NFL 2009 Week 10 Top Performers

Week 11 Studs

November 24th, 2009

Nathan Nau

bruce-gradkowski Bruce Gradkowski: Gradkowski completed 17 of 34 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday. Most importantly, Gradkowski lead the Oakland Raiders to a fourth-quarter comeback victory filling in for the benched JaMarcus Russell.

Eli Manning: Manning, who has been hobbled by injuries this season, had throwing for a career-high 384 yards and three touchdowns. Most importantly, the New York Giants 6-4) snap a four-game skid with a 34-31 overtime victory over Atlanta. Manning’s strong play compensated for a defense that squandered a 31-17 lead and a running game that lost Brandon Jacobs (right leg injury) in the third quarter.

Tom Brady: Tom Brady had an average day, completing 28 of 41 passes for 310 yards and one touchdown. I’m confused, should he be on the Duds page?

Wes Welker: Welker set career highs in catches 15) and yards (192) as New England pummeled one of the inter-division rivals on Sunday. Welker, who did not play in the first matchup, was a huge on moving the chains.

Matthew Stafford: Stafford enjoyed the best game of his rookie season in Week 11, throwing for 422 yards and five touchdowns, including an epic game-winning strike to Brandon Pettigrew with no time left on the clock to lead Detroit to a 38-37 victory over the Browns. Stafford also became the youngest quarterback in NFL history to toss five touchdown passes in a single game.

Leigh Bodden: Bodden had a huge game as a starter in the Patriots victory on Sunday, picking off B Mark Sanchez three times as New England Patriots defense stifled the rookie quarterback.

Brett Favre: The ageless one continues to be an unexpected model of consistency and efficiency in Minnesota Vikings. Favre completed a career-high 88 percent of his passes for 213 yards and four touchdowns as the Vikings rolled to a 35-9 victory over the Seahawks. Favre completed 22 of his 25 throws for the 9-1 Vikings.

Terrell Owens: T.O. exploded on Sunday, catching nine passes for 97 yards, including a team-record 98-yarder for a score, in Buffalo’s 18-15 loss to the Jaguars. It was Owens’ first 100-yard receiving game as a Bill. The 197 yards represent the third-highest single-game total of his career.

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November 24th, 2009

Nathan Nau

andre-caldwell Andre Caldwell: Cincinnati Bengals WR Andre Caldwell fumbled a kickoff return with less than one minute left in a 17-17 game that set up the Raiders go-ahead, game winning field goal.

Jay Cutler: The prized 2009 offseason acquisition finished the game 24 for 43, throwing for 171 yards, one touchdown and another interception. Cutler now has an amazing 18 interceptions on the year.

The Ravens in General: The Ravens made several late-game mistakes in the teams 17-15 loss against the undefeated Colts. Joe Flacco was picked off by Gary Brackett at the Colts’ 13-yard line with 2:42 remaining, stopping a nine-play, 53-yard drive. In perhaps the worst special teams play that we have seen this season, the Baltimore Ravens would have got the ball back with 2:42 remaining when Ed Reed fumbled on a punt return. Also, the difference in the game was a field goal by former Ravens kicker Matt Stover-Ouch.

The Atlanta Defense: The Falcons surrendered 34 more points, to go along with 456 yards to a banged-up Giants team on /Sunday.
Shaun Suisham: The Washington Redskins place kicker accounted for all of the team’s six points, however he also missed two field goals that cost the team a victory. One of the missed field goal was only a 39 yard attempt. After Suisham’s final miss, the Cowboys put together a 10-play scoring drive to earn the victory.

Mark Sanchez: Sanchez was unable to duplicate his early season success against the Patriots. Sanchez, who guided the Jets past New England in Week 2, wasn’t nearly as fortunate in Week 11. Sanchez completed only 8 of 21 passes for 136 yards and was intercepted four times in New York’s loss. Sanchez has now turned the ball over 19 times in 10 games this season.

