Week 3 Review: Fantastic finishes are here again

Week 3: Review | Judgements

During the preseason, while talking to Corey Chavous of the Minnesota Vikings, one of the handful of players in the league who can actually give detailed scouting information on the rest of his brethren and is a true fan of the game, he brought up something from the past that hit home.

George Wrighster and the Cardiac Cats scratch their way to 3-0. (AP)

Alcoa Fantastic Finishes.

"Everybody remembers those," Chavous said. "I was a kid, but I remember."

How could we forget?

Perhaps it was two decades ago in the early 1980s -- I think, but the dates are a bit foggy -- NFL couch-potato time featured an endless stream of Alcoa Fantastic Finishes, ads for an aluminum-can company that ran constantly detailing great finishes in NFL history.

Alcoa Can't Wait. You know the tune, even if you never knew what Alcoa was.

It's too bad they're gone. They would have had a field day with this past Sunday.

• Alcoa Fantastic Finish No. 1: Jaguars score the winning touchdown on a Fred Taylor 1-yard run with 9 seconds left in the game. It marked the third consecutive week the undefeated Jaguars have had their game decided in the final 40 seconds. Recap: Jaguars 15, Titans 12

• Alcoa Fantastic Finish No. 2: The Rams go ahead of the Saints on Marc Bulger's 19-yard run with 28 seconds left. Game over? Aaron Brooks thinks not, and drives the Saints to the tying field goal, and they win it in overtime. Recap: Saints 28, Rams 25 (OT)

• Alcoa Fantastic Finish No. 3: The Texans get a 49-yard field goal from Kris Brown with 2 seconds left to beat the Chiefs at Arrowhead, sending Kansas City to an 0-3 start. Recap: Texans 24, Chiefs 21

We had our share of clunkers Sunday, too -- see Seattle 34, San Francisco 0 -- but the ending spurt to those three early games made for some nice, nail-biting time for many, I'm sure.

Bring back those Alcoa Fantastic Finishes. There's too much material not to have them back, and something says this is going to be a season full of finish fodder, just the way parity likes it.

Prisco's points

• Jon Gruden is a darn good coach. There's no denying that. But Jon Gruden the personnel man has put Jon Gruden the coach into a bad position. The Tampa Bay offense is awful. Some of the blame goes to the previous personnel regime for their litany of horrid personnel moves (see Kenyatta Walker, Cosey Coleman and others), but some blame has to go to Gruden for his 2004 moves. Gruden's offense has two touchdowns. But how can we expect them to score when Todd "The Turnstile" Steussie is starting at right tackle? He has more people go through him than a New York subway turnstile. Tampa Bay fans now have to ask themselves: Was the deal with the devil to get Gruden worth it? Absolutely. They got one Super Bowl ring, and if the personnel side gets straightened out, he'll compete for another -- just not this year or next. This is going to be a year like those old days. Recap: Raiders 30, Buccaneers 20

• OK now, enough with the Lions-to-the-playoffs talk. We found out all we need to know about them against the Eagles. They're still at least a year away. They're young, rising and moving in the right direction. It's just not going to happen this year. Recap: Eagles 30, Lions 13

• In case anybody's wondering: I like my crow with a little salt on it. I'm talking about the way Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb is making me eat my words about his being overrated. McNabb is off to a big start and had a big day against the Lions. Accuracy, something that has not been strong point for McNabb, has had it this year. McNabb has completed 69.8 percent of his passes for 931 yards with eight touchdowns and run for two touchdowns, without an interception.

• The Kansas City Chiefs are done. The 0-3 start, which includes two home losses, will doom this team. The loss at home against the Texans is inexcusable. The Chiefs defense played better this time, but then we had Trent Green making a terrible throw into coverage in the end zone, leading to a 102-yard interception return for a touchdown by Marcus Coleman. That turned the game around.

