flgreen Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 Brandon Moore, the best guard in the NFL, strives for perfection in every part of his life BY Kevin Armstrong DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER Saturday, October 23rd 2010, 6:34 PM GARY, Ind. - In the back of the Great Band Missionary Church, a white brick, one-story building with a pitched roof, stood the choir, a collection of 40 God-fearing, gospel-singing Baptist teenagers. The night's 90-minute concert was outlined in the programs, which were color-printed, folded in three and bordered with musical notes, per Jets right guard Brandon Moore's preference, for the bobbing, loving sea of faces. He planned the entire event in April 1998, his final act before matriculating to college, taking care to match spiritual hymns to biblical verses with a friend. Moore, a meaty lineman dressed in a black suit and tie, sat at the black, baby grand piano in front. "I was like, 'what the heck?" says Jason Johnson, then his offensive line coach at West Side High. "I never even knew he played." The perfectionist revealed himself as a pianist, capable of playing by ear or sheet music. He studied Chopin, Mozart and Kirk Franklin, mimicking their works on the brown wooden piano his great aunt, Johnsilena Parker, gave him as a gift when he was 10. Thereon, he cued up pitches, commanded notes and reveled as youth music minister. "That was the night I realized my baby was going to be something special," his mother, Brenda, says. "It was also the night I realized I could never work for him." Afield, as in life, Moore, 30, is the most demanding Jet, a quiet strategist in the midst of storming defenders. Since entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2002, he has used natural leverage, hooking his hands inside opposing linemen to lift, squeeze and manipulate momentum through a position change, season in NFL Europe, and then the Jets. Now in his eighth year, those fingers, which swell in season, have brought him to the celebrated stage where coach Rex Ryan considers him "the best guard in the NFL." "He's come from nowhere," Jets coach Bill Callahan says, "but he's the epitome of the same guy everyday." His endurance is unquestionable. He can bench press 600 pounds, has played 95 consecutive regular season games and has yet to allow a sack this season for the 5-1 Jets. At 305 pounds, Moore maintains balance, standing stout in protection and exploding on pulls. He trusts his technique and hand placement, rarely abandoning form as he employs counterintelligence from his college days as a defensive tackle, readily identifying a pass rusher's path and finding ways to advance to another defender. "He has the biggest voice in this locker room when he chooses to speak," cornerback Darrelle Revis said. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/2010/10/23/2010-10-23_brandon_moore_the_best_guard_in_the_nfl_strives_for_perfection_in_every_part_of_.html?r=sports%2Ffootball%2Fjets&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nydnrss%2Fsports%2Ffootball%2Fjets+%28Sports%2FFootball%2FJets%29#ixzz13E450xGy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flgreen Posted October 23, 2010 Author Share Posted October 23, 2010 I don’t agree that Moore is the best Guard in the NFL, but he is in the conversation. This guy started out as a project DT. Don’t laugh at the PS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenranger Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 May not be the best Guard, but he is a lot better than he gets credit for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToonTime Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 What I like most about the guy, is that you dont hear sh*t from him. In an O-linemans case, thats a good thing. No sacks this year so far and is a part of the best rushing team in the league, not a bad deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenorGato Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 Good thing he was locked up before the jump in salary for the RG position. LG's have been paid well for a while now, but Evans on the Saints got a really good deal for a RG. *I might have just made that up since I have no numbers in front of me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BroadwayJ667 Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 sometimes the best moves are the ones you don't make. Cough free agency cough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleedin Green Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 May not be the best Guard, but he is a lot better than he gets credit for. Being a career Jet certainly doesn't help out your rep too much. If you ask me, the Jets most tenured players on either side of the ball, Ellis on D and Moore on O, are also two of the most underrated players they have. In the case of Moore, first he was just the guy nobody knew next to Kevin Mawae, now he shares the line with 3 former first rounders and the other G who gets more press simply because he's the guy who replaced a future HOF guard. Yet all these years later he's still here and he's pretty damn good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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