BillsWatch Posted May 19, 2012 Posted May 19, 2012 Hopefully this will be enough to get Moorman to push a little more in offseason, increasing strength, working with specialist, etc, for there are only so many jobs in NFL. If he got cut I'd guess he'd be signed quickly if not before season starts during season when someone is fading or injured but why would he want that change?
AJ1 Posted May 19, 2012 Posted May 19, 2012 i put powell beating moorman at less than 10% with punters and kickers, you go with who you know. I believe Moorman's chances of retaining his job are 10% or less. Loyalty for past glories generally earns defeats in the NFL. If Powell's performance upgrades the team, then Moorman's days are numbered.
Dat Dude Posted May 19, 2012 Posted May 19, 2012 Powell definitely has a chance. You have to figure that he'll see a lot of snaps in the preseason since the Bills already know what Moorman can do. If he comes out of the gate destroying the ball on each punt, we could very well see Moorman's final days in Buffalo. What's more likely to happen however is that Powell gets cut and is Option #1 in case there is an injury to Moorman or his play declines suddenly in the season.
vincec Posted May 19, 2012 Posted May 19, 2012 (edited) If I were coaching and expected to make a playoff run, I would want the veteran punter as things get tight Per Buddy Nix: You always want the arrow pointing up. Is Moorman's arrow pointing down or up? Also, why would a legitimate punter prospect have agreed to come to Buffalo unless he thought that there was a good chance to beat out the incumbent? Always been one of my pet peeves. It's not just that the 'art' of kicking to the corner is gone - but then to add insult by replacing it with the absurd high kick right down the middle of the field - with 99.9999999993% chance it will bound into the end zone or back up the field while some ST 'ace' flails impotently at it while it bounces past. Why the hell WOULDN'T you kick the corner - you can have the same guy running down and flailing at it - with the additional possibility of , hey, it could go out of bounds too! Idiots. And don't tell me it's hard to do. As one of 32 guys in the world with that job, go down to the HS field in the offseason and friggin learn how to do it. It's hard to punt in the NFL... I would imagine that one reason to kick it high and short is to try and force a fair catch by the return man and thereby create the opportunity for a muff. How much would one fumble at the opp 10 yard line be worth compared to a few more kicks inside the 20? I think that if the game were close or if we were losing I'd be trying to create as many chances for turnovers as possible. If we were cruising and the defense was kicking butt then I'd just try to pin 'em deep with the coffin corner. Edited May 19, 2012 by vincec
San Jose Bills Fan Posted May 20, 2012 Posted May 20, 2012 http://deadspin.com/...-shining-moment No more of this? But Russ Brandon is a marketing genius.
justnzane Posted May 20, 2012 Posted May 20, 2012 Last year, the Bills did have subpar punt coverage, but awesome KO coverage. The biggest thing to notice about Moorman is that he hasn't been as dominant at the coffin corner as he once was. This is a tough skill for the position and even tougher for Moorman as rarely have the Bills put him in a position to kick from outside of the Bills 30. If your team has a crap offense that can't move the ball, you need a boomer like Moorman, if you're team has a better offense that stalls outside of field goal range instead, you need a Tom Tupa/Sean Landetta type coffin corner punter.
Wagon Circler Posted May 20, 2012 Posted May 20, 2012 I want to know whether he can punt directionally and put the ball in the "coffin corner." There's been a decline of that around the league lately; it's an important play, and until last year, Moorman (as much as I like him) wasn't very good at it. You completely nailed this one. He has lost the ability to kill the ball inside the ten and for whatever reason, did not even try to knock it out of bounds, which seems easier.
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted May 20, 2012 Posted May 20, 2012 Really? Even if "who you know" has had declining stats for three years running and is no longer considered an elite NFL punter? Doesn't make sense to me. I honestly believe this will be a truly open competition, and if Moorman can hold off the rookie, he deserves the job. yup, even then. There's something taboo in the NFL about changing punters and kickers. There's a reason why guys like Chris Mohr and Chris Gardocki played in the NFL forever, even though they were mediocre punters. They were safe guys--been around, don't get kicks blocked, don't make mistakes. It's like that rookie Giants punter who kicked to DeShean Jackson on the last play of the game. ST coaches have nightmares about stuff like that, which is why it's safer to go with the vet than the rookie. All that said, I think for Powell to even have a chance to make the team, he has to play an error-free preseason, show huge upside and improvement over Moorman, and Moorman must look terrible.
The Big Cat Posted May 20, 2012 Posted May 20, 2012 yup, even then. There's something taboo in the NFL about changing punters and kickers. There's a reason why guys like Chris Mohr and Chris Gardocki played in the NFL forever, even though they were mediocre punters. They were safe guys--been around, don't get kicks blocked, don't make mistakes. It's like that rookie Giants punter who kicked to DeShean Jackson on the last play of the game. ST coaches have nightmares about stuff like that, which is why it's safer to go with the vet than the rookie. All that said, I think for Powell to even have a chance to make the team, he has to play an error-free preseason, show huge upside and improvement over Moorman, and Moorman must look terrible. Bro, you're in La La Land. Loyalty shmoyalty. If teams kept guys on the roster for past performances,12, 34 and 78 would stil suit up on Sundays. You're flat out wrong about that. Also, the rookie Giants punter was explicitly told NOT to kick to Jackson, it wasn't a rookie awareness issue, at all. He just had a bad kick. Moorman's walking the plank, face it. I called for his replacement one year ago. Now that we have a worthy heir apparent, I'll be shocked/disappointed if he DOES retain his job.
