Make no mistake, Morgan Moses is an O-lineman all the way.
After missing no starts and participating in average of more than 1,000 offensive snaps at right tackle for his last six seasons in Washington, he's been almost on the same pace as the Jets' RT — 15 games, 14 starts and missing only 64 of the Jets' 979 offensive snaps this season. He called the Green & White's 273 rushing yards in the win over the Jaguars "a fantastic day at the office" in good part because of the blocking he was a part of.
But when Moses is asked about quarterbacks, like many fans of the game, both inside and outside One Jets Drive, he's got opinions. And after Wednesday's practice he had some observations on several big-name QBs, not to mention his own rookie signal-caller.
"You see a guy that's getting better every week. He's a professional on and off the field, and he comes in every day and he demands," Moses said of Zach Wilson. "The thing I'm starting to learn about him is that as he's getting comfortable, he's learning how to demand greatness from every position."
The greatness, Wilson said, is visible because "I just think you're starting to see the playmaking ability that he's used to." It also comes through in the volume of his verbiage.
"Definitely, he's become more vocal," the tackle said. "He knows the playcalls, he knows what his receivers have, and he knows he wants it run a certain way. He speaks up about that, and when you have a quarterback that's young and he's demanding greatness out of everybody else, it becomes contagious and you want to be a part of that. When you have a quarterback that speaks up, and I've been around a couple of them, Alex Smith and Kirk Cousins, it makes the offense run a lot smoother."
Smith and Cousins were two of the veteran field generals that Moses was around while calling FedEx Field his home stadium. He's also been around more greatness in a QB many have labeled the GOAT. He never played on the same team with Tom Brady, but he played against Brady and the Buccaneers in the first week of last season's playoffs and he'll be going up against him again on Sunday when TB and TB visit MLS to play the NYJ.
"You know who Tom Brady is. He's a walk-in Hall of Famer. He's still having a hell of a career," Moses said about whether Brady and his offense puts pressure on opposing offenses to try to keep up with the Bucs. "But I think when you worry about other people and what they're doing, that's when you slow down and you miss your opportunity.
"We don't have to change the game plan and look different because we're going against Tom Brady. We just have to stick to our guns and play the game we know we can play."
Some of the games the Jets have played in year one of the Robert Saleh/Zach Wilson/Morgan Moses era have been rewarding. There were the surprising home wins over first-place playoff contenders Cincinnati and Tennessee. The victories at Houston and last week over Jacksonville perhaps showed that the Jets are ahead of some NFL teams in their rebuilding process. As Moses said of the Jags win, "not perfect, but it was a good performance."
A stunning victory or two as they close the season against Tampa Bay and at Buffalo would give the Jets and their fans that proverbial springboard into the offseason. But will Moses be a part of that leap toward the 2022 season?
"This organization has been amazing, from the custodians downstairs to everything about it," he said. "Everybody's working for one thing and that's to be great, showcase everything you can every Sunday, put the best 53 guys on the field, 11 on each side, 11 on special teams, and go out and try to play winning football. I don't know if my future is here or somewhere else, but I know I have a lot of football left to play.
"All I can do is go out there and play football, put my best foot forward," Moses said. "I've shown leadership since I've been here and I've had a damn great time. ... I love it here. I like it a lot. So we'll see how it goes."
See the Top Practice Images from Wednesday of Bucs Week at 1 Jets Drive