Upon Further Review: New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos, Tim Tebow

Well, that didn't last long! Not saying that the New York Jets acted and celebrated like they won their second Super Bowl in team history but after a pre-season that saw them score 1 offensive touchdown they were absolutely giddy slamming the Buffalo Bills in their home opener. They were brought back to reality quickly when they traveled to Pittsburgh to face a Steelers team that had a chip on their shoulders for a couple of reasons: First, they lost to a quarterback (Peyton Manning) who hadn't played a down in the previous year. Second, the last time they stepped on Heinz Field, they saw Tim Tebow throw the game-winning touchdown in overtime to end their season.

From the start, it appeared the Jets picked up right where they left off in their demolishing of the Bills. They spotted the Steelers a 3-0 lead then saw QB Mark Sanchez march them down 80 yards for a 7-3 lead. Pittsburgh responded with another field goal and from that point on, it was all downhill for Gang Green.

The offense that moved so fluidly on their first possession (Mark Sanchez completed 4 of 5 passes for 80 yards and 1 touchdown) sputtered the rest of the game. Defensively, they could not come up with the big stops when they needed them. Pittsburgh was 8 of 15 on third down conversions. Of the eight completions, the Steelers had to go at least eight yards.

Now for the second time in this early season, the Jets have to face another division rival in the Miami Dolphins, this time on the road. The Fish are coming off an impressive win over the Raiders. The Jets are shaking their heads trying to figure out how they could look so good against the Bills and so bad against the Steelers. Another shaky Sanchez performance and you know the name that the fans will be screaming for...

Lost in the second half offensive explosion when the Giants came back in their game against Tampa Bay was the performance by backup running back Andre Brown. He was forced into action after starter Ahmad Bradshaw left the game in the second quarter with a neck injury. Brown finished with 71 yards on 13 carries and 1 touchdown. When the Giants faced Carolina Thursday night, they did so without Bradshaw, David Diehl, Dominic Hixon, and Hakeem Nicks...

Of all the teams to start 2-0, none is more surprising than the Arizona Cardinals. They went into New England to face a Patriots team that had not lost a home opener since 2002. The Cardinals did give the Pats a chance to steal a win after Arizona running back Vince Wilfolk fumbled with 1:01 left in the game. Two Patriots penalties, the first a 30-yard Danny Woodhead touchdown run called back as tight end Ron Gronkowski was caught holding and the second, Gronkowski is called for a false start, moved the ball back to the Cardinals 24-yard line. The normally reliable field goal kicker Stephen Gostkowski pushed the attempt wide left. The number of fans who got bumped from their suicide pool is still being counted...

Houston, San Diego, Philadelphia (both of the Eagles wins were by 1 point), Atlanta and San Francisco are the other undefeated teams heading into week 3...Dallas, Washington, Baltimore, Denver, Chicago, Detroit, and Minnesota were brought back to reality in their week 2 losses...New Orleans is one of six teams that are 0-2 after losing to Carolina. The other five, Tennessee, Jacksonville, Cleveland, Kansas City, and Oakland are just plain bad...Finally, not much was made after week 1 about the job the replacement refs did. It was quite different after week 2 when the mistakes were glaring. From shaky pass interference calls, non-holding calls to simply failing to spot the ball correctly on the yard line, it looks like things are going to get worse before they get better. Still, the powers that be, namely Commissioner Roger Goodell is intent on squeezing the referee's union. You have the best players on the planet being officiated by division 3 refs. One ref was removed prior to the Saints/Panthers game as he posted pictures of himself wearing Saints gear and claiming his allegiance to the team. The NFL, claiming they are doing everything they can to protect the players, are putting them at severe risk with 3rd tier referees.

WATCH VIDEO: Peyton Manning on Developing Synergy

PEYTON MANNING: To form the timing that we have in just two years with guys like Decker and Thomas, it's a real credit to those guys for putting in the hard work. And, then Welker in just this first year, he and I have been on a cram session since April, talking after practice, working out routes because we can't get to the timing that he and Brady had that took 6 years of hard work together. But, Wes and I don't have six years left to play together so we really crammed this year same with Julius Thomas and then Adam Gage really helped me with learning the new offense. He met me halfway on some plays that I ran in my earlier offense. He said there's some new plays that I think you would like. I'll help you learn them. He and Mike McCoy last year really helped out a lot with that.

