BRADFORD SURVIVES DEBUT, RODGERS NEARLY PERFECT, IOWA RB DEPTH GETS THINNER & ED HOCHULI APOLOGIZES TO C.J. & TITANS
Number one overall draft pick, Rams quarterback Sam Bradford, made his professional debut tonight versus the Minnesota Vikings. Bradford entered the game in the 2nd quarter & completed 6 of 13 attempts for 57 yards. Bradford bobbled his first two snaps & was sacked four times. Here's the bad news for Ram fans, Minnesota recorded 6 sacks in the game & not one of their defensive line starters played a single snap, no Jared Allen, no Kevin Williams etc etc etc. Yikes! Bradford's counterpart, Sage Rosenfels, had a career type of night, 23 of 34 for 310 yards & 3 touchdowns. It's going to be a very long season in the Gateway City.
Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers began the preseason with a near perfect quarter. He completed 12 of 13 for 159 yards, a touchdown & a passer rating of 143.5. Very impressive. The Packers got a scare in the 1st quarter when starting running back Ryan Grant sustained a concussion. Let's see how the new head injury policy works now that we have a front line player involved.
The Chargers rolled over Chicago tonight 25-10 & rookie runner Ryan Mathews made a favorable impression with San Diego coaches & fans. He ran for 50 yards on just 9 carries plus he caught 2 passes. Look for Mathews to get close to 300 carries as a rookie. The Charger defense recorded 6 sacks, Bear offensive line coach Mike Tice can't be happy with that. He was brought in to reshuffle the line & keep rushers off QB Jay Cutler. The work has just begun, Tice will make these guys better.
Elbert Woods, the 16-year old son of former UNLV & Cincinnati Bengal running back Ickey Woods, passed away tonight after suffering a massive asthma attack on Wednesday. The younger Woods was a running back & carried a 3.8 GPA at Princeton High School in Cincinnati. After practice, he came home & was stricken with the attack. He was hospitalized immediately but passed away tonight.
The depth chart in Kirk Ferentz's office is getting thinner & thinner, especially at running back. Freshman Marcus Coker suffered a broken collarbone & will probably petition for a redshirt season. Sophomore Jewel Hampton, who missed all of last season with a knee injury is healthy again but he got arrested for public intoxication last month & Ferentz suspended him for the first game of the year. Today Ferentz confirmed the rumors surrounding sophomore Brandon Wegher, that he has left the team for "personal reasons." Wegher was 2nd on the team last season with 641 yards & 8 touchdowns. Ferentz said he thinks Wegher will "eventually return to the Hawkeye program, but nothing is certain." That leaves only sophomore Adam Robinson for experienced backs on opening day. Robinson led the team in Hampton's absence last year with 834 yards.
Another Hawkeye caught my attention yesterday, wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, after he was interviewed by SI.com. He was Iowa's leading outside receiver last season with 45 receptions for 750 yards & 2 scores. His goal after his senior season is to play for the Cincinnati Bengals with T.O. & Ochocinco. "I'd fit right in with those guys, on & off the field" he said. Asked if he had spent anytime in Coach Ferentz's doghouse, "oh yeah, more time than I even know, but that's who I am." He just might fit in well with T.O. & Ochocinco.
NFL referee Ed Hochuli has apologized to the Tennessee Titans, running back Chris Johnson & fullback Ahmard Hall for a penalty flag he threw in week 17 last season. The holding penalty called on Hall negated a 62-yard run by Johnson which would have put him within 39-yards of the NFL single season rushing record with over a quarter to go in the game with Seattle. Coach Jeff Fisher said after the game if the penalty hadn't been called, the Titans would have fed him the ball until he recorded the 39-yards needed to break the record. Hochuli told Hall & Johnson he made a mistake & was very sorry for the error. Hall agonized after the game claiming he knew he hadn't committed a holding penalty. Chris Johnson said "maybe it just wasn't to be." Both players were impressed with Hochuli's apology. "It was nice to hear, most guys would never say they were wrong, much less apologize" Hall said on Saturday. Hall added the NFL gave Hochuli a poor grade for the game which kept him from officiating in the playoffs. "He admitted it was a bad call. People make mistakes but it was big of him to own up to it" Hall said.
Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers began the preseason with a near perfect quarter. He completed 12 of 13 for 159 yards, a touchdown & a passer rating of 143.5. Very impressive. The Packers got a scare in the 1st quarter when starting running back Ryan Grant sustained a concussion. Let's see how the new head injury policy works now that we have a front line player involved.
The Chargers rolled over Chicago tonight 25-10 & rookie runner Ryan Mathews made a favorable impression with San Diego coaches & fans. He ran for 50 yards on just 9 carries plus he caught 2 passes. Look for Mathews to get close to 300 carries as a rookie. The Charger defense recorded 6 sacks, Bear offensive line coach Mike Tice can't be happy with that. He was brought in to reshuffle the line & keep rushers off QB Jay Cutler. The work has just begun, Tice will make these guys better.
Elbert Woods, the 16-year old son of former UNLV & Cincinnati Bengal running back Ickey Woods, passed away tonight after suffering a massive asthma attack on Wednesday. The younger Woods was a running back & carried a 3.8 GPA at Princeton High School in Cincinnati. After practice, he came home & was stricken with the attack. He was hospitalized immediately but passed away tonight.
The depth chart in Kirk Ferentz's office is getting thinner & thinner, especially at running back. Freshman Marcus Coker suffered a broken collarbone & will probably petition for a redshirt season. Sophomore Jewel Hampton, who missed all of last season with a knee injury is healthy again but he got arrested for public intoxication last month & Ferentz suspended him for the first game of the year. Today Ferentz confirmed the rumors surrounding sophomore Brandon Wegher, that he has left the team for "personal reasons." Wegher was 2nd on the team last season with 641 yards & 8 touchdowns. Ferentz said he thinks Wegher will "eventually return to the Hawkeye program, but nothing is certain." That leaves only sophomore Adam Robinson for experienced backs on opening day. Robinson led the team in Hampton's absence last year with 834 yards.
Another Hawkeye caught my attention yesterday, wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, after he was interviewed by SI.com. He was Iowa's leading outside receiver last season with 45 receptions for 750 yards & 2 scores. His goal after his senior season is to play for the Cincinnati Bengals with T.O. & Ochocinco. "I'd fit right in with those guys, on & off the field" he said. Asked if he had spent anytime in Coach Ferentz's doghouse, "oh yeah, more time than I even know, but that's who I am." He just might fit in well with T.O. & Ochocinco.
NFL referee Ed Hochuli has apologized to the Tennessee Titans, running back Chris Johnson & fullback Ahmard Hall for a penalty flag he threw in week 17 last season. The holding penalty called on Hall negated a 62-yard run by Johnson which would have put him within 39-yards of the NFL single season rushing record with over a quarter to go in the game with Seattle. Coach Jeff Fisher said after the game if the penalty hadn't been called, the Titans would have fed him the ball until he recorded the 39-yards needed to break the record. Hochuli told Hall & Johnson he made a mistake & was very sorry for the error. Hall agonized after the game claiming he knew he hadn't committed a holding penalty. Chris Johnson said "maybe it just wasn't to be." Both players were impressed with Hochuli's apology. "It was nice to hear, most guys would never say they were wrong, much less apologize" Hall said on Saturday. Hall added the NFL gave Hochuli a poor grade for the game which kept him from officiating in the playoffs. "He admitted it was a bad call. People make mistakes but it was big of him to own up to it" Hall said.
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