Moulds seeks spark to Titans ‘O’ in making his return to Buffalo
‘They’ll be an explosive offense, because they have the weapons,’ said Moulds, who spent his first 10 seasons with the Bills before being traded to Houston in April 2006.
It’s Moulds’ unfamiliarity with Tennessee’s offense ‘ and the lack of consistency it’s shown this preseason ‘ that has him a little concerned in preparing to make his first trip back to Buffalo on Friday, when Tennessee (1-1) plays the Bills.
‘We’re a young football team. We’re not going to make excuses for that,’ said Moulds, who signed with the Titans in July. ‘We have to go out and play and improve.’
Tennessee’s first-string offense has managed a field goal in two games. And the production’s down to zero points with Vince Young at quarterback after the NFL offensive rookie of the year last season was benched for the Titans preseason opener, punishment for leaving the team’s hotel to sleep in his own bed.
‘We’re going to get more time on offense,’ Moulds said, referring to the starters playing at least the first half against Buffalo. ‘It’ll give us a look of what we want to be and where we want to go.’
Moulds’ prediction aside, the Bills (1-1) find themselves searching for chemistry, too.
Buffalo’s J.P. Losman-led offense has managed a field goal in eight possessions over two games.
‘It’s one of those things where, right now, it might not look like we’re the team that we say we are,’ tight end Robert Royal said. ‘We definitely want to start putting that together and go into the season with a good feeling.’
No worries, said Losman, who in his first full year as starter helped the Bills win five of their last nine games en route to a 7-9 finish.
‘Of course it would be nice to go in there and have a rhythm. But if it doesn’t happen, it’s not the end of the world,’ Losman said. ‘We are very, very confident. When it comes down to when we have to game-plan for an actual team, we’re going to be pretty dangerous.’
So far they haven’t been pretty much of anything.
Rookie third-string quarterback Trent Edwards has engineered Buffalo’s two touchdown drives, while Losman has produced as many first downs ‘ five ‘ as the Bills defense has generated turnovers in two games.
The Bills starters were so ineffective in a 13-10 loss to Atlanta last week that they produced three consecutive three-and-outs against the Falcons’ backups.
‘Highlights, yes, that would be a nice extra benefit,’ said Losman, who is 11-of-19 for 98 yards passing this preseason. ‘But we feel we are getting better and we are building chemistry.’
Tennessee’s offense has been a work in progress this summer, and not only because of Young’s one-game benching. The Titans are still attempting to determine a starting running back after releasing Travis Henry, who was deemed too expensive this offseason.
LenDale White could get his shot on Friday. The second-year player is expected to start since he returned to practice this week after hurting his ankle in a 16-6 preseason-opening loss to Washington on Aug. 11.
Also in the mix are Chris Brown, the fifth-year veteran who lost his starting job last year, and rookie second-round pick Chris Henry.
The key, as ever, is Young, the first-round pick out of Texas, who electrified the NFL and re-energized the Titans last year. Taking over in the midst of Tennessee’s 0-5 start, Young went 8-5 and had the Titans in playoff contention through the final week of an 8-8 season.
The Titans closed the season by scoring 20 or more points over the final eight games ‘ their best stretch since 1992. And the ever-mobile Young finished with 552 yards rushing, becoming the first rookie quarterback to do so in the modern NFL.
Young went 5-of-17 for 102 yards passing in the first half of a 27-24 win at New England last week. He did produce a seven-play, 60-yard drive that ended when Young was stopped for no gain on a fourth-and-1 at the Patriots 1.
‘Scoring a touchdown would be nice. We haven’t done that yet,’ center Kevin Mawae said, when asked his goal for Friday’s game. ‘Now it’s time to take a step.’