Charles Woodson sacked Alex Smith on Sunday evening
Charles Woodson made 8 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 1 quarterback hurry in the Oakland Raiders' 24-20 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. He also returned 1 punt for 5 yards.
Honorable mention: Tom Brady was 38/53 for 349 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception in the New England Patriots' 34-9 win over the Detroit Lions. Chicago Bears safety Ryan Mundy made 8 tackles, 1 interception, and 1 pass breakup in a 21-13 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Houston Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett didn't have a good week, but I thought it would be worth mentioning that after going 21/45 for 189 yards and 1 pick in a 22-13 loss to the Cleveland Browns, he was diagnosed with a torn pec and will miss the rest of the season. That was his second career start after being acquired from the Patriots, an unfortunate turn of events for the former Wolverine (and Arkansas Razorback).
Charles Woodson had a game-high 14 tackles, but his Oakland Raiders lost to the San Diego Chargers by a score of 13-6.
Honorable mention: New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was 19/30 for 257 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions in a 42-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts. Ryan Mundy made 1 tackle and 1 interception in the Chicago Bears' 21-13 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Denard Robinson had 15 carries for 60 yards and 2 touchdowns, plus 2 catches for 10 yards, in the Jacksonville Jaguars' 31-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
Honorable mention: New York Giants running back Michael Cox tallied 4 carries for 33 yards, 2 catches for 9 yards, and 6 kickoff returns for 121 yards in their most recent losses to the Indianapolis Colts and Seattle Seahawks, but he broke his leg on Sunday and will miss the rest of the year. Arizona Cardinals linebacker Larry Foote made 7 tackles in a 31-14 win over the St. Louis Rams, which puts the Cardinals at 8-1 on the year. Chicago Bears safety Ryan Mundy made 11 tackles and 1 fumble recovery in a 55-7 loss to the Green Bay Packers, in which Aaron Rodgers had 6 touchdown passes in the first half. Charles Woodson made 10 tackles, but the Oakland Raiders lost to the Denver Broncos by a score of 41-17.
In his first year with the Chicago Bears, safety Ryan Mundy made 2 tackles against the New York Jets and then picked off a Geno Smith pass, which he returned for a 45-yard touchdown in Chicago's 27-19 victory.
Honorable mention: Tom Brady was 24/37 for 234 yards and 1 touchdown as the New England Patriots beat the Oakland Raiders. In that same game, Charles Woodson made 4 tackles and broke up 2 of Brady's passes for the Raiders. Tim Jamison made 5 tackles for the Houston Texans, but they lost to the New York Giants by a score of 30-17.
Charles Woodson had 4 tackles, 1 interception, 1 pass breakup, and a fumble recovery that he returned 25 yards for a touchdown as the Oakland Raiders beat the San Diego Chargers by a score of 27-17.
Honorable mention: New York Giants free safety Ryan Mundy had 15 tackles and 2 tackles for loss in a 36-21 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. New York Jets inside linebacker David Harris had 14 tackles in a 30-28 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
The pickings are pretty slim this week, but Jay Feely was 4/4 on field goals and 1/1 on extra points as the Arizona Cardinals beat the Detroit Lions by a score of 25-21.
Honorable mention: Ryan Mundy had 8 tackles and 1 fumble recovery, but his New York Giants lost to the Denver Broncos by a score of 41-23.
New York Giants free safety Ryan Mundy had 6 tackles, 1 pass breakup, and 1 interception that he returned 91 yards for a near touchdown. Unfortunately, the Giants lost by a score of 36-31 to the Dallas Cowboys. Mundy had 86 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 3 interceptions, and 1 pass breakup at Michigan from from 2003-2006 before transferring to West Virginia for his senior year in 2007.
