FIRST AND SHORT

Weekend Warriors: Watt returns, Patterson's huge day, Brees part of upset

JR Radcliffe
jr.radcliffe@jrn.com

The first week of the NFL and the second week of the college football season gave us a number of notable performances from area graduates.

Cleveland Browns' Joe Thomas waits with an American flag to run onto the field before the game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday on Sept. 11, 2016, in Philadelphia.

  • Pewaukee’s JJ Watt ran into our old friend in Chicago Bears starting guard Josh Sitton, but just getting back on the field after offseason surgery was a big milestone for the Texans superstar.
  • Cleveland Browns star tackle Joe Thomas (Brookfield Central) will be blocking for a backup quarterback the rest of the year after Robert Griffin III was placed on injured reserve. He talked about a fake punt play in his team’s opening week loss and also found himself blocking two guys at the same time on one play (video deleted, but you can see a screen capture).
  • Brad Nortman (Brookfield Central) had two booming punts that pinned the Packers inside the 20 both times as he played his first game with Jacksonville, which gave Nortman a multi-year contract in the offseason.
  • Joe Schobert (Waukesha West) had one tackle fro the Cleveland Browns in his NFL debut.
  • Derek Watt (Pewaukee), blocking for old friend Melvin Gordon, helped Gordon score his first two career shutouts. The Heisman finalist with the Badgers two years ago did not score a touchdown in his rookie season, when he was a first-round pick for the Chargers. Watt was the first guy there to congratulate Gordon after his first score. San Diego lost a heartbreaker in overtime to Kansas City, however.
  • At Wisconsin, Alec James (Brookfield East) notched his second sack of the year, and TJ Watt (Pewaukee) recorded a sack in a dominant win over Akron. Zach Baun (Brown Deer) also picked up a tackle for loss, and Ricky Finco (Arrowhead) returned one punt for 15 yards.

Elsehwere in college…

  • Ben Bredeson (Arrowhead) again saw playing time on the offensive line as Michigan handled Central Florida, 51-14. Michigan sits at No. 4 in the AP poll and No. 5 in the coaches poll.
  • Brian Smith (Brookfield East). Smith caught four passes for 61 yards and a touchdown as Minnesota knocked off Indiana State, 58-28.
  • Nate Tanguay (Mukwonago) was credited with half a sack for North Dakota State, the No. 1-ranked team in FCS, and the Bison escaped with a second straight overtime win. After a 24-17 win over Charleston Southern and a 50-44 win over Eastern Washington, NDSU faces Iowa on Saturday.
  • Mitchell Brees (Greendale) logged five tackles and a pass breakup as Illinois State upset Northwestern, 9-7. Teammate Alec Kocour (Catholic Memorial) was also busy with four tackles, a tackle for loss, and a quarterback hurry.
  • UW-Whitewater was in a 13-7 hole early in the second quarter Saturday, but Drew Patterson (Sussex Hamilton) kicked it into gear big time with 227 yards rushing and three touchdowns as the Warhawks roared back for a 59-13 win over Belhaven. Matt Seitz (Arrowhead) was a big part of the defensive effort, with five tackles, a fumble recovery and an interception. Colin Buck (Franklin) forced a fumble and finished with two interceptions.