Non-AQ Players of the Week

Here are your non-AQ players of the week, as selected by each conference. The independent players are selected by a national media panel.

C-USA

Offense: Dominique Davis, QB, East Carolina. Davis set an NCAA single-game record with 26 straight completions to open the game in a 38-34 win at Navy. He finished the game 40-of-45 for 372 yards with two touchdowns. His completion percentage of 88.9 was a school record.

Defense: Marques Wheaton, DB, Southern Miss. Wheaton recorded five tackles (four solos), a pass breakup and two fourth-quarter interceptions in Southern Miss’ 27-3 win over SMU. He returned one of his interceptions 41 yards for a score.

Special teams: Ty Long, K, UAB. Long, a true freshman, made the game-winning 40-yarder with 21 seconds remaining in a 26-24 win over UCF.

Independent

Offense: Riley Nelson, QB, BYU. Nelson led six touchdown drives in seven series before leaving the game early in the third quarter in a 56-3 win over Idaho State. Nelson completed 11 of 17 passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns, and added 62 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.

Co-defense: Geoffrey Bacon, LB, Army. Kyle Van Noy, LB, BYU. Bacon returned his first career interception 70 yards for a touchdown in a 44-21 loss at Vanderbilt. Making his first career start, Bacon added a pass break-up, and he matched his season tally with a career-high 13 tackles, including a half tackle for loss. Van Noy had two sacks, three quarterback hurries and a blocked punt.

Special teams: George Atkinson III, KR, Notre Dame. Atkinson had a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in a 31-17 loss to USC. He tallied 178 yards on five kickoff returns.

MAC

East Division

Offense: Chazz Anderson, QB, Buffalo. Accounted for 460 yards of total offense and four touchdowns in a 31-30 loss to Northern Illinois. Anderson completed a school record 35 passes on 53 attempts for 406 yards and three touchdowns, including one with just 14 seconds left in regulation that pulled Buffalo to within one before a missed extra point made the difference.

Defense: Chris Jones, DT, Bowling Green. Jones had six tackles, three sacks and one quarterback hurry in a 13-10 win over Temple.

Special teams: Matt Weller, K, Ohio. Went 3-for-3 on his field goal attempts, connecting from 24, 27 and 23 yards in a 37-20 win at Akron.

West Division

Offense: Javonti Greene, RB, Eastern Michigan. Greene caught a 50-yard pass from Alex Gillett in the first quarter and scored on a 50-yard run midway through the fourth quarter for the two Eastern Michigan touchdowns in a 14-10 victory over Western Michigan.

Defense: Desmond Marrow, DB, Toledo. Marrow led Toledo with six tackles and tied his career high with two interceptions in a 49-28 win over Miami.

Special Teams:Jamill Smith, KR, Ball State. Returned the opening kickoff for a career-high 48 yards in the Cardinals' 17-point second half comeback victory, a 31-27 win over Central Michigan. Smith led all returners for both teams with four kickoff returns for a total of 135 yards.

Mountain West

Offense: Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State. Moore completed 23-of-29 passes for 281 yards in a 37-26 win over Air Force. Moore tied former Texas quarterback Colt McCoy for the most career wins (45) in NCAA history.

Defense:Byron Hout, LB, Boise State. Hout had a career-high 18 tackles against Air Force, including eight unassisted stops and a half tackle for loss.

Special teams:Antonio Graves, WR, TCU. Graves scored his first collegiate touchdown when he recovered a blocked punt in the end zone in a 69-0 win over New Mexico. He also forced a fumble on a kickoff return.

Sun Belt

Offense:Bobby Rainey, RB, Western Kentucky. Rainey rushed for 206 yards and a career-high three touchdowns as the Hilltoppers won their first home game since 2008 with a 42-23 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette.

Defense:Eric Russell, DB, Middle Tennessee. Russell had six tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception in a win over FAU.

Special Teams:Luther Ambrose, KR, ULM. Ambrose became ULM's all-time leader in kickoff return yards and he did it in style, returning the opening kickoff 100 yards at North Texas. He finished with 148 yards on three returns.

WAC

Offense: Mike Ball, RB, Nevada. Ball rushed for a career-high 198 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries and added two catches for 18 yards and another score in a 45-38 win over Fresno State.

Defense: Adrien Cole, LB, Louisiana Tech. Cole had 14 tackles (9 solo), including two for a loss, and broke up a pass in a 24-17 win at Utah State.

Special teams: Ryan Allen, P, Louisiana Tech. Allen averaged 52.2 yards on eight punts in the win at Utah State. Seven of them were downed inside the 20-yard line.

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Minus 3 Players, No. 1 LSU Hosts Auburn

The charismatic, grass-eating coach known as the "Mad Hatter" is going to have to do it at least once more when No. 19 Auburn (5-2, 3-1 SEC) visits LSU (7-0, 4-0) on Saturday.

