Zack Moss revisited

[Sierra Foothills]

The Bills drafted running back Zack Moss in the 3rd round (86th overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft. At the time I liked the pick and thought of him as a good physical back. He flashed at times as a Bill but was mostly a disappointment partly because of his inability to stay healthy and partly because of his general ineffectiveness. He never seemed to resemble the player he was at Utah.

 

Finally last Halloween we traded him to the Colts for fellow running back Nyheim Hines. Besides swapping him for Hines, we acquired two physical runners (Damien Harris and Latavius Murray) to provide that ruggedness that Moss was supposed to bring us.

 

By the time he was shown the door he was pretty much a whipping boy for members of this forum. It hasn't been spoken of much around here but Moss has quietly resurrected his career.

 

Here are his stat lines from his last 5 regular season games with Indy:

 

Zack Moss last 5 Regular Season Games with the Colts

Date	ATT	YDS	YPC
12/17/22	24	81	3.38
12/26/22	12	65	5.42
1/1/23	15	74	4.93
1/8/23	18	114	6.33
9/17/23	18	88	4.89
AVERAGE	15.4	84.4	5.48

 

I'm curious if anyone here has any insights as to what has changed to make him a seemingly effective NFL running back. Health? Scheme? Also would you say his improvement has vindicated the Bills decision to draft him in the first place?

 

 

Edited September 23, 2023 by Sierra Foothills

[Buffalo716]

3 minutes ago, Sierra Foothills said:

The Bills drafted running back Zack Moss in the 3rd round (86th overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft. At the time I liked the pick and thought of him as a good physical back. He flashed at times as a Bill but was mostly a disappointment partly because of his inability to stay healthy and partly because of his general ineffectiveness. He never seemed to resemble the player he was at Utah.

 

Finally last Halloween we traded him to the Colts for fellow running back Nyheim Hines. Besides swapping him for Hines, we acquired two physical runners (Damien Harris and Latavius Murray) to provide that ruggedness that Moss was supposed to bring us.

 

By the time he was shown the door he was pretty much a whipping boy for members of this forum. It hasn't been spoken of much around here but Moss has quietly resurrected his career.

 

Here are his stat lines from his last 5 regular season games with Indy:

 

Zack Moss last 5 Regular Season Games with the Colts

Date	ATT	YDS	YPC
12/17/22	24	81	3.38
12/26/22	12	65	5.42
1/1/23	15	74	4.93
1/8/23	18	114	6.33
9/17/23	18	88	4.89
AVERAGE	15.4	84.4	5.48

 

I'm curious if anyone here has any insights as to what has changed to make him a seemingly effective NFL running back. Health? Scheme? Also would you say his improvement has vindicated the Bills decision to draft him in the first place?

 

 

Bills fans tend to overreact for the positive and negative

 

He always had talent but was the guy that needed Carries, more than five a game to be effective

 

And he basically had the same role as singletary.. but being his back up

Edited September 23, 2023 by Buffalo716

[Nelius]

I don't really have any answers but it's nice to see. Saw his stat line last week and a couple of rumblings in the around the NFL thread.

 

I think it had to be health, but it seemed like there was some general two-way frustration with the coaches/team as well. Above all else he seems like a really good dude, not a malcontent at all that would intentionally wear his displeasure on his sleeve, but for some reason it felt like you could feel the frustration toward the end. Ball control issues, maybe? I remember him fumbling a few times early and seemingly being in the dog house for it, maybe he could never really get out or regain the right amount of confidence. He's alongside Logan Thomas as just being bubble dudes that were talented enough and also worked hard enough to catch on elsewhere. Would be pretty cool if he stayed healthy and sniffed 1k.

[MJS]

He just needed more opportunity. Singletary outplayed him. If Moss would have had Singletary's role, he probably would have put up similar stats to him. They weren't all that different. Moss didn't really take advantage of his limited opportunities here, either. Maybe he is a guy who needs a bigger workload to get going.

[GoBills808]

oline

[JJGauna]

Colts have better run blockers and rely on the ground way more than we do.

[GunnerBill]

It is mainly blocking and carries. The Bills oline in 2021 and 2022 was not very good at run blocking. And Moss isn't a speedy back who can get 5 or 6 carries and break one. He is more of a plodder who needs carries to get into a groove. And there is a little bit of scheme thrown in too. The Colts run a lot more from the I with the QB under centre which is a better fit to his style. The Bills are more of a shotgun team where you get the ball on a standing start and have to accelerate quickly - which less Moss's style.

Edited September 23, 2023 by GunnerBill

[Sgt. Ski]

3 hours ago, Sierra Foothills said:

The Bills drafted running back Zack Moss in the 3rd round (86th overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft. At the time I liked the pick and thought of him as a good physical back. He flashed at times as a Bill but was mostly a disappointment partly because of his inability to stay healthy and partly because of his general ineffectiveness. He never seemed to resemble the player he was at Utah.

 

Finally last Halloween we traded him to the Colts for fellow running back Nyheim Hines. Besides swapping him for Hines, we acquired two physical runners (Damien Harris and Latavius Murray) to provide that ruggedness that Moss was supposed to bring us.

