Ex-Wolverines in the NFL: Week 4

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

After six scoreless quarters dating back to Week 3 for the Cardinals offense, Feely punched a 42-yard field goal through the uprights early in the fourth quarter Sunday. The kick cut the Tampa Bay Buccaneer's lead to 10-3, and following an Arizona touchdown, Jay received a chance to give the Cardinals the lead with 1:33 remaining. With a 42-yarder already under his belt, Feely made easy work of the 27-yard attempt to cap Arizona's comeback victory, 13-10. Feely, a Tampa Bay native, stood out during his homecoming, making every one forget that three weeks ago his job seemed everything but secure in Arizona (Jay's hit six straight field goals since a miss in the first quarter in Week 1).

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

Following the loss of three linebackers to injury, the Cardinals decided to promote Demens from the practice squad to the active roster against the Bucs. As a linebacker, Kenny had three solo tackles in the game, with another tackle on special teams. It will be interesting to see how much playing time Kenny receives moving forward, considering that two of the three injured linebackers are currently on injured reserve and the third is out for the season. Right now, the Cardinals don't have many (if any) more options at LB, so as long as Demens performs, he should remain on the roster for now.

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

In the Bills 23-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens, Branch played for 28 defensive snaps (43%) and recorded two tackles. Branch continues to see decent playing time as a reserve, and its unclear how much (if at all) his role will increase throughout the season with fellow defensive lineman Alex Carrington done for the year with a torn quadriceps. As of now, Branch has seen the third-most snaps this season on Buffalo's D-line (excluding the injured Carrington).

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

Roh is on the practice squad in Carolina.

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

Remember that pulled hamstring on Hall's final play last week? Well, it didn't heal up quite as expected, and Hall remained on the sideline Sunday during the Bengals 17-6 loss against the Cleveland Browns. One week removed from upsetting the Green Bay Packers and star quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the absence of Hall from the field was noticeable as Cleveland's quarterback Brian Hoyer -- in just his fourth career NFL start in five seasons -- handled Cincy's defense for over 200 yards passing and two touchdowns. The Bengals need Hall back as soon as possible to solidify their defense, especially considering their struggles on offense so far this year.

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

Jamison remained inactive for the third week in a row during Houston's heartbreaking 23-20 overtime loss against the Seattle Seahawks. The Texans blew a 20-6 lead in the fourth quarter. It's still unclear (at least, I can't find a reason) why Jamison remains on the inactive list.

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

Henne did not play in Jacksonville's 37-3 defeat at the hands on the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. It's unlikely he plays again this season, unless starter Blaine Gabbert goes down with another injury. Even then, it's still possible the Jags decide to start someone else after Henne's horrible performances this year. But one thing's for sure: with or without Henne, the Jaguars still stink.

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

Before Sunday's game, the NFL asked Jacksonville to remove Denard's "Offensive Weapon" title on their team website, forcing the Jags to categorize him as a wide receiver. No matter what they're calling him these days, Denard continues to see his role in Jacksonville decrease. This week, Denard was targeted on one pass and fielded three kickoffs, one for a touchback and two for an average of 15.5 yards. With the mess that is Jacksonville's offense, it's not surprising that they're failing to find a way to utilize Denard.

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

Seeing decreased playing time is becoming a common trend for some ex-Wolverines this year, and like Denard in Jacksonville, Hemingway saw little action on Sunday in Kansas City's blowout, 31-7 victory against the New York Giants. His recorded one stat, a tackle on special teams.

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

Kovacs is on the practice squad in Miami, lamenting the end of Breaking Bad like the rest of us:

No idea what to expect in this last episode but I'm pretty pumped for it #GoodbyeBreakingBad

— Jordan Kovacs (@JKovacs32) September 30, 2013

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

On Sunday night, Brady led the Patriots to a 30-23 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. To keep the Pats undefeated at 4-0, Tom played as good as he has all season, throwing for 316 yards and two touchdowns on 20 for 31 passing. It's usually the case in New England that if Brady performs well, so does the rest of the team, and that was exactly what happened this week.

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

After injuring his neck in Week 3, Baas sat out Sunday against the Chiefs. His neck problems hearken back to two years ago, when Baas played in only 11 games due to neck issues. Before he missed Sunday's game, here's what Baas had to say about the situation:

"I think it's something that I can manage, not the best plan that I want but we managed it two years ago. It's something that I definitely don't want to mess with too much because, obviously, if I do, it's going to keep me out for a really long time. We're just doing whatever we can right now to get it right and we'll go from there."

