Was that Zach Moss run actually impressive?

[transplantbillsfan]

I'm gonna get trolled on this because "dude!!! He gained 27 yards!!!" but is there anyone else who watched that run and wasn't impressed?

 

Sorry... if you watch the play and his initial read as he follows his block, it just looked like more confirmation he has poor vision as he basically ran into the backside of his blocker who was pretty early and clearly getting stuffed rather than bouncing earlier to the outside left, which he finally and eventually did.

 

I mean I liked the speed and the play made me excited, but he looked so clumsy and lacking in vision and instincts in the first half of that play, didn't he?

[GunnerBill]

I am far from a Zack Moss lover but he rushed three times for 5, 5, and 27 behind a line so bad that none of the other backs even hit 2 yards per carry and there was only one other run of 5 yards plus in the entire game. So I am gonna give him the benefit of the doubt. 

[billsbackto81]

If completely healthy, and it looks like he is, he's making the team. 

 

The Motor/Moss/Cook combo is a pretty nice young trio that each bring a specific skill set to the table. 

[Nelius]

I'll have to rewatch because I didn't notice the clumsiness initially. I think the run and his general stat line is being considered impressive in the sense that he looked pretty solid overall and many discounted him earlier as a cut, so now there's over compensation in the other direction. I personally think he's going to not only make the team but be a surprising goal line force. I called earlier that he'd have at least 8 overall regular season TDs.

[Doc Brown]

He was following Morris and was looking for the hole to open up to the right.  Morris got rocked by the rushing LB and blew up the play.  Moss made a nice cut back and showed some speed that was lacking last year.  It was an impressive run given what he had to deal with.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

It was preseason impressive… so was Christian Wade 🙃 

Edited August 17, 2022 by Over 29 years of fanhood

[StHustle]

Would help to post the vid for folks…

 

 

…but yeah I agree. Wasn’t the prettiest play and had he got off clean maybe he scores…OR he got even more yards cause running into his blocker moved a few defenders out of place to make the tackle sooner (don’t have access to all 22). Wasn’t like he did it on purpose tho so it was def clumsy but he still had one of the longest runs of the weekend. 

[Bookie Man]

It worked out, but it looked a little klutzy and unathletic. It looks like he takes too many steps and gets a little choppy with his feet and runs into his own blocker, rather than making a decisive right footed plant and turning it upfield inside that block. Oh well, what do I know.

[transplantbillsfan]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

I am far from a Zack Moss lover but he rushed three times for 5, 5, and 27 behind a line so bad that none of the other backs even hit 2 yards per carry and there was only one other run of 5 yards plus in the entire game. So I am gonna give him the benefit of the doubt. 

 

And you watched that 27 yard run live and thought it was a good initial read?

[GunnerBill]

31 minutes ago, transplantbillsfan said:

 

And you watched that 27 yard run live and thought it was a good initial read?

 

I think if Morris (I think it is Morris) doesn't get rocked off his feet there is going to be a lane there and when there isn't he at least has the speed of thought to create. The run blocking was an utter shambles all night. I get it that it was a mix of 2s and 3s up front for us (and at tight end) but I think looking at the running backs is looking in the wrong place. 

[GETTOTHE50]

dude cmon give him credit.

 

he played well out there. props to him. hope to see more of it

[Rochesterfan]

4 hours ago, transplantbillsfan said:

I'm gonna get trolled on this because "dude!!! He gained 27 yards!!!" but is there anyone else who watched that run and wasn't impressed?

 

Sorry... if you watch the play and his initial read as he follows his block, it just looked like more confirmation he has poor vision as he basically ran into the backside of his blocker who was pretty early and clearly getting stuffed rather than bouncing earlier to the outside left, which he finally and eventually did.

 

I mean I liked the speed and the play made me excited, but he looked so clumsy and lacking in vision and instincts in the first half of that play, didn't he?

