I had hoped to put together a story profiling former Buffaloes (and first round NFL draft picks) Jimmy Smith and Nate Solder's rookie seasons prior to today's game but once again my hectic work schedule prevented me from doing so. Both players have recently stepped up their play over the last few weeks of the season and one of them will be heading to the Super Bowl with a major role to play for their respective AFC team. In the 23-20 Patriots win Solder and Smith both had highlight worthy plays and SB Nation Denver captured them for us.

First up was Nate Solder's dominating block on Ray "guns-blazing" Lewis:

Solder pushed Lewis back on that play as Green-Ellis hit the wide open hole to the right side. He found the touchdown and temporarily put the Patriots in a 10-3 lead. Dennis Pitta caught a touchdown for the Ravens a little bit later and Stephen Gostkowski put the Patriots back in the lead with three minutes to go in the half.

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Now that the Colorado Buffaloes have two new first round draft picks and three new players (for a total of 15) in the NFL, I thought it would be nice to look back at the NFL weekend each Tuesday to see how each of our Buffaloes fared. If you guys saw any of the games and have any comments on the play of any of these guys make sure and leave a note in the comments.

No real action from the first rounders, but this was the best week our Buffs have had all season.

Jimmy Smith - CB - Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore lost to Seattle, 22-17 
No stats

Nate Solder - LT - New England Patriots 
New England defeated New York Jets, 37-16
Nate rotated at right tackle with Sebastian Vollmer

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Now that the Colorado Buffaloes have two new first round draft picks and three new players (for a total of 16) in the NFL, I thought it would be nice to look back at the NFL weekend each Tuesday to see how each of our Buffaloes fared. If you guys saw any of the games and have any comments on the play of any of these guys make sure and leave a note in the comments.

Jimmy Smith - CB - Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore defeated Pittsburgh, 23-20 
One tackle! Only cool thing about the Ravens winning. If Smith wants an opportunity for more, he's going to have to beat out Cary Williams and Lardarius Webb, who have been playing well.

9. Cary Williams played a heck of a game, and Lardarius Webb played pretty well, too, given how much time Roethlisberger had in the pocket. The Ravens kept Wallace in check for most of the game, through Brown had 109 receiving yards. Jimmy Smith will start eventually, but he is going to have to earn it given how reliable those two cornerbacks have been in the first half of the season.

Nate Solder - LT - New England Patriots 
New England lost to New York Giants, 24-20
The Patriots continue to line Solder up at tight end, effectively using him as a sixth offensive lineman.

Line (C) - I mean, Matt Light getting torched on the edge is becoming a Sunday staple. The lines rushed four. The Pats committed six or seven to protection, often using Nate Solder at tight end. And the Giants managed a pair of sacks and three more hurries. No chance of opening holes on the run. The Giants lined up 10 across in the box all day.

Continue reading this post »

Now that the Colorado Buffaloes have two new first round draft picks and three new players (for a total of 16) in the NFL, I thought it would be nice to look back at the NFL weekend each Tuesday to see how each of our Buffaloes fared. If you guys saw any of the games and have any comments on the play of any of these guys make sure and leave a note in the comments.

Jimmy Smith - CB - Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore lost to Jacksonville, 12-7 
Smith was finally active again last night against the Jaguars for the first time this season. However, he was limited to special teams in the game and did not play corner in the nickel packages as many had assumed he would.

"We would have liked to play Jimmy on defense more," Head Coach John Harbaugh said. "We just weren't in the kind of game where we felt we could do that. He really hasn't played at all with just one week of practice. We didn't feel it was the right time to put him in there."

Nate Solder - LT - New England Patriots 
New England had a bye week

Jalil Brown - CB - Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City defeated Oakland, 28-0
I have no idea what he did, but apparently it was awesome?

Best retribution - Jalil Brown. Huge special teams gaffe last week, huge special teams play this week.

