Atlanta Falcons Fan Favorites: William “C4” Moore

November 25, 2012; Tampa, FL, USA; Atlanta Falcons cornerback Asante Samuel (22) is congratulated by strong safety William Moore (25) after he broke up a pass in the end zone against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Atlanta Falcons defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-23. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Today, I present you none other than the other Pro Bowl caliber safety on the team, William Moore. Willy Mo has stated before that he is always ready, and he proved it this year. Moore lit the field on fire with yet another great season. Willy Mo did miss the last four weeks of the regular season with an injury, but still outplayed his statistics from previous seasons.

We will put Willy Mo Always Ready (W.A.R.) to the test today, so brace yourself. All statistics brought to you by edraft.com.

Recent Regular Season Statistics:

Week 10 New Orleans Saints- 4 solo tackles and 2 assisted tackles

Week 11 Arizona Cardinals- 5 solo tackles

Week 12 Tampa Bay Buccaneers- 5 solo tackles and 1 assisted tackles

Week 13 New Orleans Saints- 9 solo tackles 2 assisted tackles along with 2 passes defensed and 2 interceptions

Week 14 Carolina Panthers- DNP

Week 15 New York Giants- DNP

Week 16 Detroit Lions- DNP

Week 17 Tampa Bay Buccaneers- DNP

Recent Post Season Statistics:

Divisional Round Seattle Seahawks – 3 solo tackles and 2 assisted tackles

NFC Championship San Francisco 49ers – 1 solo tackles and 5 assisted tackles with 1 pass defended

W.A.R. was indeed always ready this year. While playing the strong safety position, Willy Mo was responsible for helping out with the run game as much as he is with helping out with the pass game. Moore was averaging 6.25 solo/assisted tackles per game up until his injury. If you do the math, he was on track for recording 100 tackles on the season. He also recorded a respectable 4 interceptions for the year.

Hopefully in the upcoming year Moore can stay on the field for a whole season, and show us why he should get a repeat Pro Bowl invitation.

Sep 25, 2011; Tampa, FL, USA; Atlanta Falcons strong safety William Moore (25) reacts with a smile during a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Fernando Medina-USA TODAY Sports

Off Field Behavior:

I am going to get the bad out of the way first so that we can get to the overwhelmingly positive things Moore has done for his community, fanbase, and himself.

Just after the season ended Moore did have a little run in with the long arm of the man. A woman pressed misdemeanor battery charges against him for grabbing her shoulder. I am sure it wasn’t his best moment, but other players have done a lot worse. Maybe that’s just me being an optimist.

On the lighter side of things, Moore has been linked with the Jeremy Maclin Charity Weekend at Mizzou where both players are alumni. He also has been linked with the Lorenzo Williams & Friends Youth Football Camp where he helped teach fundamentals to the youth.

Now to get to what most fans think of when they think of him off the field.

If I haven’t made enough references to it enough, Moore has put out a couple rap songs. They can be found on You Tube if you haven’t seen them. He has songs named Willy Mo Always Ready (W.A.R.) and Respect both have plenty of highlight videos to accompany them. He supposedly has a mixtape CD either coming out or is out named The Lockout. If you can find it in its entirety please leave a link to it in the comments section. Other than that he is a regular on the famous D-Block series that the linebackers of the team produce. He has plenty of freestyle sessions on their series also.

Future with the Team:

“C4” Moore recently signed a new contract with the team this offseason. He signed the highly publicized 5-year $29.512 million deal. The breakdown goes like this:

for 2013 he will get paid $2.25 million, 2014-2015 $3.5 million, 2016 $4.5 million, 2017 $6.25 million. There is also $8.25 million signing bonus, $2.5 million in incentives, and a guaranteed $14 million.

That’s a good pay day for Moore, but that Pro Bowl season happened at just the right time, and earned him that big check. Moore is a highly valued strong safety on a defense that runs the 4-2-5 most of the time. Being the best strong safety on the team means he will be on the field quite often and will be expected to do a plethora of different things depending on what Coach Nolan has drawn up. Seeing that new contract makes me think the front office has faith he can do them all above expectations and the fans should have the same feelings. I think it is safe to say barring injury William Moore will not be going anywhere anytime soon.

Possible Roles Next Year:

This is where things get interesting.

The strong safety position has become a big factor of the defense Mike Nolan brought to the team. Moore has proven that he can play up to par with an expanded role last year and I see no reason why that trend will not continue. Moore should get just as many snaps this year as he did last year and should put up similar–if not better–statistics.

Moore has become a hot commodity in Atlanta and is a player on the rise. Going into only his fifth year with the team he should be hitting his stride and last year may have been the beginning of the best years of Moore’s career. I think we all hope this is true and he has a long, productive career.

Moore is a great player on a great team. On a defense that is revamping its image, he is one of the players the team plans on building around. Moore has somehow managed to be quiet yet outspoken at the same time, and that kind of reserve is what makes him interesting to me. So as fans, we tip our hats to William “C4” Moore.