Buffalo Bills' Brian Moorman feels right at home

ORCHARD PARK

It has taken punter Brian Moorman no time at all to settle back in with the Buffalo Bills.

He's already moved into his old locker, two stalls from the equipment room. He's got his old No. 8 jersey back, thanks to rookie quarterback Jeff Tuel's gracious offer to switch.

And on Sunday, when Buffalo (2-3) hosts Cincinnati (3-2), Moorman will be back inside Ralph Wilson Stadium dealing with the swirling winds he grew accustomed to mastering during his previous 12-plus-year stint in Buffalo.

"It feels like I never left," Moorman said this week, after re-signing with the Bills. "Just glad to be here. Glad to be home."

The only thing Moorman's missing is his old home.

"Unfortunately, we sold that," the 37-year-old said. "Luckily, I've got a good friend that doesn't happen to be here that has a house I can stay in."

Moorman figured he was leaving town for good when the Bills cut him three games into last season. He was replaced by Shawn Powell. Moorman now finds himself back replacing Powell, who was cut after a 37-24 loss at Cleveland.

Powell struggled with hang time and angling punts away from Cleveland's Travis Benjamin, who returned seven punts for a franchise-record 179 yards, including a 79-yard touchdown. It was a season-long problem for Powell, who's 35.2 net-punting average ranked 32nd out of 33 NFL punters.

"When you're covering balls that are under 4 seconds, it's very difficult to cover," coach Doug Marrone said. "It's only a matter of time in this league before you get exposed."

The strong-legged Moorman hardly had that problem in Buffalo, where he was a two-time Pro Bowl selection. He and former special teams coordinator Bruce DeHaven, however, never saw eye to eye, which led to Moorman's departure.

Moorman finished last season with Dallas, and was out of work after failing to land a job with Pittsburgh last summer. After cutting Powell, Moorman was invited in for a tryout and beat former Minnesota punter Chris Kluwe for the job last weekend.

"You stay in shape, and you never know who might call," said Moorman, who spent three days a week practicing punts at a high school near his home in Jacksonville, Fla. "I couldn't have been happier whenever the phone rang."

Little did he anticipate it was going to be the Bills.

"I stopped trying to figure out this business a long time ago," he said.

Moorman quickly warmed to Buffalo after breaking in with the Bills in 2001.

He remains a fan favorite in Buffalo because of his performance on the field, and his charitable work in the community. Moorman's P.U.N.T. Foundation is still associated with Buffalo's Roswell Park Cancer Institute and the Women's and Children's Hospital of Buffalo.