Here are the Pack alum's performances (sporadically infused with random bits of other goodies) from week ten of the NFL season. Players are listed in alphabetical order as not to offend anyone; please hold your applause until the end of the presentation.
David Amerson (‘13/2nd): Amerson was invisible in the Skins' wait-look-at-the-boxscore-this-doesn't-make-any-sense-Amato-style 34-27 loss at Minnesota. Washington (3-6) had a 13-minute advantage in time of possession, 126 more total yards, and a +1 turnover margin but blew a 13-point second-half lead rather than step through the wide open door Dallas (5-5) keeps leaving open in the NFC East. The Skins are still just 1.5 games out in a division that may well be had with eight wins. Amerson did not record a single stat in the setback.
Andre Brown (‘09/4th): Tom Coughlin eased Brown back into action after he missed the Giants' first nine games with injury, giving him just 30 carries. THIRTY CARRIES!!! Brown, who has survived seven roster cuts, two broken bones, and a ruptured Achilles, put the Giants (3-6) on his back in his return to action, rushing for 115 yards and a touchdown that put his team up for good in the third quarter against the Raiders (3-6). Brown also had a reception in the 24-20 win, New York's third straight. The G-Men can't be counted out in the NFC East race for mediocrity.
Audie Cole (‘12/7th): Cole was active for the Vikings (2-7) but did not record any stats.
Jerricho Cotchery (‘04/4th): Cotchery's resurgence continued Sunday as the veteran grabbed his sixth touchdown of the season, matching the career high he set with the Jets back in 2006. Cotch's five-yard grab put the Steelers (3-6) up 10-3, a lead they would not relinquish in the 23-10 home win over Buffalo (3-7). Cotchery also had a 26-yard catch but did not put up big yardage numbers since Big Ben kept his pistol holstered for most of the lopsided win (Buffalo's lone TD came with three seconds left in the game).
Mike Glennon (‘13/3rd): Glennon is officially a guy who has won a game as a starting quarterback in the National Football League, which is a pretty select list. The Bucs (1-8) joined Jacksonville (1-8) in getting off the schneid in a weird week 10 that saw the Vikes, Bucs, and Jags, teams with a combined one win going into the week, all partake in the dance of victory. Also weird: the Rams blowing out Indy at Indy.
But back to Big Mike. Glennon had his worst performance as a pro, completing 11 of 21 passes for just 139 yards with a TD and a pick, but he was pretty good in the beginning, guiding Tampa to a 15-0 lead that it blew thanks to getting really conservative (just like the week before at Seattle). And, after Miami (4-5) came all the way back, Schiano finally let Glennon uncork a throw and he hooked up with Tiquan Underwood for a 17-yard strike on the drive that led to the winning touchdown.
Tampa took advantage of the turmoil on the Fins' offensive line, recording nine tackles for a loss and two sacks.
T.J. Graham (‘12/3rd): Graham has reverted to the guy that gets a decent amount of targets (four) but has very little to show for it (one catch for five yards). And, after the loss to Pittsburgh, I'm done prognosticating a second half playoff run for the Bills no matter how much I'd like to have a three-Pack alum team in the postseason. Ain't gon' happen.
Leroy Harris (‘07/4th): Harris was inactive for Megatron's two-TD performance that gave the Lions (6-3) a 21-19 win over the Bears (5-4) and sole possession of first place in the NFC North.
Steven Hauschka (‘08/UDFA): Seattle (9-1) quit dicking around with inferior opponents Sunday, burying Atlanta early in the Georgia Dome behind three Hauschka field goals. The Seahawks led 23-3 at intermission and cruised to a 33-10 win over the Falcons (2-7). Hauschka finished 4-for-4, including a 53-yarder, and is 22-for-23 (95.7%) on the season.
Nate Irving (‘11/3rd): Kudos to you if you bet the under in Denver's 28-20 win over the Bolts. It certainly wasn't due to Irvin that the game wasn't played in the thirties (or even forties), as he made just one tackle. The Broncos (8-1) are still chasing surprise-unbeaten KC (9-0) for best in the AFC West.
Markus Kuhn (‘12/7th): Kuhn has been rostered (rather than released or placed on the season-long PUP) but was inactive for the Giants' win over the Raiders.
Ted Larsen (‘10/6th): Larsen saw action as a reserve in the Bucs' first win of the season.
Manny Lawson (‘06/1st): Lawson appears to be suffering no ill effects from the hammy strain that kept him out two weeks ago; he made four stops against the Steelers.
