Week 2 had some serious upsets. The Cardinals beat the Patriots and the Saints loss to Cam Newton and the Panthers. The Patriots upset may be an aberration but the Saint’s loss may be very telling of what kind of team they actually have in New Orleans. The Patriots should rebound; in a few months, we’ll all be shocked that they dropped this game at home. With the Saints we may look back and realize the Saints just aren’t that good without Payton coaching. After the Cowboys opened the season with a win over the defending Super Bowl Champion Giants, they went on the road and got handled by the Seahawks. In another surprise, the Eagles are a terrible looking 2-0. Both wins came in the last few minutes and were by one point. The first game was against the Browns whom we assume are poor team, but the second was against the Ravens who some touted as the best team in the league after Week 1. Two weeks in we still don’t know a lot about any team this year.
Quarterbacks:
Jason Campbell #2, Chicago Bears – Jason is #2 on the depth chart with the Bears and did not play in the 23-10 loss to the Packers.
Cam Newton #1, Carolina Panthers – Cam did a great job of managing the game against the Saints and taking what the defense gave him. Cam was efficient through the air, completing 14-20 for 253 yards and a TD with no interceptions, he also added 13 carries for 71 yards on the ground and another TD. The Panthers looked like an improved team this week; the 35-27 score was closer than the game actually was. For those of you with the NFL channel, don’t forget that Cam and the Panthers are playing on Thursday night this week.
Running Backs:
Ronnie Brown #30, San Diego Chargers – Ronnie started the game at running back when the Chargers demolished the Titans 38-10. He was used sparingly with Jackie Battle getting most of the carries; Ronnie had four carries for eight yards and four catches for 26 yards. Ronnie has mainly been used on passing downs because of his blocking ability, but the Chargers have got to get him more touches or his being in the game is going to tip the defense to the play call.
Mario Fannin #42, Denver Broncos – Mario is on injured reserve with Denver and will be placed on the practice squad when he returns from his Achilles injury.
Tristan Davis #38, Washington Redskins – Tristan is currently on injured reserve with the Redskins and will be placed on the practice squad.
Ben Tate #44, Houston Texans – Ben had a much bigger role this week with two TDs and 74 yards on 12 carries. He stole a bit of Arian Foster’s thunder in the 27-7 win over the undermanned Jaguars. Tate also had four catches for 23 yards.
Carnell Williams – Carnell is not currently on a roster. He’s rumored to be in talks to sign with the Lions but has not been signed.
Wide Receivers:
Devin Aromashadu #19, Minnesota Vikings – Devin is currently running as the #2 outside receiver for the Vikings. He played Sunday but caught only one very inexplicable pass. Down 23-20 to the Colts Christian Ponder completed a 19 yard pass to Aromashadu in the middle of the field with only 2 seconds to go. I suppose he thought Devin had a hidden timeout in his back pocket; with these replacement refs, its possible.
Ben Obamanu #87, Seattle Seahawks – Ben is listed as second string but has yet to record a catch this year. His Seahawks beat the Cowboys, 27-7.
Offensive Tackles:
King Dunlap #65, Philadelphia Eagles – King is the starting left tackle for the Eagles who beat the Ravens 24-23 Sunday. King pulled a hamstring in the game. His status is uncertain.
Lee Ziemba #75, Carolina Panthers – Lee is currently on injured reserve with the team with a bum knee. He is likely out for the season.
Marcus McNeill — Marcus was released by the Chargers after injuries have severely damaged his career. The Jets worked him out three weeks ago but the OT is continuing to ponder retirement. Marcus always had spinal stenosis. Even though he was a very talented player, his career was always time sensitive.
Guards:
Tyronne Green #69, San Diego Chargers – is currently a starter at left guard for the Chargers who beat the Titans this week, 38-10.
Ben Grubbs #66, New Orleans Saints – Ben is the starting left guard for the Saints who have started an embarrassing 0-2 after their 35-27 loss to the Panthers on Sunday.
Brandon Mosley #67, New York Giants – Brandon was set as the backup at left guard when he injured his ankle. The Giants have placed him on IR and he is done for the year.
Centers:
Josh Harris #47, Atlanta Falcons – Josh is the only Tiger from last year’s team currently getting any playing time. He is the starting long snapper for the Falcons.
Defensive Tackles:
Zach Clayton #69, Tennessee Titans – Zach is currently on the practice squad for the Titans..
Nick Fairley #98, Detroit lions – Nick is currently getting playing time as Suh’s backup but recorded no stats in the Lions 27-19 loss to the 49ers. Word out of Detroit is that Fairley is not showing full effort on the field.
Spencer Johnson #91, Buffalo Bills – Spencer is a backup with the Bills and recorded 1 tackle as the Bills had an impressive 35-17 win over the Chiefs.
Sen’Derrick Marks #94, Tennessee Titans – Sen’Derrick is still nursing a knee injury and did not play in the Chargers 38-10 demolishing of the Titans.
Jay Ratliff #90, Dallas Cowboys – Jay has a high ankle sprain and had to sit out another game as his Cowboys were embarrassed by the Seahawks 27-7. The Cowboys missed him greatly as Seattle’s run game was dominant.
Pat Sims #90, Cincinnati Bengals – Pat is on the PUP list and is not eligible to play until week six. He has a lingering ankle injury that caused him to miss time last season and carried over into training camp this year.
Outside Linebackers:
Quentin Groves #54, Arizona Cardinals – Quentin is a backup with the Cardinals. He recorded one tackle in Arizona’s upset victory over the Patriots 28-10.
Will Herring #54, New Orleans Saints – Will is second string in New Orleans. He didn’t record a stat in the 35-27 loss to the Panthers.
Inside Linebackers:
Josh Bynes #56, Baltimore Ravens – Josh is on the Ravens’ practice squad.
Karlos Dansby #58, Miami Dolphins – Karlos is the starting middle linebacker for the Fins and had eight tackles and a pass deflection in Miami’s 35-13 domination of the Raiders.
Takeo Spikes #51, San Diego Chargers – Takeo is a starter and captain for the Chargers but only recorded one tackle in the San Diego’s 38-10 win over the Titans.
Cornerbacks:
Pat Lee #26, Oakland Raiders – Pat had been listed towards the bottom of the depth chart but actually got the start for Oakland in their 35-13 loss to the Dolphins. He recorded two tackles in the game and is still listed as the starter. It was only his second career start.
Jerraud Powers #25, Indianapolis Colts – Jerraud started for the Colts in their 23-20 win over the Vikings. He recorded nine tackles in the game, seven solo.
Carlos Rogers #22, San Francisco 49ers – Starting for the most impressive team so far this year, Carlos had two tackles as the 49ers beat the Lions, 27-19.
Neiko Thorpe #38, Kansas City Chiefs – Neiko made the practice squad with the Chiefs as a corner.
Photo via.
Thor Burk came to Auburn as a young man in 1997 and never left. He’s always loved Bo Jackson, but his true love of Auburn football proper began in the early ’90s. In addition to writing a weekly report on Tiger greats in the NFL, he’s a professional BBQ judge (Memphis certified), and all around foodie. Write to him at thor@auburn.edu.
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Quentin Groves was credited with a punt block for the Cardinals.
Nice find James, didn’t get to watch that one and it didn’t show up on the stat sheets