Eric Moulds - this week’s legend of the game

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

16 hours ago, BruceVilanch said:

Imagine Moulds with Josh.

I just did. It was all I thought it would be. 

[C.Biscuit97]

Hide the strippers!!!

 

great Bill. I always think of what guys like him and Lee Evans (so perfect for Allen) would have been wish non terrible qbs for most of their careers.

[NoHuddleKelly12]

Beane! Git r…🥴

[BillsPride12]

5 hours ago, Nelius said:

Favorite post SB era player. He was incredible. I still remember reading one of the few SI articles about him after his '98 season where guys like Moss and TO were singing his praises. He was a top 3-4 receiver for a few seasons in the late 90s when the league was full of hall of famers. Will probably always be underrated but even the best considered him a peer.

 

He wasn't better than Reed at all though. It's Diggs/Reed...Moulds. And that's awesome. 3rd best all time Bills WR is huge. If they all had Prime Allen as Diggs does now, I think they'd still fall in that order.

I still remember on ESPN Sunday Countdown(back when it was still watchable) sometime in the early 2000's they were doing a piece on TO and asked him to list his 3 top receivers in the NFL and he said Moss, Harrison, and Moulds and said Moulds was super underrated in the league.  Thought that was really cool because that was at a time when no Bills players were getting any respect at the National level.  

[BADOLBILZ]

11 hours ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

 

I don't know. Joe Mixon and Tyreek Hill skated by just fine. And since these things happened early in Moulds career (still physically gifted) I imagine he would have skated by as well. 

 

Where you are mistaken is that Joe Mixon and Tyreek Hill committed their crimes in college........the NFL wasn't allowed to punish them..........Moulds issues blew up as a pro and nobody in the NFL survives that kind of violence against women nowadays.   Nobody.

 

He was off of a lot of teams draft boards entirely entering that 1996 draft..........really rough character.

 

He was also the only WR from that 1st round who didn't show up to play...........that class was full of guys who hit the ground running.........Marvin Harrison, Terry Glenn, Keyshawn Johnson, Eddie Kennison.........the Bills desperately needed a deep threat for their WR corps.......that's why they picked him........and any of those other guys would have fit the bill.    Instead they got Moulds and a season where they were considered a SB favorite ended with a punchless offense going down in defeat at home to expansion Jacksonville.    He had a longer career than most of those guys but they only fielded 3 playoff teams in Moulds career and he wasted one of those years. 

[34-78-83]

Being off some of the teams draft boards is part of what allowed him to fall to where we picked, so it depends how you look at it. Then he got onto a team with a head coach that, at the time, refused to play rookies, which also hindered the rate of his development as a pro to a degree (he wasn't mentally ready right away either, as noted by some missed assignments early on that drew Kelly's ire). in 1998 (gotta at least have competent quarterbacking too, not 1997 Collins) he put it all together and turned into what he was, one of the greatest Bills receivers of all time. Clearly, he was a far superior player to all the other mentioned WR's except for Harrison from his class. Loved the guy. It sucks that he had off the field issues for sure.

 

 

Edited January 21, 2023 by 34-78-83

[Nextmanup]

19 hours ago, BillsFan619 said:

Eric Moulds was one of my favorite Bills during that era.

 

I’m sure when he watches JA play at the stadium on Sunday, he’ll be wishing he had him at QB when he played instead of the likes of Todd Collins, Rob Johnson, Doug Flutie, Alex Van Pelt, Drew Bledsoe, J.P. Losman and Kelly Holcomb.

 

Where do you think Moulds would rank in Bills and in NFL history if he had JA as his QB?

 

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/eric-moulds-named-legend-game-104520649.html

Are you saying Kelly Holcomb wasn't a good quarterback?

 

 

[Let's Go Buffalo]

Moulds was one of my all time favorites. He was a big possession receiver who deserved to have better play makers around him. I'm glad he gets to be the Bills Legend of the game for this one. 

[Sierra Foothills]

Moulds was a unicorn. He had good height but a very strong frame and great overall athleticism.

 

He went about 215-220 and ran a 4.5 forty and was very physical... great on 50/50 balls and must have been a great basketball player because he always high-pointed the ball and had great hands.

 

As a modern day comparison Deebo Samuel comes to mind though Moulds was a better ball athlete and bigger... just a marvelous football player.

 

 

 

 

[34-78-83]

8 minutes ago, Sierra Foothills said:

Moulds was a unicorn. He had good height but a very strong frame and great overall athleticism.

 

He went about 215-220 and ran a 4.5 forty and was very physical... great on 50/50 balls and must have been a great basketball player because he always high-pointed the ball and had great hands.

