Inside The Bills

Moorman signs with Dallas

Brian Moorman wasn’t out of work for long. He’s signed with the Dallas Cowboys.

That according to his agent on twitter.

ronraccuia: A Star with a Star on his helmet…congrats @brianmoorman on being a @dallascowboys

A Star with a Star on his helmet…congrats @brianmoorman on being a @dallascowboys—
Ron Raccuia (@RonRaccuia) September 26, 2012

Players react to Moorman release

A day after the release of Brian Moorman players admitted the move caught them completely off guard.

Veteran players on the roster that had been a teammate of Moorman for multiple seasons had trouble understanding the move.

“I don’t,” said Fred Jackson. ”I can’t say that I do because I’m not in special teams a lot so I don’t know what’s going on in there. But they felt it was a move they had to make so they made it.”

“I was surprised,” said Kelsay. ”I guess I was surprised more by the timing of it, but Buddy and his staff have reasons for it and we’ve got to respect that and move forward.”

Kelsay found out on Tuesday afternoon. He was at One Bills Drive and ran into Moorman, who had just been delivered the news of his release by GM Buddy Nix.

“I actually found out from him. I was in yesterday and right before I left he told me. It’s tough,” said Chris Kelsay. ”I’ve been with him my entire career. He’s a great guy and done a lot for this organization and a lot on and off the field. His PUNT Foundation has been huge and done a lot for upstate and Western New York. He’s going to be missed there’s no question about it. It’s the nature of the business that we’re in and you hate to see a guy like that go.”

“It was a little surprising,” said Lindell. ”Whenever it happens it just, it’s always going to surprise you you know what I mean? Then you kind of talk it out and now we have to move on.”

Chan Gailey indicated that it was a difficult decision that they talked about. He pointed chiefly to consistency in Moorman’s game.

“We were hoping to get more consistency and we weren’t able to get it,” said Gailey. ”He had a great preseason. He just wasn’t able to get it back.”

The John Murphy Show for Tuesday

Lots to talk about tonight on The John Murphy Show.  We’ll start right off with GM Buddy Nix’s news conference on today’s release of punter Brian Moorman.  Buddy talks a lot about the team’s new punter, Shawn Powell as well as Moorman, and the reasons for making the change.

At 7:20pm, Lackawanna’s own Ron Jaworski joins us live on the line.  We’ll ask Jaws about his view of the referee lockout and where the NFL goes from here.  We”ll also get his take on the Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Bills RB Fred Jackson joins us at 8pm to talk about his recovery from his knee injury, and his chances of playing on Sunday against New England.

And Olympic Gold Medalist Jenn Suhr of Western New York will be live with us at 8:20pm.  She’s getting ready to be “The Leader of the Charge” at Ralph Wilson Stadium this Sunday.  And she’s also going to pole vault inside the Fieldhouse before kickoff.

As always, we’ll take your phone calls and comments at 7:45 and 8:45pm.

The John Murphy Show airs weeknights from 7pm-9pm on the flagship station of the Buffalo Bills, WGR Sports Radio 550.

Moorman, Powell: the decision

Brian Moorman beat out rookie Shawn Powell for the punter’s job on final cutdown day in early September, but one might wonder just how close the battle was now that Powell has replaced him for that very same job just three and a half weeks later. Buddy Nix addressed that very issue Tuesday afternoon.

“At that time we thought we made the right move and today we felt we did,” said Nix, who chose not to get into the specifics of the decision. ”It’s no reflection on Brian, he’s done a great job here. It’s just… we’re moving on.”

The upside of Powell may have been too difficult for Buffalo’s decision makers to ignore. Nix and his personnel staff often focus on adding players to their roster that they believe are on the ascent. Powell was a player the Bills actually considered drafting late this past spring let alone bring in as an undrafted free agent.

Nix did not say whether Powell would handle holding duties this Sunday on field goal attempts, saying that will be up to Chan and his coaching staff to decide. Moorman had been Rian Lindell’s holder.

Moorman’s future

Brian Moorman might not be a Buffalo Bill anymore, but his game is still very much respected in the NFL, especially with two former Bills special teams coordinators still coaching in the league.

It wouldn’t be surprising if Philadelphia or Washington called Moorman’s agent quickly in an effort to sign him. Bobby April is the Eagles’ special teams coach and Danny Smith is the Redskins’ special teams coach. Both coached Moorman in Buffalo. The Eagles did sign Mat McBriar today, but if they deem Moorman a more viable option that situation could change quickly.

Still another team looking to improve their punting situation is Detroit, currently last in the league in net punting average and 28th in punt coverage.

No matter where Moorman finishes his NFL career, he’s a virtual lock for the Bills Wall of Fame.

What you need to know about Powell

Shawn Powell was signed by the Bills as an undrafted rookie last spring and provided good competition for veteran Brian Moorman, who he replaced on the roster Tuesday. The book on him is simply that he has a big leg.

Part of the reason is Powell is built more like a tight end than a punter at 6’4″ and 248 pounds. In the preseason games this past summer he had 14 punts for the Bills. Five were downed inside the 20 and four others were fair catches, speaking to Powell’s hang time ability.

