did when we got him in those years.
09:57They're going to bring somebody new in every year.
09:59So it's up to us to go out there and show them, you know, what our work is,
10:03and I'm pretty sure he's going to go out there and do just that.
10:05But, you know, to kind of chime in on your point, yes, we have so much talent in that room
10:11now,
10:11we can't forget about Burks either.
10:13You know, you can't forget about a guy like that.
10:14He's not the same body type as none of those guys.
10:17So it's so many other guys that's going to bring value to what Terry do alone.
10:22Now we don't have to be solely worried about Terry getting the attention.
10:25And if they do want to come into the game and say, hey, we're putting all eyes on 17,
10:29then somebody else got to burn him.
10:31There you go.
10:31And Burks has that size.
10:33He has broad shoulders, dude.
10:36I mean, just big, broad shoulders.
10:43Now, Tana, as we watch this offense get installed,
10:49and you know how offensive linemen are,
10:51how excited do you think those guys are to have Jaden under center more
10:56and to be able to run more play action?
10:58You know, that's a great question.
11:00I think I've heard from other linemen and just guys, you know,
11:06from who I play with and even backs that talks about the game.
11:11They like that.
11:11That's a huge advantage to not, to have a guy that, you know,
11:16that now we can show those looks because you got to think, man,
11:20when you have the talent that we had in the backfield and J.D.
11:24and then he's just in shotgun so much.
11:28Even me and London talked about this throughout the season.
11:30He's like, Tana, like, if you're not on the center, you know,
11:34I have to step on you every time.
11:36I don't care if you fake it.
11:38I don't care if you give me that little college, you know,
11:40act like you're going to hand it off.
11:42No, that's not doing nothing to me.
11:44So I think that's going to be a huge plus for all those guys to know that now
11:48they don't have to necessarily worry about a guy just teeing off all the time
11:52because they just know that J.D. is in shotgun.
11:54And I think it's going to be a huge advantage for J.D. as well
11:57because you got to think, as dynamic as J.D. is,
12:01to sit there and have to second guess what he's going to do
12:03when he takes the ball from center, you don't know now.
12:07You don't know if he's going to, you know, fake
12:11or either going to hand that ball off
12:13or do one of the things that he does best, you know, taking a run with it.
12:17So it's just one of those things that's going to benefit everybody.
12:19So I can just imagine how that offensive line, those guys feel,
12:23but I'm pretty sure the guys in the backfield, you know,
12:27they're going to benefit a lot from it just knowing
12:30that they don't have to necessarily sit there
12:32and worry about linebackers just teeing off on them.
12:34Yeah, but I think the thing about the linebacker,
12:35they can see the ball the whole time when you're doing it
12:39from that little pistol formation or shotgun,
12:42when you decide to turn your back a little bit,
12:44they have to hesitate a little bit,
12:46which gives the running back the little step or the advantage over them.
12:49Those play-action reads are huge, you know what I mean?
12:52And that's huge in a ball game, any ball game,
12:54when you have a passer like J.D.
12:56and you don't want to have to sit there
12:58and basically they say eight out of ten times he's throwing his ball.
13:03Well, he's on the center, you don't know.
13:04So now you have to play, you have to go out there
13:07and make sure that you're not, you know,
13:09just taking advantage of what you see.
13:10You have to be one of those guys.
13:12And like one of the things that London spoke about that I used,
13:16I used on one of the shows, London said,
13:18tell me, just think about it.
13:19We in a critical game, it's a nail-biter,
13:23and Jaden's on the center.
13:25What he can do with his legs,
13:26what we have in the backfield as running backs,
13:28and then just what we have on the outside,
13:30look how many things now I have to think about.
13:32But if he's in shock, then I'm not worried about none of that.
13:35You see what I'm saying?
13:36I'm going to sit back there and I'm going to pat my feet
13:39until I see what he does with the ball.
13:41So that's huge, man.
13:42And I can't wait to see them do it right now.
13:45We're talking about it.
13:46I really want to see them get into a game atmosphere,
13:48or even when they're out there going against each other
13:50and see how it looks.
13:52Yeah.
13:53Tana, for you as a wide out,
13:55how much did you like play action,
13:57just maybe getting that extra bit of separation?
14:00Well, I talked to you guys during my playing years
14:03about how huge I felt like the running game was for me as a receiver.
14:07That's why I cared less.
14:08I never really was one of those guys that cared about the ball
14:12as much as a lot of the other receivers
14:13because I came from those programs,
14:15from high school, college, and even with the Jets,
14:18my first four years with the Jets.
14:20In high school, did you run the wing tee?
14:22Do I remember you telling me that?
14:23We had the wing tee my first two years,
14:25and then my last year,
14:27the coach said all of us to make it to the state championship,
14:29we had to move a receiver out,
14:31so they moved another guy out with me.
