Wolverines in the NFL - A weekly update

Submitted by Butterfield on

I thought the board may be interested in a one-stop-shop to see how our former Wolverines are doing at the next level.  If this is better as a diary, please feel free to move, mods. 

WOLVERINE OF THE WEEK (Team must win to qualify):

David Harris (LB - NYJ) - His dependable old self, David had 7 tackles and forced a fumble (recovered by offense) late in the first half in the Jets win over Tampa.  The Jets well respected leader helped totally shut down the Buc offense, allowing Geno Smith to pick up his first W in the post-Sanchize era.  David will be tackling Patriots this evening on the NFLN.   

EVERYONE ELSE:

Jason Avant (WR - Philadelphia) - Jason was targeted by Michael Vick 3 times, hauling in 2 catches for 13 yards in the Eagles 33-27 MNF win over the WASHINGTON TEAM.  Avant also lost a fumble inside his own 30, leading to a quick WASHINGTON TEAM touchdown that would start a furious comeback attempt.  Jason would seem to have a favorable matchup this week, at home against a Chargers secondary that was worn out in the Texans MNF comeback. 

David Baas (Center - NYG) - Baas was inactive in week 1, still recuperating from a MCL sprain.  He is practicing this week and is hopeful he will be able to play in the Giants big tilt with the Broncos. 

Tom Brady (QB - New England) - Adjusting to losing his top 3 receivers from a year ago, Brady struggled for much of the Pats game versus Buffalo, but still led the team to a win.  Tom was 29/52 for 288 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 INT (leading to a Bills score).  Brady was also sacked twice, losing a fumble (which didn't result in Bills' points).  His favorite new targets appear to be Danny Amendola (>100 yards rec) and Julian Edelman (2 TDs).  Brady faces the Revis-less Jets tonight on NFLN. 

Alan Branch (DT - Buffalo) - Branch, now a backup DT for the Bills, was active and saw action versus New England but did not record any stats.  Branch will try to accumulate numbers this week as the Bills play the Panthers. 

Stevie Brown (S - NYG) - After a great 2012 season, Brown tore his ACL this preseason and is out for the rest of the year. 

Will Campbell (OG - NYJ) - BWC was inactive in the Jets 18-17 opening week win over the Bucs. 

Jay Feeley (PK - Arizona) - Jay was 1/2 on field goals in the Cardinals 27-24 loss to St. Louis, making from 30 in the second quarter and missing wide right from 50 as the first half expired.  Feeley's Cardinals take on the Lions this Sunday. 

Larry Foote ( LB - Pittsburgh) - Starting at inside linebacker for the Steelers, Larry had 8 tackles (3 solo) in Pittsburgh's 16-9 home loss to the Tennessee Titans.  He ruptured his bicep during the contest and is, sadly, out for the year - and at his age, possibly done for his career. 

Jonathan Goodwin (Center - SF) - Jon started at center on the 49ers offensive line, a group that allowed only 2 sacks and blocked for an offense that gained nearly 500 yards in a 34-28 win over Green Bay.  Goodwin will have an even bigger challenge this week as the 49ers visit division rival and preseason darling Seattle. 

Brandon Graham (DE/LB - Philadelphia) - Brandon played sparingly and accumulated no stats in the Eagles win over WASHINGTON TEAM.  He appears to be a bad fit for the Eagles new 3/4 scheme and a potential trade candidate. It remains to be seen whether Graham sees the field more this week against San Diego. 

Leon Hall ( CB - Cincinnati) - Hall started at right cornerback and finished with 7 tackles (1 tackle for loss) and 2 passes defensed in the Bengals 24-21 loss to Chicago.  As a unit, the Benglas limited Jay Cutler to 240 yards passing, a strong performance.  Hall should have it fairly easy this week against the declining Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Junior Hemingway (WR - Kansas City) - Junior was targeted only one time in the Chiefs 28-2 win over Jacksonville, but he made it count, hauling in a 3 yard touchdown pass from Alex Smith.  Hemingway will look for TD #2 this week against the Cowboys. 

Chad Henne (QB - Jacksonville) - Chad played the final drive of the blowout, completing 3 of 6 attempts for 36 yards with the drive ending in downs at the KC 3.  Henne will start this week in place of an injured Blaine Gabbert and, per his head coach, has an opportunity to seize the job with a good performance against the Raiders.   

Tim Jamison (DE - Houston) - Jamison played in a backup capacity behind JJ Watt and recorded one pass defense in the Texans comeback win over San Diego.  Jamison will seek his first tackle this week against Tennessee. 

Jake Long (OT - St Louis) - In his first start for the Rams, Jake's unit kept Sam Bradford spotless (no sacks allowed), helping St Louis beat the Cardinals in their opener.  The Rams line did very little, however, to open up any running game.  Jake and the Rams face off against the Falcons this week. 

Mario Manningham (WR - San Francisco) - Mario started the season on the PUP list with an injured knee and is not eligible to return to the active roster until Week 7.  The 49ers are hopeful he will be recovered by that point. 

Mike Martin (DT - Tennessee) - As a backup, Mike registered one tackle - for a loss - in the Titans 16-9 defensive masterpiece against Pittsburgh.  Martin will have his work cut out for him this week as he prepares to stop Arian Foster, Matt Schaub, and the explosive Texan offense. 

