Trojans in the pros: week one

Week one of the NFL season saw many former Trojans in action.

Here’s a recap of how they fared in their 2011 debuts.

• New Orleans Saints offensive tackle Charles Brown was part of a unit that allowed quarterback Drew Brees to be sacked three times by the Green Bay Packers defense.
• Packers linebacker Clay Matthews recorded no sacks, but had four tackles as Green Bay won 42-34.
• Saints defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis and his fellow interior linemen kept the Packer run game relatively in check — allowing 103 yards but just 3.8 yards per carry. Ellis had 2 tackles as well.
• The Pittsburgh Steelers defense and safety Troy Polamalu struggled against the Baltimore Ravens offense, allowing 170 yards rushing. The Ravens won 35-7.
• Atlanta Falcons offensive tackle Sam Baker and the rest of the team did not fare well against the Chicago Bears. The Bears sacked Ryan five times, forced a fumble and interception as the Falcons lost 30-12.
• Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel struggled against the Buffalo Bills with just 119 passing yards as the Chiefs fell 41-7.
• Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga had six tackles en route to helping the Bengals to a 27-17 victory over the Cleveland Browns.
• Linebacker Brian Cushing helped a dominating effort by the Houston Texans defense against the Indianapolis Colts, with seven tackles. The Texans held the Peyton Manning-less Colts to a touchdown in Houston’s 34-7 victory.
• Tennessee Titans rookie defensive tackle Jurrell Casey had four tackles in a 16-14 loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
• Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis was a beneficiary of Rex Grossman’s passes. Davis racked up five receptions for 105 yards against the New York Giants.
• Carolina Panthers center Ryan Kalil and his fellow offensive line struggled to help the run game — 74 yards/24 carries — and to keep rookie QB Cam Newton clean (4 sacks) as Carolina narrowly lost, 28-21.
• New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez impressed in his 2011 primetime debut against the Dallas Cowboys. Sanchez threw for 335 yards, two touchdowns and one interception to lead the Jets to a 27-24 victory.
• On the other side of the ball, Cowboys rookie offensive tackle Tyron Smith was part of a unit that gave up four sacks on quarterback Tony Romo.
• Miami Dolphin running back Reggie Bush had 38 rushing yards, 56 receiving yards and one touchdown in his debut. The Dolphins lost to the New England Patriots 38-24.

Here’s a list of players that were either inactive or compiled no/minimal statistics:

• Cincinnati S Taylor Mays
• Cincinnati LB Keith Rivers
• Cincinnati defensive end Frostee Rucker (one tackle)
• Cleveland LB Kaluka Maiava
• Cleveland TE Jordan Cameron
• Indianapolis DT Fili Moala (one tackle)
• Indianapolis CB Kevin Thomas
• Houston DT Shaun Cody
• Detroit DE Kyle Moore
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB Allen Bradford
• Tennessee Titans wide receiver Damian Williams (one reception, five yards)
• Philadelphia OT Winston Justice
• Philadelphia DT Mike Patterson (two tackles)
• Philadelphia fullback Stanley Havili
• Seattle CB Josh Pinkard
• San Francisco 49ers guard Chilo Rachal (played, but the 49ers only recorded 85 rushing yards on 27 attempts)
• Seattle TE Anthony McCoy (two receptions, 12 yards)
• Seattle TE Dominique Byrd
• Seattle WR Mike Williams
• Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen (one tackle)
• San Diego Chargers CB Shareece Wright
• Dallas kicker David Buehler (five kickoffs, no PATs or FGs attempted)
• NYJ WR Patrick Turner
• NYJ RB Joe McKnight