Pokes In the Pros: NFL Week 3

Despite last week’s glaring omission in the Pokes in the Pros weekly update (sorry, Chris!), we’ll once again recap how former Cowboys fared in Thursday-Monday’s NFL action.

Chris Carson (Seahawks) – Last week, I failed to recognize Carson for his tremendous game against the 49ers, where he rushed for nearly 100 yards and averaged 4.7 yards per carry. To correct my mistake, I’m putting the rookie back first this week. Though the Seattle offense had limited success in scoring in its first two games, Carson has proven to be a punishing, grinding back and a savvy receiver out of the backfield. In Sunday’s loss to the Titans, he churned out only 34 yards on 11 carries but scored his first receiving touchdown early in the third quarter on a 10-yard pass from Russell Wilson that gave Seattle a brief lead.

Dez Bryant (Cowboys) – Bryant is off to a slower start than the Cowboys anticipated. However, when a player of his caliber is on the field, it opens opportunities for others to step up and produce. After this weekend’s two catch, 12-yard performance, Bryant’s season stats are: 11 receptions, 113 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Dan Bailey (Cowboys) – Bailey is practically automatic on the field, especially on any domed stadium. Though he recorded no field goal attempts Monday night in the Cowboys’ 28-17 victory in Arizona, he did convert all four of his extra point attempts and remains a perfect 12-for-12 in all kicks this season (FGs and extra points).

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Vincent Taylor (Dolphins) – Taylor played his most significant time in the young season and notched a trio of tackles (one solo) as the Dolphins fell (unexpectedly) to the New York Jets.

Emmanuel Ogbah (Browns) – Cleveland has shown some life despite its relative youth. Ogbah continues to make his presence felt in the absence of top pick Myles Garrett, who is out with an injury. On Sunday, though the Browns fell to Indianapolis, Ogbah had his best game of the season, tallying six tackles and a sack against the Colts.

Lane Taylor (Packers) – Green Bay surprised some by falling behind to the Bengals before staging a comeback and winning the game with an overtime field goal. Much of Aaron Rodgers success comes from his skills as a quarterback but also from the protection he receives up front. Taylor is a major contributor in that, even though there remain precious few statistics to measure offensive line effectiveness. Regardless, if your quarterback is able to maintain a high level of play, it’s often the strength of the line that makes it possible.

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Lenzy Pipkins (Packers) – Pipkins still hasn’t seen the field in 2017, though he remains listed on the Green Bay roster.

Michael Hunter (Giants) – New York suffered another devastating loss to the Eagles as Philadelphia’s rookie kicker drilled a 61-yard walkoff strike as time expired. Hunter had nothing to do with the outcome as he recorded no measurable stats.

Russell Okung (Chargers) – Like Taylor, Okung anchors the left side of the offensive line, which means his stats really only measure in games played and games started. It’s unfortunate that some really great players have such limited ways to measure productivity in the sport. However, if you play in the NFL, stay healthy and produce, you’ll find those offensive line stats enough to point toward.

Tyler Patmon (Jaguars) – Patmon has bounced around the league for a couple of seasons after originally landing with Dallas. This weekend, he saw his first action on the field in 2017 (in London, no less) and tallied a pair of tackles at corner.

With those updates, I’ll leave you with a question: Who is your favorite Poke in the Pros to cheer for?