What Were They Thinking: Mike Smith strikes again; Ken Whisenhunt seals Titans fate

What Were They Thinking is a weekly post where you get to relive the foolish decisions from the week that were in the NFL. Enjoy the insanity. 

Mike Smith adds to his list of foolish gambles

Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith has made a ridiculous gamble or two in his day, but this one was right up there with the best of them. 

Trailing 27-20 to the New York Giants with nearly five minutes left in the fourth quarter and with all of his timeouts, Smith decides to go for it on a fourth-and-1 at his own 29. Making matters worse, Matt Ryan lines up in shotgun when they only need a yard and gets dropped for a nine-yard loss. 

Smith is being far too aggressive here and the risk is far greater than the reward. With the amount of time left and Atlanta having all its timeouts, a punt is the way to go. If you don't make it, the Giants are already in field goal range and essentially an easy kick away from making it a two-score game. 

That's exactly what happened as the Giants extended their lead to 30-20 and ended any chances the Falcons had for a comeback. 

The play call also leaves a lot to be desired. So many things can go wrong in a shotgun formation while trying to complete a pass in that situation. The defense is already going to be firing into the backfield given the short yardage needed to convert, so it's no surprise Ryan was under siege almost instantly when he dropped back. 

Still, we need to give Smith some credit here. The fact that he's kept his job for six-plus seasons after so many bad decisions and only one playoff win is truly remarkable. 

Austin Davis loses track of time

Austin Davis has done an admirable job filling in for the St. Louis Rams, but he certainly looked like a third-string quarterback late in Sunday's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Down 34-28 and facing a fourth-and-eight with 42 seconds left at the Philly 48, Davis inexcusably was called for a delay of game and cost his team five yards.  

That pushed them back into their own territory and made it a fourth-and-13, making the conversion much more low percentage. Not shockingly, his pass ultimately fell incomplete. 

Davis may have not wanted to burn the team's final timeout, but you have to use it in that situation to save the five yards. Giving yourself a much more manageable fourth-down play at that point is far more important than keeping a stoppage of the clock in your back pocket. If you don't convert, the timeout is useless anyway. 

Michael Vick cares not that it's 4th-and-goal

New York Jets quarterback Michael Vick wasn't at his sharpest Sunday - not that it mattered. 

Replacing an inept Geno Smith, Vick found himself down 31-0 late in the fourth and looking at a fourth-and-goal from the 16. Instead of taking a shot to the end zone, he checked it down to tight end Jeff Cumberland. 

Cumberland rumbled to the 10-yard line but never came close to scoring. That play certainly didn't change the outcome of the game, but it didn't make any sense nonetheless. 

Why not throw it to the end zone and give someone a shot to make a play? The 2014 New York Jets. That's why. 

LeSean McCoy gets cocky and careless

Based on this seemingly disoriented run from LeSean McCoy on Sunday, he might want to take some of that tip money he saved and invest in a compass to figure out what direction is North and South. 

Now I know McCoy is one of the most talented running backs in the National Football League, but that doesn't give him an excuse to carry the ball like a bag of bread. He lost nine yards and the football for his carelessness. 

Many great backs tend to take risks going East and West, hoping it will lead to a big play. Barry Sanders, who McCoy sometimes gets compared to, comes to mind, as he would lose a few yards here and there but eventually hit on a big run and all would be forgiven. Here's the difference, though. 

McCoy needs to understand his position on the field. What he did is always risky, but even more so deep in his own territory. If you want to take a chance, do it away from your own goal line, where a mistake won't necessarily turn into points for your opponent.  

Also, I don't remember Sanders ever carrying the ball they way McCoy did. He was just begging for a fumble. 

It has been anything but a stellar season for McCoy thus far and plays like this definitely won't turn things around. 

Titans help the Browns to a comeback win

The Cleveland Browns escaped with a comeback win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday and at times, it looked like Ken Whisenhunt was trying to help them out. 

The Titans coach saw a once 28-3 lead evaporate to 28-22, and faced a fourth-and-one at his own 42-yard line with a little more than three minutes to play.

Logic tells you to punt. For one, you are in your own end and have a backup quarterback in there. Secondly, your opposition is the Brian Hoyer led Cleveland Freakin Browns, who only have one timeout remaining. It's not like you are staring down the Greatest Show on Turf, who can move the ball down the field with lightning-like efficiency. Why risk giving them a short field?

I'm sure I don't have to tell you how this ends. Charlie Whitehurst gets stuffed on a quarterback sneak and the Titans turn it over on downs. Hoyer then capitalizes on the field position and eventually hits Travis Benjamin for a six-yard touchdown, giving Cleveland a 29-28 win. 

If you force the Browns to drive the entire field for a touchdown with three minutes left and one timeout, there's a good chance they mess things up themselves.

It almost looked like Whisenhunt was pulling a George Costanza and trying to get himself fired. 

Hopefully he is, because that would at least give us a reason to tune into Titans games for the rest of the season.