Weddle Picks Off Young, Picks Up Award

Eric Weddle got a gift-wrapped, hand-delivered interception from Vince Young for Christmas. Young threw the ball into double coverage and Weddle, who has great instincts around the ball, came away with it. It was his second pick of the season and his fourth ProUte of the Week Award! Weddle also had 4 tackles and 2 pass deflections to go with his interception, which he returned 13 yards in the Chargers' rout of the Titans. Weddle strained his knee again in the win and likely will sit out the final game of the season, as the Chargers have already clinched a first-round bye in the playoffs. Weddle has also clinched the most ProUte of the Week awards, as no other player has more than two going into the final week of competition!

Strikes Three

Steve Smith became the third ProUte Panther to land on the IR yesterday. Smith went out with a bang - just check the video. He withstood a collision and got in for the touchdown despite suffering a broken arm on the play! Tough as nails doesn't even begin to describe Steve Smith!

I'll Take That

Steve Smith reclaimed the ProUte of the Week award with his 9 receptions, 157 yards, and one touchdown against the Vikings in week 15. You can never count this guy out! No word yet on how he feels about replacement quarterback Matt Moore as a person.

Ganther Gets A Chance

Quinton Ganther got a chance to start last Sunday, filling in for injured running backs Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts. A recent addition to the Redskins, Ganther capitalized on his opportunity with the capital's team, gaining 50 yards on 14 carries and scoring the first two touchdowns of his career on tough 1 yard runs. He also caught three passes for 43 yards in netting nearly 100 total yards from scrimmage. Ganther also netted the ProUte of Week 14 award for his breakout performance!

Head-to-Head

Bogut's Bucks beat Miller's Blazers 108-101 in double overtime on Saturday. In this photo Andre could only watch as Andrew scored two of his season-high 27 points. Bogut had a fine all-around game, shooting 12-of-19 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line to go with 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. Perhaps the most significant stat was his 44 minutes played before he fouled out. That's a lot of minutes for a guy coming back from an injury, and it could take a lot out of the big Aussie.

Miller had an off-shooting night, finishing 2-of-12 for a meager 7 points. He also had 7 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals.

In other basketball news, Luke Nevill was waived by the Utah Flash of the D-League. Apparently the Australia native is having visa issues and will be re-signed by the team after he gets his visa cleared. Nevill spent the summer playing with the Boomers in Australia before returning to Utah as a member of the Flash. He averaged 11.5 points and 6 rebounds in the first two games of the season.

One Better

Jonathan Fanene did Paul Kruger one better, taking his interception 45 yards for a touchdown! Fanene didn't make an impressive play on the ball like Kruger did - his interception came off a pass deflected by another lineman. But once he had it in his hands he knew what to do with it! "When the ball was in the air, I just grabbed it and took off running," ... "I wasn't worried about slowing down or anybody tackling me." Fanene earned his second ProUte of the Week award, one more than Kruger has 13 weeks into the season. He's already matched Eric Weddle's pick six, can he match Weddle's three PUWies by the end of the season?

Knee Trouble

Eric Weddle is expected to miss the next two games with a sprained ligament in his knee, multiple sources are reporting. See the North County Times for more details. Chris Kemoeatu sprained the MCL in his right knee and missed last week's game, but he's testing the knee in practice and hopes to return to the starting lineup this week, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

Interception!

Paul Kruger does it again! His INT in OT against the Steelers looked a lot like his INT against BYU a year ago. Kruger is a play maker, and he should get more playing time with the Ravens after this terrific pick. Kruger wins the ProUte of Week 12, prevailing over fellow rookie Brice McCain, who also snagged his first INT off of Peyton Manning, and Alex Smith, whose performance was defined by a lack of INTs. Kruger also had two tackles and a pass deflection before his game-changing interception.