Ex-Wolverines in the NFL: Week 5

Jay Feely (K, Undrafted in 1999, Arizona Cardinals):

Feely continues to play mistake-free football for the Cardinals as he went 2 for 2 on fields goal attempts Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. His first field goal, a 42-yarder in the second quarter, tied the game at 3-3. In the second half, he added two extra points and a 50-yard field goal to help Arizona win by a score of 22-6.

Kenny Demens (ILB, Undrafted in 2013, Arizona Cardinals):

With multiple injuries at linebacker, the Cardinals promoted Demens from the practice squad last week, and he recorded three solo tackles against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, Kenny didn't record any stats this week in his second appearance for Arizona. Outside of his NFL duties, Demens continues to rep the Maize and Blue, reliving his past successes in the Little Brown Jug game:

Alan Branch (DT, 33^rd in 2007 to Cardinals, Buffalo Bills):

After an injury to a starter on the defensive line, the Bills moved Branch into a starting role, and Alan played on 50% of Buffalo's defensive snaps last Thursday against the Cleveland Browns. The spotlight was on Branch to continue his solid play from Week 4, and based on his one tackle assist, it doesn't seem he lived up to expectations. I don't know for sure -- since I didn't watch the game -- whether or not that means he played bad, but I'm sure Buffalo fans would like to see a bit more production out of Branch moving forward.

Craig Roh (DE, Undrafted in 2013, Carolina Panthers):

Roh is on the practice squad in Carolina and might be lacking cool beverages at the moment:

Does anyone know how to fix a minifridge?

— Craig Roh (@CraigRoh88) October 1, 2013

Leon Hall (CB, 18^th in 2007 to Bengals, Cincinnati Bengals):

For the second straight week, Hall remained on the sideline with hamstring issues. but the fact that he returned to practice this week is good news. Considering the Bengals beat the New England Patriots and ended Tom Brady's 52-game touchdown streak, it might not be the end of the world -- which seemed to be the case after last week's pitiful performance against the Cleveland Browns -- for a Leon Hall-less Bengals secondary.

Tim Jamison (DE, Undrafted in 2009, Houston Texans):

Jamison remained inactive for the fourth week in a row during Houston's 34-3 blowout loss at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers. At least Tim didn't miss anything that was fun.

Chad Henne (QB, 57^th in 2008 to Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars):

Haha, oh man. The plot continues to thicken in Jacksonville as it looks like starting quarterback Blaine Gabbert might be done for the season after hearing his hamstring "pop" this week. Henne replaced him near the end of the third quarter Sunday against the St. Louis Rams in a game that was already out of reach for the Jags. It wasn't all bad for Henne -- he did lead Jacksonville to a touchdown on his first drive and finished the game 7 for 13 for 89 yards and one score -- but as is the case with Henne these days, he looked "not good and inconsistent" as well as "terrible." Stop playing like early-2005-slow-start-to-the-season-Chad, Chad. Be more like 2005-Rose-Bowl-with-four-touchdowns-against-Texas-Chad, Chad.

Denard Robinson (WR, 135^th in 2013 to Jaguars, Jacksonville Jaguars):

I don't know what every else's expectations were for Denard in the NFL, but I think it's a safe guess that most didn't think he'd ever turn into an NFL superstar. As for myself, I just wanted to see him have a chance to perform, a chance to make Denard-like plays on the biggest football stage. Unfortunately, Denard "has more lost fumbles than yards of total offense" on the season, and at this point, it seems like Jacksonville has no interest in trying to find a way to use Robinson, so much so that he wasn't used at all on Sunday. Given his issues with ball control, it makes sense that the Jags have been hesitant to use him, but when your team is 0-5 with an anemic offense, maybe you give Denard more than 13 total snaps through five games. Things can't get that much worse in Jacksonville, right? (Says the guy who repeated that phrase over and over as the Lions went 0-16 in 2008)

Junior Hemingway (WR, 238^th in 2012 to Chiefs, Kansas City Chiefs):

The Chiefs are shocking the pro football world right now after an impressive 5-0 start to the season. Unfortunately, Hemingway hasn't seen much action and only recorded one catch for six yards in Kansas City's 26-17 victory on Sunday. The Chiefs have a solid receiving core which has kept Junior as a third-stringer. That'll likely be where he remains unless someone ahead of him goes down with an injury. Oh, and no Junior, I don't think it's possible to love seafood too much, especially swordfish:

Is it possible to love seafood too much?

— Junior Hemingway (@YoungHemi21) October 4, 2013

Jordan Kovacs (S, Undrafted in 2013, Miami Dolphins):

Kovacs is on the practice squad in Miami ON THE ACTIVE ROSTER IN MIAMI, and I'd be lying if I said this wasn't the news that I've been waiting to report all year. After a couple special teams players went down with injuries, the Dolphins decided to promote Jordan to the 53-man roster. As an undrafted free agent with questions about his size and development, Jordan proved rather quickly that he's capable of playing in the NFL. Granted, it's as a special teams player for now, but Kovacs is a guy you can never rule out due to his determination. He had one tackle on a kickoff against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday in his first career NFL game.