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November 17th, 2009

Nathan Nau

maurice-jones-drew Maurice Jones-Drew: In his teams 24-22 victory over the New York Jets, Jones-Drew rushed for 123 yards and a score on 24 carries. Jones-Drew, who became the first player to rush for 100 or more yards against the Jets this season, now has 530 yards rushing and seven TDs in his past four games. The undersized RB continues to prove that he can handle the load over an entire NFL season.

Chris Johnson: Johnson, who seems to be on top of this list nearly every week, continued his stellar play on Sunday. The speed RB rushed for 32 yards and two touchdowns. However, most amazing of all, is that Johnson caught nine passes for 100 more yards as he once again displayed his evolving game.

Reggie Wayne: In a shocking game that I cannot seem to get out of my mind, Wayne finished with 10 catches for 126 yards and two TDs. In addition to his outstanding performance, the consistent WR also delivered the final blow in the Indianapolis Colts stunning 35-34 victory over the Patriots with a 1-yard TD catch with 13 seconds left.

Sidney Rice: Perhaps the individual that is benefiting over the Brett Farve signing the most is Rice. In Minnesota’s 27-10 victory over the Lions, Rice set a career-high with 201 receiving yards on only seven catches. Rice caught three passes of 40-plus yards, which included a 56-yarder early in the fourth quarter that put the team in position to go up by two touchdowns

Donovan McNabb: In the team’s second consecutive bad performance against AFC West foes, McNabb completed 35 of 55 passes for 450 yards and two TDs in a 31-23 loss to the San Diego Chargers. The 450 yard performance was the second best of his career and only the fourth 400-yard passing performance by an Eagle since the 70’s.

Charles Woodson: The Packers defense had a stellar game against a good Dallas Cowboys team. Perhaps most impressive of all was Packers CB Charles Woodson. Woodson, who is a former Heisman Trophy winner, had two forced fumbles, one interception, one sack and nine tackles in Green Bay’s 17-7 victory.

The Bengals’ defense: The Cincinnati Bengals won a very tough road game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the victory 18-12

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November 17th, 2009

Nathan Nau

bill-belichick Bill Belichick: I listened to his explanation as to why he went for the fourth-and-two, but the only thing that I keep hearing in my head is: What was he thinking???? With the Patriots leading by a score of 4-28 in the closing minutes, Belichick decided to risk giving Manning the ball back on the Patriots 28-yard line. Obviously, the New England Patriots did not convert the fourth down and Peyton Manning made Belichick pay for his gamble. In only four straight plays, Manning connected with Reggie Wayne to win the game. Amazing!

Chris Simms: Simms, who came off the Broncos bench due to Kyle Orton’s injury, should have refused to enter the game. Simms finished the game going 3-of-13 for 13 yards and an interception. He looked truly lost at QB and the Broncos as a team only gained 36 yards of total offense after halftime. Kyle Orton anyone?

JaMarcus Russell: I feel so bad for the guy I don’t even want to put him on the list. Russell completed just 9-of-24 passes for 64 yards before being benched on Sunday. Please, please Al, sign quality head coach that can help this kid.

Ben Roethlisberger: Usually up for a big game, Roethlisberger completed only 50 percent of his passes (20-of-40), was picked off once, did not throw a TD pass and finished the game with a passer rating of only 51.5. Not JaMarcus Russell like by any stretch of the imagination, but Steeler fans have grown accustom of seeing more out of their QB.

The Jets’ defense: The Jets defense has been pretty stout the entire season, but the team yielded 250 yards of total offense to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first half alone. Even though the Jets were behind nearly the entire game, they had a chance to win until a 15-yard catch by Mike Thomas and a 33-yard grab by Marcedes Lewis to help set up the game-winning kick by Josh Scobee. Once really got away here.

The Eagles’ running game: What has become a regular assurance, Eagles RB Brian Westbrook suffered another concussion and none of the backup players could get anything going against San Diego Chargers defense that was down several starters.

Nathan Nau: Yes, I will admit it, with the score at 31-21

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