FIRST QUARTER
- Panthers (RB)DeAngelo Williams rushes for TD
- Panthers (RB)DeAngelo Williams rushes for TD
- Lions (QB)Matthew Stafford passes to (TE)Brandon Pettigrew for TD
- Lions (QB)Matthew Stafford passes to (WR)Bryant Johnson for TD

SECOND QUARTER
- Chargers (QB)Philip Rivers passes to (WR)Vincent Jackson for TD
- Seahawks (RB)Julius Jones rushes for TD
- Titans (QB)Vince Young rushes for TD
- Giants (QB)Eli Manning passes to (WR)Steve Smith for TD
- 49ers (RB)Frank Gore rushes for TD

THIRD QUARTER
- 49ers (QB)Alex Smith passes to (WR)Jason Hill for TD
- Saints (RB)Pierre Thomas rushes for a TD
- Chargers (QB)Philip Rivers passes to (TE)Kris Wilson for TD
- Seahawks (QB)Matt Hasselbeck passes to (WR)T.J. Houshmandzadeh for TD
- Titans (RB)Chris Johnson rushes for TD

FOURTH QUARTER
- Saints (QB)Drew Brees passes to (WR)Robert Meachem for TD
- Giants (QB)Eli Manning passes to (TE)Kevin Boss for TD
- Saints(D/ST) Saints (DT)Anthony Hargrove 1 Yard Fumble Recovery for TD
- Titans (RB)Chris Johnson rushes for a TD
- Chargers (QB)Philip Rivers passes to (WR)Vincent Jackson for TD
- Titans(D/ST) Titans (CB)Cortland Finnegan 39 Yard Interception Return for TD
- Seahawks(D/ST) Seahawks (CB)Josh Wilson 61 Yard Interception Return for TD
- 49ers (QB)Alex Smith passes to (WR)Jason Hill for a TD

So I’m going to start my first actual post (that last one is… an introductory post…!) by discussing a bit of a touchy topic. I’m sure you’re most likely familiar with the work of comic artist Kris Wilson. He’s the creator of the very simple, and very popular, comics that go by the name of Cyanide and Happiness. He’s now reached that level of fame on deviantART that ensures an expected flood of members (morons) announcing “first comment!!!!!! omg!!!! lol!” – he’s thus disabled the ability to leave comments on anything he posts to the website. I can’t say I blame him.

Anyway, so the reason why I’m bringing up the subjects of “Kris Wilson” and “touchy topic” is that basically, I posted a link to one of his most recent comics onto my facebook. I’ve been following Wilson’s comics for a while; because I find the majority of them amusing. This occasion was no different, I found the comic mildly amusing, and with nothing better to do, I decided to share the link on facebook. No problem. I thought nothing more of it.

Except it prompted a friend of mine to leave a comment: “CUZ NUTHINS FUNNIER THAN FEMALE ABUSE, HYUCK HYUCK. I dislike Kris Wilson muchly.”

The comment actually startled me – not only because of the random lash-out towards the comic and Wilson – but because when I read the comic originally, the idea that it was promoting “female abuse” as my friend put it, hadn’t crossed my mind. And she raises an interesting point; is Wilson condoning slapping women around?

Is it a case of who the subject receiving the slap is? Children haven’t been on the moon either… So if it had been a child, it would of course be a case of child abuse. If it had been a monkey, it would be monkey abuse, etc. The only feasible way for the comic to not be offensive, would be if it’d just been another guy being slapped on a one-way journey to the moon. Except that doesn’t fit the punchline (bah dum, bum, psh) of “FIRST * insert here * ON MOON”. I personally don’t think Wilson intended a message that it’s okay to whack a woman across the head if she spills coffee on you – it’s a case of something pushing the line of tastefulness to be funny.

Comics in particular can be hit and miss when it comes to edging around the precipice of political correctness, but that’s what makes them popular. They’re designed to be tongue-in-cheek. To say what people think, but would not say, out of principal. Of course there’s high potential for it to not be funny at all, and to just be downright disgusting. The same applies to any form of media. We obviously would not laugh at plain-out domestic violence, or abuse of any kind, because it is a real life, serious issue. Another example of this is comedy movies. I would watch Dr. Strangelove over Knocked Up any day. But that’s my opinion. I have friends who think Knocked Up is the epitome of comedy gold. I have others who would think of it as feminism’s worst nightmare.

Like that, my friend who made the comment, is not a fan of Kris Wilson. That’s fair enough, it’s up to her. I have another friend who thinks he’s a genius. I should point out that they’re both female. So if he is, in people’s opinions, presenting topics such as sexist abuse in a positive light, is it made especially worse due to his popularity? Is he spreading these ideas to potential morons who may think it’s okay to do stuff like this in real life? It’s an interesting idea, given that in recent years the media has kicked up a stink about things such as video games encouraging violence in young people. Let me know what you think, I’d love to hear your opinions and thoughts on this.