 

By the time he was shown the door he was pretty much a whipping boy for members of this forum. It hasn't been spoken of much around here but Moss has quietly resurrected his career.

 

Here are his stat lines from his last 5 regular season games with Indy:

 

Zack Moss last 5 Regular Season Games with the Colts

Date	ATT	YDS	YPC
12/17/22	24	81	3.38
12/26/22	12	65	5.42
1/1/23	15	74	4.93
1/8/23	18	114	6.33
9/17/23	18	88	4.89
AVERAGE	15.4	84.4	5.48

 

I'm curious if anyone here has any insights as to what has changed to make him a seemingly effective NFL running back. Health? Scheme? Also would you say his improvement has vindicated the Bills decision to draft him in the first place?

 

 

A better line

[BananaB]

Opportunity in more situations outside the redzone. That’s who we are though and it makes it alittle obvious. We done it with Singletary/Gore, Singletary/Moss and Cook/Harris/Murray.

 

He was the short yardage guy they leaned on. It’s harder when teams know what your doing too

Edited September 23, 2023 by BananaB

[CSBill]

Better line, more carries, and better system for him. And, maybe he has improved as a runner--sometime adversity (getting traded) helps you wake-up and grow.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

Good question excellent responses.

Case closed

Close thread 

[WotAGuy]

I think it’s better math.  His average carries per game is 17.4, but that 15.4 makes his YPC look better.  😜

[shane nelson]

Simple, commitment to the running game.  Bills were always pass first during his years.  Just look at the # of carries per game.  He never got that with Buffalo

[Matt_In_NH]

5 hours ago, Sierra Foothills said:

The Bills drafted running back Zack Moss in the 3rd round (86th overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft. At the time I liked the pick and thought of him as a good physical back. He flashed at times as a Bill but was mostly a disappointment partly because of his inability to stay healthy and partly because of his general ineffectiveness. He never seemed to resemble the player he was at Utah.

 

Finally last Halloween we traded him to the Colts for fellow running back Nyheim Hines. Besides swapping him for Hines, we acquired two physical runners (Damien Harris and Latavius Murray) to provide that ruggedness that Moss was supposed to bring us.

 

By the time he was shown the door he was pretty much a whipping boy for members of this forum. It hasn't been spoken of much around here but Moss has quietly resurrected his career.

 

Here are his stat lines from his last 5 regular season games with Indy:

 

Zack Moss last 5 Regular Season Games with the Colts

Date	ATT	YDS	YPC
12/17/22	24	81	3.38
12/26/22	12	65	5.42
1/1/23	15	74	4.93
1/8/23	18	114	6.33
9/17/23	18	88	4.89
AVERAGE	15.4	84.4	5.48

 

I'm curious if anyone here has any insights as to what has changed to make him a seemingly effective NFL running back. Health? Scheme? Also would you say his improvement has vindicated the Bills decision to draft him in the first place?

 

 

This is just a guess but what has changed is he has gotten some Carries.   

[AlCowlingsTaxiService]

I’ll assume that the Colts have an offensive line that knows how to block for an elite run game. 

[DJB]

29 minutes ago, WotAGuy said:

I think it’s better math.  His average carries per game is 17.4, but that 15.4 makes his YPC look better.  😜

For a split second I read that as better “meth”

[billsfanmiamioh]

Do the Colts use more of a man blocking scheme? Thought I saw that the Bills had settled back into more man blocking than the zone scheme we primarily ran the last couple years. If so, maybe a better fit for him? 🤷🏻‍♂️

[clearwater cadet]

I might be wrong, but I thought he had a few fumbles at critcal monments which really sent him to the dog house?

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

36 minutes ago, clearwater cadet said:

I might be wrong, but I thought he had a few fumbles at critcal monments which really sent him to the dog house?

I think you're describing every RB in the McDermott era. 😁

[Nuncha]

7 hours ago, Sierra Foothills said:

The Bills drafted running back Zack Moss in the 3rd round (86th overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft. At the time I liked the pick and thought of him as a good physical back. He flashed at times as a Bill but was mostly a disappointment partly because of his inability to stay healthy and partly because of his general ineffectiveness. He never seemed to resemble the player he was at Utah.

 

Finally last Halloween we traded him to the Colts for fellow running back Nyheim Hines. Besides swapping him for Hines, we acquired two physical runners (Damien Harris and Latavius Murray) to provide that ruggedness that Moss was supposed to bring us.

 

By the time he was shown the door he was pretty much a whipping boy for members of this forum. It hasn't been spoken of much around here but Moss has quietly resurrected his career.

 

Here are his stat lines from his last 5 regular season games with Indy:

 

Zack Moss last 5 Regular Season Games with the Colts

Date	ATT	YDS	YPC
12/17/22	24	81	3.38
12/26/22	12	65	5.42
1/1/23	15	74	4.93
1/8/23	18	114	6.33
9/17/23	18	88	4.89
AVERAGE	15.4	84.4	5.48

 

I'm curious if anyone here has any insights as to what has changed to make him a seemingly effective NFL running back. Health? Scheme? Also would you say his improvement has vindicated the Bills decision to draft him in the first place?

 

 

Buffalo wasn't dedicated at all to running the ball when he was here, and the O line stunk at run blocking which is probably why they threw it most of the time.