How the Seminoles Fared In Week 3 Of NFL

Nigel Bradham, linebacker for the Buffalo Bills, had three tackles and one assist against the Cleveland Browns.  Two of his tackles came on special teams.  Near the end of the 1st quarter, Cleveland QB Brandon Weeden threw a short pass to Trent Richardson, their RB, out in the left flat and Bradham was there to help with the tackle stopping him for only a gain of 6 yards.  His solo tackle was on a run behind the right guard where he was able to stop the RB for a gain of 6 yards.

Mike Harris, corner back for the Jacksonville Jaguars, made four solo tackles against the Colts.  Three of his tackles came on special teams and two stopped big plays.  The Colts had a 40 yard and a 31 yard return until Harris was there to push the player out of bounds and make the stop.  His other tackle was on a pass over the middle where he meet the receiver right when he caught the ball to make the tackle.

Greg Jones, fullback for the Jacksonville Jaguars, had one run for one yard and two catches for 12 yards.  His run came in the third quarter on 3rd and 1 and he was able to convert the first down straight up the middle for one yard.  On the very next play, Jones caught a ball in the right flat and was able to gain 3 yards.  His other catch was on a check down to the left flat and this time he was able to bruise his way for 9 yards.  Jones was also targeted one other time but the pass fell short.

Antonio Cromartie, corner back for the New York Jets, made two tackles and had one pass deflection in the win against the Miami Dolphins.  His first tackle was made against tightend Anthony Fasano on a short pass to the right side for a gain of 17 yards.  Cromartie made a nice tackle against a wide receiver deep in Miami's territory keeping them pinned inside the 5 yard line.  The pass deflection was on first down when he got his hand in between the ball and the receiver.

Letroy Guion, defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings, had two tackles and one assist in a win against the San Francisco 49ers.  His first tackle came when Frank Gore tried to run to the outside and he chased him down to push him out of bounds for only a four yard gain.  The second tackle was made on a short pass out to the left side where he chased down the receiver again.  Guion's biggest play of the game came on a field goal attempt by the 49ers where he got a great surge up the middle to block the 43 yard attempt with one minute to go in the first half.  The block setup the Vikings to get another field goal to take a 17-3 lead at halftime.

Christian Ponder, quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, played like a veteran QB against one of the toughest defenses in the league.  During the opening drive of the game, Ponder leads the Vikings down the field 78 yards eating up the clock to score.  He was 6-8 for 49 yards and a 1 yard TD pass on fourth and goal.  The drive took up 7 minutes and 40 seconds.  He used his two favorite targets, Percy Harvin twice, and Kyle Rudolph four times.  The biggest play of the game came two series later when he drove the Vikings down the field again except this time he used his leg and took what the defense would give him.  Ponder rushed for 34 yards on the drive including a 23 yard TD rush when there were no receivers open and the pocket broke down he scrambled up the middle.  At the end of the third quarter he drove them down again eating up the clock for 7 minutes to throw a 2 yard TD pass to Kyle Rudolph again.  For the game, Ponder was 21/35 for 198 yards and 2 TDs also had 7 rushes for 33 yards and 1 TD.

Rodney Hudson, center for the Kansas City Chiefs, made his third start of the season against the New Orleans Saints.  Hudson did have one tackle as one of his teammates fumbled the ball and the Saints recovered it.  Hudson suffered an injury during this game.

Patrick Robinson, corner back for the New Orleans Saints, was all over the field and making a ton of plays. He ended the game with five solo tackles,three assist and three pass breakups.  Robinson had the difficult job of covering the big Dwayne Bowe and did a great job.  His three pass breakups were all against Bowe. 

Brodrick Bunkley, defensive tackle for the New Orleans Saints, made one tackle and one assist in the loss to the KC Chiefs.  Both of his tackle were made on the speedy running back Jamaal Charles.

Kamerion Wimbley, defensive end for the Tennessee Titans, had just one tackle and one assist in the win against the Detroit Lions.  He made his tackles against the Lions running back M. Leshoure.

Darnell Dockett, defensive tackle for the Arizona Cardinals, only had one tackle against L. McCoy as he chased him down from behind to stop the first down.  McCoy had only a gain of 8 yards.  Dockett was hurt later in the fourth quarter and did not return to the game.  The injury is not that serious and he should be able to return next week.

