40 Acres Sports

Roy Williams saw limited action in his Cowboy debut

Tarell Brown - Tarell had a decent day at nickel back for the San Francisco 49ers. He ended the day with four tackles and no pass breakups.

Cedric Benson - Benson got his first start since he left the Chicago Bears. He had a solid day, carrying the ball 14 times for 52 yards. Benson recorded his first reception of the year but has failed to reach the end zone. The highlight of the day came when he blew up Steelers safety Troy Polamalu.

Jamaal Charles - With starting running back Larry Johnson “suspended” by his team Jamaal received more playing time but the rookie running back and his team failed to get anything going against the Titans. Charles finished with three carries for 17 yards and four receptions for 26. He may be the starter next week.

Tim Crowder - Crowder provided pressure that forced an interception by Matt Cassell on Monday Night Football, but his team got crushed on national TV. Crowder has yet to record any stats but continues to get snaps in a backup role.

Leonard Davis - The Cowboys are hitting rock bottom and the offensive line has had a lot to do with it. Tony Romo is out because of a pinkie injury he suffered because pressure had gotten to him. New quarterback Brad Johnson had little time to do anything in the loss to the Rams.

Phil Dawson - Dawson made one of the two field goals he attempted in the loss to the Redskins. He is nine for 11 on the season.

Derrick Dockery - Buffalo has become one of the better teams in the league because of a strong running game. Dockery is earning his huge contract with big play up front.

Cedric Griffin - It was a tough day for the Vikings defense. The group gave up 48 points in a loss to the Bears. Opposing teams continue to attack Griffin in order to avoid Antoine Winfield’s side of the field. Griffin had nine tackles and a pass breakup in the game.

Michael Griffin - Michael Griffin recorded seven tackles in his team’s destruction of the Chiefs. Griffin is becoming one of the better players on arguably the best defense in the league. It is only a matter of time before he is a Pro-Bowl type player.

Ahmard Hall - The Titans are one of the only teams left that use a true fullback and it is because of how well Hall has played. The tailbacks he leads the way for combined for over 300 yards in the game on Sunday. The Titans gave him a carry towards the end of the game which he got six yards on.

Michael Huff - Huff had two tackles and two pass breakups in the overtime win over the Jets. The Raiders defense played much better this week than they did last week against the Saints.

Quentin Jammer - The Bills avoided Jammer’s side of the field for most of the day. Lee Evans did make an incredible catch over Jammer for a touchdown. After a rough start to his career, Jammer is becoming one of the better corners in the league.

Derrick Johnson - It was a bad day for D.J. and his defense. The Chiefs gave up over 300 yards rushing to the Titans. Johnson continues to struggle taking on blocks in the run game. He is great in space, but gets manhandled too often in the trenches. He finished the game with six tackles.

Cory Redding - Redding has been banged up all year, but is without question the leader for the Lion defensive front. That may not be a good thing. He recorded five tackles and a sack in the loss to the Texans.

Shaun Rogers - When Rogers is healthy and into the game there may not be a better player at defensive tackle. The big man had seven tackles and a sack in a defensively dominated game.

Bo Scaife - Scaife is still putting up numbers with Vince Young on the sideline as the backup. The Titans did not have to pass much in the blow out win but Scaife finished with three catches for 48 yards.

David Thomas - Thomas didn’t record any receptions but continues to get playing time as the second or third tight end and on special teams for the Patriots.

Nathan Vasher - Vasher missed another game with an injury.

Ricky Williams - The Heisman Trophy winner had his least productive day of the year. He only carried the ball four times for 16 yards with no receptions. The Ravens did a great job stopping the run and it forced the Dolphins out of their game plan. Ronnie Brown is the clear number one in Miami.

Roy Williams - Roy Williams thought he was making a huge step up by being traded from the Lions to the Cowboys. Not so fast. The Cowboys played horrible and Roy never got involved in the game recording no catches.

Ricky Williams had his first TD of 2008

Slow week for former Longhorns in the NFL with many players on byes and several injuries as well. San Diego cornerback Quentin Jammer and Miami running back Ricky Williams had the best games of the weekend. Find out how the rest of the former Horns active this week performed below:

Tarell Brown - The forgotten member of the 2005 championship secondary has found a place as the nickel back in San Francisco. Tarell had two tackles and a pass breakup this weekend versus Philadelphia.

Cedric Benson - Benson had a slow game in his second game back in the league, only carrying the ball four times for six yards. He appears to be the most talented back in the Bengals backfield, but until he learns the playbook the snaps will be limited.

Justin Blalock - His Falcons continue to win, this time on a late second field goal against the Chicago Bears. Blalock and his fellow lineman have protected rookie Matt Ryan and opened holes for Michael Turner consistently this year. The combination of Blalock and rookie left tackle Sam Baker makes the Falcons left side of the line one of the better young groups in the league.

Tim Crowder - Crowder recorded no stats against Jacksonville.

Leonard Davis - The Cowboys and their running game continue to struggle. Davis had a personal foul penalty at the end of the loss against the Cardinals. The offensive line must play better for the Cowboys to win and Davis is a huge part of that.

Phil Dawson - Dawson went two for three on field goals with a long of 28 and three for three on extra points in the Cleveland win Monday night.

Jermichael Finley - Did not play this week for Packers.

Cedric Griffin - The corner recorded seven tackles in the ugly win against Detroit. The Vikings secondary played well, not allowing the Lions to record a touchdown.

