DE Kyle Moore making a case to play

Rookie DE Kyle Moore's debut appears to be getting closer - as could come as early as Sunday's game against the Packers.

Moore, who missed the first several weeks following knee surgery, is healthy, and has impressed coaches in practice the past two weeks.

“It’s been really hard for me to keep a helmet off of him, to be honest with you,” coach Raheem Morris said. “He’s pushing my buttons every week and he’ll push it again this week. Hopefully, this is the week.”

Defensive coordinator Jim Bates said the last two weeks have been Moore's best weeks of practice.

"He's really matured as far as practicing like a pro is supposed to practice, and once we see the consistency totally there, we'll try  to get him on the field," Bates said. "But he has really improved. It's a growing process for all young players, and especially the rookies. An he's made a big leap from the time he was injured and now."

Morris said part of the reason Moore hasn't played yet is that there's some strong competition on the line, with Michael Bennett, and Tim Crowder and Dre Moore coming on.

-- JOE SMITH

joesmith@sptimes.com

Comments

[Tom]

I like the limited things I've seen from Moore so far. He has prototypical size for a DE, long arms, good speed and power, etc. I think there's a lot of promise for this kid. But, it's also a sad day in Tampa Bay when we're all that excited about the debut of a fourth round pick!

[Valrico Rick]

It's a sad day in Tampa Bay when every single post has to contain a rip. When a player is drafted has nothing to do with it. #18, 7th rounder, pretty excited about that guy, "I love the guy"! It would actually be a positive if the Bucs were able to get first round level play over the next several years from a player they drafted it he 4th round! How is there a rip there. You want to rip, put some thought in to it. For example; why are 90 percent of the blitzes the Bucs try picked up? Now that's a rip!

[Robert]

If Crowder, Moore, and Bennet r his comp. then he should definetly be on the field this Sun. None of those guys have done enough on Sundays to keep this kid off the field. With the season going no where let's see what the Rook has. We already have one of the worst if not worst DL in the NFL. Put the rookie on the field and lets see what he can do.

[Robert]

Tom, if Freeman plays well and Moore produces plus what Stroughter and Miller have been doing I would say that is a good day in TB. Dom will have had pretty much hi whole draft out making plays in their rookie year. It could be worse. We could be trying to rebuild and all of our picks be busts.

[Drew]

Play the ROOK!

[BucsGuerilla]

Ok here are something the Bucs should try how about sign Chris Mccallister DB, change Micheal Clayton to a TE because all he can do is block, resign Derrick Brooks for leardship.

[Drew]

If I thought the Disney characters practiced and played well. I'd put the, as Raheem states, the helmet on them an let them play. Now is the time to find out which players stay and which players go.

[willem]

I tought they didnt practice last week?
Ahh thats what bates means when he says he put in the best practice so far.

Guys dont wake up BATES, let the man sleep

[D Block]

Ummmmm i see at least 2 spots available the 2 Starting Defensive Tackles! Crowder has played ok, Stylez has done ok since replacing Adams, Wilkerson looks descent at times. But those 2 Starting Defensive Tackles have gotten MAN HANDLED ALL SEASON! What is Raheem looking at i don't know Hovan & Simms probably practice like Allstars but they play like Junior Varsity on GAMEDAY when it really counts.

Kyle Moore & Dre Moore have earned a shot if not by they own play then the play of those starting who haven't produced and are the reason why the team is ranked 28th in the league. If Raheem continues to start players like Clayton, Hovan & Simms he is COMPLETELY FULL OF SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTT!

[Erick]

Yeah, I dont see how Hovan and Sims are starters next season. I like Hovan, but we need a little more push in there and he just doesnt get it done. I am really looking forward to seeing both Moore's out there.