His stats were respectable in the preseason with a 44.8 gross average and a very good 40.4 net average in four games.

He’ll be stepping into a pretty big game this Sunday when Buffalo hosts New England in a pivotal AFC East game.

Moorman vs. Powell

The punter competition has kind of gone under the radar in Bills training camp. So we thought we’d shed a little light on it thus far.

Twice in the last four days rookie punter Shawn Powell and veteran Brian Moorman have squared off during punt team drills with each of them rotating in and out on punts. Below I have listed their unofficial punt hang times off my watch from both July 29th and the Aug. 1st practices.

7/29 practice
Brian Moorman – 4.8, 4.7, 4.6, 4.9, 4.8, 4.7, 4.7
Shawn Powell – 4.8, 4.8, 4.2, 3.8, 3.5, 4.9, 4.6

8/1 practice
Moorman – 4.5, 4.5, 5.0, 4.7, 4.8, 4.5, 4.2 (distance punt of 55 yards)
Powell – 4.5, 4.5, 3.4, 4.5, 4.2, 4.6, 4.8

Adding all the hang times together and averaging them out Moorman has been the more consistent punter with an average hang time of 4.67 seconds. Powell’s average is 4.36.

Lindell-Moorman = kicking symmetry

The combination of Rian Lindell and Brian Moorman in Buffalo’s kicking game is entering it’s 10th season. After working off one another for as long as they have, there are continuity benefits that keep each of them sharp.

“When you spend a lot of time together it’s good to have someone you’re comfortable with,” said Moorman, who holds kicks for Lindell. ”He knows what to look for with me and I know what to look for with him. It just helps with the day in and day out routine to have the extra pair of eyes on the field with you and make each other a little bit better. We’ve been together 10 years and that’s hard to come by. I think maybe (Shane) Lechler and Sebastian (Janikowski) in Oakland are the only other guys that have been together that long. I was thrilled to see Rian re-sign this past offseason and I’m hoping I can finish my career here as well.”

Lindell and Moorman are just two of four players on Buffalo’s roster entering their 10th training camp or more with the Bills. For Moorman it’s his 12th.

Top 10 Honorable Mentions

With our Top 10 Performances of 2011 series coming to a close today, we thought it would only be appropriate to list some of the performances from this past season that received honorable mention status and narrowly missed being a part of the series.

2011 Honorable Mention Performances
Brian Moorman Wk 4 at Cin (8 punts 413 yds, 51.6 gross, 40.5 net, 2 inside 20, long 65)
Bryan Scott Wk 1 at KC (8 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 sack, 1 QB hit)
Fred Jackson Wk 2 vs. Oak (15-117, 2 TDs, 2 rec. 23 yds)
Fred Jackson Wk 6  at NYG (16-121-1 TD rush, 5-47 rec.)
Stevie Johnson Wk 2 vs. Oak (8-96, 1 TD)
Stevie Johnson Wk 3 vs. N.E. (8-94, 1 TD)
George Wilson Wk 3 vs. NE (10 tackles, 1 INT)
George Wilson Wk 4 at Cin (12 tackles, 1 INT)
George Wilson Wk 8 vs. Wash. (9 tackles, 1 INT)
Jairus Byrd Wk 3 vs. NE (12 tackles, 2 PBUs)
Nick Barnett Wk 8 vs. Wash. (10 tackles, ½ sack, 1 QB hit)
Terrence McGee Wk 6 at NYG (11 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 PBUs)
Ryan Fitzpatrick Wk 12 at NYJ (26-39 264, 3 TDs)
C.J. Spiller Wk 16 vs. Den (16-111-1 TD rush, 2-27 rec.)
Leodis McKelvin/Justin Rogers Wk 16 vs. Denver (McKelvin sets PR record, 80-yd TD, Rogers 33.7 KR avg.)

AFC East player rankings

ESPN AFC East blogger James Walker is listing his top 40 players in the division. So far he’s counted down from 40 to 21 and there are a handful of Bills players on the list.

Here’s the rundown of who has appeared on the AFC East Top 40 player list from the Bills.

Below is where the Bills are currently ranked from 21-40:

• No. 38 P Brian Moorman
• No. 32 RB C.J. Spiller
• No. 29 QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
• No. 27 C Eric Wood
• No. 25 DT Marcell Dareus
• No. 23 OL Andy Levitre

Moorman sets mark

Brian Moorman broke his own team record after a 3 punt 124-yard performance Sunday.

Moorman set a new record for highest gross punting average in a season with a mark of 48.22, breaking the old mark of 46.58 in 2009.

Proud Gorilla

Guess which Bills player was proudly wearing his alma mater’s colors to team meetings last night?

Punter Brian Moorman was beaming last night during team meetings wearing his Pittsburg State Gorillas gear as his alma mater won the Division II National Championship over Wayne State Saturday afternoon.

We’ll see if his school’s national title has him inspired against the Dolphins today.

Moorman unlikely to kick off

Bills punter Brian Moorman stepped in last Sunday to kick off with Rian Lindell unable to kick long following his shoulder injury against the Jets. Moorman has kicked off in the past, but head coach Chan Gailey is leaning against that moving forward.