LSU will take the field without three key players who were suspended this week for violating the team's drug policy. Star cornerback Tyrann Mathieu is among LSU's best players, Spencer Ware is their leading rusher and Tharold Simon plays in the five-defensive back formation that LSU uses most of the game.

Miles has declined to discuss the suspensions, saying only that he is dealing with an internal matter. However, people familiar with the suspensions confirmed them to The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Miles said his team has already proved that it can handle distractions, such as the early season suspensions of quarterback Jordan Jefferson and starting receiver Russell Shepard. Mile said he liked the way the Tigers looked at practice this week.

"I like the position that we're in," Miles said. "We have a very capable football team."

This LSU squad is the first in school history to win its first seven games by double digits.

And the timing could have been worse. LSU doesn't play at No. 2 Alabama, which could be the biggest game of the season, until Nov. 5. The week before that, LSU has a bye.

Without Cam Newton, Auburn no longer resembles the team that went undefeated en route to last season's national title — and handed LSU its first of only two losses last season.

"I guess you could say there's going to be a little revenge coming at them," LSU running back Michael Ford said.

Auburn also will be fielding a first-time starting quarterback in sophomore Clint Moseley.

Yet Auburn is no pushover and appears to be getting stronger as the season wears on.

Its running game has been strong behind Michael Dyer's 752 yards rushing and eight TDs. Its defensive line has begun to recapture some of the swagger it lost with Nick Fairley's departure to the NFL. In recent weeks, Auburn contained South Carolina's Marcus Lattimore in a 16-13 win over the Gamecocks and held Florida to 66 yards on the ground in a 17-6 victory.

The 6-foot-3, 223-pound Moseley completed several key passes and managed the offense well enough in the second half of the Florida game to give coach Gene Chizik the confidence to start him this week.

"Clint came in and gave us somewhat of a spark when we needed it," Chizik said. "I think he's earned the right for the opportunity to start."

Moseley has no illusions about how difficult it can be for a quarterback to make his first start against a top-ranked LSU squad in famously loud Death Valley.

Yet the competitor in him loves that.

"I kind of almost wouldn't want it any other way," Moseley said. "It's going to be huge for us this week, preparing for them, especially me having hardly any experience and zero starts. When we get in there, I've heard stories about just how loud it is."

Although he won't have to deal with Mathieu or Simon, LSU's defense as a whole remains strong and deep, with experienced senior defensive backs Ron Brooks and Derrick Bryant able to step in.

Meanwhile, LSU's running game has been effective even when Ware is not on the field. Michael Ford's six TDs rushing are tied with Ware for the team high. Ford has averaged 5.4 yards per carry, and LSU has another strong running back in Alfred Blue, who has averaged 4.5 yards per carry and has four TDs.

LSU also has gone with a two quarterback system lately in which Lee, the team's leading passer, comes out to make way for Jefferson, who runs the option and has averaged 5 yards per rush to go with two touchdowns on the ground and one TD passing.

Lee, who still starts but has seen his snaps diminish since Jefferson returned from his four-game suspension stemming from a bar fight, said he cannot argue with the results.

"We're moving the ball, we're putting points on the board and we're winning games, so whatever we've got to do to keep doing that, that's what we're going to do," Lee said. "We each bring something a little different to the table."

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L.S.U. Suspends 3 Players for Auburn Game

Top-ranked Louisiana State will be without its two best players for Saturday’s game against Auburn, according to multiple reports.

Spencer Ware has scored 6 touchdowns this season for the Tigers.

Interviews, insight and analysis from The Times on the competition and culture of college football.

Tyrann Mathieu, left, has emerged as one of the college game's top defensive players.

The dynamic cornerback Tyrann Mathieu and the bruising tailback Spencer Ware have been suspended, along with a reserve defensive back, Tharold Simon. In a news conference Wednesday night, L.S.U. Coach Les Miles would not confirm the suspensions, calling the situation a matter of “internal discipline.”

After overcoming an early suspension to the starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson, L.S.U. (7-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) appeared to be on a seamless path to meet No. 2 Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Nov. 5 for a slot in the SEC title game. The winner of that contest is expected to have an inside track to the national title game.

But Saturday’s game in Baton Rouge against No. 19 Auburn (5-2, 3-1), the defending national champion, suddenly becomes more problematic. L.S.U. had been listed as a three-touchdown favorite.

Mathieu, a New Orleans native, has emerged as a folk hero in Louisiana, earning the nickname Honey Badger for his fearless play. He has been considered an outside contender for the Heisman Trophy after beginning the season by scoring a special-teams touchdown after ripping the ball away from Oregon’s Kenjon Barner on a punt return in the season-opening blowout of the Ducks.

