NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

Jclombardi's highlights Packers headlines.

Guest senior writer jclombardi @ http://lombardiave.com

Rogers’ day goes from ho-hum to hubba-hubba: The Aaron Rodgers who was uncharacteristically off target in the season opener and pretty mediocre in the first half Sunday against the Buffalo Bills is not the quarterback who will lead the Green Bay Packers to the Super Bowl. The only guy who has a chance to do that is the Aaron Rodgers who lit up the Bills in the second half of a 34-7 victory at Lambeau Field.  It was enough to win the home opener and the second half should stand as some kind of impetus for next week when the Packers travel to Chicago to meet the Bears on Monday night. ”We’re 2-0, they’re 2-0, it’s going to be a big game,” Rodgers said.

Finley makes Bills pay for single coverage with big day: Packers tight end actually saw the light of day against the Buffalo Bills, who were not as intent on double- and triple-teaming him Sunday in the Packers’ 34-7 victory. The result was the return of the big play for the tight end position. Finley grabbed four catches for 103 yards, and while he didn’t score a touchdown, all four of his receptions – 34, 32, 22 and 15 yards – came on scoring drives. ”He caught the same amount of passes (last week), it was just finding ways to get him the ball in space, down the field,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said.

Green Bay running backs feel loss of Grant–gain only 71 yards: The whole point of this game, said Kuhn, was to build some confidence for the backs – “to know without Ryan we can still be productive,” he said. “There’s definitely room for improvement out there.” ”As a group, we could do a little bit better job,” said tackle Mark Tauscher. A combination of things went wrong. Jackson confessed that he didn’t always hit the hole with the right timing. Jackson admitted that there weren’t always major holes at the line, either. ”Well, some were there, some weren’t,” he said. “It was clogged up most of the time, but you’ve just got to watch the film and learn from it.”

OT Bulaga gets his opportunity–Clinton hurt: Bryan Bulaga era at left tackle for the Green Bay Packers might get under way much sooner than later. Venerable Chad Clifton was lifted for the Iowa rookie midway through the second quarter and didn’t return Sunday in the Packers’ 34-7 victory over the Buffalo Bills at Lambeau Field. Clifton clearly struggled in his four-series, 27-play stint. Using subjective judgment, he had nine poor plays before being replaced by Bulaga. ”He has an issue with his knee,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “I felt that he just didn’t look like he was fully recovered, so I thought it was important to get Bryan in there. ”He didn’t look good today. He didn’t look healthy. We’ll assess it in the morning and set our plan for next week.”

LB Hawk goes from zero to prominent on defense: He played almost the entire game at Lambeau Field, matching linebacker Nick Barnett with a team-high nine tackles. The performance came after Hawk expressed displeasure to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he didn’t play a snap on defense in the regular-season opener at Philadelphia. Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers said Hawk and Chillar were used in separate variations of the nickel package. Hawk was able to stay in the game more because Buffalo likes to run when in a three-receiver set.

Halftime jolt inspires Packers to rout of Bills: McCarthy was so anxious to get to the locker room that he held on to his only remaining timeout with a minute left in the first half instead of using it to stop the clock. We’ll spare you the specific details on McCarthy’s dive into the Ryan playbook — the New York Jets coach’s foul mouth has become legendary, thanks to HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series — but it seemed to have produced the desired result. Playing like an actual Super Bowl contender in the second half, the Packers stomped the hapless Bills. Rodgers had two touchdown passes and ran for another over a span of three drives that helped the Packers (2-0) turn a 13-7 halftime lead into a rout. Afterward, McCarthy’s players pointed to his fiery speech as the wake-up call they needed to throttle a Buffalo team that might struggle to win a game this season. ”You could see it in his face, the intensity,” Packers linebacker Nick Barnett said. “Everybody felt the same. You could feel it in the locker room.”

At the very least one conclusion could be made about the Jacksonville Jaguars-San Diego Chargers game at Qualcomm Stadium Sunday afternoon: Philip Rivers is not overrated despite the naysayers. A second one could be made about the Jaguars’ usually reliable David Garrard: Back to the drawing board.

The Chargers efensive line made things unbearable for Garrard as he threw four interceptions while Rivers had time in the pocket and connected on three touchdowns, allowing San Diego to easily dispose of Jacksonville 38-14.