Zoltan Mesko (P - Pittsburgh) - With his new team, the Space Emperor of Space punted 7 times with a net of 35.9 yards in the Steelers loss to Tennessee.  His long on the day went 51 yards and 1/7 punts was downed inside the 20.  Zoltan gets to punt in primetime versus the Bengals on MNF this week. 

Jonas Mouton (LB - San Diego) - Jonas' string of bad injury luck in the NFL continues, as he tore his ACL in training camp and is out for the season. 

Denard Robinson (RB - Jacksonville) - DRob had only 2 carries for 1 yard in his NFL debut and was not targeted in the passing game.  He'll have an opportunity to improve upon that performance with Chad Henne under center this week against the Raiders. 

LaMarr Woodley (LB - Pittsburgh) - Woodley started at OLB and had 4 tackles and a sack in the Steelers loss to the Titans.  With the Steelers holding Tennessee to 229 yards, nobody can blame Woodley or his defensive teammates for the loss.  He'll likely murder Andy Dalton this week. 

Charles Woodson (S - Oakland) - Chuck registered 3 tackles and had no pass breakups in his second tour of duty with the Raiders.  He'll have the opportunity to pick off Chad Henne when Oakland hosts Jacksonville this weekend. 

MGoBoard
Football
Wolverines in the NFL

MGoShoe

September 12th, 2013 at 3:40 PM ^

...recovered Washington's last minute onside kick to seal the win. Washington was flagged for offsides on the kick, so if Avant had not recovered the ball, there would have been a re-kick.

Joined: 04/23/2009

MGoPoints: 20734

Wolverines Dominate

September 12th, 2013 at 3:47 PM ^

See, now this is a good thread. The "<insert recent player> scored a touchdown" threads were incredibly lame. I always asked why we never got those whenever a player from longer ago didn't get a thread and never got a straight answer.

Joined: 07/08/2013

MGoPoints: 778

TenThousandThings

September 13th, 2013 at 9:34 AM ^

The only one I remember was a Junior Hemingway thread about him scoring and the fact he would likely make the team in Kansas City. That was news, as all developments concerning recent players struggling to make NFL rosters were at the time.

The reason why it was different from older, established NFL players doing things in the preseason was duh. But since you seem to be particularly stupid in this respect -- we never got those about older players because they weren't news.

Joined: 07/03/2013

MGoPoints: 351

superstringer

September 12th, 2013 at 4:05 PM ^

This post reminds me of similar weekly updates on ESPN and SI with "Americans Abroad" -- updates on US soccer players who play overseas or in Liga MX or down somewhere in CONMEBOL.  That list, over the years, has gotten uselessly large (I guess a good problem to have).  By contrast, this list feels... too small?  (One only wonders how long it will be, however, in the NFL's 2017 or 2018 seasons.)

I'd also recommend, players who sustained injuries, or are in PUP or IR or something, be put in a separate list.

Joined: 02/04/2009

MGoPoints: 18284

Butterfield

September 12th, 2013 at 4:14 PM ^

Starting next week I can drop the injured guys down to the bottom under a separate header.  The list could have been longer had I also included guys who played for Michigan but played for another school after leaving Ann Arbor - guys like Cox, Mundy, Mallet, etc.  Thought I'd keep it to the guys we really identify with the program instead of the fringe types. 

Joined: 01/15/2011

MGoPoints: 2398

Moleskyn

September 12th, 2013 at 4:26 PM ^

You mean the WASHINGTON REDSKINS?

And technically, Brady's favorite targets were Amendola (14 targets) rookie Kenbrell Thompkins (14 targets), with Shane Vereen third (10 targets), and Edelman fourth with 9 targets. It's nit-picking, I know, since Amendola and Edelman did more with their targets.

Also, I know the tone of my post is generally irreverent and mocking, but this is a cool post, and thanks for taking the time to put it all together.

Joined: 06/28/2010

MGoPoints: 10287

LSAClassOf2000

September 12th, 2013 at 4:53 PM ^

As Seth is in charge of the content in this regard, I will leave the final decision up to him as I don't want to step on toes, but you would have my vote for this to become a diary, maybe even a weekly thing on the late side of each week. Excellent, informative update on former Wolverines.

Joined: 01/07/2011

MGoPoints: 130776

MH20

September 12th, 2013 at 5:02 PM ^

Thanks for putting this together; looking forward to future updates.

Very small nitpick, Junior's last name is spelled 'Hemingway' (one 'M').  Otherwise, nice work!

Joined: 10/30/2008

MGoPoints: 40827

UMaD

September 12th, 2013 at 5:14 PM ^

What makes Woodley a great fit as a 3/4 OLB and Graham a poor one?

Does anyone call Denard "DRob"?  That seems like a downgrade.

Is the Texans offense still explosive?  Foster, while still effective, has a pedestrian ypc these days and is getting towards the older end of NFL-back explosiveness.

I'll hang up and listen.  Thanks for the update - keep em coming.

Joined: 07/02/2008

MGoPoints: 4960

Butterfield

September 12th, 2013 at 6:52 PM ^

1)  I don't know, except Michigan did play some 3-4 when Woodley was here, perhaps that helped him adjust?  Also, he was drafted to play that position, whereas Graham was drafted for a 4-3 and has had to endure a system switch.

2) Yes, I'm certainly not the first person to call Denard D-Rob.  I think it's probably his most common nickname after shoelace.....

3) Remains to be seen, but they still have a dynamic passing game and Tate is explosive even if Foster is slowing.  If I had to bet, I'd say they are still one of the top offenses this year. 

Joined: 01/15/2011

MGoPoints: 2398