Honorable mention: Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley had 4 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack, and 1 quarterback hurry in a 16-9 loss to the Tennessee Titans; teammate Zoltan Mesko, previously released by the New England Patriots, averaged 44.1 yards on 7 punts in the loss. Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Leon Hall had 7 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 2 pass breakups in a 24-21 loss to the Chicago Bears. And in case you were wondering, Jacksonville Jaguars running back Denard Robinson had 2 carries for 1 yard in a 28-2 loss to Kansas City (which featured Junior Hemingway on a 3-yard touchdown reception).
Jake Long visited St. Louis, took a physical, and entered into contract negations with the Rams, but he left without inking a deal. Long was reportedly asking for more than $10 million per year, which now appears unlikely to happen. The five year veteran and four time Pro Bowler is expected to either sign with the Rams or stay in Miami.
The New York Giants ponied up over $2 million to put restricted free agent Stevie Brown on a one year, second-round tender. That means that the Giants would receive the second-round draft pick from any team that outbids them for Brown's services. Still, the Giants continue looking for more help at safety and might even strike a deal with Ryan Mundy during his scheduled visit.
Larry Foote re-signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers after flirting with the Arizona Cardinals. The three-year deal comes on the heels of a season that saw him rack up 113 tackles, four sacks, and two forced fumbles. Teammate LaMarr Woodley restructured his contract the same day to free up over $4 million in cap space.
49er safety free agent Dashon Goldson landed a big deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and that left the door open for Charles Woodson. The '97 Heisman winner returned to the Bay Area--where he spent the first eight years of his career as an Oakland Raider--in order to meet with the 49ers. Woodson has expressed a strong desire to play for a Super Bowl contender during his 16th NFL season, and might be available at a discount to the right team.
Steve Breaston's sudden drop in production last year can probably be chalked up to knee inflammation and early arthritic symptoms. Breaston contemplated a knee procedure, but has decided to forgo the surgery as he tests his value on the free agent market. Breaston visited the Steelers and Browns this week, but walked away without signing a contract. While waiting for a new deal, Breaston is staying busy by passing out free iPads to kids at his former high school.
It's been a rough year for Mario Manningham, especially when considering his lofty preseason expectations. Manningham appeared in only 12 games and battled through a concussion and a lingering knee injury while putting up his worst statistical performance since his 2008 rookie season. But that now seems like the distant past after the Giants' 24-2 NFC Wild Card game victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Manningham caught four passes for 68 yards in the contest, including a game-clinching touchdown grab midway through the fourth quarter. Super Mario looked impressive on the play (watch it here), beating two defensive backs for the 27 yard catch up the middle.
"The fact that Mario made plays was big," said coach Tom Coughlin. That was something that we needed to have happen and I am certainly glad it did. When you look at tape of some of these games and you look at previous games of the teams that we are playing, you see [number] 82 making catches and running behind guys, and that's a good thing"
Honorable Mention: Steelers' starting free safety Ryan Clark nearly died due to a blood condition the last time he played at Mile High Stadium, so being an upstanding guy, Ryan Mundy kindly stepped into his role. Mundy played 60 minutes of good football, recording five tackles and forcing two fumbles, one of which was recovered by LaMarr Woodley. But unfortunately for Mundy, the game lasted 60 minutes and 11 seconds, and he was caught out of position on the first play of overtime, resulting in an 80-yard touchdown and the quickest end to overtime in NFL history.To be fair, it seemed as if the defensive game plan called for Mundy to stay close to the line of scrimmage, essentially daring Tebow to throw the ball, and Tebow surprisingly rose to the challenge. But still . . .
Miscellaneous: Donovan Warren joins former teammate, Perry Dorrestein, and tight ends coach Mike DeBord in Chicago with the Bears. Travelin' man Martell Webb signed with the Arizona Cardinals. Adrian Arrington caught his third pass of the season in the Saints' victory over...well, you know.
Tom Brady threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns on Sunday in the Patriots' 49-21 victory over the Buffalo Bills to secure home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. Brady finished the regular season with 5,235 passing yards, good for second most in NFL history behind Drew Brees' 2011 total of 5,486. After a first-round bye, Brady and the Patriots will face the winner of the Texans-Bengals game; his chances of getting another Super Bowl ring currently stand at 4/1 according to Vegas.