Things didn’t look good initially as San Diego rookie running back Ryan Matthews had to leave the game in the second quarter with a sprained right ankle; he would not return. Fortunately, X-rays were negative.

Turnovers dogged Jacksonville as a blocked punt, followed by Antoine Cason’s interception, set up a Rivers-to-Antonio Gates score, allowing San Diego to take a 14-3 lead.

The third and fourth quarters would find the Chargers scoring 17 unanswered points – a 41-yard Nate Kaeding field goal followed by a Mike Tollbert 1-yard TD run and a Rivers-to Malcom Floyd 54-yard strike – and subsequently salting away the game.

Rivers had his usual good effort as he went 22-of-29 for 334 yards with three TDs while Garrard fared much worse, going 15-of-23 for 173 yards with a TD and 4 interceptions. Luke McCown replaced Garrard for a stretch of the game, going 11-of-19 for 120 yards.

Mike Tolbert led the Chargers rushing attack with 82 yards on 16 carries and two TDs while Rashad Jennings led the Jaguars rushers with 38 yards on 9 carries and catching 4 passes for 50 yards.

Floyd led the Chargers receivers with 3 receptions for 95 yards and a score while Darren Sproles caught 4 for 63 yards; Antonio Gates chipped in with 5 recepitons for 57 yards and a pair of scores. Mike Sims-Walker led all Jaguars receivers with 10 receptions for 105 yards and a TD while Marcedes Lewis grabbed 5 for 70 yards.

San Diego (1-1) will now travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks next Sunday afternoon while Jacksonville (1-1) returns home to host the Philadelphia Eagles – also next Sunday.

Sunday’s game between the Houston Texans and Washington Redskins was one of record performances and offensive fireworks, with Matt Schaub and Donovan McNabb being the quarterbacks of record.

Defense would be an afterthought as both teams combined for 947 yards, the vast majority of it in the air. But it would be the foot of Neil Rackers that would settle matters he connected on a 35-yard field goal with 3:24 left in overtime, allowing Hosuton to edge Wqshington 30-27 and go to 2-0 for just the second time in their history.

The first quarter was relatively uneventful as Washington’s Graham Gano booted a pair of field goals (41 and 27 yards, respectively), providing all of the scoring for the period and giving the Redskins a 6-0 lead.

The Texans would strike back with Schaub connecting with Jacoby Jones on a 5-yard touchdown pass and putting Houston ahead 7-6. Clinton Portis would be responsible for the Redskins’ next pair of scores, two 1-yard TD plunges 11:09 apart in the second quarter, that would allow Washington to regain the lead at 20-7. They would take that lead to their locker room.

The second half would be one of role reversal as the Texans would take the third quarter with a 47-yard FG by Rackers and a 6-yard TD strike from Schaub to Kevin Walters which brought Houston to within 27-17 going into the fourth period.

Rackers’ 43-yard FG with 11:10 left in regulation put the Texans to within 27-20 and the game would get knotted at 27 on a Schaub to Andre Johnson 34-yard TD pass with 2:03. The 17 unanswered points by Houston allowed both teams to go into overtime.

The extra period was one not unlike a chess match as both teams got into the red zone. Probably the pivotal part of the period – and the game – would be when Texans head coach Gary Kubiak called a timeout just before the Redskins’ Gano nailed what woudl have been the game-winning FG. Gano would miss the next attempt after that timeout.

The Texans march down the field on their next possession would be beneficial as Schaub aired the ball out until they got to the Redskins’ 25-yard line. Rakcers would calmly boot a game-winning 35-yard FG, sending Houston to 2-0 for just the second time in the franchise’s history.

Schaub would have a record day as he went 38-of-52 for 497 yards with 3 TDs and an interception while McNabb wasn’t too shabby himself, going 28-of-38 for 426 yards with a TD.

Arian Foster led the Texans rushers with 69 yards on 19 carries and catching 3 passes for 69 yards while Portis led the Redskins with 33 yards with a pair of scores. Johnson and Walter combined for 302 receiving yards, with both wide receivers scoring once apiece while Jones caught 6 for 53 yards and a TD. Moss led the Redskins receivers with 10 receptions for 89 yards while Joey Galloway caught 3 for 88 yards; Chris Cooley would grab 3 for 64 yards and a score while Fred Davis grabbed a pass for 62 yards.

