Former Michigan Athlete of the Week:  Jay Feely

Tag: Former Michigan Athlete of the Week


8Dec 2011
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Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Jay Feely

Kicker Jay Feely sent both of his field goal attempts through the uprights on Sunday, converting from 48 and 23 yards out, which allowed his Arizona Cardinals to defeat the Dallas Cowboys in overtime by a score of 19-13. Holding a record of 5-7, it marks the first time this year that the Cardinals – Feely’s seventh NFL team – have defeated a squad with a winning record. After struggling early in the season, Feely has since converted on his last five field goal attempts and is now 11-for-16 on the year. Interestingly, this is the second consecutive match-up between Arizona and Dallas that Feely has decided the game: last year, he sent a 48-yarder through the uprights to give the Cardinals the lead with only 5 seconds remaining on Christmas day.
Honorable Mention: Tom Brady put on another impressive statistical performance, throwing for 289 yards and two touchdowns with zero picks in a 31-24 win over the 0-12 Colts on Sunday. However, the game was not nearly as close as the final score indicates, so despite nice stats, it’s hard to say that Brady was the difference-maker, thus relegating him to Honorable Mention this week behind Feely.
30Nov 2011
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Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Tom Brady

Stop asking me about my arm.” – Tom Brady
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.
23Nov 2011
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Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Tom Brady

It’s been nine weeks since Tom Brady was last named the Former Michigan Athlete of the Week. That seems like a long time for a QB on a 7-3 team who is averaging a ridiculous 327 passing yards per game with a season rating of 102.5. This week, Brady had little competition for our recognition as he passed for 234 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions in the Patriots 34-3 blowout over the Chiefs. Kansas City made things difficult for Brady early in the game, sacking him twice and forcing a fumble, but two touchdown passes to TE Rob Gronkowski opened things up around halftime. Brady’s Patriots now hold a two game lead in the AFC East over the Jets and Bills.
Honorable Mention: Stephen Schilling made his first career NFL start on Sunday in a 31-20 loss to the Bears. He got the starting nod due to four or five key injuries along the San Diego offensive line, but I’m sure Schilling wasn’t complaining. After being drafted 201st overall in the 2011 draft, Schilling was waived by the Chargers early in the season before resigning to the practice squad several days later. The Chargers only gained 54 yards on the ground against the Bears, but Schilling and the O-line didn’t give up a sack, either. His current and former teammate, second-round draft pick Jonas Mouton, has been on Injured Reserve since the third week of the season.
9Nov 2011
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Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: David Harris

The New York Jets have a damn good defense, and David Harris is a damn good New York Jets defender. Four years removed from trading up in the second round of the draft to acquire Harris, the Jets must be satisfied with the return on their investment: the 6-2, 250 lb MIKE linebacker has started every game in which he has participated dating back to his rookie season.
On Sunday, Harris helped his team defeat the Buffalo Bills and move into a three-way tie for first place in the AFC East by recording 5 tackles, a pass break-up, a QB hurry and a diving interception. Harris picked off the pass (highlight here) with just under five minutes remaining in the second quarter, allowing the Jets to maintain their 3-0 lead headed into halftime. The Bills, who were averaging 30.1 points per game entering the contest, were far less successful against Harris and his defense in their 27-11 defeat. “It’s huge to be back in the mix,” said Harris. “That was a huge test for us…”
Honorable Mention: Manningham took the lead for the Giants with 4 minutes remaining against the Patriots when he caught a 10-yard score. But then Tom Brady did what Tom Brady does, putting together a two minute comeback touchdown drive. Not to be outdone, Eli Manning did the Patriots wrong–again (see Super Bowl 42). In the game, Manningham scored a touchdown and gained 33 receiving yards. Tom Brady put up 342 passing yards and 2 touchdowns, but turned over the football three times. So I’ll go with Manningham for Honorable Mention, especially sine his team won, 24-20.
26Oct 2011
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Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Charles Woodson

A commenter on the Packers’ official website thinks that “Charles Woodson is a stud.” I tend to agree. During Sunday’s contest between the Packers and the Vikings, the 35-year-old Woodson intercepted two passes in the third quarter, which resulted in two Green Bay field goals. Those six points ended up being the difference in the game as the Packers downed the Vikings by a score of 33-27 to remain the undefeated leaders of the NFC North. Woodson also had four tackles and 3 pass defenses in the Victory.
The Packers played “99% man coverage” against rookie QB Christian Ponder, but Woodson was still able to use his understanding of the game to undercut passes. “You have your back to the ball a lot, your back to the quarterback a lot, and you just try to put yourself in position and get your head around when you think the ball is coming and make a play on it…I really feel like I should have had four today,” said Woodson. The only two active players who have more picks than Woodson (52) are Darren Sharper (63) and Ed Reed (56).
Perhaps most impressive, Woodson taught children all across America the valuable lesson that no one is perfect when he gave up a 24 yard touchdown pass to WR Jenkins mid-way through the fourth quarter. Wow, he plays football like a badass and cares about Children, too.
Honorable Mention: LaMarr Woodley recorded seven tackles, 2 TFLs and 2 sacks—one of which led to a safety—as his team the Pittsburgh Steelers won a 32-20 contest over Arizona.