9710170131
DETROIT FREE PRESS
971017
Friday, October 17, 1997
METRO FINAL
1F
MITCH ALBOM
Copyright (c) 1997, Detroit Free Press
MOORE CATCHES ON -- BY LETTING GO
It was another lousy Sunday night after another lousy Lions loss, and Herman
Moore was driving home with his wife, his mother and his father. They pulled
up to the house. Friends and family were waiting inside.
Herman was quiet.
"Are you OK?" his mother asked.
"Yeah, I'm OK," he said.
The others got out of the car. But his mother reached over, touched her son's
shoulder and said -- the way mothers do -- "Don't worry, next week will be
better."
He looked at her, and burst into tears.
You don't cry over losing a game in the NFL. You cry over losing hope. That
night, all the frustration over being a Detroit Lion under Wayne Fontes came
to a head for Moore. He had been in this city six seasons, his entire career.
He knew how good he was. He knew how good he could be. But a part inside of
that gifted, 6-foot-4 frame -- the part that was born to shine -- now felt
permanently clouded over. This was his fate. This was his station in the
league. Sunday night loser. Flying under the hype machine's radar. It was
always going to be Jerry Rice, Michael Irvin and who's-that-guy-in-Detroit?
It's all different now. You could see that Thursday at the Silverdome, as
Moore sat by his locker and clowned with his fellow receivers, doing poses,
making jokes that left them doubled over laughing. Moore made a vow after
those tears in his driveway to change his attitude, to pull away, to cease
examining himself after every week. He was just going to enjoy the game, the
way he had when he was younger. No more worrying about his station. No more
stopping by the Silverdome every Tuesday to check the statistics from around
the league.
"That night in the car," he says, "was the turning point of my whole
attitude."
Which is ironic, when you think about it. Because this year there is no Jerry
Rice. This year, Michael Irvin is way down the list.
This year belongs to Herman Moore -- the stats, the Pro Bowl -- it's all there
for the taking.
Yet, he says, he cares less than ever.
Less is Moore.
A tryout on defense
Did you know Herman started his college football career as a safety and a
placekicker? It's true. He was your classic late bloomer. One game in high
school, playing safety, he made a spectacular interception, jumping over two
receivers and another defender to pull in the ball.
In the stands, the father of the quarterback who threw that interception
clenched his fists in anger. But he remembered Moore's incredible leaping
ability.
It turns out that father was a recruiter for Virginia. By the next fall,
Herman was on the Virginia team. As a defensive back.
"I didn't last real long," he admits. "The first week of practice, our
fullback burst through the line into the secondary and it was just him and me.
He was about 250 pounds...."
Moore laughs. "He went right through me. The next thing I know I'm on the
ground and he has one cleat on my head and one cleat on my chest.
"That was the last time I played defense."
As for his kicking? Moore booted a 48-yard field goal once. And he regularly
sent kickoffs "out of the end zone" -- if you believe his memory.
All of which means that his pass-catching talent must have been considerable,
if the coaches were finally willing to move him to receiver. And it was. And
they did. And Moore now stands tall as the best in the NFL.
That's right. The best in the NFL. I don't mean the singular best. I agree
with Moore that "you can't pick one guy at this position. There are too many
different ways to go."
But if the best means the group comprising Rice, who is injured, and Irvin,
who is lagging under the Cowboys' offensive woes, well, then Moore is the top.
He leads the league in receptions and yardage.
Moore is more.
A list of NFL stars
So when does the recognition come? When does he get mentioned in the same
breath as those guys? Well, for one thing, when the Lions win a championship.
"A certain amount of hype just comes with the team," he says. "The Lions
aren't associated with going to a Super Bowl every year. That's just how it
is. To be honest, I think most of what I've gotten up to now has been because
of Barry (Sanders)."
Well. Maybe in the past. But Moore is getting first looks all the time now.
His long reception through three Tampa Bay defenders last Sunday went straight
to the highlights video. And he has even grown confident enough to compare
himself with the game's biggest names.
"I think I do some things better than all of them," he says of Rice, Irvin,
Tim Brown and Cris Carter. "And I think they'll say they do some things better
than me.
"But the main thing is I've reached the point where I know I'm going to be
counted on every week. Last year there was a lot of bickering and
stats-checking." (He admits this had something to do with former teammate
Brett Perriman.)
"This year, we're all on the same page.
"And," he adds, leaning back, "I'm much more at peace with myself."
A teammate comes by and strikes a joke pose. Moore laughs easily.
"I've been resurrected," he says, grinning. And there was nothing but dry eyes
in the house.
Mitch Albom will sign copies of "Tuesdays With Morrie" 7-8 tonight at
Webster's in Ann Arbor and 2-3 p.m. Saturday at Schuler's Books and Music in
Grand Rapids. To leave a message for Albom, call 1-313-223-4581.
THIS ELECTRONIC VERSION MAY DIFFER SLIGHTLY FROM THE PRINTED ARTICLE.
HERMAN MOORE; LIONS; FOOTBALL; COLUMN