Here is a nice article with some interesting background on Moore:
Raiders receiver Denarius Moore's quick development surprises NFL draft experts
By Jerry McDonald jmcdonald@bayareanewsgroup.com
Posted: 09/22/2011 02:40:11 PM PDT
One of the most respected talent evaluators in the business, NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock remembers his scouting report on Denarius Moore this way heading in to the 2011 draft:
"I got a quick tape or two on him and said, 'OK, he's got some vertical speed, some developmental ability, but it's going to take a little time,' '' Mayock said in a phone interview. "We all could be off on that."
Mayock wasn't the only person to underestimate the Raiders' rookie wide receiver out of Tennessee. Before Oakland took Moore in the fifth round, No. 148 overall, 18 wide receivers were taken.
"By that time there was some doubt. Maybe I wasn't going to get picked," Moore said. "I didn't want to put that in my head or let it come out of my mouth. So I just kept my faith, and that's when I got the phone call."
Moore got lots of highlight time following a 38-35 loss to Buffalo in which he caught five passes for 146 yards, had a leaping 50-yard touchdown catch against double coverage and nearly came down with what would have been a game-winning 56-yard touchdown pass from Jason Campbell.
Had Moore caught that pass -- it was intercepted by Da'Norris Searcy -- he would have been only the second Raiders receiver ever to break 200 yards receiving in a game, joining Art Powell (1963 and 1965).
As impressive as Moore was, it didn't come as a shock to anyone who saw him excel on a daily basis during training camp in Napa.
"I said it as soon as I saw him step on the field, that kid's the truth," fullback Marcel Reece said. "He can just flat-out play."
Campbell was sold the moment he saw Moore come down with a pass in the end zone with DeMarcus Van Dyke and Stevie Brown all over him, somehow getting both feet in bounds and avoiding the goal post at his back.
It took Hue Jackson a few practice sessions to realize the Raiders had something special.
"That's the way guys play when they're really good," Jackson said. "I coached some pretty good receivers in this league. I know what they play like and act like and how they perform."
Moore had an impressive high school pedigree in Tatum, Texas, helping lead his team to two Class 2-A state titles in addition to winning the 110-meter high hurdles in the state track meet.
Although Moore caught 47 passes for 981 yards and nine touchdowns as a senior, he may have gotten lost in the eyes of scouts on a Volunteers team that went from head coaches Phil Fullmer to Lane Kiffin to Derek Dooley in his sophomore through senior seasons and ran through quarterbacks and assistant coaches at an accelerated rate.
"I think when you throw it all into a blender and look at it, the fact that he had different coaches, coordinators and quarterbacks all fits in," Mayock said.
All the change, Moore believes, may have altered perception of him as a player.
"People may have thought, three different coaches, he's lost in the system, his attitude's probably bad," Moore said. "That's where you've got to get to know me and the type of player you're getting."
The Raiders did some homework in that regard, sending a background check to Andy Evans, Moore's coach at Tatum High School.
For all Moore did as a player, Evans thinks even more highly of him as a person.
"I've never once heard him say a negative word about anything," Evans said. "He's very driven. The first thing he does when he comes to visit is he goes to the field house and works out."
The playmaking skills now being exhibited on a national scale were on display locally at Tatum.
"I have a picture in my office of Denarius making a touchdown catch in the state title game on a fourth-and-18 play that defies the laws of physics," Evans said. "The longer the draft went when he didn't get picked, I said to myself, 'Someone's going to get a steal.'"
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18955325
Even though the Raiders did lose to Buffalo like you said they would ourmanflint, a guy like Moore will make it that much tougher to boldly proclaim the Raiders are a sure bet to lose. The offense, both rushing and passing is really clicking right now.
Great article. Thanks for the link.