Since then, Mathieu has emerged as the country’s most aggressive ball hawk. He has forced fumbles, nabbed two interceptions and registered 1.5 sacks. At just 5 feet 9 inches and 175 pounds, Mathieu has become a larger-than-life figure, with Honey Badger Takes What He Wants T-shirts becoming the rage on campus.

Ware is not as flashy, but his 512 yards lead L.S.U. and his 6 touchdowns are tied with the backup Michael Ford for the team lead.

Simon’s absence will also hurt the Tigers. He is the team’s fourth-leading tackler and might have started against Auburn, which runs a frenetic spread offense that forces teams into schemes that employ multiple defensive backs.

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Non-AQ Players of the Week

Here are your non-AQ players of the week, as selected by each conference. The independent players of the week are picked by a national media panel.

C-USA

Offense: J.J. McDermott, QB, SMU. McDermott was 20-of-31 and passed for a career-high 358 yards and two touchdowns as SMU defeated UCF, 38-17. McDermott improved to 5-0 as a starter and it marked his third straight 300-yard passing game, tying the SMU record.

Defense: Vinny Curry, DE, Marshall. Curry had nine tackles, which included four tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks, to go with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in a win over Rice.

Special teams: Richard Crawford, PR, SMU. Returned a punt 92 yards in a win over UCF, the second-longest punt return in league history. He totaled 141 punt return yards for the game, the second-best single-game effort in SMU history.

Independent

Offense: Riley Nelson, QB, BYU. Nelson completed 17 of 27 passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns, while adding a team-high 87 rushing yards on 12 carries to lead BYU to a 38-28 win over Oregon State.

Defense: Brandon Ogletree, LB, BYU. Forced turnovers on each of the Beavers’ first three possessions of the third quarter, intercepting a pass and causing two fumbles.

Special teams: Jon Teague, PK, Navy. Teague made two field goals against Rutgers, though his 34-yard attempt was blocked with under five minutes to play.

MAC

East Division

Offense: Bernard Pierce, RB, Temple. Pierce broke five school records in a 34-0 win over Buffalo after running for 152 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. Pierce and Matt Brown each rushed for 100 yards.

Defense: Roosevelt Nix, DT, Kent State. Forced an early fumble that led to a Kent State field goal and posted career-highs of six tackles and four solo stops in a loss to Miami (Ohio). He also had two tackles for loss, a pair of quarterback hurries and broke up a pass.

Special teams: BooBoo Gates, KR, Bowling Green. Gates had four kick returns for 152 yards, including an 88-yard touchdown return in the fourth quarter in a 28-21 loss to Toledo.

West Division

Offense: Chandler Harnish, QB, Northern Illinois. Ran for a career-high 229 yards on 14 carries and passed for 203 yards on 14-of-27 passing for a total of 432 yards of total offense in the Huskies 51-22 win over Western Michigan.

Defense: Desmond Marrow, DB, Toledo. Had a team-high 10 tackles in a 28-21 win at Bowling Green. Marrow added a career-best three passes defensed.

Special Teams: Scott Kovanda, P, Ball State. Punted seven times for 327 yards and a 46.7 average in a 23-20 win at Ohio. Kovanda pinned Ohio inside the 20-yard line four times and had a career-long 67-yard punt.

Mountain West

Co-Offense: Doug Martin, RB, Boise State. Ronnie Hillman, RB, San Diego State. Martin carried the ball 20 times for a career-high 200 yards and three touchdowns in a 63-13 win at Colorado State. His 65-yard TD run was the longest of the season for Martin. Hillman ran 27 times for 172 yards and two touchdowns in a 41-27 win at Air Force. Both of his touchdowns came in the final period after the game was tied with 2:30 remaining in the third quarter.

Defense: Tyrone Crawford, DE, Boise State. Crawford recorded five tackles in a win at Colorado State, including two sacks for losses totaling 14 yards. He also recovered a fumble.

Special teams: Chris McNeill, WR/PR, Wyoming. McNeill returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown, threw a 28-yard touchdown pass and also completed a 2-point conversion pass in a 41-14 win over UNLV. The punt return for a touchdown was the Cowboys’ first since 2004 and the first in the Mountain West this season.

Sun Belt

Offense: Kolton Browning, QB, ULM. Went 23-of-31 for 275 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Troy. He also added 33 yards on nine carries on the ground to top the 300-yard mark in total offense.

Defense: Lance Kelly, LB, ULL. Had a game-high eight tackles, a tackle-for-loss, a fumble recovery, a pass break-up and an interception in a win over North Texas.

Special Teams: Mitchell Bailey, RB, ULM. After ULM took a 15-10 lead on Troy late in the third quarter, Bailey forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff that the Warhawks recovered on the 17-yard line. Two plays later, Browning threw a touchdown pass to Colby Harper to stretch the ULM lead and the Warhawks never looked back.