Continue reading this post »

Now that the Colorado Buffaloes have two new first round draft picks and three new players (for a total of 16) in the NFL, I thought it would be nice to look back at the NFL weekend each Tuesday to see how each of our Buffaloes fared. If you guys saw any of the games and have any comments on the play of any of these guys make sure and leave a note in the comments.

Jimmy Smith - CB - Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore had a bye week 
According to ESPN's AFC North Blog, Smith may still not be ready to return next week

RAVENS: Cornerback Jimmy Smith, the team's first-round draft pick, acknowledged that he's unlikely to play Sunday because of a high ankle sprain, and left guard Ben Grubbs will probably return as long as he doesn't have a setback with his injured right toe.

Nate Solder - LT - New England Patriots 
New England defeated New York Jets, 30-21
Did a Nate Solder tackle help win the game for the Patriots? Sounds like it:

But it's Light and Solder who ended up saving the day for the Patriots. Light dives at Cromartie's feet and forces him to step out of bounds. That play was assisted by Solder -- who came all the way from his back side of the field at his right tackle spot - as Cromartie slowed up a bit when he saw Solder, who was given credit for the tackle, on the play.

Jalil Brown - CB - Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City defeated Indianapolis, 28-24
No stats

Continue reading this post »

Now that the Colorado Buffaloes have two new first round draft picks and three new players (for a total of 16) in the NFL, I thought it would be nice to look back at the NFL weekend each Tuesday to see how each of our Buffaloes fared. If you guys saw any of the games and have any comments on the play of any of these guys make sure and leave a note in the comments.

Jimmy Smith - CB - Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore defeated New York Jets, 34-17
Smith missed the game with an injury. The Ravens are off this week and Smith could potentially see the field again when they return

Nate Solder - LT - New England Patriots 
New England defeated Oakland, 31-19
Solder contributed my favorite image of the NFL weekend, as seen above

Jalil Brown - CB - Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City defeated Minnesota, 22-17
Brown recorded his first two regular season tackles to help the Chiefs earn the victory

Continue reading this post »

Now that the Colorado Buffaloes have two new first round draft picks and three new players (for a total of 16) in the NFL, I thought it would be nice to look back at the NFL weekend each Tuesday to see how each of our Buffaloes fared. If you guys saw any of the games and have any comments on the play of any of these guys make sure and leave a note in the comments.

Jimmy Smith - CB - Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore defeated St. Louis, 37-7
Smith missed the game with an injury

Nate Solder - LT - New England Patriots 
New England lost to Buffalo, 34-31
Nate started his second game of the year for New England. He did have an illegal use of hands penalty that called back a 35 yard Rob Gronkowski reception 

Jalil Brown - CB - Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City lost to San Diego, 20-17
Brown was active for the team's third loss, but did not record any stats

Continue reading this post »

Now that the Colorado Buffaloes have two new first round draft picks and three new players (for a total of 14) in the NFL, I thought it would be nice to look back at the NFL weekend each Tuesday to see how each of our Buffaloes fared. If you guys saw any of the games and have any comments on the play of any of these guys make sure and leave a note in the comments.

Jimmy Smith - CB - Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore lost to Tennessee, 26-13 (happy face)
Smith missed the game with an injury

Nate Solder - LT - New England Patriots 
New England defeated San Diego, 35-21
Solder did not start this week on the offensive line but the Patriots had him line up as a third tight end 18 times to slow the Chargers pass rush. Pretty damn smart. It will be interesting to see how often they use this package as the year goes on. 

"The Chargers have a very good defensive front. They have outstanding guys on the end of the line [at outside linebacker] with [Travis] LaBoy, [Shaun] Phillips and [Antwan] Barnes, so just having another guy out there to handle them or another guy on the wing with Dan Gronkowski just puts a little more presence on those positions," coach Bill Belichick explained.

Jalil Brown - CB - Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City lost to Detroit, 48-3
Brown was active for this loss, but it doesn't look like he got any action (snicker)

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