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NFL update: Cougars catching TDs and a 'freak' injury
By Aaron Shill
Mormon Times
Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009
Austin Collie had his first career professional touchdown catch last week.
But he still hasn't caught Ryan Denney.
The two former BYU Cougars were among the Mormons who made headlines early on in the National Football League regular season. The first four weeks also featured a freak injury, a fine for a late hit on a superstar and some notable play by a former Ute lineman.
Collie, a rookie receiver for the Indianapolis Colts, set the school record for career touchdown catches with 30 in just three seasons at BYU. His first NFL score came last week when he hauled in a 21-yard pass from quarterback Peyton Manning in the end zone against Seattle. Collie had six catches for 65 yards in the game.
The rookie has been praised for his play filling in for the injured Anthony Gonzalez. A recent column in the Indianapolis Star began with an anecdote about Collie's wife, Brooke, quizzing him on the playbook. He also apparently tried to ignore the highlights of his diving TD catch.
"I try not to pay attention to those types of things because that is one week," he said.
Ryan Denney scores a touchdown on a fake field goal against New Orleans. Photo: David Duprey, Associated Press
Though Denney has played on the defensive line throughout his career with the Cougars and Buffalo Bills, he is still one-up on Collie. Denney, a backup defensive end, scored on a fake field goal in Week 3 against New Orleans. It was Denney's second career catch, and both have been touchdowns on fake field goal plays.
Denney, a returned Mormon missionary, caught the pass from a Moorman, and may be filling in for a Mormon at tight end.
Against the Saints, Denney took a pass from holder Brian Moorman, tiptoed the sideline into the end zone and jumped into the stands. According to BuffaloBills.com, Denney is also being considered as an emergency tight end. Starter Derek Schouman, a church member who had nine catches for 103 yards in the Bills' first two games, is out for the season with a knee injury.
"It's something I've done the last couple of years here when we've had a lot of tight end injuries," Denney told the Web site. "Those can put you in a bind with the roster and trying to get guys in for one week. Even in Week 1 I was working on some run blocking and some pass routes. It's mostly an emergency thing."
Injuries continue to hamper Eagles wide receiver Kevin Curtis, who missed several games last year with a sports hernia and sat out Philadelphia's Week 3 game against Kansas City. He'll return this Sunday.
"(The injury) is just part of the game sometimes ... ," Curtis told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "The goal is always to get right, and that's what I'm going to try and do."
A strange injury hit Broncos linebacker Spencer Larsen before he even got on the field. According to reports out of Denver, the second-year player from Arizona slipped and hurt his shoulder prior to a game.
"It was a freak situation where it was an accident in the locker room in terms of falling and putting his arm down wrong," head coach Josh McDaniels said. "I don't want to go into details. Slick surface, slipped, hit the ground. That's it."
Former BYU linebacker Bryan Kehl, who was labeled a "special teams marvel" by Newsday blogger Tom Rock, will sit out this weekend after having surgery on a broken finger. Last week against Kansas City, Kehl recovered a fumble on a kickoff and recovered an onside kick.
In Baltimore, where the Ravens feature five Latter-day Saints on their roster, rookie Paul Kruger saw his first playing time last week, while Haloti Ngata was fined $5,000 for a late hit on New England quarterback Tom Brady.
Jets defensive tackle Sione Pouha, a returned missionary, has made two starts this season for 3-1 New York. The former University of Utah lineman has made some impact plays that have been noted in the Newark Star-Ledger.
Pouha's former teammate at Utah, Eric Weddle, continues to excel in the Chargers' defensive backfield. The third-year safety returned an interception for a touchdown in San Diego's win over Miami in Week 3.
E-mail: ashill@desnews.com
Mormons in the NFL
# Injured reserve
But he still hasn't caught Ryan Denney.
The two former BYU Cougars were among the Mormons who made headlines early on in the National Football League regular season. The first four weeks also featured a freak injury, a fine for a late hit on a superstar and some notable play by a former Ute lineman.
Collie, a rookie receiver for the Indianapolis Colts, set the school record for career touchdown catches with 30 in just three seasons at BYU. His first NFL score came last week when he hauled in a 21-yard pass from quarterback Peyton Manning in the end zone against Seattle. Collie had six catches for 65 yards in the game.
The rookie has been praised for his play filling in for the injured Anthony Gonzalez. A recent column in the Indianapolis Star began with an anecdote about Collie's wife, Brooke, quizzing him on the playbook. He also apparently tried to ignore the highlights of his diving TD catch.