Now – depending on your view of things – in slightly less-controversial news, we’ve recently had our elections for local councils, and for the European parliament. “Oh joy!” you may cry, if you are a member of the flipped-off populace, done wrong by the present government and its wrong-doings. “Oh no!” you will cry, if you are a supporter, or member, of said government…

Oh yes, as in Britain, the elections have come at a time when the Irish public is having one of its periodic waking-up moments, where it stretches, looks around, and wonders what the hell is going. Much like on a hungover morning after. This time around, the night before involved voting in Fianna Fáil for a second term of government. In the twelve years since the Rainbow Coalition got kicked off stage, we’ve had our Celtic Tiger, and the property bubble. The bubble’s popped, the party’s over, and the electorate that had grown complacent with a government allowed to do whatever, are now kinda angry.

And boy, has it shown in the polls.

As a member of Young Fine Gael, I was involved in the election campaign of a Fine Gael candidate for Dublin City Council. Treading the streets canvassing is the very best way possible to find out what the public is really feeling, because you’re talking to people first hand. I’ve had the opportunity to talk to everyone from students in college, to civil servants who have had their wages cut, after 20 years of work. And needless to say, Fianna Fáil are getting a battering. Despite the general grumblings about the main party in government, I was honestly completely surprised by the number of people who had been FF supporters their whole lives; only to lose faith in them now. And they were mostly elderly people, too. Regardless of my own political allegiances, I find it quite saddening, in a way, that a party has failed its own supporters so badly, that they feel they can’t vote for them anymore. Every party will have its moment of shame. Labour over in England, is having that moment now. I guess I’m shocked, due to the fact that it’s the first time in my lifetime that I’ve seen it to this extent.

How has it affected the elections, then? Where there’s a loss for FF, there’s a gain for Fine Gael, Labour, Sinn Fein, etc. Principal gains have been for Fine Gael and Labour. Labour, in particular, has lucked out this year. Even Eamon Gilmore had to admit that they hadn’t expected such a rise in their popularity. It’s left a lot of members from other parties scratching their heads (*coughcoughFineGaelcough*). But it was a move to be expected, especially in areas like Dublin where the less well off areas are going to vote for those they can depend on for workers’ rights. The

local elections saw cases such as in Larkhill, on the Northside, where people voted exclusively for Sinn Fein or Labour.

Unexpected turnouts meant for a very on-edge atmosphere in the RDS over the weekend. The only person able to keep their cool was George Lee. For everyone else, it was episodes of stress over poll results, heartbreak over eliminations, and the general shocker of Gerry Adams randomly appearing with his beard.

That was one of many highlights of the day, including everybody cheering each time George Lee inhaled, Ryan Tubridy’s brother failing with this politics craic, and Enda Kenny waltzing with Paschal Donohoe. The Irish Times has a wonderful photographic account of the day here.

RTE presented a great contribution with their election coverage, including their pretty snazzy election tracker. They even have a Twitter page. I’d actually love to know who is behind the page, though, as it’s fast turning into a gossip column for the politically aware (nerds). Definite case of he-said she-said going on there. Which is why you should follow it, for the LOLs.

As a result of the weekend’s election drama, Mr Kenny und alles have put forward a motion today of no confidence. It’s about time, but then again holding a general election so soon may not end up working out, especially considering we’re due for Lisbon later on this year. But hey, we’ve to see how the Dáil debates go first. Then it’ll be up to Mary, over in the Phoenix Park. Whatever it is she does these days.

I just felt it was necessary to dedicate a blog post to the TALENTED artists on Deviantart.

I’m apart of the Deviantart community, so i’m exposed to amazing art daily.
(My deviantart page)
Kryptoeyez.deviantart.com

And a few of them stood out more than others…

MOOSEKLEENEX

She is AMAZING, i don’t understand where she finds such unique images insider her brain, and how she’s able to string them together to create beautiful masterpieces, shes truly an inspiration.

http://moosekleenex.deviantart.com/

<3

BOBSMADE

Bobsmade, is one of my favorite artists on Deviantart he/she (im not really sure if its a guy or girl) has a unique drawing style, and never sises to amaze me. I one day dream of owning one of her/his pieces!

http://bobsmade.deviantart.com/

HAZZARD7

Hazzards pieces ooze attention to detail, and care. Her Supernatural fanart pieces never get past my “Fav” button. I could stare at her pieces for DAYYZ, there amazing, almost everytime after I finish analyzing on of her SPN pieces I pop in one of my SPN DVD’s.

http://hazzard7.deviantart.com/

KRIS-WILSON

BUAHAHAHAHAHHAAH! Kris-Wilson’s comics never leave me laugh-less (is that a word???). I- LOVE – THIS – GUY!

HAHAHHA!

http://kris-wilson.deviantart.com/

AND LAST BUT CERTAINLY not LEAST….

HEATHERHORTON

SIMPLY BREATHTAKING! All of her pieces leave my jaw glued to the floor. TRULY an inspiration!

http://heatherhorton.deviantart.com/

There are ALOT more artist on the site that I admire, but these ones stick out like a soar thumb. Make sure you check out Deviantart when ever you need a refreshing splash of ART.