Houston (2-0) looks to go on a 3-game win streak as they host the Dallas Cowboys at Reliant Stadium next Sunday while Washington(1-1) looks to rebound as they travel to St .Louis to take on the Rams – also next Sunday.

• Cincinnati’s defense is REALLY good.  You’re going to see more of what you saw today against Baltimore opposed to what you saw last week against New England from their defense.  On the other hand, Carson Palmer didn’t look good at all.  He missed Terrell Owens on two possible touchdowns.  Joe Flacco was even worse.  Four interceptions, yikes!
• Kansas City has an idea of what they need to do in order to build a winning program.  More than an idea actually, whereas Cleveland doesn’t seem to have an idea, actually, they don’t have an idea at all.  Coaching staffs are completely different.  Draft classes too.  Chiefs have an identity, do the Browns?
• Jay Cutler and Tony Romo are top 10 QB’s.  They make plays with the best of ‘em.  When are the Cowboys going to learn how to control the clock/ball?  Chicago Bears D -they were worth watching, they came to play with their hard hats on.  Wow, they brought the lumber, just ask Jason Witten, Roy Williams, in fact, how about all the Dallas playmakers.  NFC North showdown in Chicago Monday night.
• Jahvid Best, the next Priest Holmes?  Marshall Faulk?  Scoring machine, can make plays as a receiver.  Mike Vick is your real Philadelphia Eagles starting signal caller.  He’s proven.  He’s a winner.  Can make plays with his feet, which is a must not just a bonus, considering the offensive line he’s playing behind.
• Clay Matthews is the next defensive player of the year winner.  Two games, six sacks.  Over/Under 3 sacks next week against Jay Cutler: Under, Cutler is tough to take down, however, he will have an abundance of QB hits/hurries.
• Dick LeBeau’s 11-man firing squad is the BEST in the NFL.  I would not be surprised if this team is a Super Bowl contender come November.  This defense can be BETTER than the past two Lombardi Trophy winning units.
• Let’s be patient with Favre’s Vikings.  This offense can’t be this inept, can it?  Miami STILL looks like a 8-8, 9-7 on the cusp, knocking at the door; although they are not ready to enter in.
• Josh Freeman is playing like a seasoned vet.  Kid can lead a team.  Name me a QB that’s been more impressive through two weeks.  Mike Williams and Kellen Winslow are two top-notch targets.  Tampa is a team that’s clearly on the right path, heading in the right direction due to doing things the right way -via the draft.
• Jets offense scores 28 points against the New England Patriots: Most SHOCKING game of the week.  Mark Sanchez?  What can we take away from this game?  I’m not exactly buying into this game for the Jets hype, if anything, it just shows me the Pats defense has a ways to go.  Aaron Hernandez, he is a Pro Bowl-caliber TE.  In the mold of a Dallas Clark.  Two words: Instant mismatch.
• I’m not drinking the Houston Texans kool-aid just yet.  Defense, especially on the road, doesn’t impress me much.  With that being said, there’s not a better trio offensively than Schaub-Foster-Andre.  Donovan McNabb was unreal.  He STILL has it.  This team despite the loss is a contender in the NFC East.  I’ve seen enough.  Best game of the Week. I love it when two offensive wizards (Mike Shanahan, Gary Kubiah) go head-to-head.  Offense!  Forget the run.  Pass!

The game got ugly, but the Lions rallied back to lose a heartbreaker for the second straight week.  Jahvid Best almost single-handedly fueled the Lions to a win with the most dominating game by a Lions' running back since the days of Barry.  Best had almost 80 yards rushing and over 150 receiving and topped it off with 3 touchdowns.

I am a big fan of the Lions' coaching staff, but I have to question the gameplan they put together on defense and Scott Linehan's inability to get Calvin Johnson involved in the gameplan.

Michael Vick had a good game today, but he did most of his damage against the blitz when he was able to escape the rush.  There were several Eagles' third down conversions that shouldn't have happened because the Lions missed tackles on Vick and he was able to expose the Lions' coverage or pull it down himself. 

When the Lions didn't blitz Vick he struggled to hit open receivers and didn't do much on the ground.  Gunther Cunningham called an aggressive game against Vick when he was with the Chiefs in 2004 and had a lot of success, but he had a much better secondary and Jared Allen in that game.

