That's right, eat your own.
I think the guy did the best he could within the timeframe he had. Most attorney's would have given up a long time ago.
The dirty litttle secret is that on an appellate level it doesn't matter at all how good of an attorney you are, it matters which judges hear your case.
Some of the worst briefs I have ever read were granted and some of the best briefs I have ever read were denied without comment.
The fact is that 99% of the time the judges have made up their minds before they even read the briefs (that is IF they even bother to read them).