WAC

Offense: Chandler Jones, WR, San Jose State. Scored three touchdowns three different ways in a 28-27 win over Hawaii. He scored on a 20-yard reverse, off a fumbled kick return, and caught a 37-yard pass with 36 seconds remaining to win. Jones came into the game with just one career touchdown.

Defense: Khalid Wooten, CB, Nevada. Recorded six tackles, forced two fumbles and intercepted a pass in a 49-7 win over New Mexico.

Special teams: Travis Johnson, DE, San Jose State. Blocked two kicks in San Jose State’s win over Hawaii. One was on an extra-point attempt, which was picked up and returned by Duke Ihenacho for the Spartans’ first-ever 2-point defensive PAT. He also blocked a 42-yard field goal attempt with 3:22 remaining.

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Do Redskins players prefer Grossman?

While Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan continues to say he'll wait until Wednesday to name next week's starting quarterback, the team's top wide receiver, Santana Moss, has gone on record as saying he believes it should still be Rex Grossman, in spite of the four interceptions Grossman threw in Sunday's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles:

Moss makes no bones about where he stands. He says there's "no question" Grossman should keep the job and that "you just can't give up on somebody because they had a bad outing."

2011 STATS

Att165Comp92Yds1132TD6Int9Rat66.5I find this interesting because I remember doing a phone interview with Moss two days before the Redskins' first game of the season, and he said more than once that the players on the team supported the decision of Shanahan and the coaching staff to go with Grossman over John Beck as the starting quarterback. Moss echoed Shanahan's belief that the offensive system in Washington is the important thing, and that Grossman had shown in his late-season action last year that he knew how to run it. Therefore, the players trust him to do so. Moss said he wasn't knocking Beck, but rather standing behind what he believed Grossman had shown them all last season.

The problem is that Grossman hasn't been playing well, and the four interceptions Sunday certainly merited a benching in favor of Beck. And the fact that Beck led a late scoring drive that cut Philly's lead to a touchdown works in his favor in the short term. But I wonder if the Redskins players who support Grossman will be annoyed if Shanahan picks Beck, and whether that possibility will factor into the decision.

The plain fact is, the injuries to starting left guard Kory Lichtensteiger, starting left tackle Trent Williams and tight end Chris Cooley are likely to make it much more difficult for whoever the Redskins' quarterback is to perform optimally. With all of those guys missing, the offense isn't likely to run as smoothly as it did early in the season, and whoever the quarterback is will likely endure undue blame if the team continues to struggle.

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NFL Owners, Players Sort It Out

NFL football is back. Technically, of course, NFL football never left, as this all happened from March to July, but even that thought didn’t piss on the parades of gridiron fans today as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Players Association boss DeMaurice Smith stood in front of reporters and announced that both sides agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement for the next ten years.

You could tell it was a good enough agreement from the defeated scowl on Jerry Richardson’s face at the press conference. The Carolina Panthers’ owner, who spent the entire lockout becoming the prime symbol of NFL owners’ greed and hate, stood behind Goodell and Smith today looking desperate for some new earth to scorch. Sorry, Jerry. You’ll have to pay Cam Newton after all.

So what’s next? Draft picks can begin signing with teams on Tuesday, players with bad contracts can begin getting cut on Thursday, and on Friday, teams can start shelling out ridiculous sums of money for veteran free agents — and since teams are required to be within the salary cap range (roughly $119.2M to $120.4M) by August 4, we can expect a full week of glorious, glorious chaos. The team you watched religiously last year probably won’t look much like the one you’ll watch this year.

But at least you’ll get games to watch. We get a 2011 season after all. More big plays! More big hits! More big debilitating brain bruises! Everything we shell out our hard earned cash to watch! And we get it all for the next ten years! Huzzah!

One day, Aaron Sorkin will write a movie script about this. Roger Goodell and De Smith with be the smooth-talking heroes who became best buds, and everyone else — especially the lawyers, who were reportedly even bigger villains than Richardson in all this – will be such self-aggrandizing assholes that they’ll make the Winklevoss twins look like the Olsen twins. I wonder who they’ll get to play Jerry Jones…

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Hall just honest about targeting injured players

Published: September 22nd, 2011 | Tags: London Fletcher, DeAngelo Hall, Maurice Jones-Drew, NFL Total Access, Tony Romo

Whether it’s a popular sentiment in Dallas or not, DeAngelo Hall’s shot-calling on Cowboys QB Tony Romo represents a truth of what happens between the lines in the NFL.

Teams and players look for any and every possible advantage on the field. That especially includes going after players with known injuries or reserves who have entered the game cold off the bench. It has, and always will be, part of the game.

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“It’s no different than when you have a guy who might have an injury coming into the game, or during the game. A cornerback who is hurt, obviously the offense is going to come at him,” Hall’s teammate, London Fletcher, told “NFL Total Access” Thursday. “If you have a sub coming into a game in a critical situation, you’re going to go after that guy. … Do you want to intentionally hurt somebody? No. But do we want to get a bunch of hats on him? Absolutely.”

