Tuesday Tidbits: Week 3

     Week 3 of the regular season has passed and we wanted to take a minute to feature one of the former Syracuse players making noise in the Canadian Football League. Taj Smith's final year in Syracuse was a fine one. In the 2007 season he had 44 catches for 822 yards and 5 touchdowns. He now finds himself in the Canadian Football League playing for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Here is what Taj Smith and the rest of  the Syracuse Pros in the NFL did this week:

Saskatchewan 30 Calgary 25
-Quarterback Darian Durant found Taj Smith for a beautiful 30-yard touchdown strike in what was a huge 3rd quarter for the Roughriders. Smith ended the game with 3 catches for 55 yards.

Dallas 16 Tampa Bay 10
-In a game dominated by the defenses, wide receiver Mike Williams had 2 catches for 33 yards.

Jacksonville 22 Indianapolis 17
Blaine Gabbert threw an 80 yard touchdown strike to give the Jags the win. For the Colts, Dwight Freeney (injury) and Delone Carter (coach's decision) were both inactive.

Tennessee 44 Detroit 41
-An impressive offensive output by both teams, but the Titans had just a bit more. Linebacker Doug Hogue played for the Lions, but did not record a tackle.

Atlanta 27 San Diego 3
-Atlanta dominated the undefeated Chargers. Running back Curtis Brinkley had his playing time cut down with the return of Ryan Matthews. Brinkley ended the day with 1 carry for 5 yards and 2 catches for 12 yards.

Chicago 23 St. Louis 6
-Quinn Ojinnaka started his second game at guard for the Rams.

Baltimore 31 New England 30
In a matchup of the Jones' brothers, the Ravens were able to squeeze by with a one-point victory. Chandler Jones ended the day with 2 tackles for the Patriots. Brother Arthur Jones played for the Ravens, but did not record a tackle. Jameel McClain had 2 tackles for the Ravens. Steve Gregory had 4 tackles for New England. Gregory also recorded an interception of Joe Flacco and returned it 36 yards to give the Patriots great field position.

NFL Season Week 2: Tuesday Tidbits

     Week 2 of the NFL season was a productive one for former Syracuse players. Players like Curtis Brinkley and Mike Williams made significant contributions to their teams. Here is your team by team recap of the week:

San Diego 38 Tennessee 10
-Curtis Brinkley touched the ball 22 times in the victory. He ran the ball 18 times for 43 yards and caught 4 passes for 23 yards.

New York Giants 41 Tampa Bay 34
-Receiver Mike Williams made 3 catches for 59 yards. The Bucs wideout made one of the best grabs of the year on a 41 yard bomb from Josh Freeman for a score. Williams dropped one pass in crunchtime that would have put the Bucs in the red zone. The play was initially ruled a catch and after further review it was determined incomplete.

Indianapolis 23 Minnesota 20
-Dwight Freeney was out with a high ankle sprain and Delone Carter was inactive for the second straight week.

Arizona 20 New England 18
-In what may have been the upset of the week the Cardinals pulled out a big win in Foxboro. It was not for a lack of effort by Chandler Jones though. Jones had another exceptional game for the Patriots forcing a fumble and ending the day with 5 tackles. Steve Gregory started at safety and recorded 5 tackles.

Philadelphia 24 Baltimore 23
-The Ravens had a chance to win, but the Eagles' defense held strong in the final minutes to take the win. The Baltimore defense played well, including Jameel McClain who had 5 tackles. Arthur Jones played, but did not record a tackle. Jones was involved in a pregame scuffle with DeSean Jackson after Jackson got in the face of a teammate.

St. Louis 31 Washington 28
-RG III could not propel the Redskins to a victory again this week. Quinn Ojinnaka was brought back by the Rams after being cut just before the regular season. He started at guard for the Rams.

San Francisco 27 Detroit 19
-Doug Hogue made a great special teams tackle for the Lions, but it was not enough as Detroit took the loss. Hogue ended the game with 2 tackles.

Tuesday Tidbits: Week 1 Regular Season Recap

     It is that sweet time of year again. The regular season has begun. Now through week 17 we will have a Tuesday Tidbits, recapping the week's action with all of the Syracuse alumni in the NFL.

Chicago 41 Indianapolis 21
-Dwight Freeney began his season at linebacker in the new look Colts' defense. He was injured early on and did not record a tackle. His MRI did not show any major injury to his ankle and he should be back next week. Delone Carter was inactive with an injury.

Detroit 27 St. Louis 23
-Doug Hogue began his regular season after a great preseason for the Lions. He played on special teams, but did not record a tackle.

New England 34 Tennessee 13
-Chandler Jones had a great game. He stripped Jake Locker in the second quarter and his teammate picked the fumble up resulting in a touchdown. He ended up with 5 tackles and 1 sack. Steve Gregory started at safety for the Patriots and recorded 2 tackles.

