Moore Remembers “Scary” Time With Lovie
June 13th, 2014
How serious is Lovie Smith about the nickel cornerback in his defense? Consider the Bucs have a specific nickel coach, and in Chicago for one whole season, Lovie served as head coach and nickel coach.
D.J. Moore, now a Buccaneer, was the Bears’ nickel back, so his daily position meeting was a 1-on-1 session with the head coach.
Joe and Moore talked all kinds of football after practice yesterday. Joe asked about all that personal time with Lovie.
“It was fun. It was kind of scary a little bit to have the head coach, you know, being your position coach. So in the meeting room it would just be me and him. And every day you were kind of scared,” Moore said. “Every day he would throw different fronts and ask you what other guys are doing in the defense, and he’d give me stories. I
Moore went on to joke, “I’d get the same stories all season.”
It’s pretty safe to say Moore is closer to Lovie than any player on the roster. They’ve got a long history. A two-time All-SEC player, Moore was drafted by the Bears in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. After Lovie was fired, Moore signed a free agent deal with Carolina last season, but was cut after an injury. Lovie came calling quickly after taking the Bucs job.
Given the trust and history with Moore, Joe would be stunned if Moore is not the opening day nickel back.
Moore acknowledged his close relationship with Lovie but said that it won’t mean much once the regular season starts.
“Knowing Lovie, I know he keeps everyone accountable and you have to make plays. If you’re not making plays, even if he likes you and knows you and trusts you, somebody else gonna be out there,” Moore said.
Joe will have more from Moore in the coming weeks. Of course, there’s no offseason on JoeBucsFan.com.
June 13th, 2014 at 10:16 am
This is the worst time of the year! 6 weeks without football is going to suck so bad. Off note I saw the Alex Boone wants a bigger contract, do we have any money left to hook him up with?
June 13th, 2014 at 10:24 am
Awesome to here Moore sharing this. That means Moore will not the “Teo” treatment we saw with Schiano. The guy was awful game after game but the Rutgers DE would start game after game.
I love this coaching staff! The future looks bright!
June 13th, 2014 at 10:38 am
“Moore was the fourth round pick for the Bears in 2009. In forty-two games for Chicago, he amassed 118 combined tackles, one sack, 1 forced fumble, and 10 interceptions.
He also managed to find the end zone in both 2010 and 2011.
Despite some solid play in the secondary, Moore had unfortunately seemed to find a permanent home in the Lovie Smith doghouse (gambles lead to break down in coverage responsibilities). Eventually Moore would lose the starting Nickel spot to Kelvin Hayden. ”
Note: End of the Season that year- Chicago informed Moore- that he wouldn’t be retained, despite his interest in switching to the safety position to garner more playing time.
June 13th, 2014 at 10:43 am
This is going to be a LONG 6 weeks. Wish the season was starting tomorrow. LOTS to be optimistic about.
June 13th, 2014 at 2:26 pm
@Touch_Down_Tampa_Bay…
Teo was not from Rutgers.
June 17th, 2014 at 10:57 am
LOVMYBUCS but did you actually watch tbe games… he was around every play and teams stopped throwing to his side. He actually made a buge difference in the chicago defense. You should hope he does the same for your team that was actually ranked 28th in team defense.