Down the Sideline

Matt Asiata raced down the sideline instead of standing on it in week two. Adrian Peterson missed the game due to a charge of child abuse, allowing Asiata to fill in as the feature back. He found tough sledding against Sealver Siliga and the New England front, rushing 13 times for only 36 yards, an average of 2.8 ypc with a long of 7 yards. Asiata was more effective as a receiver out of the backfield, taking this pass in the flat 25 yards for a score. He had five catches for 48 yards, good for third on the team, and managed Minnesota's only score. It wasn't a good day for QB Matt Cassel, the former Patriot, as he threw 4 interceptions. Cassel also fumbled, but Asiata was there to recover it. For being Johnny-on-the-spot, the ProUte of the Week goes to Matt Asiata.

Stiff Arm

Paul Kruger is the ProUte of the Week, on the strength of his two sacks, but Steve Smith, Sr. had the Play of the Day on the strength of his stiff arm!

3rd & 14 was the key number for both players; Kruger's first sack came in the red zone, forcing Pittsburgh to settle for a field goal on 4th & 18. Smith's statement also came on 3rd & 14, as he drifted behind the coverage. Do defensive backs not realize that Flacco can bomb it? Smith the savvy veteran realizes it and made the play, stiff-arming Adam Jones to the ground along the way! He finished with 7 catches for 118 yards and a TD in his first game in Baltimore.

Ben Roethlisberger is not an easy take down, but Kruger got to him twice. The second time was in the third quarter, on 3rd & 11. Roethlisberger lost the ball, and, by the time he recovered it, Kruger covered him. The Steelers were forced to punt on 4th & 24. Kruger had five tackles to go with his two sacks and wins the first award of 2014.

Full Cupboard

The cupboard is full of candidates for ProUte of Week 17, which is even more impressive with all three Smith boys being rested! Sealver Siliga was a brute, racking up 5 tackles, 4 assists, a sack, and a forced fumble! That's bigger than Star Lotulelei's tackle, assist, and sack. Brice McCain had 5 tackles, 2 PDefs, and an interception. Eric Weddle had 9 tackles, 5 assists, and ran for a first down on a fake punt. Matt Asiata had a breakout game, rushing for 115 yards on 14 carries, an average of 8.2 ypc, with a long of 39 yards (and a fumble lost). Zane Beadles was a key member of the highest-scoring offense in NFL history.

How to choose one award-winning performance, then? Context. Siliga's play is remarkable for a practice squad journeyman, but New England didn't have much to lose against Buffalo. The Patriots are the second seed in the AFC regardless. The Panthers are the second seed in the NFC, and Star's sack was one of a team-record 9 against Atlanta. Houston had nothing left to play for, but they went down fighting, as McCain's game against Tennessee can attest. He has a knack for picking off Titans' passes! Asiata played well in a win, but Minnesota's coach was fired anyway. Beadles had a big year, but was it a big week for him?

And then there's Weddle, who bulled his team's way into the playoffs. When Mike McCoy decided to fake a punt from his own 28 in overtime, he put the ball in Weddle's hands. Can that really be considered a gamble? Weddle got it done, and San Diego got the help they needed to land a wildcard spot after defeating Kansas City's backups. Weddle got the victory, so Weddle gets the trophy.

Mr. Incredible

Weddle (or is it younger Dwalin?) exults on the battlefield.

Sealver Siliga continued to tear it up against Baltimore, bringing down Joe Flacco for a sack to go along with a tackle and three assists. That would have been enough for the ProUte of the Week, if not for this. That was Eric Weddle, the Pro Bowl-bound free safety, making an incredible interception. Watch it again. That's all effort by Eric, and that's why Siliga didn't get his first award. Weddle added two tackles, two assists, and a PDef on the afternoon.

Steve Smith caught a 44-yard pass, but had to leave the game with what was diagnosed as a PCL sprain. He would play in the season finale if his coach would allow it, but Carolina has clinched a playoff berth, so they will sideline Smith against Atlanta.

Third String

It's tough not to give the ProUte of Week 15 to Alex Smith when he completes 17 of 20 passes for 287 yards and 5 touchdowns - really tough. That performance really belonged to Jamaal Charles, who scored on passes of 49, 39, 16, and 71 yards, however. Alex threw another touchdown to Sean McGrath, and, aside from losing a fumble, was nearly perfect with a rating of 158.3. He would walk away with the award if not for the sudden emergence of a third-string running back.

