Big Ten Championship notes

By Tom Dienhart

November 30, 2012

Injuries are a key factor in any game, and this game is no different. Nebraska will miss the presence of tackle Baker Steinkuhler on the interior of the defensive line. The Huskers need Chase Rome—among others—to step up with Steinkuhler out. And center Justin Jackson is out. It will be Mark Pelini or Cole Pensick at center.

In other news, Wisconsin got good news this week when linebacker Chris Borland was cleared to play after hurting a hamstring against Indiana on Nov. 10, forcing him to miss the last two games. His presence will be key in trying to slow down a strong Nebraska rushing attack. The Badgers also will have wideout Jared Abbrederis, who has dealt with a concussion.

Wisconsin has not lost a game in the state of Indiana since 2002. Under head coach Bret Bielema, the Badgers are 8-0 in the Indiana, with an average margin of victory of 23.8 points.
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The Badgers have struggled in close games, with their five losses coming by a combined 19 points. And Wisconsin’s last three losses have come in overtime. The last team to drop three overtime games in a season? The 2007 SMU Mustangs. Iowa State went 0-3 in OT games in 2005. Wisconsin last played three overtime games in a season in 2000, going 1-2.
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Since the first meeting with Nebraska, Montee Ball is averaging 153.6 rushing yards per game. Since Oct. 1. that is second-best among running backs in the country. In two career games against Nebraska, Montee Ball has run for 244 yards and seven touchdowns.
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A Wisconsin win in this game and a UCLA victory in the Pac-12 title game would set up a rematch of a Sept. 8 game at the Rose Bowl between the teams. The Bruins won, 36-30, notching 653 yards. It was the second most yards Nebraska ever had allowed in a game in school annals.
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These teams met earlier in the Big Ten opener for each back on Sept. 29 in Lincoln. On that night, the Cornhuskers rallied from a 17-point deficit to pull out a 30-27 victory.
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Nebraska hasn’t won a conference title since claiming the Big 12 championship in 1999. A victory on Saturday night would be the school’s fifth title in a different league. Nebraska also has captured titles in the Big 12, Missouri Valley, Big 6 and Big 8. In all, the Huskers have won 43 league championships.
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Nebraska leads the series with Wisconsin, 4-3.
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Bo Pelini and Bret Bielema played against each other while in college. Pelini was a defensive back for Ohio State (1987-90), while Bielema was a defensive lineman for Iowa (1989-92). Also, Pelini and Bielema share the same agent in powerful Cleveland, Ohio-based Neil Cornrich.
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The Huskers’ seven conference wins are their most since 2001, when they also won seven and played for the BCS title in the Rose Bowl, losing to Miami (Fla.).
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Nebraska has won six games in a row, its longest overall winning streak since a six-game streak spanning the 2009 and 2010 seasons and longest conference winning streak since winning its final five regular-season Big 12 games in 2009 and the Big 12 opener in 2010.
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The Badgers seek to become the first Big Ten school to play in three consecutive Rose Bowl games since Michigan appeared in Pasadena from 1977-79.

Kendricks Filling Many Roles

November 30, 2012

By Nick Wagoner

Unsure if he was even going to play because of a knee injury that limited him in practice last week, Rams tight end Lance Kendricks not only played but contributed in important fashion to the team’s win against Arizona.

Included in Kendricks’ performance was a 37-yard touchdown catch in which he got open over the middle and delivered a vicious stiff arm to safety Kerry Rhodes as he rolled to the end zone for his second career touchdown catch.

That was it for Kendricks in terms of his contribution in the aerial attack but right now, it’s everything he’s doing, especially as a blocker, that has coach Jeff Fisher excited about his progress.

“He’s really improved,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “He’s very, very strong at the point of attack. That’s why we’re using some of the wham blocks on the defensive linemen. He’s very effective there. He’s getting open. He’s completing the catch and he’s running after the catch, so it’s good to see him progressing like that.”

With injuries all along the offensive line early in the season, Kendricks’ role as a blocker has expanded while he hasn’t been as prominent as a receiver. He embraced that role and provided a solid blocker attached to the line of scrimmage.

In recent weeks, Kendricks has showed his versatility by moving into the backfield and working as a de facto fullback capable of lead blocking when necessary.

Checking in at 6’3, 243 pounds, Kendricks doesn’t necessarily look the part of a dominant blocker but his strength more than makes up for what he lacks in size. Combine that with his willingness to do whatever it takes to be on the field and Kendricks is the offense’s premiere Swiss Army Knife right now.

“I have embraced it,” Kendricks said. “Each week is different and I take on different challenges and different roles but I do a lot of things from the backfield but I take it as it comes and I try to excel in it so I can do something better and have a different challenge every week. I don’t mind playing fullback and lining up in the backfield.”

For Kendricks, his more recent turn as a fullback isn’t uncharted territory. In college at Wisconsin, Kendricks played under offensive coordinator Paul Chryst, who actually employs a system similar to the one used by Rams offense coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.

Kendricks didn’t do much of it in last year’s offense but it’s been a bit like riding a bike for him as he gets used to being in the backfield again.

