It was Arthur Moats' first game with the Buffalo Bills -- not to mention his first game at inside linebacker -- and it didn't take long for him to look dazed and confused like, well, a rookie.

After a play where he missed a tackle, Moats placed his hands on his hips and glanced around Washington's FedEx Field in frustration.

"There were a couple of plays out there and I was like, 'Man, I'm really lost,'" said Moats, who played defensive end at James Madison. "The game is way faster than in training camp and practices and I was like, 'What in the world?'"

The transition from college defensive end to NFL inside linebacker in the Bills' 3-4 scheme has been challenging for Moats. Whereas the ball carrier is often at arm's reach of a defensive end, linebackers must attack from angles and make tackles in open space.

"It's been tough, but it has been getting better progressively," he said on Thursday. "It's been rough the last couple of days on some little technical issues, but other than that it's been better."

Bills coach Chan Gailey said Moats will improve with more experience.

"It's been hard on Arthur," Gailey said. "A guy with his hand on the ground, rushing the passer and transitioning to linebacker is not an easy task. But he's intelligent, he works hard at it. It takes experience to line up there and have people coming at you from all different directions instead of just the offensive tackle lining up against you. He's got a lot of experience to gain in a short period of time, but he's done a good job."

Life at defensive end was much easier. The 2009 Buchanan Award winner for Football Championship Subdivision's top defensive player, Moats led the nation in tackles for loss, averaging 2.14 per game, and was fourth in the FCS in sacks with 11. The 6-foot-2, 250-pound Moats also piled up 90 tackles and returned a fumble for a 68-yard touchdown.

"If it was a run you turn everything back, if it was a pass you get a sack," Moats said. "That was it. There really wasn't anything to it."

Playing inside linebacker in the 3-4 is much different. The alignments are still foreign and sometimes the movement has his head spinning.

"You have to know what the front end is doing and what the back end is doing along with what you're doing," Moats said. "There's definitely a lot more thinking."

Pass coverage has been Moats' biggest adjustment because he's never had to do it before.

"In the past, I was always rushing," he said. "Even in high school I was like a D-end as a stand-up outside linebacker. Never had to drop in coverage."

Because of his size, Moats knew he had to transition to linebacker if he wanted to play in the NFL, but he thought it was going to be outside linebacker.

"Only three teams had me on the inside," he said.

Naturally, the Bills were one of the three teams that viewed Moats playing inside linebacker when they drafted him in the sixth round last April. They called him on draft day and told him about the switch.

"I was like, 'Oh, uh,'" Moats said, laughing. "It's going to be a little different but, hey, we'll give it a go."

The Bills also informed him how much he would have to devote himself to learning the position.

"They told me it's not going to be easy at all," Moats said. "You have to watch a lot of film, do your studying and ask a lot of questions. They get on me hard when I mess up but that's what's expected and it helps me out."

But in last week's game against the Colts, Moats felt more comfortable, especially with reading his keys. He tied Chris Ellis, another Bills player transitioning from defensive end to linebacker, in tackles with five. Moats also had a fumble recovery.

"I have a solid foundation right now," Moats said. "But I have to keep building on it."

rmckissic@buffnews.comnull