Chris Hope, defensive back for the Atlanta Falcons, made two tackles on special teams as the Falcons blew out the San Diego Chargers.

Richard Goodman, wide receiver for the San Diego Chargers, had one return for 31 yards in a loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

Tony Carter, defensive back for the Denver Broncos, made one tackle in the loss to the Houston Texans.

Mister Alexander, linebacker for the Houston Texans, had one tackle on special teams.

Lawrence Timmons, linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, made three solo tackles in a loss to the Oakland Raiders.  Two of his tackles were made in pass coverage and the other was a run by Darren McFadden.

Sebastian Janikowski, kicker for the Oakland Raiders, was perfect again this week.  He made all four extra points and going 2-2 on field goal attempts.  His last field goal was a game winning one for 43 yards with 3 seconds left.

Two Seminoles Back In NFL

Yesterday was a great day for former Seminoles Markus White and Andre Fluellen.  Both had started the preseason on NFL rosters and found themselves fighting for a spot on week 1 rosters.  In the end, both were cut to make way for veterans.

White was in his second season with the Redskins and had played in a total of two games and had not recorded a tackle.  In the preseason this year the linebacker started showing his speed as he was able to help on a sack and was in the backfield numerous times.  Although it was not enough to make the team, as the Redskins cut Markus.  After he was cut, he was added to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad where he spent a couple of weeks until the Redskins called again.  On Sunday the Redskins starting lineback Brian Orakpo was lost for the season with a pectoral injury.  Now he will be the third string linebacker waiting to get his chance.

Fluellen had spent four seasons with the Detroit Lions, the team that drafted him in the 3rd round of the 2008 draft.  While with the Lions, he played in 51games and started 5 of them.  The defensive tackle has 2.5 sacks and one forced fumble.  This preseason was tough for Andre having to play behind one of the best defensive lines in the NFL.  When cuts came he was off the team and could not find his was to a practice squad.  He practiced for a couple of teams but was never added until yesterday when the Miami Dolphins called.  Fluellen took the place of DT Ryan Baker who was cut.

NFL Week 2 Full Of Seminoles

Richard Goodman, wide receiver for the San Diego Chargers,  had two kickoff returns for 37 yards a piece.

Kamerion Wimbley, defensive end for the Tennessee Titans,  made one tackle and one assist in a loss against the San Diego Chargers.

Lawrence Timmons, linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, had three tackles, one assist and made a pass deflection.  Also Timmons was in the backfield pressuring Mark Sanchez on three different occasions. 

Antonio Cromartie, corner back for the New York Jets made two tackles and helped on another in the loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.  All of his tackles were made against speedy Mike Wallace.

Leon Washington, running back for the Seattle Seahawks, had two returns in the kicking game.  On a kickoff he caught the ball on the 6 yard line and returned it 20 yards.  Then on a punt he returned it seven yards.  Washington also had four carries for 11 yards.

Anquan Boldin, wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens, only had two catches for seven yards and one was for zero yards.  The Ravens just could not get the ball to their receivers as they only made five catches in the game. 

Preston Parker, wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, had a run on an end around for seven yards then he was pushed out of bounds.

Dekoda Watson, linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, had a very productive day against the New York Giants.  He made two special team tackles, one coming on a kickoff and the other on a punt.  His third tackle came against Victor Cruz as he caught a pass over the middle.

Darnell Dockett, defensive end for the Arizona Cardinals, was in the backfield disrupting the quarterback again this week, this time it was Tom Brady.  During the first play for the Patriots, Brady dropped back and tried to throw a pass over the middle when Dockett got his arm up and tipped the pass that led to an interception.  He stopped 3 runs by himself against the Patriots running backs holding them to -5 yards.  Also, Dockett helped with another tackle for -1 yards. 

Sebastian Janikowski, kicker  for the Oakland Raiders, was perfect on the day going 2-2 on field goals with a long of 27 yards and 1-1 on extra points. 

Mike Harris, cornerback for the Jacksonville Jaguars, made his first career tackle against the Texans.  The tackle came on the first kickoff of the game as the Texans returned the kick 30 yards and was meet by Harris. 

Mister Alexander, linebacker for the Houston Texans, did not have a tackle but was on the field for kickoffs and punts.

