Stanford in the NFL: Rookie Report Week 3 and 4

After a week hiatus, the Rookie Report is back and as good as ever. This article will be a double feature, reporting on both week 3 and week 4. Now that it is a quarter of the way through the NFL regular season (it is flying by way too fast), I will introduce some Pro Football Focus statistics to help better gage these Stanford alums performances. These past 2 weeks have been good for the Stanford college team and also for their professional representatives. Without further ado let's get started.

Henry Anderson (Colts)

Week 3: In a desperate effort for a win, the Colts finally got one against the Tennessee Titans. Henry Anderson was less than stellar against his former rival and Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. Anderson tallied only one tackle and one quarterback hit. Week 3 was Anderson's worst game this season, but he has been great in the previous two so this is just a down week for him.

Week 4: In a low scoring affair the Colts edged out the Jaguars at Lucas Oil Stadium. Henry Anderson was a big part of the win because he recorded six tackles for the 5th highest on the team. Along with the 6 solo tackles, Anderson was on record for a pass deflection. Anderson bounces back after an unexpected slip in last week's performance.

Henry Anderson ranks as the #1 rookie 3-4 DE in the league. He beats out former USC lineman Leonard Williams by more than double the score and with an even amount of snaps. Also, this week Henry Anderson is ranked #2 and is right behind Ronald Darby (Bills safety, FSU). Here is what they had to say about Anderson:

"Anderson has more stops against the run than any other 3-4 defensive end with 11. After we lobbied him last week to show more of a pass rush, Anderson turned in an impressive one-hit, five-hurry performance this week. This is why he has earned the No. 2 spot."

David Perry (Colts)

Week 3: David Parry has been very consistent the first three weeks of the season, that in itself is a good thing. But him being consistent with only two tackles is not what the Colts need for him. The Colts gave up only 88 yards on the ground, which is a testament to this great defensive line. Perry recorded his first sack of his NFL career and it couldn't have come against a more fitting quarterback (Mariota). Parry and Anderson have been instrumental in stopping the opponent's run game and it looks like they have bright careers ahead of them.

Week 4: Another week of consistently low numbers for David Parry. Parry finished the day with only two tackles, which is what Parry, has done all season. The Colts gave up their second most rushing yards this season with 147, due to TJ Yeldon's 104 yards. Things could be worse for Parry; at least he isn't the worst graded NT in the rookie class.

On that note, it is time to bring up PFF again because David Parry just dropped out of their top rookie grades for the season. He was dropped because he was "very quiet against Tennessee" and PFF goes on to explain that Parry might lose his job as an "early down specialist" due to this poor showing. Even though he dropped out of the top 10 rookies list, he remains the #3 rookie NT. This stat is skewed because the 2 players above him have had considerably less snaps. Also, by these same lines, Parry is the #1 rookie TE because he has had 2 offensive snaps. Even though Parry has had some poor statistical numbers he is still very good comparing him to other rookies.

Ty Montgomery (Packers)

Week 3: It was a monumental moment for Ty Montgomery on Monday night because he made his first Lambeau Leap. Montgomery opened up the night with the first touchdown of the game and then the Packers went on to win against the Chiefs by ten points. Montgomery finished the game with only 14 yards on 2 receptions, but it was cool to be able to see Montgomery's first touchdown in a primetime game.

Week 4: Scoring only 17 points with Aaron Rodgers at the helm is an aberration, right? Even though the Packers scored well below their average they managed to knockoff the 49ers. Ty Montgomery was more involved this week than any other week in his 4 game career. He had 6 targets catching only 3 of them for 15 yards. Montgomery was the 2nd highest targeted player on the team this week and his targets keep on rising.

PFF has Montgomery as the #22 rookie receiver. This astounds me because Montgomery has no drops and had a catch rate of 100% going into week 4 of the season. They say his biggest shortcoming is his 2 penalties against him. As the season progresses and Rodgers gets warmed up to Montgomery more his overall grade will rise.

Bonus:

Week 3: Richard Sherman
Richard Sherman and the Seattle Seahawks blanked the struggling Chicago Bears in an impressive 26-0 route. Sherman only recorded one tackle (for loss) and a pass deflection, but his covering ability led to only 66 yards in the air. Let me put that in perspective. Seattle's backup running back, Thomas Rawls (Michigan), ran for 104 yards.

Week 4: Coby Fleener
As I mentioned earlier the Colts won their second straight game against the Jaguars and a huge factor in that was Coby Fleener. Fleener was the leading receiver for Andrew Luck and the crew. He totaled 83 yards and a touchdown, which is his season high for the year. Coby has been relatively quiet this year after his career year last year, look for him to be more active in the passing game especially if Dwayne Allen is inactive again.