The Eagles also took advantage of the Lions' love of stunting on the defensive line by calling a lot of draw plays.  The Lions' inability to adjust to the delayed running plays proved to be one of the most pivotal matchups in the game.  LeSean McCoy was bottled up on traditional running plays, but he gashed the Lions on delayed handoffs and scored two of his three touchdowns on draws.

The offensive gameplan was solid as the Lions were able to get Best on the perimeter like they wanted to.  However, we keep hearing opponents are taking Calvin Johnson out of the game because there isn't anybody else they have to worry about.  Best had a huge game and the Eagles committed a spy to him, and Pettigrew was chewing them up over the middle yet Calvin didn't get involved until late in the game again.

Defenses can take CJ away in the deep passing game, but he can break tackles better than almost any receiver in the league.  The Lions need to get him involved on slants, hitches and screens which will help create room for him deep later in the game.

I can't fault the Lions on the decision to go for it on fourth down when they did, but I thoguht the play call was awful.  The full house backfield has two fullbacks and one halfback in the game, but all those bodies in the backfield can actually work against the offense. 

The defensive line got penetration which caused a pile up in the backfield as the two fullbacks piled up in the backfield.  The Lions have a hugesize advantage over the Eagles' secondary with 6?5? players in CJ, Pettigrew and Scheffler and a 6?4? receiver in Bryant Johnson.  Those big bodies are difficult to defend on slant or curl routes, not to mention you could sneak a draw in there if you spread out the defense with three our four wide receivers.

The Lions didn't roll over and came out ready to play this week.  They did collapse a little after the 4th down stuff took the air out of them, but they bounced back in a big way.  The Lions coaching staff needs to do a better job of adjusting to their opponents'  in mid game.  Best was shut down in the second half and the Eagles' offense was able to get moving after they adjusted to the Lions aggressive approach.

The downward spiral has continued for the Cowboys. On a day that is eerily similar to last week's game in Washington, it was the Cowboys who were once again their own worst enemies. While the game was not as dramatic as it was last week, the trend continues for the Cowboys making untimely miscues and costly mistakes.

If you only saw that statistics you would think the Cowboys came out on top. The Boys out-gained the Bears 410-308 in yardage. They also controlled the time of possession by 7:20. Buy again, the Cowboys cannot eliminate the costly mistakes that have plagued them since the Minnesota game to finish last season.

The game started with the Bears starting their first 3 possessions with an average starting position of the Cowboys 48-yardline. You knew the Cowboys would have trouble surviving that type of field position disparity. The Bears got the first points of the game when Cowboys receiver Miles Austin was nailed trying to bring in a Romo pass and Bears' Charles Tillman intercepted the tipped pass and returned it to the Dallas 23. The defense held the Bears to only a field goal, but it was a sign of what kind of day it would be.

Dallas reversed the momentum when the rookie Dez Bryant took a punt return back 62 yards, putting a nice move on the Bears' punter at the end to race down the left sideline for his first NFL touchdown. But it was short lasted as Cutler drove the Bears back down the field and hit TE Greg Olsen on a 39-yard touchdown pass. The Cowboys seemed to finally be getting on track when Romo marched the Boys down to the 1-yardline and then hit rookie FB Chris Gronkowski for a touchdown.

The lead was short lived however. Cutler managed to hit WR Devin Hester on a 59-yard pass to set up another Hester strike from 9-yards out. The Bears were able to take advantage of another tipped pass as Romo threw behind Jason Witten and the Bears' D.J. Moore picked it off and set up a Robbie Gould 40-yard field goal sending the Bears into the locker room with a 20-10 halftime lead.

Dallas took their opening drive of the second half down the field before David Buehler hit his first regular season field goal as an NFL kicker, a 28-yard attempt to make the score to 20-17. There was no more scoring until the fourth quarter. Down 20-17, the Cowboys pushed down the field to the Bears 26 where Buehler missed badly on a 44-yard attempt at the tying field goal.

Cutler took Bears into Dallas territory aided by a big 38-yard reception by Hester. Hester's catch set the Bears up with a first and goal at the 3-yard line. On the very next play, Cutler lobbed a rainbow to running back Matt Forte in the end zone, which gave the Bears a 27-17 with only 5:16 on the clock.

The Cowboys took the ball and was marching but the offense again was shot itself in the foot. Having worked their way into Bears territory, Romo hit Roy Williams on the left side for a short gain. Roy made an attempt to get out of bounds, but was instead stripped of the ball with Chicago's Brian Urlacher recovering.

