2009 NFL Draft Retrospective: Safety William Moore
by Dave Choate on Jan 18, 2010 8:00 AM EST
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PrintThis is another in a series of articles examining players from the 2009 NFL Draft. The Falcoholic will also be putting together a retrospective on the 2009 season when the collective brain trust has sorted out just what happened this season. Currently, the brain trust consists of two hamsters and some guy who passed out on my couch. Ahem. Our next draft pick is second-round safety William Moore.
It's a testament to William Moore's ability to hit people that the nickname "C4" fit him like a glove.
It seems funny now, a little more than a week after Mike Smith picked Thomas DeCoud as his defensive MVP, but there was once a healthy discussion about who might be starting at safety between Moore and DeCoud. After all, they were competing for strong safety at the time, and Moore's strength against the run made him a logical choice. While his season-ending injury was unfortunate and left us without a clear idea about what he can do, his path to a starting job at that position is now paved over with golden asphalt, thanks to DeCoud's successful move to free safety.
Assuming he's healthy, it'd be tough for the Falcons to trot out Erik Coleman again, after his less-than-effective performance in 2009. Moore's a heavy hitter, savvy against the run and is coachable enough that I truly believe he'll someday be effective in coverage. Like Jerry, he's going to fight the injury-plagued label, but hopefully that's a question that will resolve itself. I predict that he'll seize the starting job and make his presence known against the run in 2010, though there'll be plenty of growing pains in coverage. Good reason to make sure the cornerbacks are really set.
And like Jerry, long-term it's tough to know exactly what to expect from the guy. If he comes back and does great things in the years ahead, though, I bet all the grumbling about the injuries will fade away. But please, by all means, weigh in.
Final Draft Grade: Incomplete
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Like (almost) all of the 2009 draft class, it was a dud.
yea, I know there were injuries, but that’s part of the package. William Moore had injuries that dropped his stock coming out of Missouri, and that’s stuff that needs to be taken into consideration before selection.
Bottom line, look at the number of plays on the field and rate the productivity. There was none.
How many more days, Lord, must I walk through the wilderness?
GO FALCONS!!!
At first I was pretty surprised
That you predicted Moore to beat out Coleman for the starting SS job, but then I remembered Coleman got benched for Abram Elam (who is nothing special) while with the Jets, and that Moore was projected as a possible Top 10 pick if he had come out in 2008. So I’m not sure if it will happen in Training Camp, but I think you might be right about Moore taking Coleman’s spot before next season is finished (if he’s healthy, of course).
I’m not too worried about his coverage, either. Growing pains, yes; outright liability, probably not.
His range is above average and he has a knack for coming down with INTs – nfl.com draft profile
Reads the quarterback’s eyes and can close on the ball… Led the Big 12 and broke the school single-season record with eight interceptions in 2007… but Dynamic athlete whose aggression and inexperience can get him in trouble while in coverage… Willing to gamble and can be beaten over the top with an effective double-move… – cbssports.com draft profile
Hopefully he can stay healthy next year so we get to see what he can do.
"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein
I tend to forget that he was such a ballhawk in college
It isn’t likely to be the final configuration, but can you imagine the INT numbers a defensive backfield of DeCoud, Moore, Grimes and Owens could pile up? Hoo-boy!
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by Dave Choate on Jan 19, 2010 12:14 AM EST up reply actions
its funny
decoud only picked 1 pass in 4 years at cal and this year he turned it on, i think with him playing the pass and moore stopping the run in about 2 years we could have a good secondary.
by 4Ever Golden on Jan 19, 2010 2:17 AM EST up reply actions
I think it's fishy that he was put on IR...
so early in the season with a hamstring injury. It was almost like they said, let’s just give this guys a year to learn from the sidelines. We’ll use his spot for someone else. That has me a little worried that they weren’t really impressed with what they saw. Just wild speculation, here.
I just thought
They figured he wasn’t likely to help this year anyway, since he missed most of training camp (didn’t he have his knee scoped?). Plus, hammies can linger, so they needed to fill that roster spot with an able body. This article says Aaron Stecker was the one who took his roster spot, because Ovie and Norwood were already hurt at that time…
"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein
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