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.
Week four of the NFL season saw a few games that pitted former Buckeyes against each other, as the divisions start to take a shape and the bye weeks become a factor.
The first matchup saw the Bills go down in defeat to the Jets, 38-14. The Jets are playing their last game without Santonio and used a stellar rushing attack behind the likes of Nick Mangold and Ben Hartstock. The Jets put 2 backs over 100 yards and Donte Whitner did his best to stop them, recording 9 solo stops and 4 assists to lead the Bills, but the Bills are horrible and could only muster 223 total yards. Hartstock got on the board with his first catch of the season, but Big Vern was left out of the box score.
Chris Gamble and the Panthers went down to the Big Easy looking for their first win of the season, but fell to the Saints 14-16. Gamble had a busy day with 9 solo stops, as Drew Brees passed 48 times. However, one of the heroes for the Saints was Malcolm Jenkins, who recorded 5 total tackles and his first career sack, coming with 51 seconds left and the Panthers facing 3rd and 12 from the N.O. 40 yard line. Will Smith chipped in with 3 solo stops, including one that put the Panther’s Steve Smith on the shelf for a couple of weeks.
The last matchup was Philly against Washington, where Joey Galloway had 1 catch for 5 yards in the Redskins’ 17-12 win over Kurt Coleman and the Eagles. Coleman had just 1 tackle.
Staying the NFC, Nate Clements had the chance to be a hero for San Fran, who were looking for their first win in Atlanta. The 49ers were up 14-13 with 1:31 left in the game when Clements intercepted a Matt Ryan pass and took it down the sidelines, but Roddy White chased him down and did his best MoC impression, stripping the ball from Nate and giving the Falcons a second chance, which they took full advantage of, driving down the field for the last second FG and the 16-14 win. Clements ended the day 7 solo stops, while Michael Jenkins is still injured for Atlanta.
Don’t look now, but the St. Louis Rams are tied atop the NFC West, after capturing their second straight win, a 20-3 stomping of Seattle. Lil’ Animal had 4 solos and an assist, while Na’il Diggs had 4 total tackles and Larry Grant had 2. The Rams defense held Seattle to just 257 total yards, including 64 on the ground. The Rams now travel to Detroit this weekend, looking to eclipse their win total of the last 2 years combined.
In the battle of Ohio, the Browns secured their first win of the season, 23-20 over the Bengals. Mike Nugent, fresh off being named AFC Special Teamer of the month, hit 2 of 3 FG’s and both his extra points, but it was the 44-yarder he had blocked in the 2nd quarter that ended up being the difference in this one, as the Brownies drove down and hit a FG of their own right before half. For the Browns, Brian Robiski is still on the shelf.
Briefly on offense, Beanie was held in check, as the Cardinals lost at San Diego 41-10. The Cardinals were down early, which yields Beanie kind of useless, as he ended the day with 5 carries for 19 yards and 1 catch for 6. While on Monday night, Brian Hartline caught 3 balls for 21 yards in Miami’s 14-41 loss at the hands of the Patriots and Bobby Carpenter had 4 solo stops.
This week's award goes to someone who just a couple of weeks ago was rumored to be on the trading block, but Sunday showed up big for the second straight game, to help lead the Packers to a hard fought 28-26 win over the Lions. AJ Hawk had 9 solo tackles, 3 assists and an INT to help put the Pack atop the NFC Norris. After not recording a tackle in the first game, Hawk has 27 total tackles in the last 3 games to put him back in the good graces of the coaches and fans. Also, Ryan Pickett had 3 tackles and a fumble recovery, which lead to a Packer TD 3 plays later.
