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Buffalo Bulls Professional Football Players Naaman Roosevelt and Khalil Mack highlight the week

By Tim Riordan
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

It was a great weekend to be a UB fan with access to NFL Sunday Ticket and ESPN3. In pigskin action on both sides of the border UB Alumni distinguished themselves.

Top NFL Bull - This was a hard pick because you have Khalil Mack destroying Arizona and Branden Oliver was the leading *RECEIVER* when San Diego took on Seattle. In the end Chris Collinsworth threw out the soundbite of the week so Khalil gets the nod.

Collinsworth noted "If I needed a yard, I would run anywhere on planet Earth other than at Khalil Mack" after Arizona tried to convert a 3rd and short on Mack's side of the line. Khalil stripped the ball.

In the CFL there was another hard choice for the top Bull. Willy is out and Adjei is still a bit player in Toronto so up until this week Ernest Jackson was the face of UB in the "Great White North".

Then Naaman Roosevelt got called up from the Sasketchewan practice squad for a game against Jackson and the Ottawa REDBLACKS.

Both receivers had good games. Jackson caught five passes for 77 yards and Naaman hauled in three passes for 46. Roosevelt gets the nod because he scored a touchdown and EJ did not. But EJ and the REDBLACKS did walk away with a huge win.

Around the NFL

Khalil Mack

He made the Arizona Cardinals look as ineffective as the UMass Minutemen

Carson Palmer's ugly night, Khalil Mack is unblockable: 9 takeaways - CBSSports.com
Khalil Mack was practically unstoppable against the Cardinals. "If I needed a yard, I would run anywhere on planet Earth other than at Khalil Mack." That's how NBC's Cris Collinsworth described the Cardinals' lackluster attempt to pick up a 3rd-and-short by running on Mack's side of the line of scrimmage.

Mack ended up stripping David Johnson of the football, though the Cardinals managed to recover. On Sunday, Mack wrecked havoc in the pocket. During the Cardinals' fourth series of the game, Mack blazed past left tackle Jared Veldheer and Palmer's throw was tipped by another defender at the line of scrimmage.

A couple plays later, Veldheer was clearly concerned that Mack was going to run by him again. Instead, Mack spun to the inside and flushed Palmer out of the pocket, forcing yet another incompletion.

Oakland Raiders Khalil Mack dominates the Arizona Cardinals
Yes, it is only preseason. However, the third preseason game, is usually considered the dress rehearsal because teams game plan like the regular season. Therefore, Mack’s performance against Arizona is a great sign of things to come.

Branden Oliver

BO ran "Oliver" Seattle but we knew he would. In doing so Oliver is setting up something of a running back controversy in San Diego.

The San Diego Chargers Wasted Their Draft Pick - Bolts From The Blue
The San Diego Chargers should have never drafted Melvin Gordon. That much we already know.

James Starks

Starks also had a decent weekend. He ran for a touchdown and had a nice 25 yard reception. Strong receiving skills would be an asset as he fights for snaps with Eddie Lacy.

Kristjan Sokoli

Some analysts jumped the gun early last week when they said Sokoli's inexperience on the offensive line meant he would be quickly cut and put on the practice squad.

Projecting the 15 players who'll be released - Seattle - Scout
After flashing early on with his athleticism, fellow rookie Kristjan Sokoli has also struggled recently, though the former defensive tackle would seem to be a likely practice squad candidate.

Turns out they were wrong, so far, and Kristjan is holding on to his spot

Seahawks roster cuts 2015: Seattle releases Lemuel Jeanpierre, waive Greg Scruggs, others - Field Gulls
This means that the team may prefer Patrick Lewis or even Kristjan Sokoli as the swing interior lineman, and gives both of them a better chance at the roster. The team may also like Mark Glowinski in this role as well.

Steven Means

After really impressing in minicamp and early in the preseason Means was felled by injury and has been put on Baltimore's IR for the season.

Josh Thomas

Thomas is still fighting for a spot in Minnesota but a lot of folks still see him as the number seven corner and at best a temporary fix until Jabari Price is back from his suspension.

Josh Robinson will start season on reserve/PUP list
With final cuts looming on Saturday, the Vikings currently have Xavier Rhodes, Terence Newman, Captain Munnerlyn, Trae Waynes and Marcus Sherels penciled in as their top five corners.

Jabari Price is corner no. 6 but he will miss the first two games of the season as he serves a league suspension for violating the substance abuse police.

Josh Thomas would likely be cornerback no. 7 if the Vikings elected to go with that many corners. Corners Justin Coleman, Jalil Carter and DeMarcus Van Dyke have already been let go.

Jake Schum

Schum was cut by the Jets last week and quickly snatched up by Tampa Bay where he is making a strong case for the 53 man roster.

The former UB punter has already beat out one of the two other candidates for the job.

Buccaneers roster cuts 2015: Tampa Bay waives ten players, including Joey Iosefa and Karl Schmitz - Bucs Nation
The Bucs also waived punter Karl Schmitz. He was competing with Jacob Schum and Michael Koenen, but Schmitz never really looked better than Koenen while Schum had a very good night against the Cleveland Browns, averaging 51.3 yards per punt.

Around the CFL

Naaman Roosevelt

Ernest Jackson

EJ led all receivers in yards and receptions in Ottawa's game versus Saskatchewan. While he did not get into the end zone his 77 yards was a big part of the Roughriders victory.

Drew Willy

With Willy out things have gone from bad to worse in Winnipeg.

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