 

As a modern day comparison Deebo Samuel comes to mind though Moulds was a better ball athlete and bigger... just a marvelous football player.

 

 

 

 

Teammates often spoke of Moulds having legendary basketball skills, so that makes sense.

[BuffaloBaumer]

Time to bust out the Pro Bowl Moulds jersey

 

[Sierra Foothills]

Just now, BuffaloBaumer said:

Time to bust out the Pro Bowl Moulds jersey

 

 

When I moved out to CA around 2002 I was at a busy intersection and a brother crossed a few cars in front of me wearing a Moulds jersey. I was pretty homesick for Buffalo at that time and I wanted to pull over and talk Bills with the guy but there was so much traffic volume that I would have had to pull over about a hundred yards away and wait for him to walk up to my vehicle.

 

I drove on and always kind of regretted it.

 

 

[loyal2dagame]

1 hour ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

Where you are mistaken is that Joe Mixon and Tyreek Hill committed their crimes in college........the NFL wasn't allowed to punish them..........Moulds issues blew up as a pro and nobody in the NFL survives that kind of violence against women nowadays.   Nobody.

 

He was off of a lot of teams draft boards entirely entering that 1996 draft..........really rough character.

 

He was also the only WR from that 1st round who didn't show up to play...........that class was full of guys who hit the ground running.........Marvin Harrison, Terry Glenn, Keyshawn Johnson, Eddie Kennison.........the Bills desperately needed a deep threat for their WR corps.......that's why they picked him........and any of those other guys would have fit the bill.    Instead they got Moulds and a season where they were considered a SB favorite ended with a punchless offense going down in defeat at home to expansion Jacksonville.    He had a longer career than most of those guys but they only fielded 3 playoff teams in Moulds career and he wasted one of those years. 

 

My goodness.  You stated your opinion (and multiple times).  Let others make theirs without the influence of your drum beating. Sheesh.

[Utah John]

1996:

23 year old Mounds (rookie), 37 targets, 20 receptions, 279 yards, 2 TD receptions

32 year old Reed (12th season), 101 targets, 66 receptions, 1036 yards, 6 TD receptions -- Reed clearly the top dog -- Kelly's last season

 

1997:

24 year old Moulds, 52 targets, 29 receptions, 294 yards, 0 TD receptions 

33 year old Reed, 114 targets, 60 receptions, 880 yards, 5 TD receptions -- Reed still the top dog at his advanced age

 

1998:

25 year old Moulds, 116 targets, 67 receptions, 1368 yards, 9 TD receptions -- Pro Bowl   Moulds had clearly surpassed Reed by that point.

34 year old Reed, 109 targets, 63 receptions, 795 yards, 5 TD receptions -- opportunities did not drop off from 1996 and neither did production

 

1999 season (Reed's last year in Buffalo):

26 year old Moulds, 101 targets, 65 receptions, 994 yards, 7 TD receptions   

35 year old Reed, 90 targets, 52 receptions, 536 yards, 1 TD reception

 

I have to say that at his peak, Moulds was the most physically dominant receiver we ever had.  Reed's career was longer, and he was producing at a high level (eight or nine years with high production) for longer than Moulds did (six seasons with high production).  Reed did have Jim Kelly throwing to him for years, but don't forget that Kelly retired after the 1996 season so Reed had to deal with the motley crew of failed JK replacements for his final years in Buffalo.  Moulds never had a really good QB.

 

Which is better?  Take your pick.  My pick is Reed, since it's so very hard to sustain high performance over a long period in the NFL.

 

(If we're talking about the best receiver the Bills ever had, don't forget about Jerry Butler, who was killing it before he got his knee wrecked.  Butler had Moulds' size and Reed's route ability, and the Bills' best hands since Haven Moses.)

 

 

[extrahammer]

1 hour ago, loyal2dagame said:

 

My goodness.  You stated your opinion (and multiple times).  Let others make theirs without the influence of your drum beating. Sheesh.

 

Keep in mind most NFL WRs back then took about 3 years to develop and Moulds wasn't starting until 1998... the year he broke out. Somehow Moulds is at fault for the 1996 playoff loss to Jacksonville though. 🙄

 

He was the 2nd Mississippi State player ever drafted in the 1st round and this was back before MSU had any success in football. He was low because MSU was a heavy rushing offense with very little passing, they ran a wing-t offense at the time. The idea he had a character issue coming into the NFL is a complete farce. Jackie Sherrill who was the coach of that team, also coached Dan Marino in college, and has gone on record many times saying Moulds was the best player he ever coached. Champ Bailey has gone on record many times saying Moulds was the toughest player he ever tried to cover. In 2001 he had a separated shoulder and played, put up nearly 200 yards in a game with Sam Madison covering him. He was one of the rare WRs defenses would triple cover and would still find ways to get incredible separation. Go look how many one-handed touchdowns he caught too. 