beerme1 Posted May 20, 2012 Posted May 20, 2012 The sooner the Bills start becoming a team that wins consistently the better. A 3 page thread on punters lol And now 4 pages lol. Would like to say thanks to Moorman. He has been a Great Buffalo Bill. This rookie appears to have shown well in college and this could be the end for Moorman. After seeing him decline the last few years I'm certainly ok with seeing him go though. But really he has been terrific to have had here for so long and I suspect someone else will give him at least a couple more years. Good luck and than you Brian Moorman
Dragonborn10 Posted May 20, 2012 Posted May 20, 2012 Moorman is gone. Lindell isn't going anywhere. Potter is not an NFL quality FG kicker by all the reports I have seen. Depsite what Chix have said I still think it will be hard for them to cut a quality DB or DL for a third kicker.
BRAWNDO Posted May 20, 2012 Posted May 20, 2012 And now 4 pages lol. Would like to say thanks to Moorman. He has been a Great Buffalo Bill. This rookie appears to have shown well in college and this could be the end for Moorman. After seeing him decline the last few years I'm certainly ok with seeing him go though. But really he has been terrific to have had here for so long and I suspect someone else will give him at least a couple more years. Good luck and than you Brian Moorman Unfortunately there is no way to recreate the winter conditions at the Ralph to see if the rookie can get it done.
Ramius Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 Any botches you recall? Offhand, i don't remember him flubbing any snaps, and i watch most FSU games.
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 Bro, you're in La La Land. Loyalty shmoyalty. If teams kept guys on the roster for past performances,12, 34 and 78 would stil suit up on Sundays. You're flat out wrong about that. I never said it was about loyalty. It's about being risk averse. Moorman is safer than Powell. Right ot wrong, that's a key criterion for a lot of teams in signing kickers and punters. I think Powell is going to have to be an appreciatively better upgrade (not just an upgrade) in order to unseat Moorman.
The Big Cat Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 I never said it was about loyalty. It's about being risk averse. Moorman is safer than Powell. Right ot wrong, that's a key criterion for a lot of teams in signing kickers and punters. I think Powell is going to have to be an appreciatively better upgrade (not just an upgrade) in order to unseat Moorman. Do you acknowledge the drastic decline in Moorman's performance over the last three years?
Mark Long Beach Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 I never said it was about loyalty. It's about being risk averse. Moorman is safer than Powell. Right ot wrong, that's a key criterion for a lot of teams in signing kickers and punters. I think Powell is going to have to be an appreciatively better upgrade (not just an upgrade) in order to unseat Moorman. I generally agree with you, but not so much here. If he shows about equal talent, I think we keep him over Moorman. Moorman is still a decent punter, but he's lost his elite skills, and at age 36 is definitely on the downslope of his career. His stats match my eyeballs have seen, a downward slope. Maybe M levels out for a while and is just a decent punter. I've no problem with that. But what if he drops off a cliff? He's old by athletic standards, but not wildly old by punter standards. Punter ages from last year: 27, 31, 30, 25, 30, 29, 35, 33, 26 28, 28, 26, 29, 30, (36), 37, 33, 29 24, 38, 23, 33, 26, 24, 32, 25 (that's most of them. I got bored) In that mostly complete list there are 3 older than Moorman. One is Lechler. Jacksonville drafted a guy in the 3rd round to replace a 33yo. So out of about 30 punters 5 are 35+, as of LAST year. So being over 35 isn't a death sentance but there clearly aren't many. If Powell is good, we'll keep him, so that we'll have the position locked up for 15 years, rather than 1-2? Sometimes you keep a young player that has a likely upside rather than a vet on the slide.
John from Riverside Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 Per Buddy Nix: You always want the arrow pointing up. Is Moorman's arrow pointing down or up? Also, why would a legitimate punter prospect have agreed to come to Buffalo unless he thought that there was a good chance to beat out the incumbent? I would imagine that one reason to kick it high and short is to try and force a fair catch by the return man and thereby create the opportunity for a muff. How much would one fumble at the opp 10 yard line be worth compared to a few more kicks inside the 20? I think that if the game were close or if we were losing I'd be trying to create as many chances for turnovers as possible. If we were cruising and the defense was kicking butt then I'd just try to pin 'em deep with the coffin corner. Powell didnt have the option.....he was drafted....
Ramius Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 Powell didnt have the option.....he was drafted.... No he wasn't. Potter was drafted. Powell was signed as a UDFA.
MRW Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 I never said it was about loyalty. It's about being risk averse. Moorman is safer than Powell. Right ot wrong, that's a key criterion for a lot of teams in signing kickers and punters. I think Powell is going to have to be an appreciatively better upgrade (not just an upgrade) in order to unseat Moorman. I disagree. I think if the team is confident that Powell will not be a major step down from Moorman in both punting and holding duties, Moorman is done. Powell is younger and cheaper, and given that he will be expected to improve, I don't think he needs to beat out Moorman outright so much as produce a competitive performance.
BillsWatch Posted May 21, 2012 Posted May 21, 2012 Powell didnt have the option.....he was drafted.... Don't confuse poster with facts.
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