Christian Ponder, quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, was 27-35 for 245 yards and 2 TDs.  Ponder started the game perfect going 6-6 in their first two drives and leading them to two field goals.  On their next possession, he fumbled the ball which led to a Colt field goal.  Ponder led his team to two touchdown in the second half going 12-15 for 89 yards in those drive.  The second TD tied the game with only 31 seconds left.  The Vikings defense could not stop the Colts who kicked a game winning field goal with 8 second to go.  Ponder gave it a shot going 2-2 for 29 yards as the time expired.

Letroy Guion, defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings, had one assist in the loss against the Indianapolis Colts.

Patrick Robinson, corner back for the New Orleans Saints, had two tackles one assist and two pass deflections.  The Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith caught a pass out in the left flat for 3 yards and Robinson was there to help make the tackle.  Robinson made another tackle on Steve Smith and also one against Jonathan Stewart.  Robinson’s two pass deflections were huge; one was on third down to end a drive and the other was on a deep ball stopping Steve Smith again. 

Brodrick Bunkleym, defensive tackle for the New Orleans Saints, helped on two tackles against the Carolina Panthers.  His first assist came when Cam Newton tried to scramble to the left end.  The second assist occurred in the fourth quarter as Carolina’s running back DeAngelo Williams tried to run behind the right guard for a gain of only 4 yards.

Nigel Bradham, linebacker for the Buffalo Bills, made two tackles and helped on another.  Bradham’s first career tackle came on punt coverage in the third quarter.  In the fourth,  Peyton Hillis tried to run around the right end only to be met by Bradham and D. Searcy for a gain of only 4 yards.  Then again in the fourth he made a tackle on a punt return. 

Rodney Hudson,  center for the Kansas City Chiefs, got his second start of the season. 

Buster Posey For NL MVP

Everybody can make a case for their favorite player or the best player on their favorite team to win the MVP.  All of that is subjective because its your team or player.  Here are the reasons that Buster Posey should win the NL MVP.

On August 14th the San Francisco Giants lose Melky Cabrera due to him testing positive for PEDs.  He was batting .346 with 84 runs which still leads the team after his 26 games absence.  On that date, the Giants were tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL West lead.  Since then Buster has played in 24 games and has collected 32 hit with 12 being doubles and 2 HRs.  His batting average is a cool .340 and he is slugging .531.  Posey has scored 19 runs and drove in 13 runs during that time and has seen his Giants take a 7 game lead in the division.

No other player in the league has lost more and been able to keep his team afloat.  Buster is in only his second full season since he missed almost all of last year with an injury but he is playing a like a veteran, getting timely hits and just producing.  There were only 5 games he did not collect a hit but in 2 of them he did get walked and scored.

Great Start For Luke Loucks

Luke Loucks just finished his first preseason tournament with VEF Riga of the Latvian League.  In his first professional game, Loucks was just trying to get the feel of the Euro game.  He ended the game with five points and helped his team to the win.  During the second game of the tournament, the point guard was more aggressive on defense coming up with five steals.  Also, Loucks was able to improve his point total to seven this game.  In the final, the rookie stepped up even more.  With only seconds left in the game and his team trailing by three points, Luke came down and drained a three to tie the game.  The game went to overtime but VEF Riga was unable to get the victory.  Loucks scored 11 points, grabbed 5 rebound and had 2 steals.

Recap Of Sundays Seminoles

LB Geno Hayes of the Chicago Bears made a couple of great plays in the second half of Sunday's matchup with the Indianapolis Colts.  On the Colts second possession of the second half, Geno made a nice stop for no gain on Donald Brown the running back as he tried to bounce the ball to the left outside.  Then a couple of plays later, Geno was covering tightend Coby Fleener over the middle and stopped him from breaking away for a touchdown.  In all it was a great start for Geno Hayes with his new team.

QB Christian Ponder of the Minnesota Vikings had a great start to his second season.  The first quarter and much of the second started out pretty slow for Ponder.  Then, with 2:28 to go the in half he led the Vikings down the field going 4-4 for 46 yards to put them on the Jacksonville 5 yard line. A couple of plays later, the Vikings were able to pound it in for a TD.  In the third quarter after a turnover, Ponder completed a 19 yard pass to Percy Harvin to setup a field goal.  In the second half he was 10-13 including a game tying drive with only 20 seconds left.  During overtime, Ponder was 3-3 for 28 yards to lead to a game winning field goal.  For the game he was 20-27 for 270 yards and only one turnover which was a fumble that he was unable to recover.

