Fly like an Eagle

Ryan Moats. Here's a guy who I think about a lot, follow closely and unfortunately only get to speak to on rare occasions. Saturday was one of those rare occasions.

I try to follow Ryan, a former superstar running back at Louisiana Tech who was a friend of mine from our days together in Ruston, through the Philadelphia Eagles' Web site, where he is now a running back in the NFL. As I stopped by the site today, I saw where Ryan had updated his blog (caution: you might have to sign up to see this page).

Reading about Ryan reaching out to children in Philly and also talking about buying a house in Dallas made me think about how much I missed just chilling with the cool cat in Ruston. So I decided to call him. We had a great conversation, and I got to tell him that I had moved to Alexandria and the exciting things that are going on in my life. In turn, I got to hear the exciting things that are going on in Philly, as Moats prepares for his second season in the NFL -- and a much bigger role in the offense.

Also on the Eagles' site was a column written by Dave Spadaro, who runs the site and writes a daily column about behind-the-scenes info in Philly. Here's what Dave had to say about Moats:

RYAN MOATS, RB
This is player who has made a dramatic improvement in his game. It's obvious to anyone who has seen him practice and play in the last year.

Moats always had the startling quickness and that low-to-the-ground running style. He's jitterbug-fast and he changes direction so well that I imagine he's like tackling a fish swimming downstream.

After a promising rookie year, Moats has made strides this spring. Where Moats has worked the hardest, it's clear to see, is his ability to catch the football and transition up the field. He battled the ball last year a bit. That was a weakness. He wasn't entirely comfortable coming out of the backfield and smoothly making a catch and getting into high gear.

In these post-draft camps, Moats has been outstanding catching the football. Not flawless, for sure, but truly outstanding. He is smooth. He is confident.
Maybe it's because Moats now knows where he is supposed to go that he's playing so well. He has the talent; he's also armed with knowledge now.

I have seen many instances when Moats and Brian Westbrook have been paired in the backfield, and I think that is going to give defensive coordinators fits. I would imagine that coordinators will challenge Moats when they see him in the backfield and that they will send a blitzer and force Moats to prove he can pass protect sufficiently. We will see in training camp how much Moats has improved in that phase of his game.

To date, there is no more improved player in this camp. Moats is exciting to see, and the thinking here is that the coaching staff is going to find a way to get him on the field a lot.