Due to injuries to Adrian Peterson and Toby Gerhart, Matt Asiata got the start for Minnesota. He carried the ball 30 times for 51 yards, an average of just 1.7 yards per carry. His longest run of the day was 10 yards. Those numbers aren't exactly Quinton Ganther-like, but Asiata did punch the ball into the end zone again and again and again. He had two one-yard TDs and one from five yards out, as the Vikings demoralized the Eagles. Asiata added three receptions for 15 yards, giving him 66 yards on 33 touches to go with his 3 touchdowns. Matt Asiata busted through for his first ProUte of the Week Award!

Sealver Siliga and Sam Brenner started opposite one another, with Siliga recording a sack and two tackles for the Patriots.

Paul's Haul

A pair of Pauls and a pair of Smiths make up the candidates for the ProUte of Week 14. Paul Kruger and Paul Soliai both had sacks, Alex Smith had a 122.3 rating, and Steve Smith made a fierce touchdown grab. Steve's score came at the end of a rout by New Orleans, ending Carolina's win streak. Alex threw 20 passes, completing 14 for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns in the snow. Soliai had a sack, a tackle, an assist, and a PDef.

Kruger doubled him up with two sacks, two tackles, two assists, a PDef, and a forced fumble. It was his best game in a Browns uniform, and it got him his first ProUte of the Week Award this season.

Sealver Siliga got his first start for the Patriots, and came up with 6 assists in the comeback victory.

R.J. Stanford was placed on injured reserve by the Dolphins.

The Pick Is In

The pick for ProUte of Week 13 is in, and it's Eric Weddle. He caught his first interception of the season, which he returned 21 yards. He recovered a fumble, which he returned 27 yards. He had six tackles, an assist, and a pass defensed. That's a Weddle performance worthy of the ProUte of the Week Award.

Alex Smith played well against the Broncos, but not well enough to win the game or the week 13 award. He completed 26-42 passes for 293 yards and 2 touchdowns with one interception. He also ran 4 times for 46 yards.

Sean Smith had 5 tackles and a PDef in the loss; Koa Misi had 3 tackles and a sack in a win over the Jets.

Sealver Siliga was signed from the practice squad and played for New England, registering one tackle and one assist. David Reed was waived mid-week by Indianapolis.

Seven Up

Seven of the eight ProUtes in the same game.

Carolina came from behind to beat Miami, 20-16. It was the seventh straight victory for Carolina, but the true headline of the game was the participation of eight ProUtes! Sam Brenner got another start, and his reward was facing Star Lotulelei. Koa Misi, Derrick Shelby, and Paul Soliai were opposite Jordan Gross. That left R.J. Stanford, a former Panther defensive back, to cover Steve Smith. No offense to R.J. (who didn't see much action, or this photo op), but that's a mismatch. Smith didn't put up big numbers, but he made the big play when his team needed it.

With four minutes to go in the game, Miami was forced to punt. Carolina took over at their own 20 yard line. On first down, Smith was called for illegal formation, a five-yard penalty. With a first-and-fifteen, Ted Ginn, Jr. lost three yards. Cam Newton ran for eight yards on second-on-eighteen. Newton went back to Ginn, Jr. for an incomplete pass on third-and-ten. Facing fourth-and-ten at their own 20 yard line with two-and-a-half minutes to play, the reformed-conservative Ron Rivera went for it. And did Newton look for Ginn, Jr. when it counted? No, he did not. When you need to move the chains, you look for Steve Smith. Even when he's double covered. Put that ball in there, and only one man will come out with it. Smith caught the pass, the defenders fell down, and it turned into a 19-yard gain. That play sustained the drive, which ended with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Greg Olsen. Smith didn't get the score, but he got the win. He got his five catches for 69 yards, and he got another ProUte of the Week Award.

San Diego also came back to top Kansas City, 41-38, in a game that pitted Alex Smith against Eric Weddle. Alex completed 26-of-38 passes for 294 yards and 3 TDs, with one interception. Weddle didn't snag that pick but he did force a fumble, which he recovered. He also made six tackles. Sean Smith had three tackles and a PDef, but he was also beat on the game-winning touchdown. That game had rival coaches as well, with former Ute Mike McCoy squaring off against former Cougar Andy Reid. The Chiefs have lost two in a row, with a rematch with Denver looming.