14:32But I was the only receiver throughout high school out there,
14:36and so I appreciated the run game more so
14:40because I didn't care about you knowing what we're going to do
14:42on third down.
14:43You've got to stop us.
14:44You know what I'm saying?
14:45And if you have multiple guys out there that can be a threat,
14:49then you've got to have the best coverage.
14:52And so I love the fact that we're going to have that
14:54because that is going to benefit – those guys on the outside
14:57are going to benefit hugely from that.
14:59Oh, yeah.
15:00Talking with the legend Santana Moss here,
15:02you can give him a follow on Instagram at 8-2-9.
15:05I know you're watching hoops tonight.
15:07What have you thought of Spurs Thunder so far?
15:11I'm loving it, man.
15:12I think it's going to be one of those games that come out to game seven.
15:17I'm pretty sure we'll be going to bounce back from last week.
15:19I don't care so much of who wins because I'm kind of in one of those little
15:23buckets now with all the New Yorkers.
15:26I want to see the Knicks go ahead and win a championship.
15:28I know it's going to be tough because both of those guys are juggernauts
15:32out there in the West, but I would love to see that day, man.
15:36I think they'll do, and I feel like they have one of the better teams
15:40that they had in a long time.
15:42But when it comes to those Spurs and it comes to, you know, OKC, man,
15:48it's who wanted bad enough because both of those teams are pretty good, man.
15:52And when are we going to bounce back?
15:53I'm pretty sure he's going to bounce back.
15:54He wasn't happy last week.
15:55I mean, last game, two days ago.
15:57I'm sure he's going to bounce back tonight.
15:59I can't wait to see it.
16:00Man, take his big ass down in that paint.
16:02Stop worrying about being outside that three-point line.
16:05Hey, man, he's an avatar, man.
16:07He can do what he wants.
16:09Yeah, but I mean, the thing about it, when he goes outside,
16:14they allow OKC to get too many rebounds.
16:17Yeah, for sure.
16:20Tanner, just while we have you and we're talking a little bit of hoops,
16:22what do you think the Wiz should do with the number one pick?
16:26Man, you know, I don't know.
16:27I didn't watch enough college basketball to see who's the guy.
16:32I've heard some people, you know, I heard some ramblings of this guy, that guy.
16:37People say the guy, Kansas or Kentucky, one of those things, he's pretty good.
16:41Then it's another guy that I heard that who was actually at the lottery thing
16:46that they said he may go first or all, but he's almost seven feet tall.
16:51So I have no clue, man.
16:53I'm just hoping that they find a way to get a team, man,
16:56to give us something to go watch.
16:57You know what I mean?
16:58It's been a long time that I've been in that stadium to watch a live basketball game,
17:03and I'm ashamed to say that, but it just hasn't been nothing worth it for me to watch.
17:07So I'm pretty sure there's a lot of fans in Washington that feel the same way
17:10that want to see them go out there and get somebody that's going to bring everybody
17:14back to those seats.
17:15Hold on, this I got to know.
17:17The last Wiz game, now I'm guessing if you're Santana Moss,
17:21you probably get courtside offers.
17:23Did you go for like the good?
17:24Well, you know, I don't like courtside, though.
17:25I like to be in the suites.
17:26I got to be up top, man.
17:29I don't like the people.
17:30I get it because you get hounded.
17:32I like to be out there in the glass bowl.
17:33Yeah, you be out there in the fish bowl, man.
17:35I like to be in the suite.
17:36I could be away from everybody.
17:37But is the last team that got you down to Chinatown the John Wall-Beal era?
17:44Oh, most definitely.
17:45I think the last time I was there, that probably went to John Wall.
17:49That was John Wall's last year.
17:51Okay.
17:51Wow.
17:52I'm not sure if he got hurt that year, but that was the last time he was playing.
17:57I was actually courtside at that particular moment because I was doing something
18:02with, I believe, NBC Sports.
18:05Okay.
18:06And so I was down there with those guys talking, and John Wall was checking in.
18:10So I remember, you know, giving him a pound of sandwich up to him at that time.
18:14But, yeah, that was the last time I was at a game.
18:16All right.
18:16It's time for the Wiz to get good again just to get Tana back to the game.
18:20Most definitely, man.
18:21Most definitely.
18:22Hey, thank you for making time for us, man.
18:23And we got to hook up on the suites, too, Tana.
18:24I'll let you know.
18:26Oh, for that.
18:26Hey, B, for sure.
18:27Let me know.
18:28All right.
18:29We'll make it happen.
18:30Thank you for the time, Santana.
18:31Seriously.
18:31Appreciate you, bro.
18:32All right.
18:33Y'all be good, man.
18:33The great Santana Moss.
18:35Give him a follow on Instagram at 8-2-9.
18:39One of the best to play the game and just one of the best dudes on the planet.
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