Monday #ProCanes Report: Four to the Pro Bowl

The Monday Morning #ProCanes report will weed through all the NFL highlights and news to bring you the information you care about the most… what the former University of Miami Hurricanes did during the week prior. Miami was the only school with four players selected to the 2014 Pro Bowl, but a number of other #ProCanes stepped up Sunday with dominant performances in the last weekend of the regular season. Veteran wide receiver Andre Johnson hauled in 10 passes and a touchdown for Houston, Reggie Wayne had a career-long 80-yard reception for Indianapolis, Lamar Miller made Dolphins history with a 97-yard TD, and 49ers’ all-time leading rusher Frank Gore became just the 20^th running back in NFL history to top 11,000 career yards. Read on for more from #NFLU.

Lamar Miller (Miami Dolphins) – 19 carries, 178 yards, one touchdown
Sunday marked a career day for Dolphins running back Lamar Miller, who rushed for 178 yards on just 19 carries including one touchdown against divisional rival New York. A Miami Killian HS alum, Miller busted a 97-yard score in the third quarter that set the franchise record for the longest play from scrimmage in Dolphins history. Miller, who topped the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his budding career, averaged 5.1 yards per carry this season en route to 1,099 yards and eight rushing touchdowns. Miller’s 97-yard run in the third quarter officially moved him past the major plateau and tied him for the third-longest play from scrimmage in NFL history.

Greg Olsen (Carolina Panthers) – two catches, 27 yards
While his numbers Sunday were by no means eye-popping, the first-year Pro Bowler eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his eight-year career with 27 yards in a victory over Atlanta. Olsen, who was a key member of a Carolina Panthers team that powered its way to a NFC South divisional title with a 34-3 win against the Falcons, was one of just two tight ends to crack 1,000 yards in 2014. Olsen now stands as just one of 14 players in franchise history to reach 1,000 receiving yards in a single season, having hauled in a career-best 84 passes. Of the top five seasons by tight ends in 2014, two were products of #TightEndU: Olsen (1,008) and New Orleans’ Pro Bowler Jimmy Graham (889 yards, 10 TDs).

Frank Gore (San Francisco 49ers) – 25 carries, 144 yards
Ever since arriving in San Francisco as a 21 year-old rookie in 2005, Frank Gore has set the standard for running backs across the NFL. If Gore played his last game as a 49er Sunday afternoon (with free agency looming), fans at Levi’s Stadium know he went out with a bang in a win over Arizona. Gore powered his way to 144 yards on 25 carries, becoming one of just 20 running backs in the history of the NFL to crack 11,000 career yards and reaching the 1,000-yard mark for the eighth time in his brilliant career with the performance. Gore, the all-time leading rusher in 49ers’ history, said after the game: “If I’m not here, I wanted to show my fans the way a 49er is supposed to play.”

Sean Spence (Pittsburgh Steelers) – four tackles, one sack
A third-round pick out of Miami in 2012, it took Pittsburgh Steelers’ linebacker Sean Spence nearly two years to return to the sideline after tearing up his knee in the team’s final preseason game the same year. Finally healthy, Spence has locked down the weakside linebacker spot in Pittsburgh’s defense, and is a candidate for NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Spence delivered another strong performance in Sunday’s AFC North-clinching win over Cincinnati. Spence had four tackles, including his first career sack, in Pittsburgh’s 27-17 win at Heinz Field.  He ends his first regular season with 53 tackles in 16 games, and started the final four contests of the season.

With the 2014 regular season officially in the books, Miami features four #ProCanes on active postseason rosters: Vince Wilfork (New England), Orlando Franklin (Denver), Sam Shields (Green Bay), Eric Winston (Cincinnati) and Calais Campbell (Arizona), as well as Olsen, Spence and Wayne.