Dallas was able to hold and get their offense back on the field with only 2:45 left in the game. The Boys took the ball 50 yards before Buehler hit a 48-yard field goal to pull within 7 points. Dallas then attempted an onside kick, but Chicago recovered the ball and the Bears took possession at the Dallas 43 with 1:16 left in the game. Cutler took three knees to end the game.

There will be a lot of questions directed at this Cowboys team. A preseason favorite to play in the Super Bowl, it looks as if the pressure has gotten to both the players and the coaches. Offensive co-ordinator, Jason Garrett, will have a lot of questions come his way for not being able to establish a balanced attack one again this week. Romo, who did not look good for most of the game, will also take some heat this week.

With the Cowboys off to 0-2 for the first time since 2001, it could be trouble in Dallas. Only 4 teams in 41 years have started 0-2 and won a Super Bowl. The Cowboys did it in 93/94, but it might be a tall order to repeat that feat this year, they do not have Emmitt Smith coming off a contract dispute to bail them out.

Whatever the issue, the Cowboys better get it solved quickly or they will only have great seats for the Super Bowl.

The Titans offense looked mediocre throughout the game as Vince Young was benched after his third turnover of the game.

Kerry Collins took over the reigns and eventually led the only touchdown drive for the Titans, but struggled through most of the game as he threw an interception in his first series.

The Titans weren't the only team to finish the game with an older quarterback, as Dennis Dixon was replaced by Charlie Batch as Dixon was hurt with an apparent leg injury.

Tennessee couldn't have started the game worse as the opening kick-off was returned by Antonio Brown of the Steelers for an 89 yard score.

On the ensuing kick-off the Titans fumbled the ball away and gave the Steelers excellent field position, only to take the ball back off of a fumble.

For the first time in 12 games, Chris Johnson was held under 100 yards. And was only able to pull off 34 yards on 15 carries. Johnson had what would have been an 85 yard touchdown run in the third quarter, only to have it called back on a holding call.

The defense kept the team in the game, after their offense turned the ball over seven times to the Steeler defense. Both Dixon and Batch were not able to move the ball much on a defense that was on the field for over 33 minutes.

Tennessee will look to right the ship as they face the New York Giants at the New Meadowlands.

The Baltimore Ravens lost to the Cincinnati Bengals 15-10 where the low-lights included questionable penalties and an awful day from quarterback Joe Flacco who threw a career high four interceptions.

The opening half to this game looked like the same script from Monday night. Turnovers by the offense and the defense holding strong and making the opposition settle for Field goals.

Joe Flacco turned the ball over, this time throwing his first pick to Adam "Pacman" Jones who overtook Anquan Boldin on an inside route. It led to a Mike Nugent 30-yd Field goal to put the Bengals up 6-0.

The Ravens offense had one of it's worst halves of football as they could only muster 77 total yards with 23 yards passing. Fortunately for Baltimore the Bengals weren't faring much better as Carson Palmer (16-35, 167) had his own issues connecting with the reality duo of Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens. The Bengals also were continually snake-bit with penalties that often hurt their drives.

Baltimore showed signs of life on their opening possession of the second half. Flacco completed 4 of 5 passes as he hit reliable target Derrick Mason for a 31-yd touchdown to push the Ravens ahead 7-6.

The lead was short lived as a result of the first controversial call against the Ravens defense. On third down a potential sack from Ray Lewis was instead changed to an automatic First down due to a Tripping call. The replay showed Lewis being undercut and his momentum carried his legs into Palmer, who went down.

Mike Nugent hit his third Field goal of the night to give Cincinnati the lead 9-7.

In the Fourth quarter, Ray Rice burst through a seam for a thirty yard gain that set up a Billy Cundiff response from 38 yards out to reclaim the lead at 10-9.

Cincinnati responded quickly with a Bernard Scott kick return for 60 yards that the offense set up at the Baltimore 26-yd line. This is where the second questionable call of the day helped the Bengals as Terrell Suggs was called for a Roughing the Passer penalty. It was clear that Suggs had Palmer in his grasp as he let go of the ball and that his momentum carried he and Palmer to the ground. That gave Mike Nugent a chance to make his fiurth Field Goal of the game as the Bengals led 12-10.