Reggie Dunn was signed to another practice squad. After a stint in Green Bay, Dunn has taken his talents to Cleveland. He keeps (re)turning up!

By Weddle's Beard

The Wedd Head is sporting a bushy beard this season, prompting possible new nicknames. Captain Boltbeard, anyone?

Weddle has quietly put together another solid season, leading the Chargers with 70 tackles. It's been quiet on the interception front, as quarterbacks have been going away from him. It's also been quiet on the ProUte of the Week front. He's honorable mention almost every week, but he's been out-shined by less consistent performers. In week 9 he had 15 tackles, for example, but Sean Smith had a 100 yard pick six. In week 10 Kansas City was on bye, so Weddle didn't have to compete with Sean or Alex, the previous two winners.

His eight tackles in a loss to Denver (unbeaten Kansas City's next opponent) weren't a season-high for Weddle, but it was the high for the week. Steve Smith had six catches for 63 yards in Carolina's 10-9 win at San Francisco, but Weddle (and his beard) wins ProUte of the Week 10!  

Nine Lives

Sean Smith scored one of the two defensive touchdowns the Chiefs needed to survive in week 9. Kansas City is 9-0 going into their bye week, and they owe it to their defense. With his team trailing 10-3 and Buffalo threatening to add to that lead, Smith returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown, which he said "was like Christmas." In that case we have one more present for him: the ProUte of the Week Award! Smith also had 2 PDefs, a tackle, and an assist.

Smith's former teammate Paul Soliai had 3 tackles, a sack, and a PDef in an overtime victory over Cincinnati, while Eric Weddle made 9 tackles and 6 assists in an overtime loss to Washington. Paul Kruger faced his former Baltimore teammates and had 2 tackles and a PDef. 

Just Win

Alex Smith eludes Paul Kruger on this running play.

Kansas City defeated Cleveland, 23-17, to remain the league's only unbeaten team. The Chiefs didn't dominate, but they won. Again. When asked about getting every teams best shot, Smith said "We love it. You want the stages to get bigger. That's why you put all the work in. You want this opportunity. You want that honor." Sounds like a quote from 2003 to me!

Alex threw his first touchdown pass of the month, and it was the first of fullback Anthony Sherman's career. Alex also threw a 28-yard TD to Dexter McCluster. He was 24/36 for 225 yards and no interceptions. Smith added 40 yards rushing on six carries. That about offset being sacked six times, including once by Paul Kruger. Smith keeps winning games and ProUte of the Week Awards!

Honorable mention goes to Jordan Gross, who was praised for his run blocking by Mel Kiper, Jr. In roster moves, Brandon Burton was released by Buffalo, while Sealver Siliga was signed to New England's practice squad. At the trade deadline New England acquired Isaac Sopoaga from Philadelphia, so that may limit Siliga's chances of making the active roster.

Exclamation Point

Oh Captain, My Captain! Steve Smith, flanked by Jordan Gross.

Steve Smith made an emphatic play on his 800th career reception, beating two defenders for a touchdown. Smith took exception to the smack talk from Rams defensive back Janoris Jenkins, and he put the second year player firmly in his place. With five more receptions and 69 yards, Smith now has 800 for 11,745 in his esteemed career. There's no debating the ProUte of Week 7!

Carolina beat St. Louis 30-15 in a game marred by five personal fouls on the Rams, the ejection of Chris Long, and the injury of Sam Bradford. Captain Munnerlyn returned an interception for a touchdown on the first play, which set the tone. Star Lotulelei notched four tackles (two for loss) and two assists, and Steve Smith added the exclamation point!

Sly Comeback

Stevenson Sylvester returned to the Steelers in time for their first win of the season, 19-6 over the Jets. He had two assisted tackles on special teams and he got his number 55 back!

Steve Smith caught a touchdown, but it was from two yards out; he tallied 21 yards on five catches. Carolina put up 35 points on Minnesota, so Steve had some help for a change.

San Diego held Indianapolis in check on Monday night, with Eric Weddle having 5 tackles, an assist, and a pass defensed in the contest. That edges out Sean Smith by one assist.

