Gators in the NFL - Week 17 (NFL Regular Season Recap)
Tuesday, January 4, 2011 | Football
There were 33 former University of Florida football players on NFL rosters in Week 17, the final week of the NFL regular season. Sixteen players started, while 28 earned playing time. Eleven of the 33 former UF players have advanced to the playoffs, which begin this Saturday.
NFL Gator Stats
· DE Alex Brown, New Orleans – started at defensive end in the Saints' loss to Tampa Bay, recording three tackles, one sack and a forced fumble. Finished the regular season with 39 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble in 16 games (all starts).
· WR Andre Caldwell, Cincinnati – started at wide receiver in the loss at Baltimore, catching seven passes for 94 yards. Finished the season with 25 catches for 345 yards.
· G Cooper Carlisle, Oakland – started at right guard in the Raiders' win at Kansas City. Finished the season starting all 16 games at right guard for the Raiders, and has started in the last 99 games he has appeared in dating back to Dec. 12, 2004.
· WR Riley Cooper, Philadelphia – started at wide receiver in the Eagles' loss to Dallas, catching one pass for five yards. Finished the regular season with seven catches for 116 yards and one touchdown, along with three special teams' tackles in 13 games (two starts).
· LB Channing Crowder, Miami – started at inside linebacker in the Dolphins' loss at New England, registering four tackles. Finished the season with 39 tackles in 11 games (all starts).
· LB Jermaine Cunningham, New England – played in the Patriots' win over Miami, but did not record any stats. Finished the regular season with 34 tackles and two forced fumbles in 15 games (11 starts).
· LB Andra Davis, Buffalo – injured reserve. Finished the season with 41 tackles, one interception and one forced fumble in six games (four starts) before being placed on injured reserve.
· DE Carlos Dunlap, Cincinnati – tallied four tackles (one for loss), 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery in the loss at Baltimore. Finished the season with a team-high 9.5 sacks in 12 games, while recording 24 tackles.
· WR Jabar Gaffney, Denver – caught one pass for 12 yards in the Broncos' loss to San Diego. Finished the season with 65 catches for 875 yards and two touchdowns in 16 games (11 starts).
· RB Earnest Graham, Tampa Bay – inactive. Finished the season with 20 carries for 99 yards and a touchdown in 12 games (seven starts), while throwing once for a two-yard touchdown.
· QB Rex Grossman, Washington – started in the Redskins' loss to the New York Giants, throwing for 336 yards and two touchdowns (one interception) on 26-of-44 passing, while rushing once for two yards. Finished the season with 74-of-133 through the air with seven touchdowns, four interceptions and a team-high 81.2 quarterback rating in four games (three starts).
· CB Joe Haden, Cleveland – started at cornerback in the Browns' loss to Pittsburgh, recording six tackles and a pass deflection. Finished the season with 64 tackles, a team-high six interceptions, one sack and one forced fumble in 16 games (seven starts), while being named the NFL's November Defensive Rookie of the Month.
· DE Derrick Harvey, Jacksonville – made one tackle in the Jaguars' loss at Houston. Finished the season with 12 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 15 games (seven starts).
· WR Percy Harvin, Minnesota – started at wide receiver in the Vikings' loss at Detroit, catching a game-high eight passes for a team-best 69 yards. Finished the season with team highs in receptions (71), receiving yards (868), receiving touchdowns (five), kick returns (40), kick return yards (933) and kick return touchdowns (one) in 14 games (13 starts).
· TE Aaron Hernandez, New England – inactive. Finished the regular season with 45 catches for 563 yards and six touchdowns, along with three rushes for 47 yards in 14 games (seven starts).
· DE Ray McDonald, San Francisco – played in the 49ers' win over Arizona, but did not record any stats. Finished the season with 19 tackles in 16 games, along with a 31-yard interception return for a touchdown.
· DE Jeremy Mincey, Jacksonville – started at defensive end in the Jaguars' loss at Houston, registering a career-high eight tackles (two for loss). Finished the season with 31 tackles and a team-high five sacks in 15 games (eight starts).
· DE Jarvis Moss, Oakland – tallied three tackles, three quarterback hurries and a sack in the Raiders' win at Kansas City. Finished the season with eight tackles and a sack in 14 games.
· WR Louis Murphy, Oakland – caught two passes for 29 yards in the Raiders' win at Kansas City. Finished the season with 41 catches for 709 yards (team-best 14.9 YPC) and two touchdowns in 14 games (nine starts).