*I made sure not to post images of artists work, you’ll just have to go onto there deviantart page and see for yourself. You can  take my word for it.

www.deviantart.com

-Curtia <3

www.facebook.com je jedna od socijalnih mreža, koja je u rad puštena 4. februara 2004. godine. I do današnjeg dana je jedna od najbrojnijih, brojeći preko 120 miliona korisnika širom sveta, koji su klasifikovani po mrežama kao što su: država, grad, firma, škola…

Ovaj rastući trend, umesto da bude koristan za sticanje novih i održavanje starih kontakta, ima kontra efekat. Naime, smanjuje posredno socijalizovanje. Sve više se smanjuje taj fizički kontakt među ljudima, govoreći umesto, vidimo se na piću, “Vidimo se na Fejsbuku!“. Pored svih prednosti takvog umrežavanja, mislim da je činjenica da je dostupan svima i da je trend, u stvari kobna. Srećom pa ne koriste svi fejsbuk za izte svrhe. Postoje takođe unutar njega, grupe organizacija, koje koriste takvu promociju za pridobijanje novih članova, a takođe ga koriste za slanje obaveštenja postojećim članovima.

I za kraj ovog posta, da se malo ismevamo fejbuku…

Facebook

________________________
izvori: www.wikipedia.com

No meu dia a dia no deviantart, segi a actividade de muita gente… Muita gente mesmo… No meio de tanto artista fenomenal, destaca-se um homem, que faz pequenas bandas desenhas, o Kris Wilson. As suas bandas desenhadas são sempre altamente, com um humor muito próprio. Vejam por vôces mesmo:

Clique nas Imagens para Ampliá-las!!!

http://fc05.deviantart.com/fs32/f/2008/213/f/6/Face_by_kris_wilson.png

CLIQUE NAS IMAGENS PARA AMPLIÁ-LAS

Clique na imagem para visualizar

What’s this? A timely round up of the weekend of NFL action on this blog?? It can’t be! It is, enjoy:

Dallas Cowboys 34
Chicago Bears 10
Ruben Brown started the game but left in the 4th quarter with an ankle injury and did not return. When Brown left there was only around 10 minutes left and Chicago was down 17 points, so he may have been held out just as a precaution. We’ll update his status as the week goes on.

Lousaka Polite was inactive for the game, unless you include divulging secrets about the opposing team’s offense as being active. I do count that as active.

New York Giants 24
Washington Redskins 17
HB Blades saw his regular action on special teams, picking up an assist, but also got some action with the game on the line in the 4th quarter, making a solo tackle on a first down. Unfortunately the next play went for the game winning touchdown. HB fininshed with one solo tackle and one assist.

Carolina Panthers 27
Atlanta Falcons 20
Nick Goings held onto his kick returning duties for one more wee, but only returned the opening kickoff for 20 yards. He also added a solo tackle on kick coverage later in the game.

Cleveland Browns 24
Oakland Raiders 26
Darnell Dinkins picked up a solo tackle on kick coverage, his only real action of the day.

Arizona Cardinals 23
Baltimore Ravens 26
Larry Fitzgerald had 5 catches for 85 yards, but had a very costly fumble in the 3rd quarter. Everyone is saying that Leinart is still the starter in Arizona, but I’m not sure Fitz should be wishing for that. In the first half Leinart was able to get one ball to Fitz for 13 yards, in the second half Warner got him 4 balls for 72 yards.

Gerald Hayes added 11 tackles (9 solo) and continued his solid play inside for the Cardinals.

Miami Dolphins 28
New York Jets 21
Darrelle Revis got his 3rd start of his NFL career, which I guess is less newsworthy everyday because he’ll probably be starting in New York for a long time, and had 8 tackles (7 solo). That puts him at an average of 7 tackles (6 solo) per game, which would keep him over 100 tackles on the year. With as much as the Jets defense is on the field, he has an excellent shot at that mark.

Indianapolis Colts 30
Houston Texans 24
Clint Session played again on special teams, but only added an offsides penalty on a kick off.

San Francisco 16
Pittsburgh 37
Shawntae Spencer had 2 solo tackles and a pass defensed in his nickel back role.

Andy Lee was again busy against the Steelers, with 5 punts for a pretty amazing 57 yard average. That included 2 punts inside the 20, so he was definitely booming some of those punts, with a long of 66 on the day.

Minnesota Vikings 10
Kansas City Chiefs 13
Kris Wilson got his 3rd NFL start at fullback and had 3 catches for 13 yards. They did throw deep to him twice but were incomplete both times. It’s nice to see them trying to get him mismatches down the field, because we all know that Kris can be a deep threat at times.

OK this is extremely late, but it’s just been a really hectic week.

Indianapolis Colts 22
Tennessee Titans 20
Clint Session saw action on special teams, in what I believe was his first time on the field for a regular season game. He got his name in the gamebook about as quickly as possible, assisting on a tackle on the opening kickoff. Unfortunately that’s the last we heard from him. At least his team is 2-0.