[D Block]

Put the Best Defensive Lineman on the Field not Simms because he is the BIGGEST or Hovan because he has the most experience they both SUCK! So play the best Defensive Lineman that you have, they constaintly place Wilkerson inside on pass rushing downs and have 3 Defensive Ends in at that time. Maybe just maybe that is what they need to START. I would personally start Roy Miller & Dre Moore at the DT and if they don't like Dre Moore slide Wilkerson to DT and get a better pass rush. But those who don't produce shouldn't be awarded with more playing time especially STARTERS minutes.

The team is ranked 28th in Defense and the problem is the DEFENSIVE LINE & the DEFENSIVE TACKLES. If you think i'm wrong with my observation PLEASE tell me where else could Hovan & Simms START? PLEASE ANSWER that for me.

Play the Moores' Enough is Enough oh yeah they are young Raheem just like you like them.

[D Block]

Ok maybe Hovan & Simms don't SUCK but they sure don't play well.

Put the best lineman on the field !!

[jjbjeff]

Hovan definetly sucks. And Simms looks like an all-pro on one play and a chump on the next.

I think Simms is too damn fat. He is probably only good for 10-12 plays a game. He needs a hot dog break in between plays.

I agree we definetly need to see the young guys. ALL of them. If Raheem is going to lose them all(0-16)at least he can say it was a "youth movement"

My person request would be to sit Clayton and Bryant and lets see Sammy, Clark, Urrutia, Figurs, and Stovall. Why Not find out if someone on this f*in team can catch a football?

I'm tired of hearing about AB draining his knee to play. At 0-7? What for? Great job Raheem, of keeping AB ineffective for half a year, when he could have missed the first two weeks and been 100%. You're a genius!

[Jack]

Its not the coach's decision on how injured players rehab. Though its as Bucs knew this would be a long season and try to do the best they could with the $9M committed to AB. I agree that we should play young WRs. Unlike young QBs and DBs, scheme and technique are less important than proper route tunning and C-A-T-C-H-I-N-G the ball.

[mynewsviews]

I have to agree with you guys. I thought Hovan was a beast in Minny...however he's played like an undersized chump since he's been here in Tampa. Ryan Simms...well he was Garbage in Kansas, and he's been garbage here too!
at this point in the season why not play Kyle, and Dre? What's the worse that could happen?
PS Beat Green Bay!

[BucsGuerilla]

Ok here are something the Bucs should try how about sign Chris Mccallister DB, change Micheal Clayton to a TE because all he can do is block, resign Derrick Brooks for leardship.

[TrueBucFan]

Okay I like Dre Moore too and I hope he does great. But lets be honest, For a DE to truly be good in this league they need push up the middle from the DTs. Examples: Rice for Tampa did good because Sapp got alot of push. Jared Allen is doing great because both Williams get amazing push. Taylor had his best years in Miami when old Trailer was getting all that push up the middle. Why? Because if the DT gets alot of push they cause a double team which creates a 1 on 1 with the OT and DE and if you got a good DE he will win that battle. My point is Tampa has 0 push up the middle. If you watch Roy Miller gets the most push but he is alone. Hovan and Sims don't even get close. The only DE that was an exception to the rule was Reggie White because he was basically a DTs weight with a really fast first step and he bull rushed a poor OT and put him on his back.

[ref813]

Our best line could easily be White, Miller, Wilkerson, Moore. Now that Moore may be able to handle LDE, I'm wishing Wilkerson hadn't lost that weight. He's pretty light for a DT, but he still seems better than the others whether he's inside or out. If they managed to get starters out of the 3rd, 4th, and 7th, I'll cut them a little slack when it comes to Freeman. I hope I don't have to, though. He might play well.

[Kurt]

Hovan and Haye played fine together; got us to a #5 defensive ranking last year when we were 9-3. Then what happened? Short memories make for stupid posts. Problem now is that there is nobody even close to the caliber of Haye on our DL. A bunch of fourth stringers behind Hovan. You can't even evaluate him at this point because he is the only focus from the opposing offensive line. He's a hard nose, clock punching, blue collar worker who does what he's asked and who needs some help.

