When Brian Moorman woke up Monday, he did so to text messages telling him he’d made the All-Decade team.
Thinking that his friends meant a Buffalo Bills All-Decade team, the former Pittsburg State standout went online to learn more about the selection. When he found it, Moorman said he was shocked.
It wasn’t a Bills team. Instead, Moorman’s name was listed on the NFL’s All-Decade Team named Sunday, with his name next to players like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, LaDainian Tomlinson, Randy Moss and Ray Lewis.
“It was quite an honor, and really a surprise,” said Moorman, tapped for the team as a punter. “I didn’t even know about it until I got those text messages. When I saw the other names, I was pretty honored. And when I looked back a decade to see who made it in the 90s, it really made the whole thing hit home. These were some of the guys that I grew up watching.”
That team was lined with players like John Elway, Barry Sanders, Thurman Thomas and Jerry Rice.
“Of course, Brett Favre was on that list too, but I’ve played against him,” Moorman said.
The selection marks an improbable end to a decade that started with Moorman skying punts for the Berlin Thunder in NFL Europe.
“If you would have asked me when I was in Berlin whether 10 years from now I would be on an NFL All-Decade team, I would have told you that you were crazy,” Moorman said. “I just wanted to get a job. I never would have expected that in a million years.”
Moorman landed that job in 2001, when he signed as a free agent with the Buffalo Bills. In his nine years since then, Moorman has either made the Pro Bowl or been first alternate for the Pro Bowl in six of his nine years. He might have done even better if the NFL’s other elite punter — the Raiders’ Shane Lechler, a fellow All-Decade pick — didn’t also reside in the AFC.
“It’s tough to make the Pro Bowl as a punter or kicker because only one guy goes,” Moorman said. “So while being an alternate (as he was this year) isn’t quite as good as getting to go, it’s really an honor just to be the first alternate.
Like a fine wine, Moorman has gotten better with age. In 2008, Moorman hit a high note as a directional punter, putting 23 of his 58 punts (39.7 percent) inside the 20 with just five touchbacks. In 2009, the 33-year-old set career highs by averaging 46.6 yards per punt, along with a 40.2-yard net per punt average.