Tom Brady (QB, 199^th in 2000 to Patriots, New England Patriots):

After 52 straight games with a touchdown, Brady failed to find the end zone Sunday against the Bengals. As one would expect, his numbers were ugly: 18 for 38 for 197 yards and one interception. The pick ended the game for the Patriots, who were driving at Cincy's 27-yard line. It's a disappointing showing for one of the best quarterbacks of all-time, and it has some wondering what the real issue is in New England. But the end of Brady's TD streak could actually be a good thing for the Patriots offense. It'll be interesting to see how Tom bounces back next week.

David Baas (C, 33^rd in 2005 to 49ers, New York Giants):

Baas sat out for the second straight week with a neck injury.

Ryan Mundy (S, 194^th in 2008 to Steelers, New York Giants):

In a 36-21 loss that dropped the Giants to 0-5, Mundy did all he could, playing on all 81 defensive snaps and leading the team with 10 solo tackles and 5 assists. Two of those tackles were for losses, but it's never a good sign when your safety has to make that many stops. It's unfortunate that Mundy's solid season hasn't been able to help the struggling Giants.

David Harris (ILB, 47^th in 2007 to Jets, New York Jets):

Last night against the Atlanta Falcons, Harris and Jets defense looked to protect a 27-14 lead with just under twelve minutes remaining. One Atlanta touchdown, a Jets three-and-out, and another ATL touchdown later, and the Jets were no the outside looking in at a one-point deficit, 28-27. New York eventually won on a last-second field goal, and while I'm sure Harris and his defensive partners won't be happy with a fourth quarter letdown, they'll take the win. As for his own play, Harris led his team in tackles with nine solo and five assists. His solid play on Monday Night Football continues a consistent trend of good games for David as he's stepped up his game this year.

William Campbell (RG, 178^th in 2013 to Jets, New York Jets):

Campbell was inactive for the fifth straight week.

Charles Woodson (FS, 4^th in 1998 to Raiders, Oakland Raiders):

On Sunday night, Woodson continued to have one heck of a season in Oakland. Against the San Diego Chargers, he recorded for solo tackles, one interception, and one fumble recovery which he returned 25 yards for the touchdown. The score was Woodson's 13th career defensive touchdown and tied him with Darren Sharper and Rod Woodson for the NFL record. His interception -- the 54th of his career -- ended the Chargers' final push and sealed Oakland's victory. As for what Charles thought of his record-tying play:

"Old cousin Rod, I'm coming for him. Naw, you know what, it just means I've been around the game a long time, I've made a bunch of plays, and that I'm one of the greatest to ever play this game. It feels good to first and foremost get the win and to be able to do things like that that are in the history books throughout the history of this game. It's really big time."

Jason Avant (WR, 109^th in 2006 to Eagles, Philadelphia Eagles):

Against the Giants, Avant played on a lot of offensive snaps -- 63 or 78% -- but he recorded just three catches for 33 yards on the game. Hopefully he sees more action in coming weeks since he seems to be playing mistake-free football. It's too bad he can't throw himself the ball.

Brandon Graham (LB, 13^th in 2010 to Eagles, Philadelphia Eagles):

If Avant's came was uneventful, Graham's game was disappointing. He continues to see minimal playing time on defensive after playing for only 22 (38% of) the Eagle's defensive snaps. Most of the comments related to Graham either wish he was playing more since Philly's pass rush is horrible or point out that he's bad in coverage.

LaMarr Woodley (OLB, 46^th in 2007 to Steelers, Pittsburgh Steelers):

Bye week for Pittsburgh.

Zoltan Mesko (P, 150^th in 2010 to Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers):

Bye week for Pittsburgh.

Jonathan Goodwin (C, 154^th in 2002 to Jets, San Francisco 49ers):

The 49ers blew out the Texans this week by a score of 34-3, and after leading 21-0 at halftime, bench players started to see some action. This limited Goodwin's snap count to 44, but there's no complaints in a blowout victory.

Mario Manningham (WR, 95^th in 2008 to Giants, San Francisco 49ers):

Manningham's on the PUP list but it looks like he'll be returning to practice this week.

Patrick Omameh (G, Undrafted in 2013, San Francisco 49ers):

Omameh is on the practice squad in San Francisco.

Jake Long (LT, 1^st in 2008 to Dolphins, St. Louis Rams):

There wasn't a witch hunt for Long after the Rams beat the Jags this week, and that's about all he could ask for after a couple of horrible weeks in a row. The fact that Jacksonville stinks probably helped Long's cause and saved him from further embarrassment. As he put it after the game, "We needed that win." Yes, you did Jake.

Mike Martin (DT, 82^nd in 2012 to Titans, Tennessee Titans):

Like prior weeks, I'm struggling to find any news about Martin this week. I'm almost positive he's playing and not injured, but since I don't watch Titans football, I base all of my updates on team blogs which haven't mentioned him. He didn't record any stats this week, so we'll have to see if his name pops up in the future.