Wide Receiver Lance Moore Motivated By Frustrating Season With Steelers
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
ALLEN PARK - Detroit Lions wide receiver Lance Moore has heard the question often, and he still does not have a satisfactory answer. Even as Moore runs down a list of reasons he believes contributed to his only catching 14 passes for the Pittsburgh Steelers last season, he seems puzzled to some degree that the situation did not work out.
"People always ask me, 'What happened?' or 'What didn't go right?' or 'Why did it go so wrong?'" Moore said Wednesday after an OTA practice. "I really don't know other than I was hurt early in the year, it never quite clicked for [Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger] and I, and young guys played well.
"It wasn't a situation where I was catching a whole lot of balls, and it was frustrating, and it was tough, and we had some young guys that were stepping up and making plays, and I understand the game - younger guys are making plays, they're not going to take those guys out to swap somebody else in there," Moore continued. "That's part of the game. I would say the good part about it is I didn't run around a whole lot, so I've still got some juice left."
Moore said he told the Pittsburgh offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach in his exit interview that he did not know what happened that season, in terms of why he did not play a bigger role, and they responded in kind. Moore had signed a two-year deal with the Steelers, but he would end up staying only one season after requesting his release.
"I think they had a feeling that I was going to ask to be out of my contract," Moore said. "I knew. I knew the day after the playoff loss that we had, I knew that I didn't want to be there anymore.
"They made me inactive," Moore continued. "I knew at that point, the writing is on the wall. I could see what their future plans were for me, and it was the first time in my career that I was a healthy inactive. I kind of knew."
Detroit is an ideal setting for Moore because the Lions run an offense similar to the one used by the New Orleans Saints, the team with which Moore - and Lions offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi - spent much of his career.
"This is the offense that I had the most success in," Moore said. "I played in this offense for eight years, and Joe Lombardi was there I think six or seven of those years that I was there, so the familiarity not just with what we're running but being able to act as another coach out there, a coach in the receiver room, I think there's a lot of things that I can do to help this team."
Moore is competing for a spot, and he agrees that all his time with the Saints gives him an advantage.
"I'd be lying if I said it didn't," Moore said. "I definitely think it does give me an edge because there's not as much thinking for me. I can really just go out here and play ball and not worry about this, that and whatever. I know what I have on 99 percent of the plays, and the times that I don't, I don't have any problem asking the quarterback because I know the quarterback's going to know, so it definitely helps."
The Lions showed some interest in Moore before last season, when he was a free agent, but the signing of Golden Tate meant Detroit already had a significant amount of money tied up at wide receiver. In 2013, Moore played in 13 games and made 37 catches for 457 yards. In 2014, Moore made 14 catches for 198 yards.
"It's definitely motivated me, but I would say that I've never been so excited to go to practice, I've never been so excited to really just have another chance," Moore said. "I've been in the league 11 years, I've been cut five times, and you never really know when it's going to be over. I knew in the back of my mind that it wasn't quite over, but I wasn't sure whether I'd get an opportunity or whether I'd get the right opportunity, and I feel like things couldn't have worked out any better for me, and so I'm going to make the most of this opportunity."
Even if Moore had not a commitment from a team immediately after parting ways with Pittsburgh, the veteran wide receiver was not prepared to hang up his cleats.
"In my mind, in my body, I was physically capable, and I knew I didn't really control the other part," Moore said. "I figured there would be teams that were interested, and even if teams weren't interested up until camp, I was going to train and be ready for training camp or even the regular season. Guys always get calls at the most random moments, and you just kind of have to be ready as you get older and you're a guy that's bouncing around a little bit."
