The highest honor in the NFL.The Houndie is an award formerly known as the Buckeye NFLer of the Week. After 2 years of existence, we searched for a catchier name, so with the help of a well placed typo and the ensuing 11W comments, the current title was created.
That whimper you just heard wasn't just the dignity of Redskins' fans everywhere, but rather the NFL's Week 15 ending rather unceremoniously. The postseason fates of 6 clubs (4 NFC, 2 AFC) are firmly entrenched, where as 2 more (the 9-5 Pats and Bengals) have positioned themselves very nicely to wrap things up come next weekend. The action in the AFC is getting particularly interesting, with an astonishing 6 teams deadlocked neck and neck at 7-7, all possessing still very much alive playoff aspirations.
We start with one of those 7-7 clubs, the resurrected from the gurney Tennessee Titans, courtesy of 1700 volts from a Vince Young make and model EKG. Tennessee moved to .500 on the season and kept their playoff hopes alive on the foot of Rob Bironas defeating Miami 27-27 in OT. Buckeye alum Teddy Ginn was limited to 2 catches for 38 yards, but did contribute a 23 yard kickoff return at one point in the action. Rookie Brian Hartline made a strong case for this week's Houndie, taking an end around for 10 yards and adding 2 receptions totaling 96 yards in the losing effort.
The Pittsburgh Steelers ever so narrowly kept their playoff aspirations afloat as well, surviving a bold, late onside kick gambit by head coach Mike Tomlin to win as time expired 37-36 over the Green Bay Packers. Former Silver Bullet A.J. Hawk capped a fine evening with three tackles and three assists. Former Buckeye DT Ryan Pickett also added a tackle in the loss. In the winning locker room, defending Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes celebrated his three receptions for 77 yards.
Staying in the AFC, longtime NFL vet and former Buckeye Mike Vrabel showed he's still more than capable of performing at a high level, recording 3 tackles in the Chiefs disappointing 41-34 loss at the hands of invincibility star possessing Jerome Harrison and the Cleveland Browns. Another ex-Buckeye star defender also saw his club come up short on the losing end an upset. Former DE/DT Kenny Peterson had 2 tackles as his Broncos were JaMarcus Russell'd 20-19 by the Oakland Raiders.
Wrapping up the AFC side of things, the 17-10 New England victory over Buffalo saw stud ex-Buckeye Donte Whitner tack on 3 tackles to an already outstanding season. On the opposing side of the ledger, Shawn Springs saw action for the first time in a number of weeks, adding two tackles in limited duty for the Pats. Troy Smith also merrits a hat tip, going 2/4 for 10 yards and adding 6 rushes out of the wildcat for 17 yards in the Ravens' 31-7 destruction of the Bears.
Switching gears and moving over to the National Football Conference, we're left with but two obvious contenders for pro football's most storied award. In a game yours truly languished through to the tune of 3.5 hours of snooze, "Little Animal" James Laurinaitis padded his defensive rookie of the year campaign with an outstanding 5 tackles in a close 16-13 loss at the hands of the Houston Texans. Another Buckeye you may have missed making his return to the league was none other than Buckeye legend Mike Nugent. Filling in for the injured Neil Rackers, Nuuuuuuuuge nailed a 48 yarded in his only 3 point attempt of the day, and knocked out all 4 of his extra point tries in the Rams' 31-24 victory over Detroit. But while we're glad to see the man who once occupied #85 for the Scarlet & Gray update his resume, the Houndie goes to none other than Nuge's Cardinals teammate, one Chris "Beanie" Wells. The outstanding Mr. Wells capped the finest afternoon of his pro career, ripping off 17 carries for 110 yards and a score. The dynamic halfback also added a 13 yard reception as he continues to make a late case for voters to consider an alternative to Denver's Knowshown Moreno in the offensive rookie of the year race. Enjoy the victory, Mr. Wells. Something tells me it won't be your last.
Comments
Makes me miss seeing the artist formerly known as number 28 in the backfield even more...
The SAoJ is still the most feared blow to the head since Deacon Jones' head slap!
and the Jack Tatum paralyzer
Will Smith also had a good night, with 2 sacks and 5 hits on the quarterback.
Does anyone know why Nuge has sucked so much in the pros? Did he get injured or something? It just seems like kicking would be something that transferred more easily than nearly anything else.
Damn Saturday Night Football throwing a kink into everything. Belated H/T to The Fresh Prince.
Indeed, as I understand it Nuge suffered from injuries in both New York and Tampa. And the kicking balls in the pro are slightly different. Some guys never really adjust despite fabulous collegiate careers.
I'm just going to say it now. Beanie will be the career leader in Houndies when it's all said an done. He will most certainly seperate himself from Hightower. This was the first of many many 100 yard games, and Whisenhunt will make him a much more focal point in the offense.
A "hat tip" for Troy Smith going 2/4 for 10 yards (with a pick, which you omitted)? Troy is awesome, but that performance sucked.
Dude is a backup on a team with a healthy, competent quarterback. Playing effectively in limited action deserves kudos. Ask any pinch hitter in baseball how easy it is to get off the pine cold and contribute in any fashion. Just because you strike out once in a while doesn't make the afternoon a total wash.
Indeed
beanie seems to be getting more and more of these..i likey!
Last Monday, I heard John Gruden talk about how nasty the Beanie Wells stiff arm is. Gruden mentioned a few times how great Beanie is going to be. I can't wait till he gets the majority of the reps.
wouldn't surprise me to see him starting somewhere after this season.
honestly, he already should have gotten them. Hightower has fumbled a lot recently, and hasn´t reall helped out his team in the running game. my view might be a bit biased, but it seems, game in and game out, beanie produces in some way, shape, or form.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-...
Dunno if you caught that clip, but Beanie assaults JL with the SAoJ.
Yeah, like, say. . .Cleveland.
Now that there is a new Sheriff in town (Holmgren) maybe the Brownies can take a stab at TS. I see where Quinnis injured and will miss the rest of the season; not like he's had a season to build on, mind you.
Is it a system issue or is Troy laboring under the perception he's too small, in Baltimore?
it's an issue that Joe Flacco is the starter and hasn't given a reason for that be be different.
pretty cut and dry.
all that working out, you'd think he was made of steel.
maybe all the EAS myoplex makes him weak, "now i'm done."
Troy had the job sewn up and won before suffering from tonsillitis prompting the Ravens staff to have no choice but to give struggling rookie Flacco a chance. Flacco took advantage of the opportunity, played remarkably given his level of (in)experience, and Smith was Pipp'ed. Many of the veterans were still vocal in their support of Smith as the better quarterback (even after Flacco's hot start), but it's obviously difficult to bench success.
why was there a 10 minute phone interview during the game? I'd like to hear about the game not about some guy
Well, honestly Beanie has had a lot of trouble keeping his hands on the ball too. I'm glad he's getting reps though, the last couple of weeks he's been a really tough runner.
That's what sucks, because when he got to play some his rookie year he didn't do all that bad. I was so excited going into last season because there were a lot of positive things being said about Troy and the job was his. No telling how good he would've been. Hopefully, he'll get a shot somewhere down the road. Of course backup QB in the NFL is one of the best jobs in America. Getting paid 6 or 7 figures to practice ain't bad.
+1