3-point stance: The leading Ingram

1. South Carolina defensive end Melvin Ingram won SEC Defensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week. He also won Special Teams Player of the Week against Georgia. Three awards in five weeks may put Ingram on a record pace. It’s hard to say– the SEC hasn’t kept track of who has won the most weekly awards in a season. The last two Heisman winners, Cam Newton of Auburn and Mark Ingram (no relation) of Alabama, won six and two, respectively. That makes Melvin the lead Ingram.

2. Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said that tailback Boom Herron and wide receiver DeVier Posey made decisions “to go off the reservation” when they accepted too much money for their 2011 summer jobs. Does that mean that, after receiving five-game suspensions to start this season, they returned to the reservation only to decide to leave again? Did they just keep straying, and if so, where is Ohio State’s boundary? Which Native American tribe, and what is its translation of the word "knucklehead?”

3. It’s easy to forget that college football players are young and have lives. Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Todd Monken reminded me of that when he discussed the Cowboys’ three practices during bye week. “We’ve been going at it pretty good now for four weeks of camp and four weeks of the season, so I think their minds were on the weekend,” he said. “I’m sure for a month they had planned what they were going to do for the bye week.” The rested No. 6 Cowboys play Kansas this week.

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Are This Season’s Huge Passing Numbers Leading To More Points?

The explosion in passing yards is not leading to a similar increase in points scored.  Passing yards are at 128.4 and points scored are at 113.5.  (2006 = 100.0); this is the biggest difference between the two since the start of the 16-game era.  There may be more passing yards to be had due to the new kickoff rule pushing starting field position back.  The sample size is only 2 weeks; these numbers can, and probably will change.

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Three and Out: Torn groins leading to opportunities

Adam Rank | Tags: Three and out, Chad Ochocinco, David Nelson, Eddie Royal, Eric Decker, Montario Hardesty, Peyton Hillis, Stevie Johnson

Let’s try to get through the top stories of the morning without tearing a groin. That seems to be going around this week.

Dancing Stevie feeling his injury. Bills receiver Stevie Johnson told reporters this week that he can feel his groin injury simply by walking, a sign that the injury could be getting worse and could lead to some missed playing time. That means there could be a big bump in playing time for Bills WR David Nelson who caught the winning pass against the Raiders in Week 2. Broncos WR Eddie Royal also has a groin injury, and the Denver Post is reporting that he could be held out until Week 7, meaning that Eric Decker is the pickup there. My suggestion would be to target Nelson first and then Decker, based on the quarterbacks and offensive system.

Reduced role for Hillis? Browns coach Pat Shurmur told reporters that he is looking to reduce the number of carries for Peyton Hillis, while getting Montario Hardesty into the mix. This is just bad news all-around — Hillis’ value takes a hit because of this, and Hardesty has no value and an increased role does nothing here. That’s just awesome.

Some more targets for Ochocinco: Well, let’s put this under the “believe it when we see it” file, but some reporters in Boston believe that Aaron Hernandez‘s injury could end up meaning more looks for Chad Ochocinco. Yeah, these same Boston reporters also feel that John Lackey can put it together for the Red Sox, too. Just kidding, nobody thinks that. Do not be in a rush to put Ochocinco back into your lineups, as he still looks to be the fourth option at best in New England right now, maybe even fifth. Take a pass.

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Houston Places Leading Sacker Mario Williams on IR

The Texans placed a couple guys on IR Wednesday, but the biggest name of the bunch was DE Mario Williams, who led the team with 8.5 sacks and 19 hits on the QB this season.

Guard Mike Brisiel and receiver David Anderson joined Williams on on injured reserve. Williams also had 10 tackles for loss, but had been playing with a sports hernia. Because Williams started on the left side and moved to the right side in passing situations, defensive ends Mark Anderson (three sacks) and Tim Jamison will get a lot of playing time.

The Texans are expected to sign veteran defensive end Jarvis Green to take Williams’ spot on the roster.

Brisiel (shoulder) will be replaced at right guard by Antoine Caldwell. Anderson’s loss means rookie receiver Dorin Dickerson might be active for the last three games against Tennessee, Denver and Jacksonville.

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