Your Week Six Spartans in the NFL Report

The past week has been a busy one for many of Spartans who hold spots on NFL rosters. Read on to see how the sons of Spartan Nation made headlines this week.

Kellen Davis of the Bears had a bye this week, but still managed to make waves in the news. The tight end helped to raise over $100,000 for the family of a Bears fan who was slain early last Sunday, October 7th in Jacksonville, Florida. William “Christopher” Pettry, who made the trip down for Chicago’s game against the Jaguars and was killed in a Jacksonville restaurant. Davis called upon former and current players to help him in a fundraiser he held on Saturday at John Barleycorn-Wrigleyville in Chicago. The proceeds from the event, which featured an auction of Bears gear, totaled $50,000 alone. As Davis told Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com, “My heart goes out to the Pettry family that lost their loved one over a senseless act. I wanted to show my support when I heard about this.” Check out the full article here: http://espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/story/_/id/8491925/kellen-davis-chicago-bears-raising-funds-slain-fan-family

Jerel Worthy and the Packers defeated Keshawn Martin and the Texans, 42-24. Worthy racked up three tackles and a sack at defensive tackle. Martin reeled in two receptions for 24 yards on the day. The wideout was also handed kickoff and punt return duties this week. Head coach Gary Kubiak expressed his belief in the rookie to the Houston Chronicle’s John McClain before Sunday’s game: “We have a lot of confidence in him. He was excellent doing it in college. He’s made a lot of progress. Hopefully, he can give us a boost and get us going a little bit.” Martin rewarded Kubiak’s faith in him, returning three kickoffs for an average of 21 yards and one punt for 19 yards. Read more about the talented wide receiver’s promotion here: http://blog.chron.com/ultimatetexans/2012/10/rookie-wr-martin-finds-himself-a-new-role-on-the-texans/

Punter Brandon Fields had a stellar day for the Dolphins in a narrow 17-14 victory over the Rams. Fields had six punts on the day for an average of 53.8 yards per boot. He also pinned St. Louis inside its own 20 twice and had a long punt for a whopping 63 yards. As the Miami Herald pointed out in its headline from its story on the game, Fields was a key part of Miami’s win.

Drew Stanton did not play for the Colts in his team’s 35-9 loss to the Jets. The backup quarterback talked at length to Bob Glauber of Newsday last Wednesday about how Stanton was signed to be the backup to Mark Sanchez, but was traded days later after New York acquired Tim Tebow. Stanton, who signed a one year deal with the Jets on March 16, was told by the team’s management that he would be the number two quarterback: “Had Mark struggled, they said I’d have a chance to play. So there was no better opportunity than that, and I was excited about it.” But the team traded for Tebow four days later, causing Stanton to ask for a trade. “They wanted to keep me,” Stanton said, “but I said, ‘Hey I really don’t want to be a part of that, because that’s not what we agreed to.” Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum traded him to the Colts soon thereafter. Though Stanton is a bit upset at how it happened, he is happy to be where he is now. “I don’t regret what happened, and I would make the decision again with everything I had to go off of.” For the full story, see Newsday’s coverage: http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/drew-stanton-explains-brief-tenure-as-jets-backup-qb-1.4104372

Defensive tackle Domata Peko posted a solid performance against the Browns, but the rest of the Bengals defense could not follow suit, as Cleveland beat Cincinnati in the Battle of Ohio, 34-24. Peko racked up three tackles, two assists, a tackle for loss and a pass defensed in the Browns’ first win of the season.

Garrett Celek recorded a catch for the second consecutive week for the 49ers, as San Francisco was crushed by the Giants in an unexpected blowout, 26-3. Fellow 49er Trenton Robinson was not active for the game. Celek’s lone catch of the match went for six yards. The rookie is becoming more comfortable after his first reception two weeks ago against the Bills. Not including his playing time against the Giants, he was on the field for 28 offensive snaps in his previous three games. The tight end, who has had the greatest impact out of all of the 49ers rookies thus far, is continuing to learn and expand his boundaries: “I’m definitely trying to learn all the positions: fullback, receiving, everything,” Celek told Mindi Bach of csnbayarea.com. “I want to be as effective as possible if someone were to go down at any point in time, I want the coaches to be able to look at me and go, “OK, we can trust him to go in there and get the job done.’ That’s the kind of guy I want to be.” Check out Bach’s full article on the Spartan rookie here: http://www.csnbayarea.com/football-san-francisco-niners/niners-talk/Garrett-Celek-gains-confidence-with-each?blockID=786955&feedID=2800

Quarterback Kirk Cousins did not play for the Redskins on Sunday, as Robert Griffin III returned from a concussion he suffered last week to lead Washington to a 38-26 victory over the Vikings.

Kevin Vickerson was impressive on the Broncos defensive line, as Peyton Manning led Denver to a 38-24 triumph over the Chargers after the Broncos trailed 24-0 at half. Vickerson had two tackles and two assists in the Monday Night Football showdown. The defensive tackle garnered praise from color analyst Jon Gruden, who complimented the veteran for detecting a screen play and tracking the receiver down to make the tackle.

On the Injury Front:

Safety Eric Smith of the Jets sprained his knee in practice Wednesday, causing him to sit out the squad’s game against Indianapolis on Sunday. According to the New York Daily News, head coach Rex Ryan expressed relief that Smith, who hurt his knee while attempting to knock a pass down, was not seriously injured: “I’ll be honest, I thought it was much worse than [a sprained knee].” Smith could return to action as early as next week.

The Titans coaching staff is planning on being patient with running back Javon Ringer. The back is out at least four weeks with an MCL injury, but head coach Mike Munchak and his staff won’t rush Ringer’s return.

On the Free Agent Front:

Linebacker Greg Jones worked out for the Lions last Wednesday. The former Giant was one of six players who Detroit called on for a workout, according to Justin Rogers of mlive.com.