Honorable Mention: Jay Feely hit another game winning field goal as the Cardinals defeated the Seahawks, 23-20, in overtime. Feely had a rough start to the season, going 6-for-11 on field goal attempts before getting on track and finishing 19-for-24 (79.2%).
Miscellaneous: Ryan Mundy will step in as the starting free safety and LaMarr Woodly will likely return to the starting lineup when the Steelers visit Denver during Sunday's wild-card game. Jake Long and Steve Hutchinson were placed on the Injured Reserve. New Jaguar Morgan Trent picked off a pass for the second straight week.
After a nine week hiatus, Tom Brady "wins" this fine award for the second consecutive week. He went 24-of-34 for 361 yards with three touchdowns and zero picks on Sunday in the Patriots 38-20 downing of the Eagles. Through eleven games, Brady has thrown for a whopping 3,627 yards and 28 touchdowns with a 65.8 completion percentage. Tom Martinez, who works with Brady in the off-season, said that Brady has an arm injury that is "affecting his throws," and several major media outlets purport that "Brady doesn't look quite right." Brady denies the injury, and true or not - I think these people are looking too hard. Philadelphia WR and former Wolverine Jason Avant caught eight passes for 110 yards and a touchdown in the game.
Honorable Mention: Ryan Mundy - who played at and graduated from Michigan and then played a year under Rich Rodruiguez at West Virginia - now backs up All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu. Against the Chiefs this week, he chalked up eleven tackles and an interception as his Steelers won a 13-9 battle to improve their record to 8-3.
QUARTERBACK (6) Clayton Richard - Lafayette, IN (Michigan) Sam Keller - San Ramon, CA (Arizona State) Marcus Stone - Harrisburg, PA (North Carolina State) Brady Quinn - Dublin, OH (Notre Dame) John David Booty - Shreveport, LA (USC) Kevin McCabe - Wexford, PA (Virginia)
RUNNING BACK (12) Anton Campbell - O'Fallon, MO (Michigan) Jerome Jackson - Saginaw, MI (Michigan)
Ervin Battle-Baldwin - Richmond, VA Carl Stewart - Maryville, TN (Auburn) Lennox Whitworth - Milton, MA (Boston College) Terry Arnold - Tallahassee, FL (Cincinnati) Kregg Lumpkin - Stone Mountain, GA (Georgia) Michael Bush - Louisville, KY (Louisville) Barrington Edwards - Bowie, MD (LSU)
Lynell Hamilton - Stockton, CA (San Diego State) Erik Hardeman - Pflugerville, TX (Texas) LenDale White - Littleton, CO (USC)
WIDE RECEIVER (13)
Antowan Bell - Baltimore, MD
Genoa Dill - Compton, CA Dorien Bryant - Swedesboro, NJ (Boston College) John Logan - Lexington, KY (Kentucky)
Greg Bracey - Milwaukee, WI (Missouri) Jesse Holley - Roselle, NJ (North Carolina) Chris Hawkins - Henderson, NC (North Carolina State) Tristen Ross - Shreveport, LA (Oklahoma) Jayson Swain - Huntsville, AL (Tennessee) Brandon Allen - Atlanta, GA (Troy) Steve Smith - Woodland Hills, CA (USC) Shannon Lane - Virginia Beach, VA (Virginia) Charles Smith - San Diego, CA (Washington)