Houston Texans 34
Carolina Panthers 21
Nick Goings got his action returning kicks Sunday. He had 5 returns for 101 yards, for a nice 20 yard average and a long of 29. Pretty good day. Oh wait, there was that fumble. Some Carolina fans (by some I mean most fans on Carolina message boards) are blaming Nick for a large part of the loss. I think that’s overreaction, but here’s what happened. After their first possession of the second half Houston went up 24-14. Goings takes the kick and the Panthers are looking to answer and stay in the game. Instead he fumbles and it’s ran in for a touchdown by Houston…31-14…ballgame. Houston seemed to be moving the ball well on Carolina anyways, and there’s no way to say Carolina could have gotten back to within three on that drive…but Nick looks like the goat in Carolina.

San Francisco 49ers 17
St Louis Rams 14
Shawntae Spencer had another pretty decent game as the nickel back for the 49ers, with 4 tackles and a pass defensed.

Of course as punter for the 49ers, everyday is a busy day. Andy Lee had 8 punts and put 4 of them inside the 20 with only one touchback. He averaged over 41 yards per punt, and he was obviously placing a good number of those punts so he wasn’t just booming away.

Cincinnatti Bengals 45
Cleveland Browns 51
First of all, this game was awesome…love seeing the Bengals lose to the Browns. Darnell Dinkins played on special teams and finished with two tackles, one solo. He also returned a kick as an up man for 11 yards.

Seattle Seahawks 20
Arizona Cardinals 23
Larry Fitzgerald had a pretty active day catching the football but still didn’t get in the end zone. He finished with 7 catches for 87 yards, giving him over 21 yards per catch.

Gerald Hayes had a decent day as well with 7 tackles, 6 of them being solos. He didn’t get creditfor a forced fumble in the official stats, but anyone watching knows Hayes made one of the biggest plays of the game. With the game tied and less than two minutes to play Hayes disrupted a handoff in the backfield that led to a fumble and the Cardinals getting the ball at the Seahawk 36. That set up Neil Rackers for the game winning field goal. The one knock on Hayes is that he isn’t in the backfield much and doesn’t get sacks. Hopefully we see a lot more plays out of Hayes like that this season.

Kansas City Chiefs 10
Chicago Bears 20
Ruben Brown had a typical day for a lineman – only in the stats when things go bad. He picked up a holding penalty in the fourth and had a tackl when Chicago was intercepted earlier in the game.

Kris Wilson got his second NFL start at fullback  for the Chiefs, and it went better than his first game. He ended up with 4 catches for 34 yards. And no fumbles. Was still a weird day for Kris though, as after the first half of play he had 2 catches for 35 yards, including a catch and run for 31 yards. In the second half he had 2 catches for -1 yards.

New York Jets 13
Baltimore Ravens 20
Darrelle Revis got his second NFL start in as many games for the Jets. He finished nicely with 6 tackles, 5 solo and 2 passes defensed.

Hank Poteat also saw playing time for the Jets, but had no tackles.

Each week here at PITP we will be recapping all of the games that Panther Alumns took part in. Let’s get moving on week one after the jump

New England Patriots 38
New York Jets 14
Darrelle Revis got the start at cornerback and played very well, as we reviewed yesterday. He officially finished up with 7 tackles, 5 solo. Hank Poteat also got some playing time at defensive back for the Jets, but didn’t record any tackles or passes defensed.

Miami Dolphins 13
Washington Redskins 16
HB Blades played special teams in his first NFL game, recording two tackles on punt coverage.

Kansas City Chiefs 3
Houston Texans 20
Kris Wilson got his first NFL start at fullback, though in KC’s offense it is more like Chris Cooley in Washington is an H-Back. Things did not go well to say the least. Wilson had one official catch for -4 yards. That would have been enough, but Wilson actually caught one other pass in the game…and promptly fumbled it which led to Mario Williams recovering it and returning it for his first NFL touchdown. Wilson was only thrown to one more time for an incompletion, but he did also pick up a holding penalty in the second half. Hopefully things get better from here for Kris.

Carolina Panthers 27
St Louis Rams 13
Nick Goings played sparingly for the Panthers Sunday and only recorded one special teams tackle, no rushes or receptions.

Chicago Bears 3
San Diego Chargers 14
Ruben Brown started his 174 regular season game, but Chicago’s offense never got going behind him. Lousaka Polite was inactive for the game.

Arizona Cardinals 17
SanFrancisco 49ers 20
This game was full of Panthers, including announcer Mike Ditka (please…let’s go easy on Ditka…last night was embarrassing enough for anyone actually listening to that mess in the broadcast booth).

We’ll start with the Cardinals. Obviously Larry Fitzgerald and Gerald Hayes got the starts at WR and MLB respectively. Larry finished with just 3 catches for 20 yards as the Cards’ offense was pretty pathetic all night. The first pass of the night for Arizona was intended for Fitz and was intercepted…and the last pass of the night was intended for Fitz and was intercepted by Pitt’s own Shawntae Spencer, more on that later. That did allow Larry to pick up his 3rd tackle of his career. There were 4 other pass attempts Larry’s way but they fell incomplete. Speaking of tackles, Hayes finished with only 3 on the night, 2 solo. That’s a poor performance for a MLBgoing up against a running back that gets the ball as much as Frank Gore. Hayes was quiet mostof the night for those who watched, although he did chase down Alex Smith on a play late that I thought was going to be a big play in helping Arizona get the win. Not to be.