 

I will not troll you for this, but I will disagree.  Watching it both live and the video provided - the play is designed to go right side and there is a nice hole to the right that opens up.

 

The issue is the lead blocker (I believe Morris) gets absolutely stoned right in the hole and he allows the LB to have outside leverage.  If he gets even a tiny bit of push a lane opens up on either side for Moss to go through.  
 

Moss is following/reading that block (at Handoff he is 2 yards or about 1 stride behind Morris) to determine which way to bend off and when Morris get stoned straight back.  You can see Moss looking and taking a stutter to the right of Morris, but the LB stoned Morris and was pressuring right where the hole was.  That causes Moss to try and slide to the left side of Morris to utilize the block, but Morris is pushed back and Moss has no place to go.

 

His angle to the right causes the rest of the Defense to pursue that way and actually drive the Bills O-line and get out of lanes - which opens up the left side for the run.

 

I would not say this run shows a lack of vision - it does show some of Moss’s issues - he is not shifty and he does not have a lot of wiggle to him, but his vision saw the hole and he read the block correctly and tried to slide off from the block correctly.  The initial blocking and play call had potential, but Morris getting stuffed and not getting outside leverage blocked the actual hole.  
 

This was a blocking issue to me not a Moss issue - I think Moss ended up getting what he could out of a badly blocked run that if Morris handles correctly would have been another nice 5-7 yard run.

[eball]

Is a 27-yard run in the NFL ever UN-impressive?

 

Wait — I take that back.  Daniel Jones had a pretty unimpressive long run a couple of years ago.

 

Carry on.  Preseason threads are awesome.

[BuffaloBill]

5 hours ago, billsbackto81 said:

If completely healthy, and it looks like he is, he's making the team. 

 

The Motor/Moss/Cook combo is a pretty nice young trio that each bring a specific skill set to the table. 

 

 

This ^^^^^ the three have a very complimentary set of skills and tools.  Gone are the days of a “feature” running back.  

[ProcessTruster]

That second team o Line was more like the 3rd team o Line, so I take nothing from the run but that he was running for his life, like all the RBs were all night behind the BobbyHarts crew

[Son of a K-Gun]

He looked like the 2020 Moss who we were all impressed with, gaining chunk yards after contact...if if it was contact with his own team.

[Dopey]

5 hours ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

It was preseason impressive… so was Christian Wade 🙃 

Except Wade isn't a football player. He's a rugby player who made some $ hanging out on our practice squad. 🤔

[Buffalo Boy]

19 minutes ago, Son of a K-Gun said:

He looked like the 2020 Moss who we were all impressed with, gaining chunk yards after contact...if if it was contact with his own team.

   Was thinking the same thing.

   When he looks good, he seems like a really nice piece of the overall puzzle.

    Other times, he looks slow and replaceable.

    Was he injured/beat up last year? Is it a motivation issue? Was a poorly blocking line and bad luck an issue?

    When he and Singletary are firing on all cylinders we have a more than competent rushing attack. Add Cook and his skill set and we could have a surprisingly good backfield…… or they could be mediocre. I hope for the former but need to see a solid quarter of the season before I begin to render a judgment.

[GunnerBill]

37 minutes ago, ProcessTruster said:

That second team o Line was more like the 3rd team o Line, so I take nothing from the run but that he was running for his life, like all the RBs were all night behind the BobbyHarts crew

 

Exactly. We didn't sit our top 5 guys, we sat our top 7 guys (with Quess and Mancz) and then pulled the guy you could argue is 8th on the totem pole (Ford) after the first drive on which those Moss runs occurred. So basically after that first drive the only guys I think you could argue were 2nd team OL were Doyle and Van Roten and then they were pulled at HT I think. They have cut Simmons who played RG and Kerstetter who played C in the second half already which suggests they were unimpressed. 

[HOUSE]

Is that Cody Ford I see on the clip?

 

Yes that run was impressive