It’s not just a defensive strategy, either. Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew said he “agrees totally” and admitted it’s was part of the reason he didn’t reveal his knee injury down the stretch last season.

“Any time you’re hurt, you have to understand they’re going to try to take you out of the game if they think that it’s going to help them win the game,” Jones-Drew said. “As bad as it sounds, that’s what this game is about, getting a ‘W’ at the end of the day.”

Hall doesn’t  shy away from sharing his opinions, and while his rant was maybe ill-timed and more honest than we’re used to, it’s nothing that should surprise anyone.

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Mora: Great players buy in to what Belichick sells

Published: September 22nd, 2011 | Tags: Jim Mora, "A Football Life: Bill Belichick", Bill Belichick, New England Patriots

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The NFL Films series “A Football Life: Bill Belichick” is a serious fix for any football junkie. There’s little question.

Belichick has put his stamp on NFL history in more ways than one, including the “Patriot Way” philosophy of running a football organization. When it comes to the magic that takes place behind closed doors deep inside Gillette Stadium, former NFL coach and current NFL Network analyst Jim Mora — who has spent his adult life around the game — comes away impressed with how Belichick manages people.

“He’s one of the greatest football coaches ever. What I am so impressed with (by) Bill Belichick is the way everyone buys in on his team to what he says. They’re all on the boat with him. The key to that is having a guy like Tom Brady or Mike Vrabel or Tedy Bruschi, your leaders, so that when a young guy comes in — or a Corey Dillon comes in or Randy Moss comes in — he can absorb those personalities into (that) culture, because the great leaders and great players have completely bought in to what he’s selling. Because it’s worked for him. His players have great faith in him, great faith in every decision he makes.”

NFL Network analyst Heath Evans has been in the Patriots locker room — as well as others — and chalks up the difference to a disciplined, single-voiced structure in the organization.

“I’ve been in too many locker rooms that don’t it,” explains Evans. “His rules are his rules. You also know that his word is the end source. There is no struggle for power in this organization. We’ve all been around owners or even offensive coordinators who would sometimes undermine a coach. You can’t do that there. … When you have that structure, you create a winning atmosphere.”

And now for a shameless plug: “A Football Life: Bill Belichick” part II airs Thursday night on NFL Network at 10 p.m. ET.

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Dolphins players call for better practices

Published: September 20th, 2011 | Tags: Jason Taylor, Bill Belichick, Daniel Thomas, Miami Dolphins, Tony Sparano, Yeremiah Bell

After spending last season with the Jets, Jason Taylor‘s seen how a division power prepares for games and believes the Dolphins aren’t doing enough to change the scenery of the AFC East.

Despite a coaching staff perched on a white-hot seat, it took prodding from the 37-year-old defensive end to initiate a change in the winless team’s intensity level during practice. Now in his third stint with Miami, Taylor gathered teammates around him after Sunday’s 23-13 loss to the Texans and vowed to set a new tone before their meeting with the Browns.

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Taylor’s teammates believe the call to arms was long overdue.

“We have to start practicing like it’s the game,” defensive co-captain Yeremiah Bell told The Miami Herald. “We have to do that because, so far, we’ve been playing a lot like we practice.”

Even rookie running back Daniel Thomas has seen issues with how the team’s prepared this season: “We have a lot of mental mistakes in practice, and sometimes it carries on into the game so that’s something we have to work on.”

“It’s going to be a lot more intense this week,” Bell said. “Everybody realizes our game needs to go up a level. Everybody understands that because what we’re doing is not getting it done so far.”

If you’re a fan of the Miami Dolphins, at the very least you’d relish some assurance that your team — if not as talented as the Jets and Pats (and perhaps the upstart Bills) — is not being outworked. The Patriot Way is not a complete mystery to Tony Sparano, considering he and Bill Belichick are both apples off the Bill Parcells tree. When players go public with their displeasure around game preparation, it’s a sign they’ve taken matters — and their careers — into their own hands.

Dolphins coaches are on the spot to re-organize and right a ship that looks ready to crumble in coastal waters if change does not come quick.

– Marc Sessler

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Eighty-nine current players were in NFL on 9/11

As NFL teams gathered before kickoff of Sunday’s games, the league took time to remember those who lost their lives on 9/11. Eighty-nine players currently on NFL rosters were playing in the league on that fateful day 10 years ago.

