Hoos In The NFL: McLeod, Inman Highlight Week 1

With Week 1 of the NFL season in the books, here’s a rundown of how all the UVA alumni performed in their season openers.

The major contributors:

Branden Albert, Miami Dolphins – The Dolphins offense faced a tough matchup against the Seahawks defense. Albert and company struggled, allowing 5 sacks and gaining just 3.2 yards per carry. Albert was the starting LT and was in for every offensive play.

Ahmad Brooks, San Francisco 49ers – Brooks started at OLB for the 49ers and helped them shut out the Los Angeles Rams. He contributed 3 tackles, a sack and a QB hurry.

Eli Harold, San Francisco 49ers – Harold did not fare as well as Brooks in San Francisco’s victory. He only had a single tackle. But as long as Harold remains in the starting lineup, he'll have better days.

Dontrelle Inman, San Diego Chargers – Inman got the start when the Chargers opened the game in a 3 WR set. He had 1 reception for 6 yards. He was in for about 80% of the team’s offense, which was undoubtedly higher than it would’ve been had Chargers’ WR Keenan Allen not gone down with a knee injury. That injury should mean more targets and catches for Inman over the course of the season.

Chris Long, New England Patriots – New England’s defenders failed to distinguish themselves in the Pats’ opening week win. They weren’t bad and they got stops late when they needed it. Chris Long started at DE in the Pats 4-3 defense and recorded 3 tackles. He also had a sack and a QB hurry. It was a solid opener for the Pats free agent signee.

Rodney McLeod, Philadelphia Eagles – After signing a big free agent deal with the Eagles, McLeod started off on the right foot. In the opener against the Browns, he had 4 tackles, including one for loss. He also had an INT and a pass defensed. He’s also on the punt coverage unit.

Morgan Moses, Washington Redskins – Moses started at RT for the Skins Monday night and helped keep Kirk Cousins from being sacked by the Steelers. However, the Skins OL couldn't open up any holes in the running game, and Cousins was under pressure for much of the 2nd half. Though the offense put up 384 yards, they scored just 1 TD.

Austin Pasztor, Cleveland Browns – The Browns are bad. Pasztor is their starting RT, and that probably says something about their OL, since he’s been a guard for most of his career. The Cleveland offense played okay wasn’t too bad, averaged 5.7 yards per rush. On the downside, Robert Griffin III was sacked 3 times.

Versatile Contributors:

John Phillips, Denver Broncos – Playing his first game as a member of the defending champs, Phillips saw action on 6 plays on offense. He wasn’t targeted, but he did provide some good blocks in the running game. He also saw action on 8 special teams plays.

Brent Urban, Baltimore Ravens – The backup DE saw action on 7 defensive plays. He was also on the FG block team for 2 plays.

Special Teams Standouts:

Maurice Canady, Baltimore Ravens – Though he saw his first NFL action this week, Canady didn’t make the stat sheet. He was on for 16 special teams plays. He’s on all 4 return and coverage units.

Anthony Harris, Minnesota Vikings – Harris was in for 1 defensive play and also saw action on 9 special teams plays. He’s on both Vikings return teams.

LaRoy Reynolds, Atlanta Falcons – Seeing time only on special teams, Reynolds was in for 22 plays. That’s a lot. He’s on both coverage teams and both return teams.

Put Me In, Coach!:

Oday Aboushi, Houston Texans – Oday did not see action in the Texans season opener.

Luke Bowanko, Jacksonville Jaguars – Luke did not play in the Jags’ season opener.

Matt Schaub, Atlanta Falcons – Did not see action in Atlanta’s season opening loss to Tampa Bay.

Injured:

Cedric Peerman, Cincinnati Bengals – On IR, likely out for year with broken arm.

Canaan Severin, Pittsburgh Steelers – On Reserve/Injured list

We’ll be following the progress of these former Hoos throughout the season. Stay tuned to Streaking The Lawn for a weekly rundown!