A look at the former Cats in the NFL, week 3
By Staff
Well folks, wasn’t much of a weekend for our former UK players that are currently battling it out for playing time in the NFL. The biggest performer may have been Keenan Burton, a second year receiver that plays for the Rams but let’s take a look at everyone:
Keenan Burton (Rams): Burton took advantage of being targeted more by quarterback Kyle Boller after starter Marc Bulger went out with an injury. Burton was looked at five times throughout the game and was able to catch 3 of those targets. When all was said and done, Burton came away with a pretty decent game with three receptions and 37 yards. This was clearly the best game of his career and he’ll be able to improve upon it in next week’s games. The Rams are in the midst of a wide-receiver injury bug. That’s where Burton (healthy) steps in and hopefully steps it up. He made such an impression, that the Talented Mr. Roto of ESPN.com believes Burton is a pick-up of the week for the injury plagued Rams. With Laurent Robinson out for the year with injury and #2 wide receiver Donnie Avery out as well, Burton becomes the last resort for St. Louis. Could get to see more out of Burton in the coming weeks.
Myron Pryor (Patriots): The Patriots were in a big matchup with the Falcons in Foxboro and Pryor got to see some much needed action on Sunday. He recorded three tackles, all of them being assisted as he got to see his first action of the year. The Patriots defense played exceptionally well against a Falcons offense that had been rolling on all cylinders in their first two weeks of play. Pryor helped out in the cause, but it wasn’t as much as I think he’s capable of. An ankle injury to starting defensive-tackle Vince Wilfork that occurred during the game isn’t serious, but does allow more room for Pryor to work his way into the lineup. If Wilfork continues to suffer, Pryor will get more playing time. Should be interesting to see how this works out, but we definitely know that Pryor holds the #2 position on the nose-tackle depth chart.
Jeremy Jarmon (Redskins): Jarmon, like the last two weeks, didn’t see a whole lot of action in week 3. It wasn’t a great performance for the Redskins, but the rookie was able to pick up one tackle against the Lions. They wound up losing to the lowly Lions, as it was the Lions first win in over 18 months and brought about even more disappointment for a overpriced Redskins team. Jarmon may not see much time on the field this year, but if he does he’s going to be doing it for one of the lower-rated teams in the league. Hopefully he can take advantage of the situation and produce like he did on Sunday. I was unable to see the game, but Jarmon’s tackle most likely game from special teams play as starting defensive ends Andre Carter and Phillip Daniels got the majority of playing time.
Andre Woodson (Redskins): practice squad
Ventrell Jenkins (free agent): released by the Bengals just a couple of weeks ago, Jenkins still is looking for work in the NFL. We’ll have to wait and see what happens with this.
Garry Williams (Panthers): The Panthers took on the Cowboys in Monday Night Football and were kindly disappointing. Williams didn’t get to see any action at offensive tackle as Jordan Gross played extremely well in front of 100,000+ fans. Williams will continue to sit behind Gross and if he continues to play at a Pro Bowl level, Williams won’t be seeing the field too much this season. Still a promising young player, he will get opportunities somewhere down the line.
Braxton Kelly (Broncos): practice squad
Wesley Woodyard (Broncos): Woodyard played much of the same role as he has the past two weeks in his week 3 game against the Raiders. He continues to get playing time with the use of the 3-4 defense by head coach Josh McDaniels. He’s behind guys like D.J. Williams, Elvis Dumervil, and Andra Davis so his opportunities aren’t at a high level right now. He did have three tackles again on Sunday and continues to sit in the #2 position on the depth chart for the RILB position, so he should continue at his current pace. I think Woodyard can have a high ceiling in terms of an NFL career. He came away with a great defensive mentality playing under current UK head coach Rich Brooks and is extremely consistent. At 6’0” and 222 lbs. he’s big, but also quick enough to run sideline to sideline.
Stevie Johnson (Bills): If Johnson were to have seen any playing time in Sunday’s blowout loss to the Saints, it would have come via special teams play. Without a recorded tackle, it looks as if Johnson solely saw time on the side of the field rather than on it. He wasn’t in head coach Dick Jouran’s offensive scheme that he used on Sunday, as other options were used. At this point in the season, I can’t really see why Johnson wouldn’t get any playing time. Names like Derek Fine, Ryan Denney, and Jonathan Stupar all received targets from quarterback Trent Edwards but Steve Johnson couldn’t get any playing time. Not to mention that Terrell Owens had zero receptions on five targets, it looks like it couldn’t hurt the Bills to try something new out.
Jacob Tamme (Colts): Tamme wasn’t as lucky as he’s been in weeks past. The second year tight end didn’t get too see much action this week, as Peyton Manning and Colts head coaches looked in other directions for the week 3 game against the Arizona Cardinals. According to statistics from the game, Tamme had zero targets on the day, which led to no receptions or yards receiving. He also didn’t record any tackles, so we know that he isn’t being used on the special teams unit. With four tight ends on the team already and one of them being Dallas Clark, Tamme may have to work that much harder to get on the field this season. With established vets like Clark and Reggie Wayne, along with youngsters Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie manning the other wide receiver positions, there isn’t too much room for Tamme to work with.
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