ORCHARD PARK - Top this, Tiger.
For Brian Moorman, the only thing missing is a green and a flagstick: The Buffalo Bills punter has found his short game on the football field.
“I got the 9-iron out,” said a smiling Moorman, whose 20-handicap as a golfer was easily eclipsed by his remarkably accurate ability to land five of six punts inside the Dolphins 20 in Buffalo's 16-6 win at Miami last weekend.
“Can he punt the ball? Probably not,” Moorman said, when asked to compare himself to Tiger Woods. “But I can't chip a ball and roll it in like he did at The Masters a couple of years ago.”
Then again, Woods doesn't have to contend with 200-plus pound punt-blockers diving in his face.
The five punts inside the 20 were a career-high for Moorman and matched a Bills franchise record previously set seven times, the last by Chris Mohr in 1996. The NFL record is eight, shared by Pittsburgh's Mark Royals, who did it in 1994, and Jacksonville's Bryan Barker in 1999.
Pittsburgh's Chris Gardocki also had five inside the 20 in the Steelers' 9-0 loss at Jacksonville on Monday.
Moorman's performance, however, was better not only because it contributed to a victory, but also because he landed three punts inside the Dolphins 10, something Gardocki only did twice.
Moorman hit long ones - a 52-yarder that Wes Welker had to fair catch at the 16. And he hit short ones - a 28-yarder downed at the 7. Moorman had a 38-yarder that rolled out of bounds at the 1 and had several more hit with a backspin, bouncing safely away from the end zone.
“Something was just going right,” Moorman said. “I was just shaking my head.”
It was a performance hailed as critical to Buffalo's victory because Moorman consistently kept the Dolphins pinned deep in their end.
“He's a real weapon,” special teams coach Bobby April said. “It's not easy for them to start like that, way down there. You do it once or twice, and it's `Gosh, he killed us.' But five times, that's just crushing.”
“It was a magnificent performance,” added Bills general manager Marv Levy. “The impact it had on the outcome of the football game was monumental.”
Moorman capped a near-perfect game for the Bills' special teams in which Rian Lindell hit all three field-goal attempts and Coy Wire blocked a punt, which earned him AFC special teams player of the week honors.
Moorman is in his sixth season with the Bills, making the team as a free agent in 2001. He played college at Pittsburg State in Kansas, where he was also a three-time national 400-meter hurdles champion. This spring, Moorman was inducted into the Division II track and field Hall of Fame.
Moorman holds several Bills records, including highest punting average in a season, and earned his first Pro Bowl selection last year after leading the AFC with 45.7 yards gross punting.
His numbers are more eye-popping when considering Moorman mostly kicks outdoors and must deal with the bitter and strong winds that hit Orchard Park in November and December.
Moorman's length was never in question, but he has struggled with his accuracy, finishing in a tie for ninth in the AFC with 22 punts inside the 20 last season.
It was a statistic he was keen on improving by working on his backspin.
The secret is how he points his foot when making contact. By turning his toes a little more skyward, he's found it gives the ball a little more wobble, increasing the chances of it bouncing backward or sideways.
The technique hasn't been perfected. Moorman landed only one of five punts inside the 20 in Buffalo's 19-17 season-opening loss at New England.
“I don't know how many times balls have rolled in (to the end zone), and it's so frustrating,” Moorman said. “But Sunday, they just kept bouncing backward. I don't know. I hope I can get that spin for 14 more weeks.”
Moorman winked when asked whether he gets a bigger kick out of longer punts or ones that land inside the 20.
“Somebody asked me that the other day, and I said: ‘I like the longer kicks that end up on the 1,”' Moorman said. “That's the best kick in the book right there.”
Tiger couldn't have put it better.
“I got the 9-iron out,” said a smiling Moorman, whose 20-handicap as a golfer was easily eclipsed by his remarkably accurate ability to land five of six punts inside the Dolphins 20 in Buffalo's 16-6 win at Miami last weekend.
“Can he punt the ball? Probably not,” Moorman said, when asked to compare himself to Tiger Woods. “But I can't chip a ball and roll it in like he did at The Masters a couple of years ago.”
Then again, Woods doesn't have to contend with 200-plus pound punt-blockers diving in his face.
The five punts inside the 20 were a career-high for Moorman and matched a Bills franchise record previously set seven times, the last by Chris Mohr in 1996. The NFL record is eight, shared by Pittsburgh's Mark Royals, who did it in 1994, and Jacksonville's Bryan Barker in 1999.
Pittsburgh's Chris Gardocki also had five inside the 20 in the Steelers' 9-0 loss at Jacksonville on Monday.
Moorman's performance, however, was better not only because it contributed to a victory, but also because he landed three punts inside the Dolphins 10, something Gardocki only did twice.
Moorman hit long ones - a 52-yarder that Wes Welker had to fair catch at the 16. And he hit short ones - a 28-yarder downed at the 7. Moorman had a 38-yarder that rolled out of bounds at the 1 and had several more hit with a backspin, bouncing safely away from the end zone.
“Something was just going right,” Moorman said. “I was just shaking my head.”
It was a performance hailed as critical to Buffalo's victory because Moorman consistently kept the Dolphins pinned deep in their end.
“He's a real weapon,” special teams coach Bobby April said. “It's not easy for them to start like that, way down there. You do it once or twice, and it's `Gosh, he killed us.' But five times, that's just crushing.”
“It was a magnificent performance,” added Bills general manager Marv Levy. “The impact it had on the outcome of the football game was monumental.”
Moorman capped a near-perfect game for the Bills' special teams in which Rian Lindell hit all three field-goal attempts and Coy Wire blocked a punt, which earned him AFC special teams player of the week honors.
Moorman is in his sixth season with the Bills, making the team as a free agent in 2001. He played college at Pittsburg State in Kansas, where he was also a three-time national 400-meter hurdles champion. This spring, Moorman was inducted into the Division II track and field Hall of Fame.
Moorman holds several Bills records, including highest punting average in a season, and earned his first Pro Bowl selection last year after leading the AFC with 45.7 yards gross punting.
His numbers are more eye-popping when considering Moorman mostly kicks outdoors and must deal with the bitter and strong winds that hit Orchard Park in November and December.
Moorman's length was never in question, but he has struggled with his accuracy, finishing in a tie for ninth in the AFC with 22 punts inside the 20 last season.
It was a statistic he was keen on improving by working on his backspin.
The secret is how he points his foot when making contact. By turning his toes a little more skyward, he's found it gives the ball a little more wobble, increasing the chances of it bouncing backward or sideways.
The technique hasn't been perfected. Moorman landed only one of five punts inside the 20 in Buffalo's 19-17 season-opening loss at New England.
“I don't know how many times balls have rolled in (to the end zone), and it's so frustrating,” Moorman said. “But Sunday, they just kept bouncing backward. I don't know. I hope I can get that spin for 14 more weeks.”
Moorman winked when asked whether he gets a bigger kick out of longer punts or ones that land inside the 20.
“Somebody asked me that the other day, and I said: ‘I like the longer kicks that end up on the 1,”' Moorman said. “That's the best kick in the book right there.”
Tiger couldn't have put it better.
The Citizens' Say
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