Baltimore hoped to answer with their next drive but once again Joe Flacco couldn't solve the Bengals defense. He was intercepted off a pass tipped at the line that all but sealed the defeat, after Mike Nugent knocked another Field Goal home to give the Bengals a 15-10.

Flacco and the offense had one last chance to drive down the field and he was picked off yet again as he threw into the teeth of the Bengals defense.

The Ravens (1-1) hope to right things next week as they travel back to Baltimore for their Home Opener in Week Three against another AFC North rival, the Cleveland Browns (0-2).

The St. Louis Rams came into their 2nd game of the 2010 season with high hopes against a Raiders team that struggled mightily in their season opener in Tennessee.  The Rams came out of the gate playing well, but they could not take advantage of their opportunities as they went into half time leading by only 7-3.

The Rams ended up losing the game to Oakland by the score of 16-14 as the Raiders made adjustments and dominated the sorry Rams in the second half.  The Rams lost their second come from ahead loss in 2010 as this season starts to look a lot like last season.

Honestly, at this point, I'm sick and tired of writing the same thing over and over again from 2009 and before.  The names on the backs of the jerseys change, but the results stay exactly the same.  The Rams got dominated on both offense and defense in the second half as the Raiders made adjustments at half time while the Rams passed out orange wedges.  

Words like pathetic, uninspired, and down right terrible come to mind.  The Rams have played two bad teams two weeks in a row in winnable games and came up short two weeks in a row.  Oakland and Arizona are not going to win very many games in 2010 and the Rams got exposed by

The 2010 Rams look a lot like the 2009 Rams in every way shape and form as they are outclassed, outcoached, outplayed by a team in Oakland that is not known for their class, coaching or play.  Sam Bradford went from looking like a veteran in Week 1 to looking like a rookie playing his second game in the NFL.

I don't know what to say about the Rams other than they are the "Same old sorry ass Rams".  You know it is bad when the Raiders look like a better team and organization than the Rams.  Anything the Rams could have hoped for in 2010 is long gone.  The start of their schedule was the weakest portion and the Rams should continue to get run over by every team on their schedule.

Just when we thought it could not get any worse, it does.  And the Rams continue to go downhill.  At this rate, the Rams will not have any fans left when the season ends.  And I don't blame them.

The Rams came on late in the game to get within 2 points and just like the frantic come from behind efforts in week 1, the Rams fell short.  The Rams followed the same script they were used in week 1.  The Rams cannot get away from their losing ways and right now it looks like they will never get away from losing.

Two weeks into the season the question has to already be asked – is the Browns season heading for disaster?

The question needs to be addressed after the team lost their second winnable game Sunday, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs at home 16-14 as the team once again failed to score points in the second half.

"Our starting point has got to be us," said Browns coach Eric Mangini. "When you have a turnover that goes for a touchdown and you have another turnover that sets up three points, (you have) a ten-point swing in a game that's decided by a very small margin."

The turnover that killed the Browns on this day was a pick six thrown by QB Seneca Wallace, who was playing for an injured Jake Delhomme.

The pick and TD by the Chiefs Brandon Flowers came after the Browns had built a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter. Wallace and the Browns did come back with a 65-yard TD to go up 14-10 at the half, but two Ryan Succop field goals in the second half was the Browns undoing.

"I take full responsibility; I have no problem with that," Wallace said. "That was a ball that I shouldn't have thrown. I know that. That's what happens, you have to go out there and you have to be aggressive, but you can't be dumb aggressive like I was.

"I threw a ball out in the flats late and I shouldn't," he added. "They pretty much walked away with the win today because of my mistake. I'll take full responsibility and make sure that I continue to get better and don't make those mistakes twice."

The second half saw the team once again go though series after series without doing much. They had the ball for 9:29 in the second half as compared to 19:41 for the Chiefs. They also had just 41 yards in the second half.

Chiefs defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel made the adjustments to stop the Browns offense, and the team simply couldn’t answer the bell. The offense has sputtered in two games after the first 30 minutes, and the Chiefs and Bucs have taken advantage of it.

Wallace was 16-for-31 for 229 yards with a TD and a pick. The run game was again not that good, going for 73 yards on 26 carries, a 2.8 yards per carry average. Peyton Hillis led the team with 35 yards on 8 carries. Jerome Harrison had 33 yards on 16 carries.

On a day when the team had their first “Ring of Honor” the club could not live up to its proud past, and now there are more questions than ever.