John Clay’s Sidelines

Reports out of Miami tell us that Brian Hartline, wide receiver from Ohio State, is making quite an impression as a fourth-round pick of the Miami Dolphins.

Oh yeah, Brian is also the brother of UK quarterback Mike Hartline.

This from the “Rapid Report” done by CBS Sportsline’s Jeff Shain:

Aug 5 2009 | 5:21:29 pm
Rookie WR Brian Hartline turned in a standout effort, with two highlight grabs among his four catches. A diving snare of Chad Henne’s deep throw came in 7-on-7; he later outjumped CB Sean Smith for a Chad Pennington pass.

This from the Miami Herald’s Armando Salugero:

Brian Hartline was the most active of any previous practice, catching three passes in one-on-one drills vs. the defensive backs. Fellow rookie Patrick Turner also continues to impress indoors. He beat Will Allen twice in the one-on-ones and one of those went for a TD on a deep pass.

Ex-LSU quarterback Matt Flynn has surpassed former U of L star Brian Brohm as Green Bay's No. 2 quarterback

An interesting tidbit jumped from the news reports this week concerning the playing status of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, whose aching shoulder keep him out of Sunday’s game with the Atlanta Falcons.

With Rodgers possibly on the shelf, you might think that ex-Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, the team’s second-round draft pick, would be the obvious replacement starter.

You thought wrong.

Ex-LSU quarterback Matt Flynn, a seventh-round selection last year, will make the start against the Falcons should Rodgers be unable to go.

As Lori Nickel writes in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

Flynn’s unflappable style and hard-charging exhibition performances propelled him past the polished and game-ready Brohm. It’s not every day you see a seventh-round draft pick bypass a second-round pick in a high profile position in a few short weeks. But the coaches chose Flynn over Brohm, knowing full well that the day might come that they would have to replace an injured Rodgers with one of the rookies.

It’s been a tough year for Brohm. U of L dipped to 6-6 his senior season. Then after a year in which many of the mock draft projected the ex-Trinity star as the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, Brohm slid to the second round. Now, he has been beaten out for the second-string spot by someone who may believed wasn’t the best quarterback at LSU last season. (Ryan Perrilloux possessed more athletic skills.)

On the other hand, perhaps Brohm is being afforded a blessing. Recent history shows that quarterbacks rushed into action before they’re ready rarely fare well in the long-run. Ask Tim Couch. Ask David Carr. Better that Brohm stands and watches from an upright position than learn flat on his back.

Cincinnati Enquirer sports columnist and WLW radio sports-talk host Paul Daugherty admits this morning he’s a turncoat.

Once an unabashed NFL fan, Doc has switched its allegiance to the college game. Maybe it’s years of watching the Bengals. Maybe it’s the resurgence of UC football. Either way, Doc writes that he now finds the collegiate version superior to the play-for-play sport.

Excerpt:

As for me, I love both. Each has its charms. I find the BCS maddening, but admit that these days all NFL teams play relatively the same. I like that any NFL team (except for the Bengals, of course) can rise up and beat any other NFL team, while for the most part the college powers remain the college powers. Then again, nothing beats the charged atmosphere of a college football game.

What do you think? Would love to hear your preference.

As expected, Andre Woodson was chosen for the New York Giants' practice squad. Though the ex-Kentucky quarterback was cut by New York on Friday, Woodson cleared waivers and was re-signed by the Giants as a member of their seven-player practice squad.

This from the New York Post:

Thanks to alert reader Ryan, who passed along this e-mail and Wesley Woodyard link from the Mile High City:

As for the Woodyard feature, a highlight:

Sounds like the Wesley Woodyard we know.

One week to go before the start of the NFL season. So this past weekend was an important one for some ex-UK football players trying to make rosters:

• Jared Lorenzen completed seven of 11 passes for 52 yards in Indianapolis’ 20-7 loss to visiting Buffalo. The Colts No. 2 quarterback, Jim Sorgi, missed the game because of a sore knee. Phillip B. Wilson, blogger for the Indianapolis Star, wrote, “I'm guessing Lorenzen has the upper hand on the mistake-prone Gray going into their final game. I expect both to play a half in the preseason finale. Starters, or in this case, even backup Jim Sorgi with a gimpy right knee, probably won't see much action.”

• Steve Johnson caught one pass for four yards for the Bills in the victory over Indianapolis.

• Indy's Jacob Tamme caught one pass for 12 yards.

• Quarterback Shane Boyd did not play in Houston’s 23-22 loss to Dallas. That might not bode well for Boyd making the roster.

• Keenan Burton, right, caught three passes for 63 yards and a touchdown in St. Louis’ 24-10 win over Baltimore. He has five catches for 74 yards in the pre-season. Bill Coats wrote in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “Terrific in the June minicamp, Burton leveled off a bit during training camp. His most likely role will be as the fourth or fifth wideout.”

