Perhaps never in history has the word “stupid” been used to describe the NFL as often as has been the case in the last week. Most of the stupidity has taken place off the field, but let’s take a moment to acknowledge some of the stupidest moments from the field on the second weekend of the 2014 campaign.
The stupidest timeout fiasco
New York Jets’ offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg’s decision to call timeout — despite the fact he isn’t even permitted to do so — just before quarterback Geno Smith threw a 36-yard, game-tying touchdown pass to Jeremy Kerley on 4th-and-4 with only five minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The scoring play was erased, and the Jets went on to lose by seven points.
Now, the officials deserve blame here too because assistant coaches aren’t allowed to call timeout. And Mornhinweg didn’t actually verbally request the timeout, but it was defensive end Sheldon Richardson who made the request from the sideline after seeing a frantic Mornhinweg making the signal. So there was a whole lot of stupid here, and at least three dudes deserve some blame.
Still, Mornhinweg seems to be cool with taking it all.
“First of all, I want to make it crystal clear everything that goes on offensively is my responsibility, period,” Mornhinweg said Monday, per ESPN.com’s Mike Mazzeo. “I’ve got to do a better job of communicating and trusting ‘Big Geno.’ I’ve got to trust Geno to get everything fixed before the 40-second [play] clock. That’s the scenario. I was surprised the timeout was called.”
The stupidest Colin Kaepernick decision
Protecting a one-score lead in the fourth quarter, what exactly did Kaepernick see here?
The second-stupidest Colin Kaepernick decision
Very next possession, same deal…
The stupidest defensive lapse
Yo, Jaguars. Darrell Young a ghost?
And this came later in the same quarter…
Gonna be another long year in Jacksonville.
The stupidest unnecessary roughness penalty
C’mon, Ed Hochuli. What is Troy Polamalu supposed to do here…
The stupidest pass interference penalty
What is Patrick Peterson thinking here, basically giving the Giants a touchdown on a play that was still contestable?
The stupidest officiating blunder
I mean, how was Percy Harvin not ruled out of bounds here? How!?
And then on top of that, no review from New York.
The stupidest coaching decision, personnel edition
This goes to Gus Bradley of the Jaguars for having his starters on the field down 31 points with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter against Washington. Sure enough, rookie Allen Hurns, who leads the team in receiving yardage, was injured on the final offensive play of the game. Totally unnecessary. Know when to fold ’em, Gus.
The stupidest coaching decision, strategy edition
When you’re an underdog on the road facing the greatest quarterback in NFL history and you have a 4th-and-inches at midfield, you simply have to roll the dice. Andy Reid apparently doesn’t buy into that philosophy, which is why the Chiefs head coach had his team punt it away to Peyton Manning, who had the Broncos in the end zone four minutes later.
Naturally, Denver won by seven points.
Finally, the stupidest play
Starring James Jones, who managed to fumble twice on one play…
Check back next week for more stupid.