In football, the term mossed refers to a receiver embarrassing a defender with superior athleticism and physicality to win the ball.
You can see some of the most memorable you-got-mossed moments in this video.
In football, mossed is derived from Randy Moss, one of the greatest wide receivers of all time. Moss was one of the most physically gifted wide receivers in football history.
Randy Moss often made defenders appear weaker and smaller than him during his career.
Traditionally, the term mossed refers to embarrassing the defender at the catch point when both players have a shot at the ball and the wide receiver wins convincingly.
What does it Look Like to Get Mossed?
In football, mossed refers to overpowering the defender rather than beating him with route running or acrobatics.
During mossing in football, the receiver is physically beaten in order to win the ball.
In Moss’s career, he was one of the most talented deep pass catchers in the league. His stat line from Thanksgiving Day 1998 is a stellar example of what Moss could do to a defense.
As a result, long passes almost always result in mossing.
Rany Moss would appear to be able to come down with the ball even when the ball was thrown deep towards him.
This term became mainstream when Moss moved a defender aside when he was in a better position.
Jump Balls
Another key to understanding what being masked looks like in football is that these plays almost always occur on jump balls.
Jump balls in football refer to passes in which both the receiver and defender have a shot at getting to the ball.
Players will then jump to high point the ball in order to get it first. These are the exact plays in which Moss would excel.
When mossing a defender it will often include a jump ball that gives the receiver an opportunity to show off his vertical jump.
As a result, the wide receiver can demonstrate how much more athletically gifted they are than the player covering them.
Aside from being more athletic, receivers also tend to be taller and longer than cornerbacks.
A jump ball receiver’s height and length are almost always important since these are traits that are highly prized.
In addition to length, cornerbacks are often shorter and have smaller wingspans than wide receivers.
As a result, these players have a very difficult time winning jump balls against these taller receivers.
It is considered getting masked when a ball is thrown that both players have a chance to catch. However, the wide receiver easily wins due to his height and size.