Warriors in the Pros: Wednesday Edition

Cowboys punter Mat McBriar is getting some love from Dallas fans and writers, including Albert Breer of the Dallas Morning News.

TO81: Just how valuable is Mat McBriar to this team?

Albert Breer: TO, there's no overstating how big McBriar was yesterday. Three times, he pinned the Vikings inside the 10 and led to the Cowboys offense getting the ball back in prime position. Plus, he had a 50.5-yard net average. The special teams were huge and – apologies to Chris Canty and Patrick Watkins – McBriar was the star of that show.

Here's an article that Ronnie of the Tsaikos found several days ago, a profile of Samson Satele from Phins.com. Here's an excerpt:

It is the center’s responsibility to read the defensive front and make the appropriate line calls. It’s a massive responsibility, even for a seasoned veteran. To expect a green rookie to take on that job, given the complexity and clever deception of NFL defenses, borders on the unreasonable.

Crazy, actually.

Nevertheless, Satele has beaten the odds. It’s really something because the Dolphins didn’t have to start him. They could have taken the easy way out and kept Rex Hadnot at center and instead played Satele at guard.

But Dolphins coach Cam Cameron and line boss extraordinaire Hudson Houck became convinced early on that Satele was up to the job.

And Satele hasn’t disappointed them, despite his extreme baptism by fire.

Great article. Good luck to Samson and Reagan as they travel to London to play the Giants this weekend.

Vince Manuwai talks about the Jacksonville Jaguars' eroding fan base, with the team playing to less-than-capacity home crowds.

When Jaguars guard Vince Manuwai walks into Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, he never really knows what to expect.
Will the stands be full? Or will there be patches of empty teal seats? Will the fans cheer for the Jaguars? Or will they turn on the home team?

Manuwai hopes for the best. But he's often disappointed, growing increasingly frustrated in his fifth season of playing for a small-market team that has struggled to maintain - let alone increase - its fan base.

"It stinks because you always want it to be sold out," Manuwai said. "You get more pumped up when the stadium is full, when it's loud. When you see a half-empty stadium, your energy's just not as high."

I'm going to resist making any Aloha Stadium jokes. Ziiiip!

And Timmy Chang got some playing time for the Hamilton Ticats this past weekend, going 7 of 12 for 50 yards in a loss.

UPDATE: From today's press conference with 49er coach Mike Nolan:

RE: What is Darrell Jackson’s injury?
“D-Jack’s got a quad strain.”

RE: Would Ashley Lelie start if Darrell Jackson could not play?
“Yes.”

RE: Was that why Ashley Lelie saw extended snaps with the main offense at the end of the game on Sunday?
“You know, I don’t know if that was the time. I don’t know when the strain occurred. I know we were trying to get him in, in the second half. He went in and played some more.”

RE: Did Ashley Lelie’s long reception inspire the decision to get him in the game more?
“Well, it certainly helped his cause, no question. He did some of that in pre-season as well. We’ve just had to take some steps to get that done.”