As for the 49ers, they have Andy Lee punting and Shawntae Spencer playing nickel back. This was a busy night for punters on both teams, and Lee had 6 punts for a 41.7 average but put none inside the 20. Lee also is the holder on placekicks. Spencer contributed 3 tackles, 2 solo, but as mentioned above he ended the game with a very nice interception over Fitzgerald where he had excellent downfield coverage. He also had an illegal contact penalty, but it didn’t do any damage.

Update…found this pic of Spencer celebrating after his game-ending interception:

Eight games with former Panthers on the field yesterday, so let’s get right to it:

New Orleans 18
Carolina 21
Nick Goings did play, coming back from his thigh injury, but didn’t get much action. He did get a holding call in the 4th quarter. His biggest play of the game was probably his recovery of an onside kick with less than two minutes left with New Orleans trying to get a chance to tie the game.

Dallas 45
Tennessee 14
Another fullback not seeing much action was

Arizona 10
Atlanta 32
Larry Fitzgerald
Gerald Hayes

Indianapolis 31
New York Jets 28
Kevan Barlow

San Francisco 0
Kansas City 41
Antonio Bryant was part of the overwhelmed San Fran offense, finishing with only two catches for 29 yards on the day. I can’t imagine the loss of Vernon Smith really hurt SF this much, maybe it was just an off day…at least AB and company had better hope so.
Shawntae Spencer
One guy who is always busy when his team gets blown out is the punter.

For KC, Kris Wilson’s only true action was a tackle on a kickoff. KC probably wasn’t throwing the ball much late, but if you can’t get a touch when your team puts up 41 points…that’s probably not a good sign.

Cleveland 24
Oakland 21
Darnell Dinkins

New England 38
Cincinnati 13
Hank Poteat
Seattle 6
Chicago 37
Ruben Brown

On Wednesday…had some problems getting to a working computer the last few days, but better late than never I guess. Without any byes, the NFL still has a full slate and lots of Panthers in action:

Houston 24
Indianapolis 43
Charles Spencer had a tough assignment in his second NFL start. Not only was he in one of the loudest buildings in all of football, he was lining up against Dwight Freeney. Things seemed to be going pretty well for Spencer though. The Texans were averaging over 4 yards per carry on the day, Freeney had only one tackle and no sacks…and then the Texans got the ball for their first drive in the 3rd quarter. Spencer went down and his return was “questionable”. Turned out he had broken his leg and was done for quite a while. I’ll have more on this in a story later this morning.

Tampa Bay 3
Atlanta 14
Torrie Cox had an up and down day for the Bucs Sunday. He ended up with four total tackles, one on special teams, and was in on a play that led to a fumble that gave Tampa the ball in good field position although he wasn’t credited with the forced fumble. After playing pretty well in pass coverage most of the day he was flagged for illegal contact that kept an Atlanta drive alive, but they ended up missing a field goal so no real harm was done.
Dave Moore did not play because of his rib injury.

Arizona 10
Seattle 21
Larry Fitzgerald had a rare game with under 100 yards receiving Sunday, finishing with only four receptions for 52 yards. Seattle’s defense did a great job of covering down the field with their zone defenses. Running back Edgerrin James was the Cards‘ leading receiver.
Gerald Hayes had a much better day, finishing with only four tackles but he also intercepted a Matt Hasselback pass when the Seahwaks were driving to score again before the half. Unfortunately Neil Rackers missed the field goal before the half that would have given Arizona more momentum going into the half.

St Louis 13
San Francisco 20
Antonio Bryant had the game winning score on a 72 yard touchdown pass that I should have video of posted soon. That capped a four catch, 131 yard day for Bryant, who had been frustrated again in the first quarter with his lack of catches. More on that later today as well.
Shawntae Spencer started in his usual spot at left corner and his hamstring seems to be completely healed. He ended with four tackles and one pass defensed.
Andy Lee’s job as the 49er punter isn’t as busy this year as it was last year, but he still had four punts Sunday, putting two inside the 20 yard line. The other two were from inside his own 30, and went 54 and 46 yards. He also held on all San Fran field goal and extra point attempts as usual.

New England 24
New York Jets 17
Kevan Barlow did not start as we thought he might on Sunday, but he did get more than twice the carries of starter Derrick Blaylock. Barlow finished with 14 carries for 42 yards and one catch for four yards. I should have some video of Kevan up tomorrow.
Washington 10
Dallas 27
Lou Polite had a quiet day, as most days are for fullbacks in Bill Parcell’s offenses. Bledsoe threw incomplete to Polite twice, and the rest of the day was all blocking for Lou and they don’t put that in the papers.

Kansas City 6
Denver 9
Kris Wilson got in the game but had no passes thrown his way again in a defensive game.

Inactives:
Rob Pettiti was inactive for the Saints.
Nick Goings was inactive for the Panthers.
Darnell Dinkins was out with a hamstring for the Browns.

Sorry for no posting over the weekend, but even bloggers have somewhat of a life…not much was happening until the season got into full swing yesterday anyways. Here’s a quick rundown of how former Panthers did in their games yesterday around the league, probably a more detailed follow-up on some of these later today.