Without a clear victor based on statistics, the ProUte of Week 6 goes to Sly helping Pittsburgh get in the win column!

Miami Vice Grip

The offensive linemen got their due last week, so let's move over to Miami's defense in week five. Prior to the game Baltimore re-committed to make Ray Rice the centerpiece of their offense, and Miami was ready for him. The Dolphins' D limited Rice to 74 yards on 27 carries, less than 3 yards per carry. His longest run of the game was 7 yards. He also had 6 receptions for 28 yards, with a long of 9 yards. Rice had more than 100 yards of offense and 2 touchdowns, but it took 33 touches to get there. He also lost a fumble, forced by our own Paul Soliai!

Baltimore was 6/16 on third down conversions and 2/3 in the red zone. The Ravens had 384 net yards and won the game on their fourth field goal. Miami won the turnover battle 2-0 with Rice's fumble and Joe Flacco's pick six returned by Reshad Jones to tie the game at 23 in the fourth quarter. Miami's defense did all they could to stay in the game, but Miami's running game couldn't get it done.

The ProUte of the Week could go to the entire defense, but one player stood out: Koa Misi. Misi was all over Rice and Flacco, making 7 tackles (three for a loss) and an assist, plus a sack for an 11 yard loss and a quarterback hurry. Soliai had 4 tackles along with the forced fumble, and Derrick Shelby and R.J. Stanford each contributed 3 tackles apiece. It was a solid performance all around, but Koa Misi is the clear cut ProUte of Week Five.

First Quarter

The first quarter of the 2013-14 NFL season has already been played. It's a little earlier than usual, but the time has come to praise the offensive linemen. It was a bye week for Carolina and Jordan Gross, Caleb Schlauderaff hasn't played much for New York, and Tony Bergstrom hasn't played at all for Oakland since he was placed on injured reserve.

Zane Beadles is about the only Denver offensive lineman who hasn't been hurt, which makes the Broncos' output truly impressive. Peyton Manning will get all the credit, but this is no one trick pony. Denver had 472 net yards of offense against Philadelphia's porous defense. They converted on 5 of 8 third downs and all 5 times in the red zone. Denver did give up one sack and two tackles for a loss, yet they averaged 6.6 yards per play on 71 plays. That last number is the biggest one of the game. Chip Kelly's hurry up offense ran 69 plays, two fewer than Denver's. And the Broncos scored on both a kick return and a blocked punt! That eliminated two series for the Broncos' O, yet they still ran more plays than the Eagles. Beadles is the ProUte of Week 4.

Kansas City beat the New York Giants, 31-7. Alex Smith had a good game, with 288 yards and 3 TDs, but he also had his first two interceptions of the year. San Diego defeated Dallas as the AFC West went 3-1 against the NFC East. Eric Weddle had 5 tackles, 2 assists, and 2 PDefs in the win. David Reed saw his first action for Indianapolis, returning two kicks for 44 yards (Kerwynn Williams has been waived).

D is for Disruption

Eli Manning can't escape the gravity of Star Lotulelei

Kansas City's Smith gets another nod for ProUte of the Week, but it's not Alex Smith this time. Sean Smith had 3 tackles, an assist, 2 PDefs, and one of the two interceptions of Michael Vick. 

Star Lotulelei had one of seven sacks of Eli Manning as the Panthers dismantled the Giants. He also had a tackle for loss and an assist.

Eric Weddle had six tackles and three assists, but he wasn't covering rookie Justin Hunter on the game-winning touchdown for Tennessee.

Kansas City stayed unbeaten and has already won more games than all of last season, and they did it in Andy Reid's return to Philadelphia. Vick was sacked six times and the Eagles committed four turnovers, so Sean Smith was a beneficiary of a disruptive defense.

Carolina got their first win of the season in a 38-0 drubbing of New York; that's the largest margin of victory in franchise history. Eli Manning threw one interception, a season-low, but was sacked seven times. Four of those were by defensive ends (Hardy had 3), but both rookie defensive tackles had one apiece. The play of Lotulelei in the middle helps the edge rushers, and vice versa. It is a team sport after all, but only one player can be the ProUte of the Week. For week three it was DB Sean Smith!

