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Jeremy Maclin and #DLineZou shine bright during #MizzouMade Week 4

Meanwhile, Willy Mo continues to lead Atlanta and Mizzou's O-Line pros are experiencing mixed results.

By switzy227

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Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome back to another recap of Mizzou's Sunday players. Last week was the first bye week of the NFL season, and the Titans were one of the teams on bye. So other than DGB's arrest (for a mere unpaid parking ticket, which should lead to approximately no action by the NFL), there's no real news on those players (Beau Brinkley and Chase Coffman being the others). While news is naturally a bit scarcer during these weeks, I've tried to collect a few extra tidbits to keep you entertained. So let's get started!

Injury/Suspension Update

As previously noted, E.J. Gaines and Ziggy Hood are out for the season, while Zaviar Gooden was released-injury settlement (leaving him free to sign once he is healthy).

In Sunday night's Cowboys-Saints overtime game, Andrew Gachkar filled in for an injured Sean Lee...only to leave the game during overtime with a foot injury. He finished the game with 4 tackles, and drew praise from writers over at Blogging the Boys:

· Andrew Gachkar replaced Sean Lee, and played well with +1.9 overall and run grade on 42 snaps. Posted 5 tackles with 3 "stops."

Here was a player who I was impressed with throughout the game once Sean Lee went down. A guy who didn't expect to play too much, but when thrust into action wasn't a liability. It was unfortunate he got hurt at the end, when linebacker confusion was the cause of the overtime killer.

Meanwhile, Sheldon Richardson's suspension is over, but the Jets are on bye this upcoming week. Coach Todd Bowles expects Richardson to resume playing immediately, although his starting spot might not be available right away.

OLineZou?

Mizzou currently has three starting offensive linemen in the league, including a high pick from each of the previous two drafts.For a look at those players position unit rankings, check out Pro Football Focus's current OL power rankings (hint: 2 of the 3 are on poor units).

Mitch Morse is playing the strongest of the three, grading out favorably from Pro Football Focus despite Alex Smith's tendency to be knocked over a lot, often with the football still in his possession. Morse centered the line that allowed Smith to go down 5 times on Sunday, although the group also paved the way for 4.9 yards/rush for the Chiefs.

Tim Barnes continues to play center for the Rams, and his OL performed admirably against the Cardinals (in an upset victory!), allowing only 1 sack and leading a 6.3 yards per rush average. However, Turf Show Times was less than thrilled with his individual performance:

Tim Barnes was abused however. He had a few decent blocks but the Cardinals found a weakness and exploited it. A sack was his fault and five stuffed runs came from him.

Then there's Justin Britt and the Seahawks line. Russell Wilson was sacked 6 (!) times and the team averaged only 3.5 yards per rush (caveat: Marshawn Lynch did not play). He has been consistently cited as a weak part of that weak crew;  a tough go for the 2nd year pro.

Waiting Their Turns...

Neither Chase Daniel nor Blaine Gabbert got the chances some of their fanbases have been asking for. Arguably, 49ers fans are (and should be) more worried than Chiefs fans - and some posts on Niners Nation have been explicitly calling for Gabbert to take the reins:

Unlike Gabbert, who was not expected to see action this year, another high round Mizzou draft pick finds himself on the bench unexpectedly. Jess Root from Revenge of the Birds suggests that:

Sean Weatherspoon likely will not get playing time unless there is an injury. He missed too much time early on and other guys are playing too well. Arians isn't going to take Deone Bucannon off the field.

Spoon played zero snaps in the Cardinals first loss of the season.

C.J. Mosley - stuck on a dysfunctional Dolphins squad who just fired their head coach and will likely soon fire their DC - played a little over 20% of the available snaps but failed to generate any stats.

Last week's big performer, Marcus Murphy, failed to immediately become Dante Hall and return another punt for a score, but he remained solid in his role nonetheless (1 KR for 34 yards, 3 PR for 34 yards).

#DLineZou!

Kony Ealy continued to play a big role for the undefeated Carolina Panthers in their win over Tampa Bay, notching 2 solo tackles and 3 assists. His counterpart Jacquies Smith failed to notch a sack for the second consecutive week, but did lodge 2 tackles in the Buccaneers loss.

Aldon Smith continued his quest to remind people how good he is at football, earning the coveted "baller" tag from Silver and Black Pride:

This is what we call a coming out party. And it shows you how valuable having a training camp and preseason is to a player. Smith was unemployed for the month leading up to the season opener while everyone else was getting in football shape and acclimating to their teams. Now a month into the season, Smith is looking like his old self (the good, on-the-field self).

Even Raiders fans get it!

Smith tallied 6 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 PD in the game for the very surprising Raiders.

Markus Golden got his second 0.5 sack of the season, along with 2 other tackles.


The Arizona Cardinals website also contributed some video about Golden's stunt work.

This Week's Big 3

William Moore continues to draw positive comments for his play. Last week, he managed 4 tackles and a pass defensed...and the following quote from The Falcoholic:

Despite being reckless at times, William Moore remains as the heart and soul of Atlanta's defense. His tendency to hang around the ball is unparalleled in Atlanta, and Moore continuously forces turnovers through demoralizing hits and being at the right place at the time for interceptions. Most successful teams need an enforcer in their secondary. While he doesn't possess athleticism like Kam Chancellor, Moore's value couldn't be higher in Quinn's defense.

Jeremy Maclin played very well for the second straight game, catching 11 passes for 148 yards in the Chiefs loss to Cincinnati. He also managed a tackle!

Finally, Shane Ray got his first NFL sack, and this tweet from our very own Fullback U scored a spot on the Mile High Report celebration/reaction page:


And that does it for another week of NFL action. Already 1/4 of the way through the season, it will be interesting to see how our Mizzou Tigers roles shape up going forward. I look forward to keep you in the loop....thanks for reading!

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