Tampa Bay 16 Carolina 10
-Mike Williams caught a 6 yard pass from Josh Freeman for a touchdown early in the first half. He ended the game with 2 catches for 12 yards for the Buccaneers.

Baltimore 44 Cincinnati 13
-Jameel McClain started for the Ravens and had 2 tackles along with a pass defensed. Arthur Jones played very well on the rotating Ravens defensive line and had 4 tackles in the impressive victory.

San Diego 22 Oakland 14
-Curtis Brinkley had a solid debut at running back for the Chargers. He split time with Ronnie Brown in the backfield. He ended up with 10 carries for 12 yards and caught 3 passes for 28 yards.

Check back each Tuesday as we recap the week in action for all of your favorite 'Cuse alumni.

Chandler Jones Earns High Praise In Regular Season Debut

     Bill Belichick hoped his rookies would make an impact immediately for his defense. Little did he know they would team up on week 1 and provide a spark. Early in the second quarter Jake Locker dropped back to pass and Chandler Jones was coming right at him. Jones stripped the ball as he was bringing down Locker and fellow rookie Dont'a Hightower scooped up the ball. Hightower then returned the fumble six yards for a touchdown and put the Patriots up 14-3 in a game they eventually won 34-13.
     When Jones was asked about the play he said, "I did an outside move, beat (Roos) on the outside move and capitalized on what they gave me." Jones was looking to keep it simple in his first NFL start. "My thing was to get out there and execute my job, that was my main goal, to go out there and do what I was told to do. That's what I tried to do every play." He ended the game with 5 tackles and 1 sack.
     Bill Belichick was happy with his defense making big plays all day and had this to say about Chandler Jones' play. "We had Chandler Jones with the strip sack and fumble recovery so that was a huge play in the game."
     Belichick also had this to offer about his two rookies today. "I think both players have recently done a good job of that. They're both smart. They've worked hard. And they've both been out there, they've both gotten a lot of reps on the field. So that's always a good way to learn, to experience it, go through it, make a mistake, correct it, and go out there and do it again and get it right. There is a lot to be said for that, and those guys -- really, a lot of our young players -- have had the opportunity to do that. That's been positive."
He ended saying, "Those two guys, they've done a good job there."
     Chandler Jones and the Patriots are back in action next Sunday against the Cardinals.

10 Former Orange Ready For NFL Season

     Then there were 10. That is the number of players Syracuse has on NFL rosters this season. Here is our yearly preview on each player in the league.

Steve Gregory, Safety, New England Patriots
-Gregory was brought in to provide a boost to the Patriots underwhelming defense. He intercepted a pass this preseason and is poised to make an impact. Expect him to put up solid numbers in his first year in New England.

Chandler Jones, Defensive End, New England Patriots
-Jones has been predicted by several media persons to be the defensive rookie of the year. The first-round pick will start at end in the revamped Patriots defense. Expect him to come close to double digit sacks.

Jameel McClain, Linebacker, Baltimore Ravens
-McClain re-signed with the Ravens after becoming a free agent in the offseason. He had his best season as a pro a year ago. Expect him to be even better this year. Don't be surprised if he finds himself in the Pro Bowl.

Arthur Jones, Defensive End, Baltimore Ravens
-Chandler's big brother should start for Baltimore this year. He played sparingly for the Ravens last year. Expect him to become a solid addition to the perennially great Ravens' defense.

 Dwight Freeney, Linebacker, Indianapolis Colts
-No, that is not a typo. Freeney is becoming a linebacker in the new look 3-4 Colts defense. He will be a pass rushing linebacker the majority of the time. Expect him to come near double digit sacks.

Delone Carter, Running Back, Indianapolis Colts
-Carter played well in his rookie season, but fell out of favor with coaches after he had a fumbling problem. Carter was injured early in preseason. He should get a few carries in Indy, but playing time may be hard to come by.

Curtis Brinkley, Running Back, San Diego Chargers
-Brinkley had a solid year in a backup role last season. He will retain that role and should provide a good spark to the Chargers' offense.

Doug Hogue, Linebacker, Detroit Lions
-Hogue had a very impressive preseason where he was third in tackles in the NFL. Hogue will play on special teams and will play if any of the Detroit linebackers go down with injury.

Mike Williams, Wide Receiver, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
-Williams had a mediocre year after a great rookie season in Tampa. New addition Vincent Jackson should draw plenty of coverage off of Williams. Do not be surprised if Williams puts up Pro Bowl worthy numbers this year.

Quinn Ojinnaka, Guard, St. Louis Rams
-Ojinnaka played for the Colts last year and did not play much. He signed as a free agent with St. Louis and earned a starting job in camp.

Other former Syracuse players that are on IR: Will Allen, Andrew Tiller, Ryan Durand
Suspended: Tanard Jackson
Exempt: Tony Fiammetta