Philadelphia 24
Houston 10
Charles Spencer started his first NFL regular-season game at left tackle. He did have a false start in the second quarter, but other than that no penalties. Houston only had 70 yards rushing and David Carr was sacked five times, not exactly good stats for an O-lineman to see. I’ll be looking around for some more information on how Spencer played later today.

New Orleans 19
Cleveland 14
Darnell Dinkins played special teams for Cleveland, but did not make a tackle.

Rob Petitti didn’t dress for the Saints.

Atlanta 20
Carolina 6
Nick Goings played special teams for the Panthers and recorded his only tackle covering a punt in the second quarter.

Baltimore 27
Tampa Bay 0
Torrie Cox also played on special teams for the Buccaneers. He finished with one tackle covering a punt in the first quarter. On a day Baltimore kicked off basically the entire game, Cox only had one kickoff come his way, but returned it for 26 yards. Maybe Baltimore was afraid and kicking away from Torrie.

New York Jets 23
Tennessee 16
Kevan Barlow made his Jets debut and scored on a one yard run in the second quarter. He was second on the team in carries with 11, but was only one yard behind Derrick Blaylock, who had 19 carries. Barlow ended up with 35 yards on his 11 carries for a 3.2 ypc average. Not too bad for a Jets team that didn’t seem like it could run the ball with anyone most of the day.

Cincinnati 23
Kansas City 10
Kris Wilson played sparingly for the Chiefs, and didn’t get any special teams tackles or receptions on offense. Maybe all that talk about three tight end sets in the preseason was just talk.

San Francisco 27
Arizona 34
Larry Fitzgerald is the headliner as far as Pitt alumni go in the league right now, and he didn’t disappoint on Sunday. He finished with 9 catches for 133 yards, but couldnt’ get into the end zone. Kurt Warner threw to Larry a total of 14 times and Larry dropped a few catchable balls, so he easily could have had 11 or 12 catches and gone over 200 yards if he had grabbed a few of those.
Gerald Hayes is the other starting Panther for the Cardinals, starting at middle linebacker. Hayes led the defense from the start and ended up with five tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery that he returned to the 49ers 5 yard line. Big game for Gerald’s starting debut.

For San Francisco, Shawntae Spencer was back from his injured hamstring to start at corner. He finished with 6 total tackles and a pass defensed. Can’t say it was a great day for him though as Kurt Warner pretty much threw the ball all over the field at will all day. I’m sure Shawntae’s receiver, whether it was Boldin or Fitzgerald, got their share of catches.
Antonio Bryant almost matchd Larry’s yardage total, with 4 catches for 114 yards including a 46 yarder. He also couldn’t get in the end zone though. He was thrown to five other times for incompletions, picked up a holding call on a running play, and was slapped with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for taunting.
The final Panther in the game was punter Andy Lee. Usually punting for San Francisco is a pretty busy job, and Andy made the most of his opportunities on Saturday. He put three of his four punts inside the 20, including one downed at the 5 in teh second half. Andy also holds on all field goals and extra points for the 49ers.

Seven games on the preseason NFL slate last night featured former Panthers, thank goodness the preseason is almost over…

New England 23
New York Giants 31
Mike Jemison might not have helped his case to make the Giants last night. He didn’t get in the game until the 4th quarter, which is a bad sign when almost no starters are playing, and got nine carries almost in a row. Those nine carries went for 22 yards, only a 2.4 average. That was the good part though, as he fumbled on his final carry and didn’t get another opportunity. To be fair to Mike the Giants only had time for one more rushing play in the game, but it wasn’t with Jemison. Check back for roster news in the next week, as there will be plenty of moves.

Carolina 15
Pittsburgh 13
Nick Goings was the only former Panther in this game, and most likely already had a roster spot locked up going into last night. He finished with only four yards on five carries, but did get two receptions for ten yards and one tackle on special teams. More on Nick later today.

Minnesota 10
Dallas 10
Lousaka Polite had a pretty uneventful night, a few passes thrown to him were all incomplete, but he did assist on a tackle on special teams. His play on special teams and his versatility out of the backfield is helping him make this team more than his ability to block as a fullback it seems. Parcells just doesn’t seem to use a fullback in the traditional role much.
Rob Petitti did play, but I haven’t searched around the web yet to get how much he played or if it was at right or left tackle. This was a big game for Rob and I should have some more info later on today.

Chicago 20
Cleveland 7
Ruben Brown started for the Bears, which is somewhat surprising in the final preseason game. I’m assuming he played only one series as there is basically no info on anything he did in the game.

Darnell Dinkins had three receptions for 27 yards, in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. He should be a lock to make the team as of today.

Tampa Bay 13
Houston 16
Torrie Cox did not play in this game, which could be a good sign for him, as mostly all the starters were held out. I have not seen any info that he was hurt, so I will assume it was a good thing he was held out of the game.
Dave Moore did play on kick coverage getting an assist and was the long snapper on most of the kicks and punts. More news on Dave’s situation later today, possibly not in a good way.