Terrell Manning (‘12/5th): the self-proclaimed black sheep of the Manning family, Terrell sacked big brother Peyton nine times and picked him twice in Madden 25 on the eve of Sunday's showdown. Alas, as he is still but a member of the practice squad, Terrell did not participate in the actual game.
Tobais Palmer (‘12/UDFA): A Google search for Palmer basically brings up a bunch of old BTP "Pack in the Pros" articles, which would not seem to bode well for his NFL future. If anyone has information on Palmer's whereabouts, please share them in the comments section.
Philip Rivers (‘04/1st): As Akula noted in one of his recent recaps of N.C. State's football maladies, you don't make friends with field goals. The Chargers (4-5) twice settled for Nick Novak field goals in the early going while the Broncos kept putting seven on the board. That unfortunate recipe made it 28-6 before a late rally made the final score look more respectable at 28-20.
It was not Rivers' best game; he was 19-for-29 for 218 yards and a score and was sacked four times. It's been kind of a feast or famine season for Rivers, who has three games of 400+ yards to go with three games of 218 yards or less. Despite an excellent Bolts' defensive effort--they became the first team to hold Denver under 30 points--Rivers probably needed 300+ to pull the upset since he typically gets little help from the ground game.
J.R. Sweezy (‘12/7th): Sweezy helped pave the way for a huge Marshawn Lynch afternoon; the Seattle running back went for 145 yards and a score while the team eclipsed 200 yards on the ground against the hapless Falcons.
Stephen Tulloch (‘06/4th): Tulloch added seven more tackles to his team-leading total, including one for a loss, and K.O.'d Jay Cutler when he rolled up on the Bears' QB's ankle after a throw. Cutler will miss at least one week with a high-ankle sprain. Ndamukong Suh was the star for a Detroit defense that held the Bears to under 20 points for just the second time this season. Suh, who had two sacks in the teams' first meeting, got four licks on Cutler, including one sack, and also batted down a pass.
Mario Williams ('06/ 1st): I am going to assume that the Steelers' triple teamed Williams Sunday, as they gave up four sacks but Super Mario didn't get any of them. In fact, he didn't record a tackle.
Adrian Wilson (‘01/3rd): Wilson is still languishing on the Pats' IR.
Russell Wilson (‘12/3rd): Wilson nearly eclipsed 300 yards (287) despite only 26 attempts. He threw for two touchdowns and added 20 yards rushing. Wilson's efficient day bumped his TD% to 6.6%, fourth best in the league, and his yards per completion rose to 13.1 (5th). Wilson's 5.6 yard-per-carry average is also second best in the NFL. Fear him. Also, haha to the 31 teams that passed on him in the draft (several times).
C.J. Wilson (‘13/UDFA): Wilson remains on the practice squad as of this second, but with Charles Tillman lost for the year, C.J. has a good chance to get activated and be active for the Bears down the stretch.
Earl Wolff (‘13/5th): Even at home, the Aaron Rodgers-less Packers (5-4) were no match for Earl's Eagles (5-5), though Wolff made just two stops (one TFL) in Philly's 27-13 win. The weirdo Eagles are two very odd things: 5-1 on the road and tied for first with a .500 record. They play at Dallas to close the season in a game that may well decide the division, so I guess it's a good thing that it's away from Lincoln Financial Field.
Willie Young (‘10/7th): Dammit, Willie! With 40 seconds left in the Bears-Lions clash, Chicago was turned away from a game-tying, two-point conversion only to get new life when Young was called for roughing the passer. This is the sort of thing that will get you under the coach's doghouse. But, much to Young's relief, Detroit stuffed Matt Forte from the one yard line to escape Soldier Field with a huge win. The Lions have a one-game lead on the Bears and swept the season series.
Young made only one tackle in the game but was credited with two passes defended.
AND NOW THE MUCH ANTICIPATED ALWAYS APPRECIATED ALL CAP INTRODUCED BTP GAME BALL OF THE WEEK GOES TO...
Andre Brown.
Is there a better story in the NFL this season than what Brown did in his first game back? Here are some insights into how incredibly driven Brown is; without that drive he would have never overcome what would have been insurmountable obstacles for the rest of us. Sometimes good things do happen to deserving people, and, albeit the smallest of small gestures, the BTP Game Ball is the latest good thing for Mr. Brown.
Oh but nay, nay, we will not stop there. I hereby decree, by the powers vested in me by the Internets, that heretofore the BTP Game Ball will be known as the Andre Brown Living Memorial Game Ball of the Week. And he may win it every game, forever, and that would be fine by me.