
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, November 7, 1993                   TAG: 9311070068
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: E11   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: PONTIAC, MICH.                                LENGTH: Medium

INJURIES CATCH UP WITH DETROIT'S HERMAN MOORE

Herman Moore can handle the cast and the crutches and the pain in his sprained right ankle. It's the down time that bothers him.

"So far this year, I haven't had any major injuries," said the Detroit Lions' third-year wide receiver, a former University of Virginia standout. "It's been the little minor ones that have kept me out of practice and caused me to slow down slightly.

"I haven't been 100 percent the whole season, but somehow I've found a way to get ready before the week's over and then play on Sunday and perform well. But I know I can do much better. I guess that's the most frustrating part, to know I'm operating on less than 100 percent and still helping the team. It's frustrating because I know I can do a lot more."

Even with Moore's injuries - a jammed finger during training camp, a hamstring strain that slowed him through the first six weeks of the regular season and now the ankle - only four receivers have more receiving yards than Moore's 641 on 38 catches.

It's doubtful Moore will be able to add to those numbers today against Tampa Bay at the Silverdome.

However serious it is, his sprained ankle is one more impediment to what coach Wayne Fontes believes will be the inevitable acceptance of Moore as one of the NFL's elite receivers. Since coaching Jerry Rice on the NFC Pro Bowl team two years ago, Fontes can't help but make a complimentary comparison between the players.

So far, however, the rest of the NFL hasn't arrived at the same conclusion. In a CBS television survey of general managers last week, the top five was Michael Irvin of Dallas at the top, followed by Sterling Sharpe of Green Bay, Rice of San Francisco, Andre Rison of Atlanta and Anthony Miller of San Diego. Moore said he wasn't upset at being left out.

"It's all about schemes and how you're used," he said. "You look at those teams and they [the receivers] are all the primary guys. They are the guys they look to regardless, to try to get them the ball throughout the game. There's a difference. They may see 15 passes and maybe only catch five, whereas with me it's only six, seven or eight maybe, if I'm lucky."

Besides, at 24, Moore has plenty of time to make his mark as a receiver.

"I guess it's just a matter of me waiting my turn, continuing to be consistent," he said. "I think that's the key to it: If you're consistent and you go out and work hard, it's going to all pay off in the long run." - Knight-Ridder/Tribune

Keywords:
FOOTBALL

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