• Wesley Woodyard has played well enough with Denver that the Broncos may cut experienced linebackers. From Mike Klis of the Denver Post, "Will the starting middle linebacker be announced Monday? Niko Koutouvides is assured of making the 53-man roster, but will he be playing ahead of, or watching, Nate Webster in the opener at Oakland? Two of the Broncos' best special-teams players — Jordan Beck and Louis Green — are linebackers, but there may not be room for both with the emergence of rookie Wesley Woodyard."

• The Titans are expected to place Rafael Little on the Physically Unable to Perform list on Tuesday.

• Andre Woodson completed three of eight passes for 41 yards in the New York Giants 10-7 loss to the Jets.

Andre Woodson did make his NFL debut, exhibition debut anyway, but just for two series at the end of the New York Giants 37-34 win over visiting Cleveland tonight.

It was thought that the ex-UK quarterback would play the third quarter for the Giants, with veteran David Carr taking over in the final period. But when backup Anthony Wright hurt his hand in the second quarter, Carr entered and stayed through the third quarter and the first series of the final quarter. That series started at New York's own nine-yard line, which is probably why Tom Coughlin decided to go with his veteran instead of the rookie Woodson.

Finally, with 6:58 left, Woodson entered the game. His first series was a quick three-and-out. He threw his one and only pass on the final play of the series. A slant pass never materialized, however, when the receiver Craphonso Thorpe ran into the Cleveland defender. The pass fell incomplete.

Woodson returned for New York's next possession, which started with just 2:19 left. New York ran five plays, all handoffs, to run out the clock.

That was it. Will be interesting to see the extent of Anthony Wright's injury. That could figure into whether Woodson earns a roster spot. There has been some speculation that New York will waive Woodson, and then try to re-sign him for the practice squad.

The Giants play the Jets on Saturday.

Andre Woodson will make his NFL debut, exhibition style, tonight.

Yes, we did say that last time, and Woodson didn't get into the New York Giants-Carolina exhibition opener.

But by all reports, tonight should be different when the Giants play host to the Cleveland Browns.

Woodson is battling veterans Anthony Wright and David Carr for roster spots behind starter Eli Manning.

There's this report from the New York Daily News:

The New York Post says Woodson has a "Giant task at hand."

An excerpt:

The game is at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

"Tamme Time" is the headline on a feature story on Colts.com about ex-UK tight end Jacob Tamme, who turned some heads by making five catches for 57 yards and two touchdowns in Indianapolis 23-20 loss at Carolina over the weekend.

Some story highlights:

• “Any time the lights are on, you want to make a good impression,” Tamme said. “It was one of those nights where you got an opportunity to make some plays and the balls were right there. Fortunately, I made them.”

• “He played really well,” Colts starting tight end Dallas Clark said. “The opportunities he had, he took advantage of them. He played awesome and made some big-time plays out there against some good defenders. It’s definitely a confidence-builder for him. Slowly, it will all come together.”

• Tamme caught a nine-yard touchdown pass on 3rd-and-7 to cap a seven-play 65-yard drive and pull the Colts to within seven, 17-10.

• Two possessions later, Tamme caught four passes for 48 yards on a seven-play, 54-yard drive that ended when Jared Lorenzen found Tamme open in the right corner of the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown pass that cut the Panthers’ lead to three, 20-17.

• “Jared put the balls right there – all I had to do was catch them,” Tamme said. “It was a good night in that respect. As a rookie, you can’t ask for anything more than to get a chance to make some touchdown catches. I just try to get in there and do my job. It’s a one-day-at-a-time type of thing. This happened to be a day where I got a chance to get out and make some plays.”

And this from a Canadian Press story:

• "He's done a lot of the things we saw him doing in college, he's doing the things we've seen him do in practice and he's done it all well," coach Tony Dungy said after Monday morning's practice at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

Trying to nail down an NFL roster spot, ex-UK quarterback Shane Boyd played well in Houston’s 19-16 win over Denver on Saturday.

In fact, Boyd led the Texans on their game-winning drive, a 15-play, 54-yard drive that set up Kris Brown’s winning 25-yard field goal.

Matt Schaub is Houston’s starter. Backup Sage Rosenfels completed 10 of 15 passes for 137 yards Saturday. Meanwhile, Boyd completed four of five passes for 25 yards, plus ran five times for 28 yards.

From the Houston Chronicle game story:

Boyd, who turns 26 on Sept. 18, has bounced around the league. He was with Tennessee in 2005, with Pittsburgh and Arizona in 2006, and Houston in 2007, but has yet to play in a regular-season NFL game.

Here are Boyd's NFL stops:

• Signed by Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent on April 29, 2005.
• Waived by Titans on Aug. 29, 2005.
• Signed by Pittsburgh Steelers on Feb. 17, 2006.
• Waived by Steelers on Sept. 2, 2006.
• Signed by Arizona Cardinals to practice squad on Sept. 4, 2006
• Signed to Cardinals' active roster on Dec. 26, 2006.
• Waived by Cardinals on Aug. 31, 2007.
• Signed by Houston Texans to practice squad on Oct. 24, 2007.
• Signed by Texans to the active roster on Dec. 7, 2007.