Inside The Bills

The players were off on Friday to close out the first week in June. A slow end to a busy week of OTA’s here at One Bills Drive. In this addition of The John Murphy Show we were joined by some great guests to discuss a variety of intriguing topics ranging from NFL officiating to Hall of Fame inductions. Editor and Founder of footballzebras.com Ben Austro was first on the docket, ESPN Radio Host and SEC guru Paul Feinbaum was next at the top of the 8 o’clock hour and last but not least, a familiar name to Bills’ fans, former Bills’ Punter Brian Moorman rounded out the show.

We caught up with Footballzebras.com’s Ben Austro to discuss all things surrounding NFL officiating. He offered some insight on the re-shaping process the NFL has been going through in the last few years regarding the officials. He touched on the new hires made by the league for the 2015 season including the hiring of the first female NFL official Sarah Thomas.

“We’re at 23 new hires in the last 2 seasons…When there’s a staff of 122, that’s a large percentage. That’s over 10%.” Austro said regarding the re-shaping of the NFL officiating group. He later spoke about the hiring of Sarah Thomas, “Yes, this is a big deal. We’ve been watching her as she’s progressed and yes, it will certainly be a big week 1 story.”

Next up, ESPN Radio Host and SEC specialist Paul Feinbaum joined the show to talk SEC. He discussed a number of SEC alumni that are currently on the Bills’ roster like Kyle Williams, Marcell Dareus, Cyrus Kouandjio and Percy Harvin. Paul also spoke as to why the SEC is so good at producing professionals.

“Years ago players from Florida used to go to Michigan. You’d get players from Kentucky and Tennessee gravitating up north to Ohio State or guys going to Penn State from all over the country. They stopped doing it,” Feinbaum said. “I think some of it was when the SEC became a national brand about 20 years ago. It signed a contract with CBS for a weekly game.”

Lastly, earlier this week former Bills’ Punter Brian Moorman was inducted in to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame and he came on the show to talk a little bit about what an honor it was to receive the phone call informing him of the news.

“It was quite a phone call to get…It’s very humbling and obviously it’s a credit to the people who have supported me along the way. My family, my friends, my teammates, my coaches, everyone that’s been a part of it, I can’t thank them enough because I couldn’t have done it without them.”

To hear more from Brian Moorman and the rest of Friday’s John Murphy Show, click here.