"I try not to pay attention to those types of things because that is one week," he said.
Ryan Denney scores a touchdown on a fake field goal against New Orleans. Photo: David Duprey, Associated Press
Denney, a returned Mormon missionary, caught the pass from a Moorman, and may be filling in for a Mormon at tight end.
Against the Saints, Denney took a pass from holder Brian Moorman, tiptoed the sideline into the end zone and jumped into the stands. According to BuffaloBills.com, Denney is also being considered as an emergency tight end. Starter Derek Schouman, a church member who had nine catches for 103 yards in the Bills' first two games, is out for the season with a knee injury.
"It's something I've done the last couple of years here when we've had a lot of tight end injuries," Denney told the Web site. "Those can put you in a bind with the roster and trying to get guys in for one week. Even in Week 1 I was working on some run blocking and some pass routes. It's mostly an emergency thing."
Injuries continue to hamper Eagles wide receiver Kevin Curtis, who missed several games last year with a sports hernia and sat out Philadelphia's Week 3 game against Kansas City. He'll return this Sunday.
"(The injury) is just part of the game sometimes ... ," Curtis told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "The goal is always to get right, and that's what I'm going to try and do."
A strange injury hit Broncos linebacker Spencer Larsen before he even got on the field. According to reports out of Denver, the second-year player from Arizona slipped and hurt his shoulder prior to a game.
"It was a freak situation where it was an accident in the locker room in terms of falling and putting his arm down wrong," head coach Josh McDaniels said. "I don't want to go into details. Slick surface, slipped, hit the ground. That's it."
Former BYU linebacker Bryan Kehl, who was labeled a "special teams marvel" by Newsday blogger Tom Rock, will sit out this weekend after having surgery on a broken finger. Last week against Kansas City, Kehl recovered a fumble on a kickoff and recovered an onside kick.
In Baltimore, where the Ravens feature five Latter-day Saints on their roster, rookie Paul Kruger saw his first playing time last week, while Haloti Ngata was fined $5,000 for a late hit on New England quarterback Tom Brady.
Jets defensive tackle Sione Pouha, a returned missionary, has made two starts this season for 3-1 New York. The former University of Utah lineman has made some impact plays that have been noted in the Newark Star-Ledger.
Pouha's former teammate at Utah, Eric Weddle, continues to excel in the Chargers' defensive backfield. The third-year safety returned an interception for a touchdown in San Diego's win over Miami in Week 3.
E-mail: ashill@desnews.com
Mormons in the NFL
- *Al Afalava, DB, Bears, Oregon State
- C.J. Ah You, DL, Rams, Oklahoma
- John Beck, QB, Ravens, BYU
- #Ryon Bingham, DL, Chargers, Nebraska
- #Stewart Bradley, LB, Eagles, Nebraska
- Kirk Chambers, OL, Bills, Stanford
- Austin Collie, WR, Colts, BYU
- *Chris Cooley, TE, Redskins, Utah State
- *Kevin Curtis, WR, Eagles, Utah State
- *John Denney, LS, Dolphins, BYU
- Ryan Denney, DE, Bills, BYU
- Jonathan Fanene, DL, Bengals, Utah
- Aaron Francisco, DB, Colts, BYU
- #Devin Frischknecht, TE, Packers, Washington State
- David Hale, OL, Ravens, Weber State
- *Todd Heap, TE, Ravens, Arizona State
- *Eric Heitmann, OL, 49ers, Stanford
- Chris Hoke, DL, Steelers, BYU
- Bryan Kehl, LB, Giants, BYU
- *Brett Keisel, DL, Steelers, BYU
- #Maake Kemoeatu, DL, Panthers, Utah
- Paul Kruger, DL, Ravens, Utah
- Spencer Larsen, FB, Broncos, Arizona
- *Deuce Lutui, OL, Cardinals, USC
- Brandon Manumaleuna, TE, Chargers, Arizona
- Fili Moala, DL, Colts, USC
- Shawn Murphy, OL, Dolphins, Utah State
- *Haloti Ngata, DL, Ravens, Oregon
- *Brady Poppinga, LB, Packers, BYU
- Sione Pouha, DT, Jets, Utah
- Cory Procter, OL, Cowboys, Montana
- #Derek Schouman, TE, Bills, Boise State
- *Naufahu Tahi, FB, Vikings, BYU
- *Eric Weddle, DB, Chargers, Utah
# Injured reserve
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