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

When your team loses 31-7 and falls to 0-4 on the season, there's usually not much to report. That's the case with Mundy this week as he recorded one solo tackle with one assist on Sunday. Mundy and the rest of his teammates are underperforming this year, and Ryan needs to mirror the explosive play of Stevie Brown in 2012 to hopefully spark his team.

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

The Tennessee Titans manhandled the Jets on Sunday by a score of 38-13, scoring four touchdowns through the air and another off of BUTTFUMBLE 2.0 (which still doesn't come close to the original). Harris performed well, with six solo tackles on the day, but the Jets defense mustered only two sacks and forced no turnovers for the third straight game. Following the loss, Harris had this to say:

"Just say we lost. We got our butts kicked by a better team today. Simple as that...We lost. Did you see the score?"

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

Campbell was inactive for the fourth straight week.

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

Before, during, and after a 24-14 loss to the Washington Redskins, Oakland fans were booing the Raiders, and Woodson thinks they have every right to:

"We let ‘em down. You heard the boos. For any team in any league, to hear your home fans boo, that's hard. That's hard. So we've got to regroup, we've got to get our minds right and prepare ourselves to come out next week and play good football...The fans, they're in tune with the game and they want to win as badly as we do. If they see things on the field they don't like, they boo. You might be up, but that's one thing we've got to fight through. Because if we continue to do what we did today at points in the game we're going to hear those boos. It ain't going to stop."

After sprinting out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, the Raiders surrendered 24 unanswered points to lose the game. However, Woodson played well, recording four solo tackles, three assists, and this gem of a sack.

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

The Denver Broncos stomped the Eagles on Sunday, and Avant didn't see much action in the 52-20 loss, even though he played on 51 (72% of the) offensive snaps. He was targeted three times before catching his lone pass for seven yards once the game was out of reach in the fourth quarter.

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

Like Avant, Graham didn't do much in the loss. He "looked like a rookie out there," and recorded one meaningless tackle as the Broncos ran out the clock on the penultimate play of the game. He played on 20 (27% of the) defensive snaps.

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

The Steelers played the Minnesota Vikings overseas on Sunday, and during an interview on Friday, a visibly sleep-deprived Woodley would have preferred arriving to London earlier than that morning to prepare for the game: "It would have been nice (to have traveled earlier), but we didn't. We've just got to deal with it. We can't do anything now." Maybe the extra-time would have helped since the Steelers lost by a score of 34-27. Woodley recorded three solo tackles, one sack, and a forced fumble in the game, but an unnecessary roughness penalty on LaMarr helped set up what would end up being Minnesota's game-winning touchdown. The loss dropped the Steelers to 0-4 on the season, and I'm sure Woodley will be happy to play on American soil next week.

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

In the London loss, Mesko played his part by booting four punts for an average of 35.8 yards. None of his punts were returned, and one fell inside of the 20-yard line. He also held the ball for all three Pittsburgh extra-points and their lone field goal.

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

On Thursday night against the Rams, Goodwin and the 49ers bounced back from a rough start to the season with a dominating 35-11 victory. More importantly for Goodwin, the 49ers ground attack dominated the St. Louis defense, gaining over 200 yards and three touchdowns. Goodwin played for all 69 offensive snaps, and all seems well for the moment in San Francisco.

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

Manningham's on the PUP list until at least week 6 of the regular season.

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):

Week 4 didn't treat Long any better than Week 3 as he left the game with a leg injury, only to return with a brace on his knee before being "injury-benched." Things are not going well in St. Louis, and Long's one of the main targets of the criticism due to his poor performance this season. The Rams hoped he was the missing piece on their offensive line, but instead, Long's made fans say things like this:

"[He's been] a huge waste of $$$, as Dallas made him look like a turn stile last week, and he looked like a constipated gorilla, squatting and shuffling around before getting run over last night [against the 49ers]."

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

Martin played his part as a backup defensive lineman on Sunday, tallying a solo tackle with an assist in his team's 38-13 rout of the Jets. Hopefully Martin continues to see more playing time with his increased production in the past week.