[ NFL ISLANDERS ]
Tinoisamoa
making plays
on Sundays
Whenever grading film, members of the University of Hawaii defensive staff must wonder what life would be like if Pisa Tinoisamoa were still roaming free on the Aloha Stadium turf.
Their loss is the St. Louis Rams' gain as the talented linebacker continues to impress in only his first month of the season. In yesterday's big win over the Arizona Cardinals, Tinoisamoa finished fourth on the team in tackles with four as the St. Louis defense limited Arizona to only 161 yards on a meager 36 plays from scrimmage.
Tinoisamoa also forced his second fumble of the season and ran his yearly total in tackles to 21 as St. Louis evened its mark at 2-2.
Pittsburgh fell to 2-2 yesterday after the visiting Tennessee Titans leveled the Steelers with an impressive performance. Steelers defensive end Kimo von Oelhoffen had a season-high five tackles. The Molokai product, who played his college ball at Boise State, has nine tackles the past two weeks.
Like von Oelhoffen, former Hawaii linebacker Jeff Ulbrich was involved in a lopsided loss. The Vikings raced past the 49ers, who fell to 1-3. Former Hawaii coaches Dick Tomey and Greg McMackin have a lot to answer for in the 35-7 defeat.
Ulbrich wasn't at his best either. He started for the fourth consecutive week at outside linebacker, but managed only two tackles. He did have another tackle on special teams, but overall, the 49ers' defense is in the doldrums.
So is Jacksonville. The Jaguars never figured former Fresno State quarterback David Carr would try a sneak on fourth down in the waning seconds to win the game outright. It dropped the Jaguars to 0-4 for the season, much to the dismay of the three local boys on the Jacksonville team. Once again, former Kahuku High standout Chris Naeole and Hawaii stalwart Vince Manuwai started at their respective guard spots.
The Jaguars had 342 total yards and the O-line yielded no sacks. Unfortunately for local fans, Chris Fuamatu-Maafala (Saint Louis/Utah) played, but had no carries for a third straight game.
Several players with local ties remain on the inactive roster the fourth week of the season. They are Washington Redskins wideout Clifford Russell (Campbell/Utah), Tennessee Titans quarterback Jason Gesser (Saint Louis/Washington State) and Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Lauvale Sape (Leilehua/Utah).
New England offensive tackle Adrian Klemm was also on the inactive roster yesterday due to an ankle sprain. It was the first game he missed this season. Such was not the case for former UH teammate Kynan Forney. The offensive guard started his fourth straight game for Atlanta, but the Falcons continued to struggle minus quarterback Michael Vick. They produced only three points as the O-line yielded a staggering six quarterback sacks as well.
Former Nebraska lineman Dominic Raiola had a much better performance for the Lions in their loss to the Denver Broncos, although he also was called for a chop block. Unfortunately for the Lions, they didn't have enough answers for the 4-0 Broncos.
If the UH defensive coaches miss Tinoisamoa, then the offensive coaches long for Ashley Lelie as well. The Denver wideout had another big game. He finished with four receptions for 76 yards, including a 29-yarder for a touchdown. He also carried the ball one time for 6 yards as Denver raised its record to 4-0. Former UH place-kicker Jason Elam added two field goals of 37 and 41 yards, and two PATs.
Rounding out the local boys who played yesterday were defensive lineman Ma'ake Kemoeatu (Kahuku/Utah), who was on the field for Baltimore but had no tackles. New Orleans Saints running back James Fenderson (Mililani/Hawaii) had one carry for 6 yards and one catch for 5 in the loss to Indianapolis.