• Eagles tight end Mike Bartrum gets the celebration of the week. He also got flagged for it. Bartrum, the team's deep snapper, caught a TD pass then celebrated by snapping the ball through his legs with a player standing behind him. Too much, and it was good for a 15-yard penalty. I bet you a Philadelphia pretzel he thought it was worth it. That's fun stuff. The NFL is absurd with that type of penalty. Ease up, boys.

• There were three coaching blunders at the end of the first half of the Packers-Colts game. The first came when Packers coach Mike Sherman decided to try a 52-yard field goal with his team trailing 28-17. Ryan Longwell's kick hit the crossbar and went out. The Colts then drove to another touchdown to make it 35-17, needing only to march 58 yards. They had already done that -- and more -- four other times. Why not go for it? Or punt them in? The next blunder came when the Colts moved to the Packers' 1 on a pass-interference penalty with just under two minutes. The Colts were stopped on first down, but instead of calling a timeout -- the Packers had two -- they let the clock run. When the Colts scored on the next play, the Packers were left with 57 seconds, instead of 1:40 or so. They ended up using one of their timeouts on their next offensive possession, but when it stalled with two consecutive incomplete passes, they took the last timeout to the locker room with them, gone forever. The final blunder came courtesy of the Colts. The Packers punted with 18 seconds left in the half, but instead of telling return man Brad Pyatt to get away from the ball, he called a fair catch at the 10. Why go near it? He wasn't returning it, so the only thing that could happen would be a muff that could give the Packers an easy three, or even seven. That's the little things that coaches let slip, things that could cost them games. Recap: Colts 45, Packers 31

• Big props to three Saints players. The first goes to Aaron Brooks. The maligned quarterback completed 24 of 41 passes for 316 yards and a touchdown in leading his team to a 28-25 overtime victory over the Rams. Brooks drove the Saints to a tying field goal in the final 28 seconds to send it to overtime. Brooks knew a lot of the game would be on him with Deuce McAllister out, and he responded. This might be the game that finally gets the critics in New Orleans off his back. The second goes to running back Aaron Stecker. He was signed as a free agent from Tampa Bay this year for special teams purposes. With McAllister out, Stecker ran for 106 yards on 18 carries, including a 42-yard touchdown run. Heck of a day for a guy who was considered mostly a special-teams player in his four seasons. "Hey, I'm a running back," Stecker said. "It's not like they pulled me out of the front office and said, 'Deuce is out, do you know how to play some running back?' I believe in myself, and my teammates had no doubt in me." They won't now. And finally, defensive end Charles Grant continues his Pro Bowl year. He had three sacks against the Rams and was a force for most of the day. He's having a terrific third season.

• Pro Bowl watch II: Jaguars corner Rashean Mathis is having a good start. Mathis had seven tackles and an interception against the Titans. He's big, rangy and has improved as a cover player from his rookie year. Plus, unlike some corners, he likes to tackle.

• Mike Martz could be in trouble. The Rams are 1-2 and could easily be 0-3 if they hadn't rallied against the Cardinals on opening day. Martz, who is an offensive coach, has to be worried about his defense. The Saints gashed the defense for 462 yards. The Rams have two first-round picks starting at tackle on that defense in Ryan Pickett and Damione Lewis. Those two guys aren't getting it done. It doesn't help that 2003 first-round pick Jimmy Kennedy, another defensive tackle, is out for the year with an injury. Kennedy didn't show much last year anyway.

• Rich Gannon, say hello to the ghost of Wally Pipp. Gannon suffered a back injury against the Raiders, and Kerry Collins came on to have a good game. The Raiders need to make that a permanent move, something Al Davis should want since Collins can get the ball down the field. Word is some of the Raiders brass wants that to happen. If Gannon is out for a period of time, it could prove to be just what the Raiders need to make the change permanent without angering the volatile Gannon. And if it does bother him, so what? He's coming to the end of his career, while Collins still has time left.