Charles Spencer did start at left tackle, as expected, and didn’t commit any penalties this game. Looks like Charles is getting more settled in his role as a starter.

New Orleans 9
Kansas City 10
Josh Lay played a good bit in this one, battling for that last roster spot with Anwar Philips. Josh got two tackles but did commit an illegal contact penalty. Philips seemed to play more though, with five tackles and an assist without committing any penalties. Look for updates here as they are available.

Kris Wilson played, but was only thrown to once for an incompletion.

Denver 29
Arizona 23
Larry Fitzgerald started and made one catch for 26 yards before exiting early with the starters.
Gerald Hayes seemed to play a lot more, starting and still being on the field to make a tackle in the 3rd quarter. Hayes finished up with three tackles, and committed a holding penalty on defense.

Brandon Miree did get in the game for Denver, but the only time the ball came his way was on an incomplete two-pointconversion attempt. Not a good sign for Brandon, although he may make the squad as a fullback.

Five games featuring Panthers from Saturday night, Torrie Cox and Josh Lay with big nights at defensive back. Look for video of a lot of these plays soon. I’m out of town or there would have been video included in this post. 

Cleveland 20
Buffalo 17
Darnell Dinkins was the only Panther on either roster for this game after Buffalo dropped Matt Morgan last week. Dinkins did play in the game but had no balls thrown to him and committed no penalties. He is expected to make the team as the third tight end.

Indianapolis 27
New Orleans 14
Josh Lay had a more eventful game for New Orleans, and it started on the opening kickoff when Josh tackled the returner. In the fourth quarter Lay picked off a Shaun King pass and returned it 24 yards. The Colts had been driving to score again when Josh picked off the pass. This has to help Josh make the team as a special teams player and as a dime defensive back. We will be updating this week as cuts are made.

San Francisco 7
Dallas 17
Antonio Bryant was made into somewhat of the story heading into this game, facing off against Bill Parcels, whom he had thrown a jersey at when he played on the Cowboys, before being traded to the Browns. Bryant was thrown to 5 times for two catches for 24 yards. He also made a tackle on a ball thrown to him that was intercepted.

Andy Lee, as reported here again yesterday, is battling for his punting job. Unlike last week when Andy got the majority of the punts, this week he had two punts for 78 yards while his competition Rouen got three punts and put all three inside the 20. I still think Lee wins his job, but this game did not help at all. Look back here for updates early this week as teams go into cuts.

For Dallas, Rob Petitti did not start as we thoguht he might. He did play in the game, though I’m not sure what the split between right and left tackle was. This has been a hard story to follow, as Rob has gone from a virtual lock for the right tackle spot to third string right tackle, to being the team’s “Swing tackle” and then yesterday it seemed he is back in the battle for the right tackle spot. I think eventually he will be the swing tackle, backing up both right and left.

Lousaka Polite did play at fullback as usual, getting only one carry for four yards. He is Dallas’ only fullback.

Tampa Bay 18
Jacksonville 19
First of all, that is one of the weirdest football scores I have ever seen.

Torrie Cox didn’t start for Tampa Bay, but was in on the second defensive play to make a tackle on Fred Taylor. He is a lock to make this team as a nickel or dime back. Torrie also had a pass defensed on a really nice play downfield later in the game. He finished with three solo tackles, one assist and a pass defensed.

One area Torrie hasn’t got to show off his skills much this preseason has been returning kicks. He made the most of his opportunity though, returning the opening kickoff of the second half for 49 yards. Hopefully he gets more and more chances to return kicks, as Pitt fans know how good he can be in that role.

Dave Moore handled all of the long-snapping duties, and he will make the team in that role.

St Louis 12
Kansas City 16
Kris Wilson was in on some two and three tight end sets and as the main tight end later in the game, but only had one ball thrown his way for an incompletion. Kris will make the Chiefs roster as their third tight end.

Just some news blurbs from around the NFL. Nothing major, so figured I’d just throw these all in a notebook style post.

A few articles in Arizona have noted what we reported here last week, Gerald Hayes has seemingly locked up the starting MLB spot for the Cardinals. azcentral.com:

Gerald Hayes started at middle linebacker and has apparently won that job.

East Valley Tribune:

As expected, Gerald Hayes got the start at middle linebacker and should remain the starter.

Rob Petitti will start if Flozell Adams can’t go on Saturday. We reported that here yesterday. The news today from the Cowboys official site is Parcells has said he may still be a candidate to start at right tackle, where he started all 16 games as a rookie:

Parcells also hasn’t officially named a starting center or right tackle yet. Andre Gurode worked at first-team center for most of training camp, but Parcells has said last year’s starter, Al Johnson, is better suited against the 4-3 defenses Dallas will face exclusively after Saturday’s game.

Parcells plans to rotate Jason Fabini and Marc Colombo at right tackle for the second consecutive game. Last year’s starter, Rob Petitti, will play left tackle again Saturday, but Parcells says he’s still a candidate on the right side. The Cowboys will need Petitti to rotate with seven-round pick Pat McQuistan if Flozell Adams (strained calf muscle) doesn’t play.