TIGHT END (7) Will Paul - St. Louis, MO (Michigan) Vernon Davis - Washington, DC (Maryland) Greg Olsen - Wayne Hills, NJ (Miami) Marcel Frost - Lyndhurst, OH (Ohio State) Louis Irizarry - Youngstown, OH (Ohio State) Chris Barrett - Tustin, CA (USC) Danny Kaye - New Berlin, WI (Wisconsin)
OFFENSIVE TACKLE (4) Adam Kraus - New Orleans, LA (Michigan) Jake Long - Lapeer, MI (Michigan)
Mike Jones - Oak Lawn, IL (Iowa) Ryan Harris - St. Paul, MN (Notre Dame)
OFFENSIVE GUARD (3) Pat Sharrow - Monroe, MI (Michigan) Jeff Zuttah - Princeton, NJ (Michigan) Martin O'Donnell - Downers Grove, IL (Illinois)
CENTER (1) John Sullivan - Greenwich, CT (Notre Dame)
DEFENSIVE END (9) LaMarr Woodley - Saginaw, MI (Michigan) Joe Cohen - Palm Bay, FL (Florida) Tim Washington - Sugar Land, TX (LSU) Victor Abiamiri - Baltimore, MD (Notre Dame)
Doug Van Dyke - Marshall, MI (Purdue) Claude McBride - Camden, NJ (Tennessee) Lawrence Jackson - Inglewood, CA (USC) Allen Billyk - New Castle, PA (Virginia) Jermaine Dias - Hackensack, NJ (Virginia)
DEFENSIVE TACKLE (7) Luis Hernandez - Metarie, LA (Indiana) Carnell Stewart - River Ridge, LA (LSU) Conrad Bolston - Washington, DC (Maryland) Isaiah Thomas - Winston-Salem, NC (North Carolina State) Trevor Laws - Apple Valley, MN (Notre Dame) David Patterson - Warrensville Heights, OH (Ohio State) Lawrence Dampeer - Decatur, IL (Oklahoma)
LINEBACKER (13) Prescott Burgess - Warren, OH (Michigan) Shawn Crable - Massillon, OH (Michigan) Jim Presley - Highland, MI (Michigan) Anthony Rogers - Saginaw, MI (Central Michigan) Ernie Sims - Tallahassee, FL (Florida State) Kirston Pittman - Reserve, LA (LSU) Wesley Jefferson - Brandywine, MD (Maryland) Fred Sparkman - Columbia, TN (North Carolina) Joe Brockington - Palmyra, PA (Notre Dame) Victor DeGrate, Jr. - DeSoto, TX (Oklahoma State) H.B. Blades - Plantation, FL (Pittsburgh) Marcus Lawrence - El Dorado, KS (South Carolina) Mike Brown - Palm Beach Gardens, FL (Virginia Tech)
CORNERBACK (9) Leon Hall - Vista, CA (Michigan) Antonio Cromartie - Tallahassee, FL (Florida State) Paul Oliver - Kennesaw, GA (Georgia) William Cooper - Flint, MI (Michigan State) Jeramie Johnson - Atlanta, GA (Mississippi State) Isaiah Gardner - Salem, VA (Notre Dame) Freddie Parish - Long Beach, CA (Notre Dame) Dareus Hiley - Cleveland, OH (Ohio State) Donte Whitner - Cleveland, OH (Ohio State)
SAFETY (9) Brandent Englemon - Covington, KY (Michigan) Quinton McCoy - Waterford, MI (Michigan) Ryan Mundy - Pittsburgh, PA (Michigan) Ryan Patterson - Tucson, AZ (Arizona) Avery Roberson - Atlanta, GA (Georgia Tech) Alan Ball - Detroit, MI (Illinois) Ashton Youboty - Klein, TX (Ohio State)
Bernard Pollard - Fort Wayne, IN (Purdue) Robbie Catterton - Virginia Beach, VA (Virginia)
Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley is headed to the Super Bowl. He helped oust the New York Jets by a score of 24-19. Woodley had 4 tackles, 1 sack, 2 tackles for loss, 2 quarterback hurries, and 1 pass breakup.
Honorable mention: Green Bay Packer Charles Woodson had 3 tackles as the Packers beat the Chicago Bears, 21-14.
The Steelers also have backup linebacker Larry Foote and backup safety Ryan Mundy, both of whom are Michigan products.