Here are those 89 players, listed with their current teams:
John Abraham, Falcons
David Akers, 49ers
Jeff Backus, Lions
Champ Bailey, Broncos
Jason Baker, Panthers
Ronde Barber, Buccaneers
Charlie Batch, Steelers
Matt Birk, Ravens
Tom Brady, Patriots
Drew Brees, Saints
Keith Brooking, Cowboys
Mark Brunell, Jets
Plaxico Burress, Jets
Cooper Carlisle, Raiders
Andre Carter, Patriots
Nate Clements, Bengals
Chad Clifton, Packers
Kerry Collins, Colts
Brian Dawkins, Broncos
Phil Dawson, Browns
Ryan Diem, Colts
Na’il Diggs, Chargers
Donald Driver, Packers
Shaun Ellis, Patriots
James Farrior, Steelers
Jay Feely, Cardinals
London Fletcher, Redskins
Roberto Garza, Bears
Tony Gonzalez, Falcons
Deon Grant, Giants
Clark Haggans, Cardinals
James Hall, Rams
Casey Hampton, Steelers
Jason Hanson, Lions
Al Harris, Rams
Matt Hasselbeck, Tirans
Todd Heap, Cardinals
Vonnie Holliday, Cardinals
Steve Hutchinson, Vikings
Sebastian Janikowski, Raiders
Brian Jennings, 49ers
John Kasay, Saints
Reggie Kelly, Falcons
Jon Kitna, Cowboys
Jim Kleinsasser, Vikings
Olin Kreutz, Saints
Mike Leach, Cardinals
Shane Lechler, Raiders
Ray Lewis, Ravens
Matt Light, Patriots
Rian Lindell, Bills
Ryan Longwell, Vikings
Patrick Mannelly, Bears
Peyton Manning, Colts
Olindo Mare, Panthers
David Martin, Bills
Derrick Mason, Jets
Todd McClure, Falcons
Kareem McKenzie, Giants
Donovan McNabb, Vikings
Brad Meester, Jaguars
Brian Moorman, Bills
Chad Ochocinco, Patriots
Lonie Paxton, Broncos
Mike Peterson, Falcons
Ryan Pickett, Packers
Joey Porter, Cardinals
Neil Rackers, Texans
Dominic Raiola, Lions
Fred Robbins, Rams
Shaun Rogers, Saints
Jeff Saturday, Colts
Mike Sellers, Redskins
Aaron Smith, Steelers
Steve Smith, Panthers
Justin Snow, Colts
Takeo Spikes, Chargers
Jason Taylor, Dolphins
LaDainian Tomlinson, Jets
Matt Turk, Jaguars
Brian Urlacher, Bears
Michael Vick, Eagles
Adam Vinatieri, Colts
Hines Ward, Steelers
Brian Waters, Patriots
Ricky Williams, Ravens
Antoine Winfield, Vikings
Charles Woodson, Packers
Joe Zelenka, Falcons

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Top non-AQ players, offense

Wanted to give you a quick rundown of the top non-AQ players in the final NCAA statistics for offense. Many of these players will be back for 2011, but many will be gone.

First let us take a look at rushing. Four non-AQ players finished in the Top 10 in yards per game:

No. 3 Bobby Rainey, Western Kentucky (137.4)

No. 6 Lance Dunbar, North Texas (129.4)

No. 7 Vai Taua, Nevada (123.85)

No. 10 Ronnie Hillman, San Diego State (117.9)

Taua is the only player who does not return next season. Hillman was a true freshman and many expect him to have an even better season. Rainey and Dunbar will both be seniors and vying once again to be the best running back in the Sun Belt. With Dunbar, it will be interesting to see how he fairs under new coach Dan McCarney, though offensive coordinator Mike Canales remains onboard. Rainey carried the ball a nation-leading 340 times last season. Can he handle another strenuous workload in 2011?

At quarterback, seven of the top 11 players in total passing yards were non-AQ players:

No. 1 Bryant Moniz, Hawaii, 5,040 yards

No. 4. Dominique Davis, East Carolina, 3,967

No. 6 Kellen Moore, Boise State, 3,845

No. 7 Ryan Lindley, San Diego State, 3,830

No. 8 Kyle Padron, SMU, 3,828

t. No. 9 Corey Robinson, Troy, 3,726

No. 11. G.J. Kinne, Tulsa, 3,650

I stretched this list all the way to 11 to show the depth of quality quarterbacks among the non-AQs. Although big-name players like Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick are gone, every player on this list returns to school next season, which means non-AQ quarterbacks will definitely be ones to watch again. But what is interesting is their receiver situation. Everybody but Kinne is losing his leading receiver. In the case of Moore, he loses two in Austin Pettis and Titus Young. Moniz loses Greg Salas and Kealoha Pilares, and Lindley loses DeMarco Sampson and Vincent Brown.

At receiver, seven of the top 100 players in total yards also came from non-AQ schools:

No. 1 Salas, 1,889 yards

No. 5 Jordan White, Western Michigan, 1,378

No. 6 Brown, 1,352

No. 7 Pilares, 1,306

No. 8 Aldrick Robinson, SMU, 1,301

10. Sampson, 1,220

11. Young, 1,215

Ssix of these players are definitely done with their college careers. The one up in the air is White, who is petitioning the NCAA for a medical hardship waiver and sixth season of eligibility. White had serious injuries to both his knees and sat out 2006 and 2008, so it seems likely his waiver will be granted. He set the school record for receiving yards in 2010.

