Denver Native (Carol)
08-22-2010, 02:34 PM
http://maxdenver.com/blog1/2010/08/22/too-much-to-tweet-jarvis-moss/#more-996
We’ll start with the first play that caught my eye — the pressure that forced a punt on the Lions’ first second-half series.
It was third-and-two. The Lions had Moss singled as he assumed a three-point stance outside the right tackle. When the snap was fired, Moss spun inside right tackle Gosder Cherilus — a first-teamer playing on a mostly second-string line — and forced a hurried Shaun Hill throw. The pass went astray, and the Lions punted for the first time all night.
Fast-forward to the next series. Moss is lined up over left tackle Corey Hilliard, standing up as the Broncos go with two down linemen in a nickel package. Moss comes off the snap as though he’s going to the outside, then cuts back inside Hilliard, who can do nothing more than wave his right arm. Moss accelerates and clobbers Hill. Sack, fumble.
“I was just going full speed, giving good effort,” Moss said. ” Had it been a batted pass and we got off the field I would have been equally as happy as (with a) sack.”
What both of these plays have in common is that Moss didn’t simply use his speed; he made a move. His stride and range helped him finish the plays, but until this summer, it was always his speed that set up his best move — running around a tackle or tight end. Saturday night, he set up his blocker and attacked.
The Lions noticed. On the next defensive series, Moss went back to his outside move, and Detroit’s left guard, Manny Ramirez, came down to help left tackle Jason Fox, whom Moss had beaten. Fox could do little more than yank Moss’s face mask to prevent Hill from being mauled.
This is the Moss the Broncos have always wanted to see.
AT ORGANIZED TEAM ACTIVITIES, teammates and coaches alike raved about Moss, who said he’d doubled his efforts in the weight room and conditioning drills.
But all that is just talk, and I hope you’ll forgive me for not jumping on a bandwagon because someone dominates in non-contact, no-pad drills.
“Good against remotes is one thing; good against the living — that’s something else.”
When I watched Moss at OTAs, that Star Wars quote rattled through my mind. I first heard those words when I was two years old; they’ve stuck for the next 32. Every time I see someone tearing up the field in May and June, the words echo again.
As camp neared, my thoughts on Moss were two-fold. First, I wanted to see him perform in practice — particularly after Elvis Dumervil tore his pectoral muscle, since the fate of the Broncos’ pass rush now partially rested on Moss’s ability to prove he’s more than he’s shown the last three years. Then, I needed to see something in the games.
Part 1 was answered this week. Moss was the best pass rusher on the practice field, and dealt the first-team offense a rare two-minute drill defeat with a 10-yard sack of Kyle Orton that saw him blow around the right edge of the offensive line.
Part 2 came Saturday night.
We’re not at the point where we can proclaim Moss as part of the answer to the Broncos’ pass-rushing issues. Two of those three plays mentioned above came in matchups against second- and third-teamers. But if you’re searching for defensive positives from Saturday’s game, you don’t have to look far — just glance up at the Broncos’ tallest defender.
We’ll start with the first play that caught my eye — the pressure that forced a punt on the Lions’ first second-half series.
It was third-and-two. The Lions had Moss singled as he assumed a three-point stance outside the right tackle. When the snap was fired, Moss spun inside right tackle Gosder Cherilus — a first-teamer playing on a mostly second-string line — and forced a hurried Shaun Hill throw. The pass went astray, and the Lions punted for the first time all night.
Fast-forward to the next series. Moss is lined up over left tackle Corey Hilliard, standing up as the Broncos go with two down linemen in a nickel package. Moss comes off the snap as though he’s going to the outside, then cuts back inside Hilliard, who can do nothing more than wave his right arm. Moss accelerates and clobbers Hill. Sack, fumble.
“I was just going full speed, giving good effort,” Moss said. ” Had it been a batted pass and we got off the field I would have been equally as happy as (with a) sack.”
What both of these plays have in common is that Moss didn’t simply use his speed; he made a move. His stride and range helped him finish the plays, but until this summer, it was always his speed that set up his best move — running around a tackle or tight end. Saturday night, he set up his blocker and attacked.
The Lions noticed. On the next defensive series, Moss went back to his outside move, and Detroit’s left guard, Manny Ramirez, came down to help left tackle Jason Fox, whom Moss had beaten. Fox could do little more than yank Moss’s face mask to prevent Hill from being mauled.
This is the Moss the Broncos have always wanted to see.
AT ORGANIZED TEAM ACTIVITIES, teammates and coaches alike raved about Moss, who said he’d doubled his efforts in the weight room and conditioning drills.
But all that is just talk, and I hope you’ll forgive me for not jumping on a bandwagon because someone dominates in non-contact, no-pad drills.
“Good against remotes is one thing; good against the living — that’s something else.”
When I watched Moss at OTAs, that Star Wars quote rattled through my mind. I first heard those words when I was two years old; they’ve stuck for the next 32. Every time I see someone tearing up the field in May and June, the words echo again.
As camp neared, my thoughts on Moss were two-fold. First, I wanted to see him perform in practice — particularly after Elvis Dumervil tore his pectoral muscle, since the fate of the Broncos’ pass rush now partially rested on Moss’s ability to prove he’s more than he’s shown the last three years. Then, I needed to see something in the games.
Part 1 was answered this week. Moss was the best pass rusher on the practice field, and dealt the first-team offense a rare two-minute drill defeat with a 10-yard sack of Kyle Orton that saw him blow around the right edge of the offensive line.
Part 2 came Saturday night.
We’re not at the point where we can proclaim Moss as part of the answer to the Broncos’ pass-rushing issues. Two of those three plays mentioned above came in matchups against second- and third-teamers. But if you’re searching for defensive positives from Saturday’s game, you don’t have to look far — just glance up at the Broncos’ tallest defender.