Tag: Tom Brady

Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Leon Hall

Leon Hall scores a touchdown on an interception

Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Leon Hall picked off his second pass of the year when he stepped in front of a pass from Ben Roethlisberger and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown.  Hall also broke up 1 pass.  The Bengals beat the Steelers, 13-10.

Honorable Mention

• The New England Patriots’ Tom Brady completed 24/41 passes for 267 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions in a 23-16 win over Chad Henne’s Jacksonville Jaguars.  Henne finished 29/51 for 348 yards, 1 touchdown, and 3 interceptions.
• Philadelphia Eagle Brandon Graham made 6 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 pass breakup in a 27-20 loss to the Washington Redskins.
• New York Jet linebacker David Harris made 10 tackles and 1 pass breakup in a 27-17 loss to the San Diego Chargers.
• San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Mario Manningham tore his ACL and MCL when he caught his first pass on Sunday, so he’ll miss the rest of the season.
• Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Mike Martin made 3 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 tackle for loss, but the Green Bay Packers won in a blowout, 55-7.

Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Jason Avant

It was a strong week for our former Michigan athletes, but no one had a more eye-popping performance than Philadelphia Eagle Jason Avant. His team won 23-21 over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he finished with seven receptions for 133 yards, including one of the most impressive one-handed grabs you’ll ever see. Avant has 38 receptions for 495 yards through 13 games, and his play looks to be improving alongside that of QB Nick Foles.  Teammate Brandon Graham had two tackles in the win.

Honorable mention:  Stevie Brown picked off Drew Brees twice as his Giants routed the Saints; he returned the two interceptions a total of 91 yards.  Brown is now second in the NFL with seven interceptions and is also the Giants’ new single-season record holder for most interception return yards with 259.  In addition to the picks, Brown had eight tackles, 2 pass breakups, and a forced fumble in the game.

Miscellaneous: 

• Tom Brady and the Patriots beat up on the one-loss Texas by a score of 42-14.  Brady threw for 296 yards and four touchdowns and torched the Texans on play action.  He is quietly having another MVP-caliber season.
• David Molk, banged up after nearly a full NFL season, was
  placed on the Injured Reserve for the Chargers.  The move cleared up a
  roster spot that was filled by a healthy lineman, fellow Wolverine and current teammate Stephen Schilling. 
• After being released by the Seahawks, Braylon Edwards re-signed with one of his former teams, the New York Jets.
• Martell Webb was released from the Colts’ practice squad.
• Cam Cameron, who coached at Michigan from ’83 to ’93, was fired as the offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens.
• David Harris recorded 10 tackles and a sack in a win over the Jaguars.  He has a team-leading 101 tackles through 13 games.
• Steve Hutchinson was placed on the Injured Reserve for the Titans due to a knee injury.
• Jonas Mouton recorded his first career tackle against the Bengals earlier in the month.
• Chad Henne went a dismal 21/43 passing with zero touchdowns and two interceptions in his third start of the year.  Blaine Gabbert, Jacksonville’s starter to begin the season, was recently placed on the IR, so Henne should get a few more games to prove he’s starter-quality.   

Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Chad Henne

“In command”

Chad Henne is once again a starting quarterback in the NFL following his 354-yard, four touchdown relief performance against the Houston Texans.  Henne gets the starting nod for the Jaguars over Blaine Gabbert, the tenth overall selection in the 2011 Draft.  Gabbert has been unimpressive during his limited time in the league and holds a not-so-good 77.4 passer rating this year.

“[Henne] took command of the offense,” Jacksonville’s head coach Mike Mularkey said.  He’s been a starter in the league.  He’s had some success at that position.” 

But truth be told, Henne hasn’t had much success.  Over the course of his four year career, he has failed to end a season with a passer rating above 80 or finish a year with more touchdowns than interceptions.  Nevertheless, Henne has never lacked for talent — as Michigan fans well know — and is surely aided by his four years of NFL experience.  He’s been performing much better this year with his new team, currently holding a 96.5 passer rating.

Honorable Mention:  David Molk isn’t the best Michigan center in the NFL just yet; that
distinction belongs to Jonathan Goodwin.  He starts for the division
leading 7-2 San Fransisco 49ers, and his team beat up on the 7-3 Chicago Bears
on Monday Night Football last week.  49er teammate Mario Manningham had 2 catches for 45 yards in the game.
 
Miscellaneous:

• A bye week is the only force that can prevent Stevie Brown from dominating the world.
• Brady threw for 331 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions his 59-24 schooling of Andrew Luck and the Colts.
• Brandon Graham didn’t register any stats as his struggling Eagles team lost to the Redskins.
• HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  EAT GOOD FOOD, RELAX WITH FAMILY, AND WATCH NFL FOOTBALL!

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.