DJ Moore building trust with Kyle Allen and "blossoming" in his second season

Sir Purr

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Mar 16, 2019
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It didn’t end with a win, but Moore finished with nine catches on 11 targets for 120 yards against the Packers. A week prior against Tennessee, Moore posted seven catches for 101 yards, marking the first time in his young career he’s gone over the century mark in consecutive weeks.


Got to feel pretty good, no?


“You could say that. But that’s what we play the game for,” Moore said in typical Moore fashion. “I’m not really too high on (back-to-back 100-yard games), but I do notice it.”


Head coach Ron Rivera expressed some more excitement about Moore’s recent production.


“He’s a young guy who has really blossomed,” Rivera said.


What’s really blossoming is the trust between Moore and quarterback Kyle Allen.


“The more he and Kyle play together, the more they understand body language. And being in the right spot for your guy – that’s what builds trust,” Hostler said.


Allen put his faith in Moore on that aforementioned fourth-down pass in Green Bay, and continuously counts on the former first-round pick to be on time and secure tough catches over the middle. Quick slants to Moore have been a staple of the offense all season.


“He isn’t afraid to be physical and use his body,” Allen said of Moore. “You have that trust in him because you know if you are going to put it out there it’s going to be his ball or no one’s. Even if you give him a not-so-great ball, he’s going to fight through to catch that ball or it’s going to be incomplete.”


Added Moore: “It’s all having trust in each other. I’m going to be where he wants me to be when the ball is out of his hand.”


And Moore has shown time and time again that he’s willing and able to make receptions through contact.


“When the ball is coming to him and there’s people around him, it doesn’t change how he catches it,” Hostler said. “That’s how he’s been his whole life. He’s not a fast-twitch guy like Curtis (Samuel), so he’s been playing with people around him his whole career. But for him, it’s like they’re not there.”


With 221 receiving yards over the past two weeks, Moore is on pace for a 1,000-yard season (1,216 yards, to be exact). He’s one catch away from matching his total from his rookie year, which was 55. Also of note, Moore's 14 catches to move the chains on third down are third-most in the NFL.


If he records another 100-yard game against Atlanta, he’ll become the first Carolina wideout since Steve Smith in 2008 to have three in a row.
 
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