· WR David Nelson, Buffalo – inactive. Finished the season with 31 catches for 353 yards and three touchdowns in 15 games (three starts).
· S Reggie Nelson, Cincinnati – started at free safety in the loss at Baltimore, collecting four tackles and turning one interception for 56 yards. Finished the season with 54 tackles, two interceptions and one forced fumble in 16 games (six starts).
· LB Mike Peterson, Atlanta – started at outside linebacker in the Falcons' win over Carolina, recording one tackle for loss and recovering a fumble. Finished the regular season with 59 tackles, one sack, two interceptions and a forced fumble in 16 games (13 starts).
· C Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh – started at center in the Steelers' win at Cleveland. Finished the season by being the only offensive player selected to the 2011 NFL Pro Bowl after starting all 16 regular season games at center.
· CB Keiwan Ratliff, Cincinnati – collected two tackles in the loss at Baltimore. Finished the season with 13 tackles in three games.
· CB Lito Sheppard, Minnesota – made three tackles in the Vikings' loss at Detroit. Finished the season with 18 tackles in 13 games (two starts).
· LB Brandon Siler, San Diego – started at inside linebacker in the Chargers' win at Denver, recording four tackles. Finished the season with 44 tackles, one sack, one safety and an interception in 12 games (five starts).
· LB Brandon Spikes, New England – did not play. Finished the regular season with 61 tackles and an interception in 12 games (eight starts).
· LT Max Starks, Pittsburgh – injured reserve. Finished the season with seven starts (seven games played) before being placed on injured reserve.
· RB Fred Taylor, New England – ran 10 times for 35 yards in the Patriots' win over Miami. Finished the regular season with 43 carries for 155 yards in seven games.
· QB Tim Tebow, Denver – started at quarterback in the Broncos' loss to San Diego, going 16-of-36 through the air for 205 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Tebow also ran 13 times for 94 yards and a score. Finished the season 41-of-82 passing for 654 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions, while rushing 43 times for 227 yards and a team-best six rushing touchdowns.
· DT Marcus Thomas, Denver – played in the Broncos' loss to San Diego, but did not record any stats. Finished the season with 35 tackles and a sack in 16 games (two starts).
· DT Gerard Warren, New England – started at defensive end in the Patriots' win over Miami, tallying two tackles. Finished the regular season with 28 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 16 games (10 starts).
· S Major Wright, Chicago – played in the Bears' loss at Green Bay, but did not record any stats. Finished the regular season with 24 tackles in 11 games.
Florida NFL Rookie Notes
? Tim Tebow finished the season tied second among NFL rookies with six rushing touchdowns, first in yards per carry (Min. 40 attempts), tied for sixth in total touchdowns, seventh in rushing first downs, ninth in rushing yards and 10th in carries.
? Aaron Hernandez finished third among NFL rookies in receiving yards, tied for third in receiving TD, sixth in scoring and tied for sixth in receptions.
? Carlos Dunlap set the Bengals rookie franchise record for most sacks in a season with 9.5 sacks, only half a sack behind NFL rookie leader Ndamukong Suh of the Detroit Lions. Dunlap also tied for sixth among NFL rookies in fumbles recovered.
? Joe Haden finished second among NFL rookies with six interceptions, one behind NFL rookie leader and Pro Bowler Devin McCourty of New England. Haden tied with McCourty for most pass deflections by an NFL rookie, while also finishing 11th among NFL rookies in total tackles. Haden also finished third in interception return yards.
? Maurkice Pouncey was selected as the only offensive rookie to the 2011 NFL Pro Bowl roster. Pouncey, who is the first Steelers' rookie to be selected for the Pro Bowl since Kendrell Bell in 2001, is the first Pittsburgh lineman to be named to the roster since tackle Frank Varrichione was selected in 1955. Pouncey is also the first Steelers' rookie to start every game since Varrichione that same year. Since 1978, the Steelers' organization has had a center selected for the Pro Bowl 19 times.
? Brandon Spikes finished 12th among NFL rookies (third among NFL rookie linebackers and first among NFL rookie inside linebackers that play in a 3-4 defense) in total tackles despite not playing the last four weeks.
? Jermaine Cunningham tied for the NFL rookie lead in forced fumbles.
? Cunningham (11), Hernandez (7) and Spikes (8) combined to start 26 games for the New England Patriots, who finished with a NFL-best 14-2 record and the No. 1 seed in the AFC Playoffs. Also starting 10 games for the Patriots was former Gator defensive lineman and NFL veteran Gerard Warren.