CB Patrick Robinson of the New Orleans Saints recorded his first sack of his NFL career by making the tackle on Robert Griffin III for negative 9 yards.  Patrick also had two other tackles and a pass deflection for the Saints.

DT Brodrick Bunkley of the New Orleans Saints helped with a tackle on Redskins RB Alfred Morris for only a gain of 2 yards.  Two series later, he got another tackle on Morris for only a gain of 2 yards.  In the fourth quarter Brodrick made his third tackle against Morris, this time stopping him for only a gain of 3 yards.

CB Antonio Cromartie of the New York Jets got his third career interception return for a TD against the Buffalo Bills to help secure a blowout win.  The pick came at the start of the third quarter when Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick threw a short pass to WR D. Nelson and Cromartie read it perfectly jumping the route and taking it to the house even doing a little high stepping before the endzone.  Cromartie ended the day with 2 tackles and 2 assist.

DE Kamerion Wimbley of the Tennessee Titans had a nice sack against Tom Brady of the New England Patriots Sunday.  Brady tried to roll to the outside and did not see Kamerion coming from behind him to make the sack.  As he tackled Brady and was getting up, he kneed him in the face by accident.  Brady suffered a cut to his nose which was bleeding pretty badly.  Kamerion ended the game with 2 tackles and 2 assist.

DT Darnell Dockett of the Arizona Cardinals was unstoppable making 5 tackles with 4 being solo and 1 assist.  Dockett made the first tackle of the game, stopping Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch to 2 yards.  During the last series of the first half, Darnell made a tackle on former FSU RB Leon Washington.  Pretty much the DT was in the backfield disrupting the Seahawks as they were never able to get on track.

RB Leon Washington of the Seattle Seahawks almost broke two returns for TDs but was dragged down from behind.  Leon ran a kickoff back 83 yards only to be tackled just short of the endzone and then again on a punt return he made it 52 yards.  Both returns led to Seahawks points a TD and a FG.  Also Leon had 2 carries for 5 yards.

LB Lawrence Timmons was all over the field for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Timmons ended the night with 5 solo tackles and 3 straight in one drive.  Timmons showed his speed as the Broncos were trying to run out the clock with runs.  One run was to the right end and Timmons made the tackle on McGahee for only 5 yards.  The next run was McGahee right behind the left guard and Timmons stuffed it in the hole.  The last run was by Moreno this time behind the right guard and Timmons did the same thing again and stuffed the hole.

Ponder And Vikings Preview

Sunday will be the start of a new season for Christian Ponder and the Minnesota Vikings.  Ponder is coming off of his rookie season in which at times he showed great potential and at other times proved was a rookie.  He had to sit behind Donovon McNabb for the first six games then was given the starting position during week 7.

Ponder's best game statistically of his rookie campaign was against the Atlanta Falcons in week 12 when he was 17-25 for 68% with 186 yards and one TD.  He had a passer rating of 103.1 out of 158.3.  Then in week 13 he threw for a career high 381 yards against the Denver Broncos.  Last year the Vikings went 2-8 with Ponder as the starting quarterback.

Christian Ponder and the Vikings are still in the rebuilding process.  He will only have one wide reciever returning that caught over 50 passes last year and that will be Percy Harvin who caught 87 balls for 967 yards.  The Vikings signed receiver Jerome Simpson to help Harvin on the outside, but he is suspended for the first 3 games.  The team also signed two tightends in Kyle Rudolph and John Carlson to help over the middle and with blocking.  The team used their first round draft pick to sign offensive tackle Matt Kalil who will help an offensive line that gave up 49 sacks last season.

Then it all comes down to Adrian Peterson and how healthy he is and can stay.  Peterson is coming off of an ACL and MCL tear which required surgery to repair both.  He says that he is almost back to 100% but time will only tell.  He brings so much to the team and is a nightmare to opposing defenses.  If he can stay healthy he will take so much pressure off of Ponder that he will be able to develop into a better quarterback.  The game will be able to slow down because teams wont be able to blitz as much for the fear of a play action pass.

In all,  Ponder and the Vikings have a lot to work on to become a better football team.  With a little bit of help from different players, the Vikings should be able to improve their record from last season.  Its not unlikely for them to see 5 or 6 wins with improved stats.