• Boy, that move to A.J. Feeley really looks like it's paying off for the Dolphins. Feeley stunk up the place against the Steelers, getting picked off twice as Miami failed to score a touchdown. I wouldn't want to be the one responsible for keeping the offense and defense apart. Two words for Dolphins fans, something we wrote weeks ago: Steve Spurrier. There's no doubt Dave Wannstedt, the likable coach of the Dolphins, is on his way out, and Spurrier is eyeing the job, according to people close to him. With owner Wayne Huizenga enamored with big names -- OK, so Spurrier is big in Florida and not in D.C. -- it makes some sense. Wannstedt would be a candidate at the University of Pittsburgh if he does get fired. The Dolphins are 0-3 for the first time since 1969. Don Shula took over the following year. Recap: Steelers 13, Dolphins 3

• Chris Brown is the real deal for the Titans. Any back who can run for 100 yards against the Jaguars' defense has to be good. Brown has pop when he gets going, as he showed on his 26-yard touchdown run Sunday. Brown ran for 101 yards to snap the Jaguars' steak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher in 17 games.

• Hate to say I told you so, but I told you so. Kurt Warner is not finished. He had another good game for the Giants against the Browns, throwing for 286 yards, no interceptions and running 1 yard for another touchdown. The Giants are now 2-1 and nobody is talking about all Tom Coughlin's rules. You want proof discipline works? The Giants won the turnover battle 3-0 against the Browns. Callous disregard for the ball, which Coughlin uses to describe turnovers, will not be tolerated. Coughlin will turn that team around. Recap: Giants 27, Browns 10

• Maybe it's the Hurricanes. The three Florida teams have combined to score eight offensive touchdowns in nine total games. The Dolphins and Bucs are 0-3, while the Jaguars are 3-0. That's how good the Jaguars defense is playing. We know it's early, but we can't wait for Sunday's Jaguars-Colts game. That Colts offense against the Jaguars defense will be a treat to watch. Quick quiz: Who's the Jaguars defensive coordinator? Any ideas? Any? It's Mike Smith, who came from Baltimore where he worked with Jack Del Rio.

• The 49ers didn't score a point for the first time in 420 games, getting shut out by the Seahawks. That streak dates back to 1977. But didn't we see this coming? They lost their quarterback, top receiver and top runner from last year. And their planned starter for this season is out. Plus, Seattle's defense is much better than expected. They've allowed 13 points in three games. Seattle might run the table in the NFC West, and all playoff roads could be going to the Great Northwest. P.S.: I was wrong about that team.

• Jamal Lewis should imagine he plays the Bengals every week. He has rushed for over 100 yards in every game he has played against them in his career. He ran for 186 against them Sunday. See the stripes, Jamal. See the stripes. Recap: Ravens 23, Bengals 9

• The Falcons got caught in a sandwich game against the Cardinals. They were coming off a big victory over the Rams and play at Carolina next week. That could explain their lackluster 6-3 victory over the Cardinals. But they also didn't do much offensively, and it appears the Cardinals might be on to something in defending Michael Vick with a five-man line. The good news for the Falcons is how well their defense is playing. Patrick Kerney had three sacks against the Cardinals. He and Brady Smith are playing well in the 4-3 scheme after being miscast in the 3-4 scheme last year. Recap: Falcons 6, Cardinals 3

• Did the fumble against Jacksonville last week in the final minute mess with the mind of Denver running back Quentin Griffin? He looked ordinary against the Chargers, rushing for 7 yards on 12 carries, and he also lost a fumble for the third consecutive game. Maybe it's not just plug in a back in Denver and watch him go. Recap: Broncos 23, Chargers 13

Player of the week: Colts quarterback Peyton Manning has to get it for his five-touchdown pass performance against the Packers. What a first quarter he had.

Flop of the week: The Miami offense. It's offensive, all right.

Disappointment of the week: The Chiefs. Losing to an 0-2 team at home is embarrassing. There's no way that should happen. The 2003 Chiefs wouldn't have allowed that to happen.

Week 3's other recap: Vikings 27, Bears 22