http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/ne...06-664147.html
Eagles' Moats making progress with West Coast offense
The Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA - Running back Ryan Moats finally has a firm grasp of the Eagles' offense.
A third-round pick in last year's draft, Moats struggled to pick up the system and spent half of last season on the inactive list. His first rushing attempt came in Week 12.
"I was lost," Moats said. "I didn't know what was going on."
Despite the steep learning curve, Moats ended up having a promising rookie season. He rushed for 278 yards on 55 carries, an average of 5.1 yards. He tied for the team lead with three touchdowns.
When Brian Westbrook went down with a foot injury late in the season, Moats showed the Eagles they had another big-play back. A week after running for a 40-yard score against the Giants, Moats had a 59-yard touchdown run against the Rams.
He's just the third rookie since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 to record touchdown runs of 40 yards or more in consecutive games. He joins Corey Dillon of the Cincinnati Bengals and Antowain Smith of the Buffalo Bills, who accomplished the feat in 1997.
"It helped me so much. I was pretty much in the doghouse - not from anybody else, but I put myself in the doghouse, personally," Moats said. "I felt like I wasn't playing my style of football in the beginning, and then I picked it up later on and started being myself again."
Now, Moats is one of a handful of selected veterans participating in the team's rookie camp, and the West Coast offense is no longer as troubling as it was a year ago.
"I'm way better right now," he said. "I'm a lot better, a lot more comfortable. I can take my time and do things. Last year, I learned the plays, but it wasn't natural. I had to think about it. Now, I know them, so I can think about protections and route situations."
Some rookies benefit from running a version of the West Coast offense in college. Moats wasn't one of them.
The offense he played in at Louisiana Tech was completely different from the system he had to learn with the Eagles.
"I didn't know anything about the West Coast offense," Moats said. "I didn't know any of these words."
The Eagles' running backs have helped Moats from the first day.
"Reno (Mahe) helped me when I first stepped in the door," Moats said.
The Eagles are so confident in their current crop of running backs, they didn't add one in the draft. But, come training camp, Moats will still be competing with Westbrook, Mahe, Bruce Perry and Correll Buckhalter.
"It makes me feel good, but this is a game. If there isn't a new (running back), there's one here now," Moats said. "There's no difference. You've got a lot of running backs here already that you're going to be fighting for playing time."
All the backs have gone through the struggles of mastering the West Coast offense.
"Everybody said, 'We all went through it, so don't get down on yourself,'" Moats said. "They say that, but it's hard not to, because I want to be a great player, so I'm always striving to be great.
"I'm not going to hang on three touchdowns. ... That's last year. It's a whole new year. Hopefully I can do it again - and even more."
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