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Top non-AQ players, defense

Earlier today I did a post with the top non-AQ offensive players, according to the final NCAA stats. Now let us take a look at the top NCAA defensive players from the non-AQs.

We start with tackles. Seven of the top 10 leaders in tackles per game came from non-AQ teams:

No. 3 Jamon Hughes, Memphis, 12.25

No. 4 Mario Harvey, Marshall, 11.92

No. 5 Archie Donald, Toledo, 11.23

No. 6 Dwayne Woods Jr., Bowling Green, 11.17

t. No. 7 Bobby Wagner, Utah State, 11.08

t. No. 7 Craig Robertson, North Texas, 11.08

No. 10 Dan Molls, Toledo, 11

Only three of these players return for next season -- Woods, Wagner and Molls. Donald and Molls formed one of the best linebacker duos in the nation if you want to look at their numbers alone. Donald finished with 146 total tackles, while Molls had 143. The only other school with two tacklers in the top 30 was Akron with Brian Wagner (130) and Mike Thomas (113).

Next up: sacks. Five of the top 10 in the NCAA stats are from non-AQ schools.

No. 4 Jonathan Massaquoi, Troy, 13.5 (1.04 pg)

No. 5 Vinny Curry, Marshall, 12 (1.0 pg)

No. 7 Jamari Lattimore, Middle Tennessee, 11.5 (0.88 per game)

No. 8 Mario Addison, Troy, 10.5 (0.88 per game)

No. 9 Chris Carter, Fresno State, 11 (0.88 per game)

Just missing the list is Kent State true freshman Roosevelt Nix, who will most definitely be a player to watch for 2011. Nix had 10 sacks and 20 tackles for loss in his debut season, en route to winning MAC defensive player of the year honors. Troy will lose one member of its sack duo -- Addison just finished his senior season. So did Lattimore and Carter. Massaquoi is an early candidate for Sun Belt defensive player of the year. The honors went to Lattimore this past season.

Finally, we take a look at interceptions. Many non-AQ players made the list here if you want to count total interceptions:

No. 3 Mana Silva, Hawaii, 8 (0.57 pg)

t. No. 5 Dexter McCoil, Tulsa, 6 (0.5 pg)

t. No. 5 Sean Baker, Ball State

t. No. 5 Domonic Cook, Buffalo

t. No. 10 Marco Nelson, Tulsa (.046 pg)

t. No. 13 Evan Harris, Miami (Ohio), (0.43 pg)

t. No. 13 Dayonne Nunley, Miami (0.43 pg)

Everybody on the list but Silva had six interceptions this past season. Impressive to see duos from Tulsa and Miami on the list. Each of those players returns for 2011. There were only three seniors on this list -- Baker, Cook and Silva.

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Maryland staff, players left in limbo

There is miscommunication and confusion going on at Maryland right now.

Maryland AD Kevin Anderson is strongly considering asking coach Ralph Friedgen to take a buyout and retire, ESPN.com's Joe Schad is reporting. Friedgen did not answer his cell phone for immediate comment, and a source said he went home instead of participating in a scheduled teleconference with Anderson and reporters Friday afternoon.

The program is being torn apart at the seams, and there's literally nothing this staff can say to hide it from recruits.

Forget next year, these guys don't know if they'll be employed next week.

Earlier Friday, offensive coordinator James Franklin left to be Vanderbilt's head coach, and he reportedly plans to take several assistants with him. Sources said that Friedgen left the office Friday without talking to any staff members about the situation, and everyone was left wondering about their future. The assistants, their families and the players are the ones who have been hurt the most by the upheaval at Maryland -- not Friedgen. He'll get a cool $2 million out of the deal.

If Maryland is going to salvage this mess (and what an embarrassing, disorganized display of leadership this has been), it's going to have to come from Kevin Plank.

Plank, founder of Under Armour and former Terp, has the money. Maryland can't afford to both fire Friedgen and hire a big-name coach. He has ties to former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach, but Leach still has some legal baggage and hurdles to overcome in that regard. Plank respects Friedgen -- Maryland was the first program in the country to endorse his product -- but he respects the program more.

If he wants a change, he's got the money and the power to make it happen.

It's not Plank's job, though, to take care of the current staff and players -- it's Friedgen's, and today, he didn't get it done.

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Pick Six: Best bald players of all-time

Patriots QB Tom Brady is bald. That’s right, bald. Or so the reports in the National Enquirer suggests (via the Detroit Free Press). Brady reportedly is a patient of the Leonard Hair Transplant Association in Cranston, R.I. Meaning Brady’s gorgeous locks are nothing more than a façade. A mere cover-up to one of the biggest sporting scandals since the 1919 Black Sox.