What will be the aftermath following the Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor fight?

WHAT'S THE 411SPORTS: POPPIN – PART 1

• The Jimmy Butler saga continues. At last count, the Miami Heat and the L.A Clippers were vying for Jimmy Butler’s services. What’s complicating Butler’s trade is that Gorgui Dieng must be part of the deal.

Q. Will the Minnesota Timberwolves deal Jimmy Butler before the start of the NBA season?

• Kyrie Irving is the man! First, Jimmy Butler, now it’s Anthony Davis that says he wants to play with Kyrie Irving in Boston. According to league sources, Davis will probably end up with the Celtics or the Los Angeles Lakers.

Q. Let’s dream a bit, can you imagine a Boston team with Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler, and Anthony Davis? If not Boston, where would you rather see Anthony Davis?

• Billed as one of the most significant fights in UFC history. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor had their very anticipated showdown and Khabib won.

Q. What was not expected was the fight’s aftermath. Should the fight organizers have been more prepared for a potential melee?

WHAT'S THE 411SPORTS: QUICK BITES

• LeBron James was considering joining the Toronto Raptors before he finalized his move to the Los Angeles Lakers this summer. According to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, it seems both sides were interested in reaching an agreement.

• The family of NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau has settled their wrongful death lawsuit against the NFL. Seau died from suicide at the age of 43; his death followed a long battle with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated hits to the head.

• Drew Brees passes Peyton Manning as NFL's all-time passing leader: New Orleans Saint quarterback Drew Brees broke Peyton Manning's record of 71,940 career passing yards with a 62-yard touchdown pass to rookie receiver Tre’Quan Smith in the second quarter of a game against Washington. New Orleans defeated Washington 43-19, ouch!!!

WHAT'S THE 411SPORTS: POPPIN – PART 2

• Former Louisville men’s basketball head coach, Rick Pitino, has been promoting his new book, entitled Pitino: My Story. He says he never wants to coach basketball again.

Q. Do you believe Pitino?

• Houston Rockets guard Chris Paul has taken offense to the criticisms of fellow teammate, Carmelo Anthony, calling the criticism of Melo disrespectful.

Q. Do you think Chris Paul is right that the media may have gone too far with their assessment of Carmelo Anthony?

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

What’s The 411’s Photo of the Week is a photo of Saquon Barkley making a touchdown during the New York Giants game against the New Orleans Saints at MetLife Stadium.

NY SPORTS REPORT

• We have a preseason look at the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks.

• New York Yankees Update: The Yankees made it into the ALDS and will play the Boston Red Sox in Game 4 tonight.

• Discord has visited upon the NY Giants.

Q. Are the New York Giants on the brink of falling apart?

WHAT'S THE 411SPORTS OFF TOPIC:

Summer vacation is officially over, and Khloe Kardashian was headed back to Cleveland to be with baby True’s father, Cleveland Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson and decided to stay in Los Angeles.

VIDEO: Manny Pacquiao loses Nike endorsement and fans; Will Peyton Manning be able to weather his alleged college sexual harassment episode?; Will Sean Marks, the new Brooklyn Nets general manager lure Tom Thibodeau?; Ronda Rousey faces her demons; and more

In this episode of What's The 411Sports, the panel of Keisha Wilson, Bianca Peart and Mike McDonald, are talking about:

• Ronda Rousey's comment about having suicidal thoughts
• Sean Marks, former Assistant Coach, San Antonio Spurs, becomes new General Manager of the Brooklyn Nets

Sean Marks, Brooklyn Nets General Manager

• Peyton Manning's checkered past: what’s in the future for Manning given the sexual harassment allegations against him stemming from University of Tennessee
• Jenrry Mejia gets lifetime ban from Major League Baseball
• Brooklyn Nets new training facility