As evidence of that, Kendricks even goes so far as to say that he would take a powerful block – like the one that sprung running back Steven Jackson for a touchdown against San Francisco – as quick as he’d take a touchdown catch like the one from last week.

“It’s about the same,” Kendricks said. “If you do a good job at the point of attack, especially on running plays, I think that’s just as noticed as a touchdown or something like that.”

Because of Kendricks’ extended work as a blocker, he hasn’t been as involved in the passing game but that could change over the season’s final five weeks.

Buoyed by an offensive line that may not need as much help now that the original starting five is working together for the first time since the season opener, Kendricks believes he could be more of a threat in the passing game, especially when his knee is fully healed.

“I think each week as we get guys healthy, we got Scott (Wells) back last week, that opens up opportunities for me to maybe make some more plays down the field such as the one last week and hopefully more to come,” Kendricks said. “I was a little limited last week because of the knee so I really couldn’t get as involved in the passing game as I would have liked. Hopefully this week I will be feeling better and I can run a few more routes.”

No matter how the Rams choose to use him, Kendricks is in a far different place than he was a year ago as a rookie. Brimming with belief that he can be an impact player in the league on a consistent basis, he believes he’s starting to round into the type of all around tight end that winning teams all seem to have.

“I think I’m in a good place,” Kendricks said. “I have a really good understanding of the offense and what we try to accomplish every week. I think I am a lot more confident mentally and I think I am better prepared in general this year than last year.”

Henery one of few bright spots in dark season

Alex Henery has converted 35 of his last 36 field goal attempts with the Eagles.

By Reuben Frank

November 29, 2012

You can’t blame Alex Henery.

There’s a very short list of Philadelphia Eagles who can look themselves in the mirror and feel like they’ve done all they could during this wretched 2012 season.

DeMeco Ryans. Evan Mathis. LeSean McCoy. Fletcher Cox. Hmmm. We said it was a very short list.

No doubt Henery would be on there, though.

It’s pretty lame when your team MVP could be a 175-pound placekicker, but Henery has been nearly perfect this year and really since he got here as a rookie fourth-round pick out of Nebraska last year.

“Just been hitting the ball well,” Henery said. “I feel like we’ve been in a real good rhythm with Mat (McBriar, holder) and Jon (Dorenbos, snapper). So I’ve been happy with how I’m hitting it, and it’s been going through.”

Henery missed his second field goal attempt on opening day in Cleveland and has made 19 straight kicks since, breaking the franchise record of 17 consecutive field goals set by David Akers during his 2001 Pro Bowl season and matched last year by Henery.

Is it the longest streak of his life?

Good luck finding out from Henery.

“Honestly, I really don’t know,” he said. “I don’t really pay attention to all that stuff. I don’t remember my stats very well.

“It’s just one of those things where … your stats will be there in the end if you’re doing well and you’re doing your job.”

Henery converted his last 16 kicks last year, which means he’s made 35 of his last 36 field goals, which is 97 percent.

Let’s take a closer look at Henery’s season and career so far:

• He’s made 44 of 48 field goal attempts as an Eagle, for 91.7 percent. He doesn’t have enough attempts to qualify for the all-time leaders – the NFL requires kickers to make 100 field goals before they can be considered for record purposes – but based on guys who’ve made 25 or more field goals, he’s the most accurate kicker ever, just ahead of Dallas’s Dan Bailey, who the Eagles will see Sunday night. Bailey is 54 for 61 for 88.5 percent.

• Henery has made 20 of 21 kicks this year, which is 95.2 percent accuracy. If the season ended today, that would be the 12th-highest figure in NFL history.

• After making an NFL-rookie-record 88.5 percent of his kicks last year, Henery is on pace to become the first kicker in history to make 88 percent of his kicks in each of his first two NFL seasons.

• Henery is the most accurate kicker in NCAA history, going 68 for 76. That means since leaving high school, he’s 112 for 124, or 90.3 percent. He made 18 of 19 as a senior at Nebraska, so he’s 62 for 67 over the past three years (92.5 percent).

• Henery is 13 for 14 (92.9 percent) in the crucial 40-to-49-yard range.

And how much does all this stuff mean to him?

Henery is non-plussed when asked about his consecutive field goal record. He’s non-plussed about pretty much everything.

“That’s not one of those things that I look at,” he said. “It’s a cool honor, but I have to concentrate on the next kick, not the last one.

“To me, none of that matters. As long as I’m doing the job, I’m happy.”

While Henery was chatting with a couple writers before practice Thursday, special teamer Colt Anderson walked over and said, “Hey, can you guys please get Alex to the Pro Bowl?”

That will be up to the fans, coaches and players around the league, but Henery has a shot.

Henery leads the NFC at 95.2 percent, with Vikings kicker Blair Walsh and Bailey next at 92.3 percent (24 for 26) and 91.7 percent (22 for 24), although they both play in domes.

David Akers went to five Pro Bowls during his 12 years with the Eagles and a sixth last year with the 49ers.

“It’d be really cool,” Henery said. “I think I’m still young maybe for that. I don’t know. It’s one of those things, until it happens, I won’t believe it.”