Koa Misi had four tackles before he left the game in the third quarter with a shoulder injury; fellow Dolphin Paul Soliai missed the whole game with a bad knee, and Cameron Wake went out with a knee injury on the first series. Could mean more snaps for Derrick Shelby this week. Steve Smith had a hard landing and got up sore, but everybody knows how tough he is!

Repeat Performance

Shelby in pursuit of Luck

Two ProUtes had nearly identical performances in the first two weeks: Alex Smith and Derrick Shelby. Alex had the same number of completions (21) on two more attempts (36), and the same number of touchdown passes (2). He had fifty more yards (223) passing, and a game-high 57 yards rushing against Dallas. He took more sacks (4), but he didn't fumble (he is still turnover-free). His rating was 0.6 higher (95). His total numbers improved over week one, so he ought to repeat as ProUte of the Week, right?

Not so fast - let's look at Shelby's stats first. He had another sack and forced another fumble; he also had a tackle and an assist against the Colts.

Any general manager would take consistent quarterback play over a defensive end for an entire season, and Alex's performance had a larger impact on the outcome of the game than Shelby's. Quarterbacks will always have an advantage over defensive players - particularly when that quarterback is a former #1 pick and the defensive end went undrafted.

That's what tips week two in Shelby's favor; not only did he make the team, he's making impact plays. For that Derrick Shelby is our ProUte of Week Two!

Ute Chief

It was a big opening week for several ProUtes! Zane Beadles and the Broncos started the season by beating the defending Super Bowl champs (a team that needed a huge play to knock Denver out of the playoffs last year), and then ol' Zane got a mention on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon! How many offensive lineman can say that?

Star Lotulelei has been recognized for his solid play on the defensive line, and we want to recognize a couple more: Derrick Shelby and Paul Kruger. Playing for opposite sides in the same game, both Shelby and Kruger made two tackles and a sack. Shelby's sack forced a fumble, while Kruger also added two assisted tackles. Eric Weddle had two assists to go with his nine tackles and a pass defensed, but Brice McCain (one tackle on special teams) and the Texans came back to beat the Chargers. Star's teammate Steve Smith was once again the star of Carolina's offense, scoring their only touchdown on one of his six receptions for 51 yards.

We've got to give the game ball (i.e. ProUte of the Week) to Alex Smith, who made a memorable debut with Kansas City. His numbers weren't that auspicious - 21/34 for 173 yards and 2 TDs, plus 25 yards rushing - but the final score of 28-2 has never been seen in the NFL before. His first game didn't start well, as a three-and-out resulted in a safety (one of four in week one) on a blocked punt out of the end zone, but that 2-0 lead wouldn't last for the Jags. Alex didn't put on the best performance of a quarterback in the NFL in week one, but it was one of the better performances by a quarterback in Kansas City in quite some time!

Direct Snap

Once again Weddle took a direct snap and successfully executed a fake punt. Last time it didn't surprise Utah fans, but this time it shouldn't have surprised anybody. Don't the Raiders watch game film? If they watch the film from week 17 they will see Weddle making eight tackles and getting behind his blockers for a 6 yard gain and a first down. We're going to direct snap the ProUte of the Week Award to Weddle; we trust he knows what to do with it.

Lining up across from Weddle and the Chargers defense was Tony Bergstrom, making his first start for the Raiders. San Diego beat Oakland, 24-21.

Ma'ake Kemoeatu and Paul Kruger both sacked former TCU quarterback Andy Dalton; Kemoeatu also had 4 tackles, while Kruger had one tackle and one pass deflection. David Reed also caught 3 passes for 44 yards, but Cincinnati got past Baltimore, 23-17. Both teams are headed to the playoffs, so there wasn't much at stake in this meeting.

Get Away With One

On this highlight clip the announcer says Steve Smith got away with one, but as far as we're concerned he got away with another ProUte of the Week Award! Smith caught four passes for 45 yards and a TD, his fourth of the season. Carolina beat Oakland 17-6, their fourth victory in five games; they face New Orleans in the season finale for both teams.

Sean Smith had two tackles and forced a fumble in Miami's 24-10 win over Buffalo, but the Dolphins were knocked out of the playoffs by Cincinnati. Miami closes out the year at New England.

Eric Weddle recorded 7 tackles against the Jets. He also got a few licks in on Greg McElroy, although he didn't get one of the 11 sacks San Diego racked up on the quarterback making his first start. San Diego will host Oakland on Sunday.