 

The naysayer is just being super emotional. Every point he makes actually makes Moulds look even better. A longer career than most with no QB? Yes he was that good. And as bad he makes it sound, Moulds still had within 500 career yards of Keyshawn, within 4,000 career yards of Marvin (even though Marvin had Manning and also murdered someone), and had more career yards than Glenn and Kennison. 

 

Moulds was elite and if he and Josh played together he'd have multiple triple crowns. 

 

 

Edited January 21, 2023 by extrahammer

[BADOLBILZ]

1 hour ago, loyal2dagame said:

 

My goodness.  You stated your opinion (and multiple times).  Let others make theirs without the influence of your drum beating. Sheesh.

 

 

His statement was factually incorrect.

 

He stated that Moulds would have skated on any DV charges at the NFL level today because Joe Mixon and Tyreek Hill both did.   

 

They did not.

 

They weren't in the NFL so they weren't subject to discipline by the league.

 

[BADOLBILZ]

1 hour ago, extrahammer said:

 

Keep in mind most NFL WRs back then took about 3 years to develop and Moulds wasn't starting until 1998... the year he broke out. Somehow Moulds is at fault for the 1996 playoff loss to Jacksonville though. 🙄

 

 

 

No, keep in mid that every other WR in that first round of 1996 put up between 800-1100+ yards as a rookie...........at the time it was the greatest rookie WR class in NFL history.

 

Wrap your head around that.

 

Moulds was the lone dud with a pathetic 279 yards...........and it wasn't because of a lack of talent.

 

He entered the NFL as the least dedicated to his craft of his class.........at a time when he had a HOF QB throwing him the ball......so why do some idiots try to whine about the quality of QB play he had?    It's absurd.  

 

If he puts in the effort of a long forgotten Eddie Kennison(900+ yards as a rookie in 1996) then maybe(perhaps likely) Jim Kelly plays in 1997 and Moulds doesn't waste 2 full years to start his career.

 

Eric Moulds was a very controversial, complicated player........lot's of bad early and late(quit on the team in a game at Miami) mixed with lot's of good in the middle.

 

But back then, this was an organization that had signed a player in Reggie Rogers who killed someone in a DWI accident and would go on to pursue psychotic RB Lawrence Phillips..........so their standards were much different.  

 

Sorry if it breaks the heart of your inner child from the early 2000's but it was what it was.   

[extrahammer]

55 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

No, keep in mid that every other WR in that first round of 1996 put up between 800-1100+ yards as a rookie...........at the time it was the greatest rookie WR class in NFL history.

 

Wrap your head around that.

 

Moulds was the lone dud with a pathetic 279 yards...........and it wasn't because of a lack of talent.

 

 

 

LOLLL Like I said, he didn't start until 1998, the year he broke out. He was the 4th WR on the depth chart in 96 and 97 because he was behind Reed, Early, and Tasker. Two of which had already cemented their position in the HOF.

 

Give me a break... It wasn't until Tasker retired they gave him a shot to start in 98, before that his primary role and reason he was drafted was as a kickoff returner, which he ran back his rookie season. You're arguing with hyperbole when stat after stat shows how talented he was. Sorry he didn't autograph something for you back then. Either way it's pretty obvious when we're talking about talent and you keep attacking him personally.

Edited January 21, 2023 by extrahammer

[Kenosha2Buffalo]

5 minutes ago, extrahammer said:

 

Like I said, he didn't start until 1998, the year he broke out. He was the 4th WR on the depth chart in 96 and 97 because he was behind Reed, Early, and Tasker. Two of which had already cemented their position in the HOF.

 

Give me a break... It wasn't until Tasker retired they gave him a shot to start in 98, before that his primary role and reason he was drafted was as a kickoff returner, which he ran back his rookie season. You're arguing with hyperbole when stat after stat shows how talented he was. Sorry he didn't autograph something for you back then. 

 

Don't feed the Bado troll!

Edited January 21, 2023 by Kenosha2Buffalo

[Thrivefourfive]

To this day, I still can’t believe Moulds developed. One thing I’m always Negative Nancy about is Bills draft picks that don’t develop. Moulds broke the mold. Potential to absolute greatness, within a mediocre organization. Shame he didn’t get to spent ten plus years with an equally great QB/Team.