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If nothing else, Steelers wide receiver Derek Moye has made himself noticeable in his three games this season.
His first NFL catch was a touchdown against Cincinnati, when he beat outstanding veteran cornerback Leon Hall on a fade route to the corner of the end zone. His second, he left his feet to haul in a high throw from Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger against Baltimore in Week 7.
The third he may wish he had back.
Roethlisberger placed a beautifully thrown pass right into Moye's hands along the end zone sideline. With a defender on his heels, Moye had the chance to make the play but came up short. And for that, he expects to be on the working end of a few jokes Monday in the team's receivers meeting.
"Just blew it, I don’t know," Moye told Beaver County Times reporter Chris Bradford. "I just misplaced my hands."
It was the second consecutive game a receiver dropped what would have been a touchdown pass. Antonio Brown let a back-shoulder throw from Roethlisberger get through his hands against the Jets in a Week 6 win. Certainly, Roethlisberger will trust Brown again, and he has plenty of reason to trust Moye moving foward.
"I feel like if I was given the opportunity 10 more times, I’d make it 10 more times," Moye told Bradford. "Just that one time, I didn’t make it. Just got to work at it and get better so if I get the opportunity to do it again, I’ve got to make it."
Is it a question of "if" he'll get the opportunity? Seems more like "when." Rookie receiver Markus Wheaton has missed the last two games resting his surgically repaired pinkie finger. In that time, the significant action Moye got was in this game, but his size is clearly an advantage. Roethlisberger threw the one catch he made very high, and Moye had little trouble leaping gracefully to catch it at eye level on his ascent. He secured the ball, and had his legs swept out from underneath him, landing awkwardly on his neck/shoulder/head area.
While Brown is second in the NFL with 48 catches this year, his 5-foot-10 frame would have struggled to make that kind of catch. Moye, at 6-foot-5, brings something the other Steelers' receivers (all 6-foot-1 or smaller) simply don't have.
It wouldn't be a surprise to see him on the field against Oakland in Week 8.
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