Say it ain’t so!

Apparently, three Super Bowl rings and a supermodel wife are no match against vanity. Then again, none of us have been compared to Jets coach Rex Ryan in the looks department.

But, Tom, whether these rumors are true or not (and I believe everything I read in the tabloids), there is no reason to fear being bald. Sure, we cannot be president (seeing that we haven’t had a bald president since Eisenhower). But many bald players have gone on to have great NFL careers.

Here are the six top bald NFL players of all-time.

And point of order, these are hair-thinning bald guys. Not dudes who are bald because it is fashionable. As Larry David once said, you are not part of the bald community.

6. Otis Sistrunk

This might have been a grooming choice, but you couldn’t tell at the time. When he took his helmet off on Monday Night Football and Frank Gifford said, “And from the University of Mars …,” you knew you were looking at one of the coolest football players ever. He personified the Raiders.

5. Mel Renfro

When your friends tried to trade you a Renfro football card, you thought that no way this guy was an NFL player. He looked like a friendly neighbor, not one of the most feared defensive players in the NFL. Turns out he was a Hall of Fame defensive back.

4. Y.A. Tittle

Some might argue that the image of Eagles LB Chuck Bednarik standing over a prone Giants RB Frank Gifford might be the greatest NFL photo of all time. But if a bleeding Tittle does not top that photo,  it is very, very close. Tittle was an NFL MVP (1963), but the title continued to elude him. But he proudly wore his male-pattern baldness.

3. Jerry Rice

Maybe this was a product of playing way too long in the NFL. But Rice became a member of the bald community later in his career. Though one might say that Rice was able to cover it up earlier in his career with his high-cut fade. During his time with the Raiders, Rice became the first player in NFL history to combine cornrows and a shaved head. Only to be later matched by QB Donovan McNabb.

2. Terry Bradshaw

Bradshaw over Rice? Well, he does have more Super Bowl MVP awards than Rice (three to one). And Bradshaw played the majority of his career as a BA … a Bald American. Plus Bradshaw starred in a number of movies — “Cannonball Run” and “Hooper” — with fellow baldy Burt Reynolds. Only a collective effort could keep him out of the  top spot.

1. The 1970s Dolphins

Probably the greatest collection of bald players ever. S Dick Anderson, K Garo Yepremian and S Jake Scott all sported the look of the time — chrome dome and thick, luscious horseshoe of hair. There was no shame. In fact, this is why this team was able to have a perfect season in 1972 and still win the Super Bowl, Tom. There is something to be said for being imperfect in your hair but perfect on the field. Something your Patriots couldn’t do. Coincidence?

Posted in: Sidelines  

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Four players to watch for below the radar

I helped call the Redskins-Titans game last week, and of course all of the discussion since then has focused on the aftermath of the fallout between QB Vince Young and coach Jeff Fisher and whether they can coexist in Tennessee. That story will work itself out over the coming weeks and months.

What I did see in that game were a number of players who are below the radar, but made big contributions to their teams:

Keiland Williams, RB, Redskins: He was never a full-time starter at LSU, but has played very well as a rookie and at times as been the Redskins’ lead back. With Chad Simpson going down in pregame warmups, Ryan Torain still out and Clinton Portis unable to finish the game, Williams had to carry the load against the Titans. I’m very impressed by what I see out of a back who can run, catch and also does a nice job in blitz pickup. He’s turning into an all-around back in a short amount of time.

Brandon Banks, WR, Redskins: Don’t be surprised at all if this guy — who is all of 5-foot-7 and 165 pounds — starts to get into the rotation at wide receiver. He’s absolutely fearless. Check out his tapes from Kansas St., he can absolutely fly and will eventually make a difference for the Redskins.

Marc Mariani, WR, Titans: It was quietly whispered in my ear from someone within the organization to not be surprised if Mariani develops into a slot receiver for the Titans. He would be very dependable in that role. The pride of Havre, Montana (home of the Havre High Blue Ponies), this guy has both a punt return and a kickoff return for touchdowns this season as a seventh-round draft pick. He was a walk-on at the University of Montana before eventually becoming an All-America.

Alterraun Verner, CB, Titans: One of my favorite young defensive backs. He got into the lineup because of the injury to Jason McCourty earlier in the season. I liked him during his entire career at UCLA. We talk about the term “ball hawk” quite a bit, and Verner is a flat-out ball hawk. He’s around the football all the time, is fearless in run support and tackles better than he’s given credit for.

These guys might not get the headlines, but it doesn’t mean they don’t make valuable contributions to help their teams win. Enjoy these guys on Sundays and don’t sleep on them.

Follow me on Twitter @CFD22 and follow The NFL Network @nflnetwork.

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