Tag: Former Michigan Athlete of the Week

Former Michigan Wolverine and first-round draft pick, Leon Hall, starts at cornerback for the Cincinnati Bengals. Shockingly, they have the NFL’s number 2 ranked defense, giving up only 278 YPG. That’s second only to the Pittsburgh Steelers and just in front of the Baltimore Ravens. On Sunday, Hall recorded 5 tackles, two pass deflections and a nice-looking interception in a 27-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. Hall’s interception came with only 2:36 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, taking away any hopes of a Colts comeback. The interception was the first of the season for the Bengals’ defense and the 19th of Hall’s relatively young career. Fellow ex-Wolverine CB, Morgan Trent, also saw playing time as a member of the Bengals’ dominating defense of doom on Sunday, but he did not register on the stat sheet. Cincinnati holds a 4-2 record heading into their bye week.

Honorable Mention: The Houston Texans lost to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday by a score of 29-14, but Texans defensive lineman Tim Jamison lit up the stat sheet on a single play when he “strip-sacked” Joe Flacco and then recovered the fumble. Watch video of the play here. He had two tackles, two TFLs, two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery on the day.

Charles Woodson owns a Super Bowl ring as well as a Heisman Trophy. And after his performance this Sunday, he also owns the bragging rights to this here TTB award for the second time in three weeks. His children must be proud.

Woodson turns 35 years of age on tomorrow (10/7/11), yet he continues to give Old Father Time a run for his money. Against the Broncos, he scored on a 30 yard pick-six in the first quarter and also tallied four tackles, which helped his Packers earn a 49-23 victory in week four. Woodson is now only one trip to the endzone away from co-owning the NFL record for most touchdowns scored by a defensive player (12). That record is currently held by former teammate and fellow Woodson, Rod, although the two players are not related.

Pickings were slim this week. Brady put up his standard 350+ yards through the air, but he also threw 4 interceptions – which matched his INT total for all of last season – in a loss to the Bills. Henne finished with a respectable 90.4 QB rating, but it was in a losing effort to the Cleveland Browns on a day when he led his offense to only 16 points. So Breaston gets the nod here with his 3 catches for 55 yards. I hear that yards per catch is one of the more flawed statistics, but an 18. 3YPC is as impressive as anything else that I saw on the stat sheet this week. And even though Breaston’s team the Kansas City Chiefs lost by a score of 20-17 against the Chargers, his 14.5 point underdog team hung a lot tougher than most thought that would after getting shellacked by the Lions in week 2. Still, I hope Breaston’s numbers are a bit more impressive the next time he wins this prestigious award.

Charles Woodson saved the game for the Packers in their 30-23 victory over the Panthers by snagging two picks and recovering a fumble. He also made five solo tackles and deflected two passes. The Packers gave up a whopping 432 passing yards to rookie Cam Newton–who also threw for over 400 yards last week in his NFL debut–but Woodson’s 3 takeaways ensured that last year’s Super Bowl champs weren’t upset by last year’s most losing team.

Honorable mention: Tom Brady threw for 423 yards and three touchdowns with zero picks as his high-octaine Patriot offense destroyed my fantasy defense, which made the difference in my week two fantasy defeat. That’s okay, though. He went to Michigan.