Does anybody realize that we haven't drafted an all-star on defense since Barber? Before that it was Lynch, Sapp & Brooks (all drafted by Wyche!) We need some help in the pro-scout/pro-personnel department for defense. We have drafted some offensive talent at least. Now we just need a coach/leader with some idea of where to go. It really seemed odd to fire Gruden right when the offense was beginning to gel. 1 good QB away from a very talented O. Oh well; maybe we'll be good again before I die...I hope.

[OAR]

Paid off for Hovan and Simms to gain that extra weight to play in Bates scheme, didn't it.

[OAR]

I hope Moore isn't injury prone(twice in the year so far, reason he hasnt played yet), heck I hope he can play well in a real game. We have yet to know if he will.

[D Block]

Kurt if Haye was so GOOD why have the Titans fallen so far? He isn't and Hovan wasn't getting push last yr either for that part. They looked descent until people started running up the middle. The Defense was ok and the team had a 9-3 record but look at that schedule from last yr compared to this yr. It's not that i don't notice the flaw of the 2 Gap system, but i really notice the flaw of Hovan & Simms being DOMINATED in any SYSTEM!

As far as Haye being this high caliber player. I think Roy Miller will be better then him. Haye was hot for 1 season and descent the others.

[OAR]

Dblock, Titan's fall has a lot more to do with the fact thier defensive coordinator of 7 years(see Kiffin departure) and Haynesworth are no longer there, than Haye's play with them. Say what you will about head-stomper, he was a huge part of their success in the past.

[jjbjeff]

Kurt, have you actually watched Hovan play?

Be careful before you start calling people stupid.

Hovan is terrible, open your eyes dude.

[clark kent]

The best defenses in the NFL right now seem to be using a lot exotic blitz packages. I hope Bates has that in his arsenal but whatever blitzes we've used lately haven't been effective enough. Maybe the players aren't versatile enough to blitz effectively, like Barber can. It seems silly to even dissuss blitzing when the tackling has been so poor this year. I know the opponent gets paid to make you miss, but I don't remember seeing so many missed tackles from the Bucs D.

[clark kent]

On a positve note. I believe the Bucs will win on Sunday if they can do one thing. Outscore the opponent.

[OAR]

Clark, do know what the difference between losers and winners is?
According to Shane Flaco, the score.

[clark kent]

Oar, I think Freeman would be okay if he had Manu Mana the slender blocking for him. That's a little Necessary Roughness for ya. If the Bucs start winning they could take the crown from the Fighting Armadillos and be "the biggest bunch of losers that ever starting winning."

[clark kent]

"The biggest bunch of losers that ever started winning," excuse me. We need Rob Shneider doing the Buccaneer commentating. "A 94 yard kickoff return for a touchdown could give the Colts a false sense of confidence going into the second minute of play." Nec. Roughness has got to be on the Bucs' list as far as analyzing game tape.

[TrueBucFan]

Hey Kurt, where have you been buddy? Mars? The big reason everyone in the draft thought we were drafting Defensive Line was Tampa lack of push last year. The number 5 defense Tampa was from pass defense. I think Tampa was 20 something in sacks last year. That's something to hang your hat on Kurt? Hey Kurt Hovan has 4.5 sacks since becoming a Buc in 05. Hovan had 1 sack in 08. Haye had 6 sacks in his 3 seasons as a Buc and all 6 were in 07. Haye had 0 sacks in 08. Look numbers up before you act like they did something last year. Hovan highest sack outing was for the Vikings and it was 6 sacks in a year. Hovan has 21.5 sacks for his career and only 4.5 as a Buc... WOW...Why is Hovan on the team? Heart? hell I got heart and I'm not playing. Run stop? Does not seem to being good at that ether. Leadership? Whoops lets not go there, because there is no leadership on this team. Get rid of Hovan he is not a good DT. Tampa has not had a solid pass rush since Sapp left. I think Roy Miller could be good but he needs help.