David Bowens Named AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Anyone who would have bet on David Bowens for player of the week honors any time this season would have been committed for insanity.  The old vet, Bowens, was once thought to be on the bubble of making the Browns’ roster.  Now the 33 year-old has won this week’s honor after doubling his career interception total by adding two this week at the expense of Drew Brees of all people.  For Bowens it also adds two touchdowns to his resume that used to have none.

The real ripoff is that Reggie Hodges didn’t earn the special teams nod from the league.  Steelers’ returner Emmanuel Sanders gets it after amassing 144 yards on kickoffs.  He had two long returns of 37 and 48 yards.  Seems impressive right?  Wrong.  Reggie Hodges ran once for 68 yards.  68 is a bigger number than either 37 or 48 in case you didn’t know.  In addition to that heroic run, Hodges averaged 42 yards per punt with two inside the 20 and a long of 53 yards.  What was Emmanuel Sanders’ longest punt last Sunday?  He didn’t kick the ball even once, you say?  I rest my case.

All kidding aside, it was a fun week for the Browns and their fans.  When you get a performance like that out of David Bowens of all people it makes for a great bye week.  Still, the reason that it is such a good story is also a major concern for the franchise.  David Bowens is proof that this linebacking corps is still being held together rather loosely, despite the off-season additions of Fujita and Gocong.  Much like the defensive line, the Browns still have holes at the position that need plugging for the long-term security of the franchise.

Just in case you don’t want the Bowens moment to die, you can vote for Bowens’ play to be the GMC Never Say Never Moment of Week 7 by clicking here.  You can also follow David Bowens on Twitter at DBowens96.  Where else will you see gems like pictures of “The World’s Largest Backpack” as worn by Shaun Rogers?