2012 » n Cam Brown who is also expected to see a bigger role.I

METAIRIE, La. -- New Orleans Saints center Max Unger finally gets to play against a defense he knows so well in a game that counts.Its just a lot of memories of playing the defense in practice, Unger said when asked what he finds most compelling about the chance to play Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, the team with which he spent his first six NFL seasons.Unger, who was popular both in the Seahawks locker room and with Seattle fans, concedes that he was caught off guard by the 2015 trade that sent him to New Orleans, along with a first-round draft choice, in exchange for star tight end Jimmy Graham. But if the Unger is motivated personally by the prospect of making the Seahawks pay for uprooting him from a community he liked living in and playing for, hes not letting on about it.Theres a lot of emotions, obviously, that go across when you get traded, Unger said. You kind of have to remove that personal element. ... Im not the first player to ever play against their former team. It happens weekly in this locker room. So its funny to hear the stories and so this will be another one.While the Hawaii native and former second-round draft choice out of Oregon wasnt entirely thrilled by having to leave the West Coast, he was curious about the culture and history of New Orleans and eager to experience something different. He figured hed get a lot out of playing with record-setting quarterback Drew Brees, and he at least knew the Saints really valued him; they must have to trade a star as prolific as Graham for him.After practice Thursday, Unger went so far as to say he couldnt be happier than he is right now as an offensive leader with the Saints, who named him a captain this season.I take a lot of pride in that, Unger said. Its just a testament to doing the right things.When Unger was traded to New Orleans, right tackle Zach Strief reached out almost immediately, inviting Unger to watch a round of New Orleans annual PGA Tour event, the Zurich Classic, in the spring of 2015. Strief said it makes sense that Unger would be appreciated by fans in Seattle -- or anywhere.Fans can see and understand and respect tough guys, just like he is here. Hes tough and hes steady and gives you everything you want out of a lineman, Strief said. Hes not a big talker. Hes not someone whos going to ask to have his face put many places, but at the same time I think people very quickly get a feel for the type of person he is by how he plays and the kind of guy he is around the locker room.In New Orleans, anyone who succeeds in protecting Brees is bound to be respected. Unger has fortified the front and center of the pocket, Brees said, and the results are self-evident. Brees led the NFL in passing last season. Through six games this season, he is averaging an NFL-leading 350.2 yards per game, putting him on pace for what would be an NFL single-season record of 5,603 yards passing.Max has been as good as I ever could have imagined, not only just his production, but his leadership ability and his toughness and the presence he brings to the locker room and to that offensive line room and to our team, Brees said.Even though the Seahawks were willing to part with Unger to get an elite pass-catcher like Graham, it is also apparent they miss their former offensive lineman -- and not just because theyve had a little more trouble than usual running the ball and protecting quarterback Russell Wilson.Hes awesome, one of our all-time favorite guys, Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. Its who he is -- his character, his competitiveness, the smarts that he brings just a great team guy.Unger said he still follows how the Seahawks are doing, still has a number of friends on the team and -- with the exception of this week -- still enjoys seeing them succeed.It sounds like the feeling is mutual.He is an incredible leader and he is an incredible ballplayer, Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman said of Unger. He is reliable and he is a fantastic teammate. He is one of the better teammates that you could ask for. I think that everybody was surprised when that trade went down.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFLZack Littell Twins Jersey . 8 Iowa State on Saturday, sending the Cyclones to their third consecutive loss. The Longhorns (14-4, 3-2) got their biggest win of the season with their third in the row in the Big 12. Kirby Puckett Jersey . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. https://www.cheaptwins.com/432t-nick-gordon-jersey-twins.html . What general manager Dave Nonis called "short and productive" negotiations ended with Kessel signing a US$64-million, eight-year contract on Tuesday. Minnesota Twins Pro Shop .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later. Frank Viola Jersey . With their top three point guards and Kobe Bryant all sidelined by injury, the Lakers signed Marshall out of the D-League on Friday before their home game against Minnesota.STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- James Franklin generally proceeds with caution, dialing back his teams practice regimens as football seasons grind on.But Penn States coach has never had to consider doing so this early.A rash of injuries had Franklin worrying aloud following his teams 49-10 loss to No. 4 Michigan on Saturday. He feared Penn State, with four linebackers hurt, might not be able to stage a competitive practice before another hard-running team in Minnesota (3-0, 0-0) this week. Its still a concern as he looks to avoid his first 0-2 Big Ten start.In my 22 years of doing this, Ive never been a part of a team thats lost all three of our starting linebackers, Franklin said. Ive been around teams that have lost this guy for a game or lost this guy for two games or lost this guy maybe for a season, but to lose all of them for a significant amount of time at the same time, Ive never been a part of that.The injury bugs bitten deeper, too.Backup linebacker Jan Johnson was felled with an unspecified season-ender on Saturday and Franklin said the team is dealing with other ailments not noticeable from watching Saturdays game. Star Nyeem Wartman-White is also out for the rest of the year and Franklin gave no strong indication fellow starters Brandon Bell and Jason Cabinda could return soon.Its all forced Franklin to consider scaling back practices much earlier than mid-October, when hes usually done so.He planned to meet with defensive coordinator Brent Pry in order to determine the best practice tempos to protect healthy bodies, whether or not to move more players to reserve linebacker roles or considering using Bell and Cabinda in minimal capacities if they can.Thats the decision you have to make. Is it holding them out of practice completely and going full speed with everybody else? Franklin said. Or is it modifying practice to allow them to geet some quality work in practice as well when youre pretty confident that that guy is going to be able to play on Saturday?Franklin is hoping to improve his defenses versatility by moving linebackers around this week.ddddddddddddophomores Jake Cooper and Manny Bowen are expected to drill at all three linebacker spots after starting on the outside the last two weeks. Middle man Brandon Smith will likely make his second career start after the former walk-on was ejected from the Michigan game for targeting on the first play of the second quarter. That ejection was detrimental to a group that hadnt played much together.Koa Farmer, who was recruited as a safety before he switched to linebacker and back to safety again, has worked with the linebackers this season. He played his most snaps on defense against Michigan as did true freshman Cam Brown who is also expected to see a bigger role.I havent been on a team thats been through so many injuries, Farmer said. But at this point its just the next man up mentality and getting young guys in the game, getting those guys experience for everyone so they can be ready.Penn State will have to be prepared for Minnesotas hard-charging run game or risk big problems. The Gophers are averaging just over 228 rushing yards per game with tailbacks Rodney Smith and Kobe McCrary. Due to injuries and inexperience up front, Penn State is allowing just over 213 rushing yards per game and continued struggles could potentially spell disaster for a team looking to turn around a disappointing start.These next two weeks are huge for our program and huge for where this weekend will take us, tight end Mike Gesicki said. I think that we all understand that and we all kind of see the big picture. ' ' '