Brooklyn Nets new Training Facility. Photo Credit: Kathleen Malone Van-Dyke

• Outlook for Brooklyn Nets west coast swing not looking good, but the team’s two standouts continue to be Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young
• New York Knicks interim head coach Kurt Rambis’ Twitter account gets hacked
• Professional boxer and Floyd Mayweather nemesis, Manny Pacquiao, gets dropped by Nike after his disdainful homophobic comments

Edited by: Ruth J. Morrison

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning vehemently denies the claim of HGH use

An Al-Jazeera report claims that Peyton Manning was supplied human growth hormone (HGH) after his neck surgery in 2011. Manning, along with other noteworthy athletes, were named in the report as having received the hormone from the Guyer Institute located in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Former Guyer Institute employee Charlie Sly stated in the report that the hormone was repeatedly mailed to Manning’s home but addressed to his wife, Ashley Manning.

Photo: Peyton Manning and his wife, Ashley Manning

Peyton Manning vehemently denied the allegations of HGH use. A spokesperson for Peyton confirmed that Ashley was a patient at the clinic but did not offer further details as to the nature of her care. Peyton has also declined to provide further insight to his wife’s medical care.

Charlie Sly has since recanted his account insisting that he purposely fed false information to Liam Collins who was fitted with a hidden camera for the investigative report. Sly also confirmed that he was an employee at the Guyer Institute in 2013 and not in 2011 when Peyton Manning was a patient of the clinic. Al-Jazeera reporter Deborah Davies stands by the report and asserts that the report never claimed that Peyton Manning took the hormone.

Do you believe Peyton’s denial?

Dean Smith Acknowledgement, NFL Combine, Nets Scrambling, and Knicks in the Basement

GLENN: THANKS FOR JOINING US.

GREG: IT IS WITH GREAT SADNESS THAT WE ACKNOWLEDGE THE PASSING OF DEAN SMITH, THE COACHING INNOVATOR WHO WON TWO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS AT NORTH CAROLINA, AN OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL IN 1976 AND INDUCTION INTO BASKETBALL'S HALL OF FAME MORE THAN A DECADE BEFORE HE LEFT THE BENCH, DIED ON SUNDAY. HE WAS 83.

GLENN: THE NFL COMBINE IS IN FULL SWING. TEAMS ARE GETTING READY FOR NEXT SEASON.  BUT I WANT TO TAKE A QUICK LOOK BACK TO SUPER BOWL 49 BECAUSE I DO HAVE AN ISSUE.

GREG: STAYING WITH FOOTBALL AND THE COMBINE WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE MEDIA’S CREATION OF THE JAMEIS WINSTON - MARCOS MARIOTTA COMPETITION? AND SPEAKING ABOUT GUYS COMING OUT OF COLLEGE, CARDEL JONES, OHIO STATE’S STAND OUT 3RD STRING QUARTERBACK DECIDED TO STAY IN SCHOOL. SHOULD HE HAVE STAYED OR SHOULD HE HAVE BOLTED FOR THE NFL?

GREG: THE NEW YORK JETS HIRED TODD BOWLES AS HEAD COACH TO REPLACE REX RYAN. IS THIS A GOOD MOVE FOR THE JETS? AND GIANTS MAY GIVE TOM COUGHLIN AN EXTENSION IS THIS GOOD FOR THE GIANTS?

GLENN: SINCE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT QUARTERBACKS, I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT MY TOP FIVE NFL QBS OF ALL TIME: 1) MONTANA 2) BRADY 3) DOUG WILLIAMS 4) AARON ROGERS 5) WARREN MOON ...THAT'S RIGHT I SAID IT! AND RUSSELL WILSON IS RIGHT BEHIND MOON, SO THERE.

GREG: I NOTICED THAT PEYTON MANNING IS NOT ON YOUR LIST. MANNING TOLD THE DENVER BRONCOS THAT HE IS READY TO ROLL. DOES HE HAVE ANOTHER SUPERBOWL RUN LEFT IN HIS ARM?