Michael Huff - Huff’s Oakland secondary was torched by Drew Brees this weekend. The former Thorpe Award winner had three tackles on a day he’d like to forget.

Quentin Jammer - Jammer had a huge day in the Charger win over the Patriots. He recoded three tackles, an interception, and five pass defended while matched up most of the night against Randy Moss. Jammer has come on in the past few years becoming one of the more physical corners in the league.

Brian Robison - Robison didn’t record any stats in the Viking win over the Lions but he did get on the field on a good number of snaps.

Shaun Rogers - Rogers had his best game of his young Browns career on Monday night. He only recorded two tackles but clogged up the middle and applied pressure on Eli Manning all night.

Lyle Sendlein - Sendlein has found himself starting at center this year for the Arizona Cardinals. He had a decent day matched up against Cowboy nose tackle Jay Ratliff. His Cardinals pulled the upset in overtime on a blocked punt.

David Thomas - Thomas caught his first ball since week three. The catch went for 13 yards.

Nathan Vasher - Vasher missed another game with an injury.

Ricky Williams - Ricky Williams found the end zone for the first time this year on Sunday against the Texans. Ronnie Brown has taken over the number one running back spot, but Ricky has found a niche in the offense and should continue to get 10 plus carries a game. He finished the game with 11 carries for 46 yards and two receptions.

Roy Williams - Roy Williams and the Lions had a horrid offensive game against the Vikings. Williams had two receptions for only 23 yards. This has been a very disappointing season for Roy and the recent talk may have him being traded before the season is over.

Selvin Young - Selvin didn’t play this week for the Broncos. It is hard to know if it was actually for injury or due to play on the field.

With the 24th pick of the second round the Denver Broncos drafted Texas defensive end Tim Crowder. Crowder will be a solid, every down defender for the Broncos who can not only rush the passer, but is a good run stopper as well. The Gators took pass rushing end Jarvis Moss (a fellow Texan) in the first round and Crowder should be able to team with him to really get after NFC West quarterbacks.

With Crowder, the Broncos have a chance to have an incredibly good and young defensive line.

ESPN NFL Draft expert Todd McShay doesn’t just predict the first round, or even the second round, he’s got a full seven-round mock draft up and available for ESPN Insiders. McShay has a lot of love for former Longhorns, with cornerback Aaron Ross and safety Mike Griffin going in the first round. Guard Justin Blalock and defensive end Tim Crowder then go in the early second round in his prediction.

Those aren’t the only Horns he’s high on, here’s how all the Longhorns faired in McShay’s draft:

Round 1

24. New England - Aaron Ross
The Patriots never act as if they’re handcuffed by needs during draft weekend, but the Asante Samuel situation should increase their interest in this year’s cornerback crop. Ross lacks ideal man-to-man cover skills, but he has the size, instincts and playmaking ability to emerge as a difference-maker in the type of zone-heavy defensive scheme the Patriots run. Ross also can help in the return game, which adds to his value.

26. Philadelphia - Michael Griffin
Although the Eagles certainly could use depth at several different positions, it’s hard to find a glaring weakness at any starting spot on their depth chart. One thing is certain: Philly will not be handcuffed by positions of need in this year’s draft. With that in mind, Griffin is a good value because he brings experience and versatility to the table after notching 250 tackles in his last two seasons at Texas.

Round 2

39. Atlanta - Justin Blalock
42. San Francisco - Tim Crowder

Round 3

92. Buffalo - Tarell Brown

Round 4

106. Minnesota - Brian Robison

Round 7

251. Jacksonville - Ramonce Taylor

Former Horns impress scouts at the Texas pro day. Longhorns could have four guys taken in first two rounds.

Brian Robison put up incredible numbers at the NFL Scouting Combine yesterday. Good showing from Tim Crowder too.

The final score against Rice wasn’t close and the game was over by halftime, but picking guys as players of the game was surprisingly difficult. There were solid performances from multiple guys on both sides of the ball and most of the big guys only played about a half. As for the play of the game, with several big gainers in a game that got out of hand quickly I chose a play that could end up being a signal of what the offense is capable of.

Players of the Game

Offense - Jamaal Charles even with only eight carries put up the biggest game Saturday, 110 yards with an average of a whopping 13.6 yards per carry and a TD is a hell of a day. He even ripped off the team’s longest run of the year with a carry of 46 yards. The team had three runs of over 35 yards, hopefully the big plays continue against some stiffer competition.

Defense - Tim Crowder edges out a surprising Scott Derry. Crowder finished with seven solo tackles (eight total), seven tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble, and he recovered a fumble for his first career touchdown. You can’t ask for a much better day out of defensive lineman. He was in the Rice backfield on seemingly every play and was a big reason the Owls finished the game with -12 yards rushing. He’s been a consistent force all season.

Play of the Game

The most important play against Rice wasn’t the most explosive play of the day and didn’t result in points, but does tells us a lot about the future of this offense this season. Here’s this week’s play of the game:

On the play Colt McCoy hits freshman tight end Jermichael Finley for a 22-yard completion on the first pass attempt of the game. McCoy makes a good read and throw to Finley who is running a 15-yard out. McCoy drops the pass in nicely and Finley makes a leaping grab on a ball a little behind him. It was the first completion to a tight end of the season and something I hope to see a lot more of. It’s important that the young quarterbacks have solid tight ends to rely on. Hopefully this isn’t the last time this season we see these two hook up.

Jamaal Charles, Tim Crowder, Mike Griffin, and Frank Okam honored.