Picking on Moorehead (Monday morning funny)

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/sports/football/nfl/carolina_panthers/10504929.htm

 

Moorehead a man on the move -- slowly

Defensive tackle isn't fleet of foot, but he is nicely filling big shoes

TOM SORENSEN

TAMPA, Fla. - Three months ago Kindal Moorehead was an obscure second-year professional out of Alabama. He was the guy who came onto the field against Kansas City to replace injured Kris Jenkins, probably the best defensive tackle in football.

A four-year starter in college, Moorehead got knocked around while he adjusted to his new role. His team got knocked around as it adjusted to its new starters.

Moorehead failed to distinguish himself. The Carolina Panthers failed to distinguish themselves.

Moorehead was having a forgettable season. His team was having a season it would like to forget.

Then it changed. Fingers weren't pointed. Panic did not ensue. The new guys began to figure out how to fit in.

The Panthers now are, with a little luck, on the cusp of the playoffs. The team's most valuable players, Julius Peppers, Muhsin Muhammad and Jake Delhomme, will get the bulk of the credit for it, and they should.

But beneath the stars are a dozen players quietly meeting and exceeding Carolina's expectations. Moorehead is one of them.

He was one of them. Because Moorehead is quiet no more. His work in Sunday's 37-20 victory against Tampa Bay yielded one spectacular "SportsCenter" moment.

With Carolina clinging to a 30-20 lead, Moorehead rushed quarterback Brian Griese from the inside. As he played off the block, Griese threw the ball near Moorehead and the ball stuck to him.

Carolina players call Julius Peppers "Matrix." It's a good name; you've seen the movies, the first one in its entirety. Peppers can do secret Keanu Reeves stuff. Velcro is a name Moorehead has earned.

Who has better hands, you or Peppers?

"Me!" says Moorehead.

But the Panthers like to use Peppers as a wide receiver when they're near the end zone. Any chance we'll see Moorehead in a similar role?

"As soon as we get a 40-point lead," linebacker Dan Morgan says.

And Peppers returned one of his interceptions for a touchdown. Now it was Moorehead's turn.

Moorehead was 17 yards from the end zone, but chasing him was guard Matt Stinchcomb, one of the 25 fastest 6-foot-6, 310-pound linemen in all of football. Moorehead is 6-2, 285.

Says Mike Minter: "Everything happened so fast -- until Kindal started running with the ball.

Says Brentson Buckner: "It looked like two ants. One of them is running slow and the other one is running slower."

Says linebacker Will Witherspoon: "It looked like Kindal was trying to run out the clock."

Ha! Moorehead is faster than you think. He has two sacks this season. Play the same position Buckner does and you will work, and Moorehead has.

"He has filled some shoes," defensive end Mike Rucker says.

Moorehead was at the 16, the 15, the 14, the 13, the 12, the 11, the 10, the -- he's still at the 10. He's at the 9, the 8, the 7, the 6, he's practically at the 5, he's at the 5, the 4, on the cusp of the 3, at the 3, the 2, the 1, touchdown.

He scored in less time than it takes to read the 22 paragraphs that preceded this one.

Moorehead has no touchdown dance because he was worried somebody will see it. Who?

"Anybody," says Moorehead.

But he has a motto.

"If it's in my hands, it's in the house," he says.

His team also has a motto: playoffs.

 

Kindall really seems to be stepping it up while filling in for Jenkins...is he becoming the heir apparent to Buckner when BB retires?? This Jenkins injury may be a blessing in disguise when BB does leave and Kindall has all this experience.

 

Yes. He's probably going to take over for Buckner at some point.

I liked Moorehead's drafting most, of the 2002 draftees, because they took a chance. I knew he could bust, and it seemed like he would. Jordan came out and played over him this preseason, and of course there was the mind-numbing and undeserving hype that everyone threw at Duckett. Carstens was even getting in on the act. But Kindal just outright stepped up. And him being very similar to Buckner, they could tandem for a while before Moorehead just takes it over entirely. The issue with him being 285, though, is a little concerning because he's just not as big - his height along with his lack of weight makes him explosive but prone to being susceptible to the things Jenkins can shrug off.

 

If he can play this well beside Buckner imagine how he might do beside Jenkins. I am sure teams give a lot more attention to Jenkins than they do Buckner. If he is going to be our starter we definately need to find a big run stuffer for the rotation, like we have talked about before. Maybe we get lucky and Burton comes back next year.

 

Or a similar guy, if not him. But that trio should be explosive, so I don't want to put a ton of money into it.

 

Not to be picky but to point out how Moorehead has grown in a short amount of time, he was actually in the 2003 draft class. This is his second year on the roster and a lot of time was lost last year due to the spiderbite. Considering all that, I think he is doing damn good for a 2nd year 5th rounder thrown into a starters role.

 

still tho, the opposition is opening up some big hole in our middle, but he can get after a QB pretty good.