No more RBBC in Minny

[Outshined]

Vikings' Moore isn't planning to drop off radar

Kevin Seifert, Star Tribune

August 7, 2005 VIKE0807

 

 

MANKATO -- He tiptoed along the goal line, positioning himself perfectly to deflect the descending pigskin. Then Mewelde Moore stopped, looked calmly over his shoulder and tipped the ball before falling into the end zone.

 

Several respected football observers consider Moore the Vikings' best all-around running back. A few of them draw their paychecks from the team. Yet in his second training camp, Moore has found himself squeezed out of the team's two-man backfield rotation and is competing for roles on special teams -- and not just as a returner.

 

Moore has worked as a gunner on the punt coverage team, trying to down the ball inside the 5-yard line, while also covering kickoffs.

 

As the Vikings concluded their first week of training camp Saturday, there were few signs that Moore -- a fan favorite who averaged 6.7 yards every time he touched the ball last season -- is anything but an insurance policy in their offense. Michael Bennett has been anointed the starter amid coach Mike Tice's prediction of a 1,600-yard season, and Tice has followed through on his promise to use veteran Moe Williams as Bennett's primary backup.

 

There are plenty of theories about Tice's motives and true plans, especially considering Bennett's injury history. Several people have suggested that Moore is enduring a "toughening" process -- stemming both from his passive reaction to a sprained ankle last season and his inconsistency in picking up blitzes.

 

Tice was referring to both issues Saturday when he said Moore "still has a ways to go with his maturity as a player."

 

Although Moore disputes some of the assumed facts about the injury, he acknowledges now that "I was in the so-called doghouse" after taking his time in recovery and later struggling against the blitz.

 

Tice said Moore blocked well during an intrasquad scrimmage Friday night but added, "That pass-protection thing is what kept him from even giving us a thought of changing my mind with Moe being the No. 2 guy. We know that Mewelde is going to make a lot of plays for us and have a role. But he needs to continue to mature as a professional."

 

Moore burst onto the scene in the fourth game of his rookie season, starting Oct. 10 against Houston after Bennett and Williams were injured and Onterrio Smith suspended. In the Vikings' next three games, Moore rushed for 339 yards and amassed another 198 yards in receiving. Slower than Bennett, Moore nevertheless displayed extraordinary vision and an instinctive style that almost never allowed defenders to get a clear shot at tackling him.

 

In fact, Moore wound up leading the NFL in percentage of rushing yards after first contact. According to a private set of statistics the Vikings requested from an independent service, 27 percent of Moore's season yardage total came after a defender already had touched him. Running backs coach Dean Dalton said the league average is around 8 percent and that no 1,000-yard rusher last season managed more than 9 percent.

 

Moore's season all but ended after that three-game stretch, however. He suffered a high sprain of his left ankle Oct. 31 against the New York Giants and was inactive for the next five weeks. While high ankle sprains are serious and unpredictable, some in the organization came to believe Moore was nursing the injury too methodically, losing trust in his desire to play at any costs.

 

There also were rumblings about Moore's attitude when it became clear he would not reclaim the starting job upon his return. For his part, Moore said he could have returned earlier but was blocked.

 

"I was ready two weeks before," he said. "But it was one of those things where they didn't have any room. Everybody was playing well at the time, I guess, and we were doing what we needed to do. I guess I wasn't worried about those types of things. I didn't really understand what a doghouse was. ... I didn't let it affect me because I didn't know what that was about."

 

Moore didn't work his way back into an offensive role until the Jan. 16 divisional playoff game at Philadelphia, taking over on third downs for the injured Williams. But Moore struggled against the Eagles' blitz packages, sealing his fate on the 2005 preseason depth chart.

 

"That game was a nightmare for him," offensive coordinator/line coach Steve Loney said.

 

Coaches were encouraged by his blocking performance Friday night, and if that progress continues Moore almost certainly will find his way into the offense. Already, he is a leading candidate for both the kickoff and punt return jobs. More important, Moore appears to have acquired the appropriate response to his rookie season.

 

"I looked at it as me learning from the ups and downs of it," he said. "It will make me a stronger player, just understanding the things that can happen. Being aware of them and how to approach them will make me a better professional and more mature in my game."

 

Kevin Seifert is at kseifert@startribune.com.

 

"We know that Mewelde is going to make a lot plays for us and have a role. But he needs to continue to mature as a professional."

 

-- Vikings coach Mike Tice

[WaterMan]

Where does it say that?

[Wizards]

What is Tice doing? Fason wasn't mentioned in the article....Moore a gunner and special teamer...operative word here is: TICE