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BILLS: Moorman shows off skill set
Drew Brees was probably the first quarterback taken in your fantasy draft. Brian Moorman surely went undrafted.
Yet this past Sunday, the Bills punter produced more points than the Saints star.
Buffalo took just one shot at the end zone in the 27-7 loss to New Orleans, lining up for a field goal in the first quarter only to have Moorman loft a 25-yard touchdown pass into the hands of reserve defensive end Ryan Denney.
Though Denney managed to get wide open, the Saints weren’t totally surprised by the play.
“I think five or six guys came up to me before the game and told me not to try to pull anything,” Moorman said afterward. “But they were waiting on punts more than anything.
“Pierson Prioleau, who is a former teammate, came up to me and said they were calling out the fake the entire time and it still worked. That’s a credit to my teammates for executing the play.”
And a credit to Moorman’s athletic ability, which far exceeds the traditional role of a punter.
Harking back to his quarterbacking experience for the eight-on-eight squad at Sedgwick High School in Kansas, Moorman sprang out of his holder position after receiving the snap and sprinted toward the left sideline.
Denney had lined up as a blocker on the edge — unlike in last year’s opener against Seattle, when he sneaked out wide and waltzed unnoticed toward the end zone — and was actually briefly shadowed by New Orleans’ Jonathan Vilma when he slipped into the defensive backfield.
“They come up pretty hard so we wanted to sell the kick first and then get out there,” Moorman said. “If the linebacker doesn’t come up on me, I have the option to run it.”
But Vilma knew Moorman, who also lettered in track and field at Sedgwick and has converted several fakes for the Bills over the years, had the speed to pick up the first down. When Moorman saw Vilma leave Denney and begin to pursue him, he made an accurate, across-his-body throw before getting planted into the turf.
“Ryan made a great play on it and stayed in bounds and got into the end zone,” Moorman said. “After I picked myself up off the ground, I was able to see him get in the end zone. It was a great call and the guys on the team executed it well and it was a success. Any time you can do that and help your team create momentum, then that’s a positive.”
The momentum was wasted, however, as the Bills didn’t produce any more points, and seemed unwilling to take the type of gamble special teams coach Bobby April did in turning Moorman loose.
“We have to get past this and move on to Miami,” Moorman said. “We have a division game (this) week and we have to look forward to that.”
E-mail reporter Jonah Bronstein at jonah.bronstein@niagara-gazette.com
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