“I would rather not go that direction because what I have found and what other people have found is that when you ask a guy to do two things it sort of messes up the one thing he does best,” Gailey said. ”At least he doesn’t get to spend as much time on it. I would rather not, but he certainly did a good job when he was asked to step in and I think he would have no problem doing it, but if we do have to sign a kicker, hopefully we can find one that does a good job kicking off as well.”

Moorman handled kickoff duties with the Bills in 2002 when Mike Hollis was the team’s placekicker. Buffalo is have tryouts to find a replacement kicker for the injured Lindell today (Tuesday).

Moorman wine tasting event

Join Brian Moorman and his wife Amber for their 6th Annual Celebrity Wine Pairing this coming Monday Nov. 7, from 5:30 – 10:00pm

The Celebrity Wine Pairing will take place at Asbury Hall on Delaware Avenue. All proceeds will benefit Brian Moorman’s P.U.N.T. Foundation.

You can join Amber and Brian Moorman, his teammates and other local celebrities for an evening of exquisite wine and gourmet cuisine while raising money to help families in Western New York affected by pediatric cancer. There will be a live and silent auction with the opportunity to bid on autographed sports memorabilia, vacation packages, spa treatments, restaurants packages and much more.

For more information go to http://www.brianmoorman.org.

Competition for specialists

Last year there was no competition in camp for the likes of veterans Rian Lindell and Brian Moorman or young long snapper Garrison Sanborn. That won’t be the case in this training camp.

The Bills have signed an undrafted rookie for each of those positions, LS Danny Aiken, K Chris Hazley and P Reid Forrest. The most impressive of the three is probably Forrest, who had a heck of a career at Washington State. For more on this group of newcomers you can check the home page at Buffalobills.com.

Moorman on PFT live

Bills punter Brian Moorman appeared on PFT Live today (Thursday).

Moorman addressed his efforts to help people in Joplin, Missouri near his home state of Kansas that were impacted by the destructive tornados there this past week.

Moorman went to Pittsburg State, which isn’t far from Joplin and has family and friends in that part of the country. He’s put a game worn jersey of his up for auction to raise money for the Red Cross to help with the relief effort in Joplin.

Moorman, Lindell working out too

A host of Bills players will reportedly be in town next week as they’ve set up their own team workout regimen, but Buffalo’s long time punter and kicker have been in the Buffalo area working out all along.

Appearing on Morning Bull on 103.3 The Edge, Brian Moorman explained what he and Rian Lindell have been up to thus far this offseason.

“There are a couple of fields that we go to locally and one of the local high schools lets us go out there and we go in between classes because it’s a multi-purpose field and they’ve got lacrosse and everything going on,” Moorman told Morning Bull. ”That’s our routine right now. It’s frustrating. I’d rather go up to the stadium and work, but there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Moorman also mentioned how Bills players have their offseason workout regimens so they know what they’re supposed to be doing this time in the offseason.

“We have our workout books and we’re following what we’re supposed to be doing,” he said.

Moorman to be inducted

Bills punter Brian Moorman, who is already a member of the Division II Track & Field Hall of Fame is up for another Hall of Fame distinction.

Moorman has been selected for induction into the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Hall of Fame for 2011. The Bills punter was a 10-time All-American in track and field as a hurdler and a four-time All-American in football at Division II Pittsburg State.

He’ll be enshrined in a June 9th ceremony at the annual MIAA awards dinner in Kansas City, Missouri.

Chan on Moorman

Many Bills fans have been asking about Brian Moorman and why they’re not seeing the big moon shots they’re used to staring up at for five seconds plus. Head coach Chan Gailey provided some input on just what they’re asking Moorman to do this season.

“We try to get him to put it on one side of the field or the other,” said Gailey. “We want to take our coverage to one side and limit the returns when you can put it outside the numbers on one side or the other. We’re not asking him to kick it right on the sideline at 39 yards and net that out. We still like the good deep punts, but we would like them on or outside the numbers if we can get them there. Everybody struggles. In the middle of the season Rian was struggling a little bit. We understand what he’s going through. Nobody likes it, most of all him.”

Moorman is currently 24th in net punting with a net of 36.2 and 28th in gross punting (42). Much like Lindell, if Moorman gets in a rut he’s usually not in it long, but late in the season when the weather is poor it becomes more and more difficult to improve your numbers if you’re a punter.

Moorman Wine Pairing event

The 5th annual Brian Moorman Celebrity Wine Pairing event will be taking place a week from Monday on Oct. 25th to benefit Moorman’s PUNT Foundation, which is dedicated to helping families in WNY that are battling pediatric cancer.

The event will be held at Asbury Hall on Delaware Ave. in downtown Buffalo from 5:30 to 10 pm on Oct. 25th and includes a wine tasting, silent auction and a five course dinner followed by dessert. Each course comes with a signature wine pairing. Bills players will be on hand and you can purchase tickets to have dinner at a player’s table.

Just go to Brian’s website for more information and to purchase tickets.