NFL Rookie Report Week 6

As Week 6 in the NFL once again proved, everything can happen on any given Sunday. The Giants lost to the Browns, Washington falls to the lowly Rams and all around the league we saw interesting developments. Same can be said among the current rookie class where we also had some surprising breakout games, some players continuing their pro bowl caliber play and others stepping onto the scene for the first time. Let's have the weekly look at the rookies' play in week 6.

Offense:
We have to look no further than Atlanta to find some of the most impressive rookies of the 2008 class. The surprising Falcons beat the Chicago Bears and again got a tremendous performance from their first year signal caller Matt Ryan. The third overall pick completed 22 of his 30 passes for 301 yards and a touchdown. That gave him a 116.1 rating for the day and was just another reason for Falcons fans to smile about the upcoming years and to forget about a certain player with the number 7. Two other rookies help Ryan in Atlanta's offense: Tackle Sam Baker once again looked great on the offensive line and wide receiver Harry Douglas had a true breakout game against the Bears. Douglas, critisized by many before the Combine, caught 5 balls for 96 yards, both season highs. Matt Forte had another strong showing in the same game for Chitown with 110 all purpose yards and a rushing touchdown.

The other rookie starting quarterback, Joe Flacco in Baltimore, struggled this weekend despite a good completion percentage and 241 yards in the air. In a blowout loss at Indianapolis, Flacco found himself on his back 4 times and also threw 3 interceptions. Former Michigan star running back Mike Hart got his first real action for the Colts and rushed once for 2 yards and caught a pass for 18 yards. A little more impressive was the performance of Detroit's Kevin Smith who poured in 62 yards on only 5 carries against a tough Minnesota front and also added 11 receiving yards. His numbers scream for more touches. Unlike Smith, Eagles rookie sensation DeSean Jackson and Rams' receiver Donnie Avery don't have to worry about playing time right now. Jackson caught 6 balls for 98 yards and with now 433 total receiving yards he ranks 11th among all NFL receivers for the season, in front of some big names such as Terrell Owens or T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Not bad for a 5-10 second rounder that couldn't save himself from negative predraft buzz. Donnie Avery helped the Rams to celebrate their first win of the season with a nailbiter at Washington. The 5-11 Avery hauled in 5 passes for 73 yards against a very talented Redskins' secondary. A number of other pass catchers had solid showings this weekend, too. Jordy Nelson grabbed 4 balls for 42 yards and tight end John Carlson (Seattle) caught 4 passes for 22 yards including a 6 yard touchdown from backup QB Charlie Frye. Running back Ben-Jarvus Green-Ellis got his first action for the New England Patriots and caught a pass for 9 yards. The Carolina Panthers felt how valuable rookies already can be as Jeff Otah missed his second start in a row. The Panthers got destroyed by division rival Tampa Bay and the offense stuttered without it's starting left tackle in all areas.

Defense:
Looking at the defensive end, we can also start with an Atlanta Falcon. Linebacker Curtis Lofton racked up 8 total tackles in his team's win against Chicago and contiues to be a disruptive force in the middle. Fellow linebacker Keith Rivers recorded 6 tackles in a losing effort at the Meadowlands. In that game, Jets rookie cornerback Dwight Lowery passed another important test going up against Chad Johnson (sorry, that namechanging crap can't be taken serious) and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. While both had their moments, Lowery played well and at no point lost his focus. He finished with 3 tackles and defended two passes. For the Bengals Corey Lynch had an early career highlight. Not only did he defend a pass from quarterback legend Brett Favre, no, he also got his first career interception against old number 4. Defensive tackle Pat Sims out of Auburn also had a strong outing for Cincinnati with 4 solo tackles and an assist.

Aqib Talib also had a great game on Sunday. The big and physical corner intercepted a pass from Jake Delhomme, batted down two other throws and also added 3 tackles in an important division game. The second overall pick Chris Long had a key play against Washington when he recovered a fumble to go along with 3 tackles. Two other well known rookies led their respective tackles this week. Chris Horton, safety for the Redskins, finished with 10 stops against St. Louis and Jerod Mayo collected 7 tackles for the Patriots. Bryan Kehl also stood out as he got his first heavy duty for the New York Giants. The former BYU star finished with 6 stops at Cleveland. Kenny Phillips had 4 tackles in the same game for the Giants but was part of a secondary that got killed by Cleveland's air attack. Alex Hall had two tackles for the Browns and also sacked Eli Manning once. Trevor Laws (Eagles) and Calais Campbell (Cardinals), both heralded defensive line rookies, had solid outings with 2 tackles apiece and Campbell also forced a fumble against the Dallas Cowboys.

Special Teams:
Devon Bess had 113 kick return yards for the Miami Dolphins and also had a nice punt return for 25 yards. As if his receiving prowess wouldn't be impress enough, DeSean Jackson also comes around as a return man. After recording his first return touchdown last week he netted two punt returns this week for 28 yards. His teammate Quintin Demps had a tremendous 63 yard kick return against San Francisco on his way to 116 total return yards. The highlight play this week came from Tampa Bay's Geno Hayes though as he blocked a punt against Carolina and returned it 22 yards for the score. He also added 3 tackles and defended a pass, respectively.