Kris Wilson is featured as one of the “Five Things to Know” about the Kansas City Chiefs on cbssportsline.com:

Maybe this is the season tight end Kris Wilson makes a name for himself. Wilson, who was supposed to be a weapon, hasn’t been a factor in his two NFL seasons — with only three catches in 17 games. But that might change, with Wilson more involved in the offense at practices and coaches more determined to get him the ball. I know, it’s tough when you play the same position as Tony Gonzalez, but expect the Chiefs to use two tight ends … maybe three … more than they have in the past.

The author doesn’t mention that Kris sat out almost an entire year with an injury. This is the latest in a series of articles in the last month that say Wilson will be in a lot of two and three tight end sets in KC this season. That might be how they will make up for hte loss of some key lineman up front as well.

Curtis Martin gets another feature article saying he wasn’t recognized enough in the last decade. Odd that the people writing these articles are probably some of the guilty reporters they are pointing to. This time it’s the Sporting News telling us what we already knew, that Martin was one of the best ever:

There goes one of the greatest players in NFL history.

I’m talking about Curtis Martin, the fourth-leading rusher of all time, whose degenerative knee could throw him for a career-ending loss. Ten months after having arthroscopic surgery, Martin is nowhere near ready for some football. He is on the Jets’ physically unable to perform (PUP) list and has been rehabbing behind the scenes during training camp. The chances of him playing again are not looking good.

Even if Martin doesn’t return for a 12th NFL season, which always has been his goal, he has secured his place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His 14,101 rushing yards rank behind only Emmitt Smith (18,355), Walter Payton (16,726) and Barry Sanders (15,269). And Martin and Sanders are the only players to rush for at least 1,000 yards in each of their first 10 seasons.

At least they’ve finally noticed, I guess better late than never.

As reported here last week, Andy Lee is indeed battling for his job in San Francisco:

Competition still exists at punter between veteran Tom Rouen and incumbent Andy Lee, at free safety between Mike Adams and Mark Roman and with the trio of Kwame Harris, Justin Smiley and Adam Snyder at right guard and right tackle.

Only one game with a Pitt alumni last night, as Kansas City visited the New York Football Giants.

The Chiefs started in a two tight end set but it did not include Kris Wilson. Tony Gonzalez is obviously the true starting tight end, the other was blocking specialist Jason Dunn. Wilson did play from the second quarter on and came away with 2 receptions for 16 yards, including a 12 yard reception on a 3rd and 9 that was deflected before Kris got his hands on it to keep the drive going which later ended in a punt. Kris was in the game after starter Trent Green had been replaced by second year QB Casey Printers.

The Giants surprisingly featured RB Mike Jemison in the second half, giving the former Panther 10 carries for 37 yards including a rush of 13 and adding one reception for another 13 yards. Jemison played only in the second half, but looked good running the ball after starting slow with only 1 yard on his first four carries. Jemison led the Giants in carries for the game.

You can vote for Mike as the most impressive player in the Giants win on their official home page.

There were several Pitt alumni in action on Saturday. I, of course, was watching the Steelers – Cardinals game which featured Larry Fitzgerald and Gerald Hayes on the Cardinals. Larry was his usual all-pro self early with some big 3rd down catches, and finished with 2 catches for 33 yards. Hayes was surprising Cardinals fans on some message boards I visited as he led the team in tackles with 7, had an interception and forced a fumble.

Nick Goings was in the game for Carolina, but got no carries.

Kris Wilson had a catch for 6 yards in the KC – Houston Game. Charles Spencer played but did not start and was flagged for an illegal formation penalty. Ramon Walker did not play.

Josh Lay played but did not start for New Orleans in their game against the Titans and finished with one tackle.

Lousaka Polite had 2 catches for 9 yards. He didn’t start only because the Cowboys don’t start a FB, he is the only FB on their roster. Lou also picked up a penalty for interfering with a punt returner’s ability to catch a punt. Rob Petitti did not start at tackle.

Writer Bob Gretz has a column on the Chiefs’ official website begging the team to use three tight end sets all over the field this year. He says this is better for Larry Johnson than a fullback…but the real reason? Third year tight end Kris Wilson’s performance so far in training camp. Getz says if Wilson can keep performing as he has and be a good receiving tight end, this offense would have limitless possibilities.

The wildcard in this grouping is Wilson…Wilson remains largely untested because he was injured his rookie season (2004) and forgotten in his second year (2005.) He has but three catches in 17 games. But in this training camp, Wilson has been consistent in his play and production. He’s also been asked in this camp to play a number of different positions: tight end, fullback and F-Back, which most teams label the H-Back. He has responded well and has made an impression on the head coach and the offensive staff.

…

For this to work, the lynchpin is Wilson. He must continue on the path he’s taken in this training camp. If he can stay healthy and continue to handle the multiple loads put on him, and if he’s not forgotten as he was last season, then the Chiefs offense can be just as productive, but in a very different way than it has been in the past.

I’d direct Mr. Getz to some film of Wilson going deep up the middle for Pitt, forcing safeties to come off of Larry Fitzgerald and really opening up the field. We Pitt fans all know that Kris has the hands and the ability to take this role. Hopefully the KC coaching staff is listening.