Tag: Former Michigan Athlete of the Week

Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Stevie Brown

Stevie Brown, “Proud Michigan Man all day everyday.”

If you pay any attention to Touch the Banner on Thursdays, then you know by now that Stevie Brown has miraculously transformed into the second coming of Charles Woodson.  Given that, it should come as no surprise that earlier in the week Brown made two interceptions, a fumble recovery and a team high eight solo tackles as his Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys by a score of 29-26.  Brown was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week and now has five picks in the last six games.  It will be interesting to see how much playing time Brown gets going forward as starting safety Kenny Phillips is scheduled to be back in a week or two.

Honorable Mention:  Tom Brady put on a jolly good show for the fine people of London by going 23/35 for 304 yards and four touchdowns in the Patriots’ 45-7 victory over the Rams.  Patrons remarked that a smashing time was had by all.

Miscellaneous:

• Steve Breaston did not have a reception in the month of October and has caught only four passes on the season.  He made 61 receptions last year.
• Brandon Graham had a season high four tackles.
• Jonas Mouton is listed as second string on the Chargers depth chart but still has not posted any stats as a pro.
• Larry Foote recorded five tackles and a sack.  He now leads the Steelers in tackles, sacks, fumbles forced and fumbles recovered.
• Mario Manningham has been battling a shoulder injury but his status has been upgraded to “probable” for the 49ers’ upcoming game against the Cardinals.
• Jason Avant had a season high four receptions for 45 yards.
• Jake Long is still doing his thing.  He’ll be a free agent at season’s end.

Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Zoltan Mesko

Zoltan Mesko

Zoltan Mesko hasn’t had a great statistical year.  Two weeks ago I noted that he had a punting average of 39.3 yards and a net of 36.0, which at the time ranked him last and second to last in the league, respectively.  Since then he’s moved up one spot in each category.  But what he’s lacked in power he’s made up for in accuracy, especially in his Patriots’ 29-26 overtime victory over the New York Jets.  Besides acting as the holder on the game-winning field goal, Mesko placed four kicks inside the twenty and averaged 44.8 yards per punt, up nearly four yards from his current average.  Mesko may not have posted the most impressive stats out of the former Michigan athletes, but his improved special teams play was instrumental in his team’s narrow victory. 

Meanwhile, Tom Brady orchestrated the game-winning drive and threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns.  Ho-hum.

Honorable Mention:  You have to be kidding me:  Stevie Brown picked off another pass and again returned it for over forty yards – which is exactly what he has done with each one of his three interceptions this year.  His Giants polished off the Redskins, 27-23, while Brown added six solo tackles and a pass deflection.  On the season he now has 26 tackles, three pass deflections, one fumble recovery and three interceptions that he has returned for an average of 44.0 yards.

Video:  Brown Intercepts R.G. III

Stevie Brown MGoBoard Thread 

Miscellaneous:

• Charles Woodson broke his collarbone and will be out approximately six weeks.  
• LaMarr Woodley returned from his hamstring injury and picked off the fifth pass of his career.
• David Harris recorded seven tackles and a sack on Tom Brady. 
• Chad Henne saw game action for the second time this year.  He finished 9/20 for 71 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions.
• Mike Martin had only one tackle as the Titans won by one over the Bills.

Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Jay Feely

“I think when we drafted him we felt really good about him, and I think we all felt he could contribute right away like Casey did, like Klug did,” coach Munchak said.  “He’s hard to block.  That’s why we like him.  He beats double teams, he’s hard to block in the zone game when the center is trying to reach him on the back. . . .He’s going to be a very good football player for us.  You saw flashes of that last night.  He was making plays.  Those (defensive tackles) are doubled a lot, and I think our defensive tackles have really all year played pretty good.”

Miscellaneous:  

• Tim Jamison tore his Achilles and was placed on the Texans’ Injured Reserve.
• Tom Brady put the ball in the air 58 times and threw for 395 yards in a 24-23 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.  Braylon Edwards caught his first touchdown pass of the season in the game.
• Brandon Graham recorded one tackle and Jason Avant caught two passes for 21 yards as their Eagles lost to the Lions, 26-23.
• Stevie Brown tracker continues:  he tallied four tackles for the Giants in their shocking 26-3 beat down of the 49ers.

Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Stevie Brown

Stevie Brown wins this award for the second time in three weeks, and this time I’m not being generous.

Brown started Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns, picked off a pass, returned it 46 yards, recovered a fumble on special teams, made three tackles, and deflected a pass as his New York Giants went on to win, 41-27.  Brown has been seeing more playing time due to perfectly staggered suspensions by the Giants’ starting safeties for performance enhancing drugs.  Stevie’s been making the most of that opportunity, and his play has even been causing head coach Tom Coughlin to say nice things about him like “he’s speedy,” and a “strong guy that can run fast.”  Getting Coughlin to say nice things is not easy to do.  The Giants are now 3-2.

Honorable mention:  In a 31-21 victory over Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, Tom Brady passed Brett Farve to move into third place for most consecutive games with a touchdown pass.  With 38 straight games with at least one scoring toss, he still trails Drew Brees (48) and Jonny Unitas (47).  Brady threw for 223 yards this week and completed 74% of his passes.

Miscellaneous:

• After coming off a preseason injury last year, Jonas Mouton still has not seen any regular season action so far for the Chargers.
• Mike Martin recorded his second sack of the season; he has 18 tackles on the year.
• Mario Manningham caught his first touchdown pass in a 49ers uniform in a blowout over the Bills.
• Through five games, Zoltan Mesko has a punting average of 39.3 and a net of 36.0, which are last and second to last in the league, respectively.

Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Tom Brady

Courtesy of Boston.com

The Patriots were down 21-7 in the third quarter to the Buffalo Bills before Tom Brady led his team on six straight touchdown scoring drives to pull out a comfortable 52-28 win.  Brady ended the game with 340 yards through the air and three touchdowns.  The performance put him into 11th place on the NFL’s all-time passing list.  The Patriots are 2-2.

Honorable Mention:  Charles Woodson, now back to playing safety full time, tallied eleven total tackles and one pass break up as the Packers rallied for a 28-27 victory over the New Orleans Saints.  His team is also 2-2.

Miscellaneous:

• Stevie Brown keeps giving me reasons to write about him.  Brown stepped in for the injured Kenny Phillips against Philadelphia on Sunday Night Football and ended the game with seven total tackles.
• Mario Manningham isn’t putting up gaudy stats, but he’s staying
  consistent.  Super Mario has at least three catches in every game so far
  this year.  He has 160 yards through four games.
• After catching 61 balls last year, Steve Breaston only has four catches in 2012.
• Alan Branch recorded his first sack of the year.