but I think we could use one or two new mods everywhere.
Exactly. Look at the mess of the Bitcoin Discussion, Project Development, Politics & Society boards. There's uncontrolled spam, especially in the last one.
... or would somebody just take the patience and report a bunch of posts? Would be that enough?
Reporting isn't enough. There have to be more people responsible for acting accordingly to the reports.
Unfortunately every bitcointalk needs thread pretty much goes in 1 ear and out the other.
So... it also needs new staff too.