The 15-Play Drive

15 thoughts on week-2 in the NFL...

1. Welcome to the pro game Greg Schiano. The Buccaneers head coach learned Sunday that what works in the Big East doesn't work in the NFL...ever. I had no issue with Schiano calling for the Buccaneers defense to attempt to create a turnover on the final kneel down of the game. However, Schiano's explanation of the play was disingenuous at best. If it's about playing hard for 60-minutes, why didn't Tampa Bay try the same thing when Eli Manning took a knee at the end of the 1st half?

2. Instead of his kneel down defense, what Schiano should be more concerned with in practice this week is tightening up a secondary that blew a 27-16 4th quarter lead. By my count, Eli Manning completed 8 of 13-passes in those final 15-minutes for 243-yards and 2-touchdowns. To put it in perspective, Manning had as many yards passing in that 4th quarter as Buccaneers QB Josh Freeman had in the entire game.

3. Whatever leverage week-1 gave Roger Goodell in his negotiations with the locked out officials, it's now gone. The replacement refs didn't get better in week-2...they were completely exposed.

4. Despite the inept officiating, there's no excuse for what Redskins receiver Josh Morgan pulled Sunday in the 4th quarter. With less than 1:30-remaining, and his team trailing 31-28, Morgan's 7-yard catch set up 4th and 1 at the Rams 29-yard line. Only one problem...Morgan lost his composure when St. Louis cornerback Cortland Finnegan shoved him after the play, and proceeded to pick up a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for throwing the ball at Finnegan. Morgan's temper tantrum turned a makeable 46-yard field goal into an impossible 62-yard attempt for Billy Cundiff, who couldn't reach from that distance if he had gale force winds behind him, let alone in the climate controlled dome.

5. No team pulled off a bigger upset Sunday than the Cardinals, but their 20 to 18 victory over the Patriots almost didn't happen after Ryan Williams lost a fumble at his own 30-yard line with 1:01-remaining. Only a missed Stephen Gostkowski 42-yard field goal saved Williams from total misery. Afterwards, I told Arizona safety Kerry Rhodes that Williams must be the happiest man in America, and he responded with this: "I talked to him...I went over and told him it would be OK...We just got to have his back like we did."

6. Speaking of New England, I still don't understand their lack of aggressiveness before Gostkowski shanked the potential game winning FG. Instead of trying to get any closer, the Patriots ran a quarterback sneak, followed by a kneel down, and a spike to stop the clock. I understand 42-yards is well within Gostkowski's range, but when Tom Brady's your QB, why not see if you can get a few more yards and shorten the distance?

7. The Jets clearly have no faith in Mark Sanchez. They made that statement loud and clear at the end of the 1st half in Pittsburgh. Trailing 13-10 with 1:03 to go and the ball at their own 31-yard line, New York choose to run twice with Bilal Powell, and head for the locker room. This despite the fact that they had 2-timeouts remaining. That's conservative to the extreme.

8. There's not a ton to cheer about in Cleveland these days, but the Browns are all set at the running back position, because Trent Richardson is a beast! Richardson had 109-yards rushing and a touchdown against the Bengals, but his most impressive moment to me was his 23-yard TD reception. On the play, Richardson broke 4-tackles inside the 10-yard line. In a season that will be short on victories, Richardson makes the Browns offense worth watching.

9. The Todd Collins award of the week goes to Blaine Gabbert. The Jaguars QB reverted to his rookie form in week-2 versus the Texans completing just 7 of 19-passes for 53-yards and a touchdown before leaving in the 4th quarter with a hamstring injury.

10. This is what you call a head coach/offensive coordinator over-thinking. With the Panthers trailing the Saints 10-7 in the 2nd quarter Sunday, Carolina faced 4th and short at the New Orleans 4-yard line. The easy, and right call for that matter, would have been to use 6'5 245-pound Cam Newton to run a QB sneak. Instead, the Panthers tried to get cute and run outside on a pitch, which was fumbled. It happens all the time. NFL decision makers need to realize, just because the other team knows what's coming doesn't mean they can stop it.

11. How do you lose Steve Smith? Only the Saints know the answer to that question, because that's exactly what they did in a critical sequence against the Panthers. Following a New Orleans TD that pulled them within 28-20 early in the 4th quarter, Carolina's offense took the field from its own 20-yard line. On its first play, Cam Newton found Smith wide open for a 66-yard reception. 5-plays later, Newton ran for a 5-yard score. Following their 35-27 win, Smith joined me and Steve Torre on the Sunday Drive, and I asked how he shook loose for that big catch: "They jumped the route, and nobody actually covered me." Now that's pathetic defense.

12. When Joe Flacco shows me he's an elite quarterback, then I'll believe it. With the Ravens down 24-23 at Philadelphia Sunday with 1:55-remaining, Flacco didn't look the part of a top-10 QB, let alone top-5. He completed exactly 2-passes for 21-yards on Baltimore's final drive, which stalled at their own 46-yard line. Not exactly the stuff legends are made of.

13. I know tackling is a lost art, but really Oakland? On his 23-yard touchdown run again the Raiders in the 3rd quarter, Dolphins running back Reggie Bush fought off four would be tacklers on his way to the end zone. Bush is shifty, and he's got speed, but at 6'0 203 it's not like your trying to bring down John Riggins.

14. Forget comparing Andrew Luck to Peyton Manning this week, how about comparing Peyton Manning to Peyton Manning. His second career start for the Broncos looked an awful lot like his second career start for the Colts.
1998 Manning: 21-33 188-yards 1-TD 3-INT
2012 Manning: 24-37 241-yards 1-TD 3-INT

15. Jay Cutler isn't the first quarterback to rip into some of his teammates in the heat of the moment, but it's hard to take the Bears QB seriously when he makes some of the worst decisions known to man. When you get picked off 4-times, you might want to look in the mirror before pointing the finger.