Former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has struggled mightily early in his tenure as the New Orleans Saints head coach.
The ex-Eagles offensive coordinator knew he wasn’t walking into an ideal situation as the Saints are one of the worst teams in the NFL this season. However, this is an opportunity for Moore to prove himself after being an OC for many years.
With his offensive background, the Saints hoped that he would bring some exciting plays to their offense, while developing their young QBs (Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough). However, Moore made a disastrous call in Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills, which could come back to haunt them.
Kellen Moore Dials Up His Version of Philly Special in Week 4 vs. Bills
At the 1:31 mark in the second quarter, Moore decided to call a trick play on third and goal to see if he could catch the Bills’ defense off guard. That play call was his own version of the Philly Special, which failed miserably and cost the Saints potential points.
When Rattler snapped the ball, he gave it to WR Rashid Shaheed off a motion, who then gave it to WR Chris Olave, who tried to throw it back to Rattler.
However, instead of the ball ending up in the hands of Rattler, Bills safety Cole Bishop was not fooled and made an athletic play, recording an interception.
As you can imagine, Saints fans weren’t happy about Moore’s decision, as the former Eagles coordinator tried to get too cute. Sometimes, when you are in the red zone, it’s best to keep it simple, which you’d think Moore would have learned from his time with the Eagles.
Moore doesn't have the capabilities to call the tush push in New Orleans, but there’s nothing wrong with handing the ball off to your starting running back, Alvin Kamara.
Luckily, the Bills did not capitalize on that egregious play call by Moore, but the Saints could’ve been down 1 point or taken the lead over Buffalo.
One would hope that Moore learns from that situation, as you cannot leave points on the board when you’re the team that isn’t the best at multiple positions. The ex-Eagles coordinator has a lot to learn, and he got a harsh reality on Sunday.