A prevailing narrative during Ohio State's 2015 season revolves around Devin Smith's absence. J.T. Barrett and the coaching staff would like to have his deep play abilities back. The way Smith's rookie season is going, it's safe to assume he misses Columbus, as well.
Smith barely started training camp before breaking his ribs and missing the rest of camp. Before week eight, he sprained his ankle.
"We need Devin Smith," said wide receivers coach Karl Dorrell, via the New York Daily News. "We need Devin Smith to hurry his growth (to get him) entrenched in our offense and get him to a level where he’s confident in what he’s doing."
Clearly, that hasn't happened yet. He isn't heavily featured in the offense and is returning kicks for the Jets – something which he isn't particularly experienced at. Well, he was returning kicks for New York until fumbling one, Thursday, directly leading to a Bills touchdown.
Now the New York Post sports section has reached its tipping point with Smith.
"This isn’t the kind of impact the Jets envisioned Smith making when they spent a second-round pick on the speedster," wrote columnist Brian Lewis.
The good news for Smith is about six percent of men suffer from red-green colorblindness, so maybe someone on the Jets staff thinks the Bills fumbled that kickoff return.
Play of the WeEk
Buckeye secondary play has never been stronger at the pro level. Bradley Roby is in the midst of an excellent second year in the league, Malcolm Jenkins is Pro Football Focus' top rated safety and Kurt Coleman is among the league's most surprising players on an undefeated Panthers team.
Coleman wasn't particularly well-liked in Philadelphia – only fictional athletes are. He bounced from the Eagles to the Vikings to the Chiefs, but finally found a good fit for him. Not only does Carolina have many familiar faces, he also gets to work with the best corner this season in Josh Norman.
Here's Coleman grabbing his third interception of 2015 against the Titans.
@Panthers Kurt Coleman with the good hands play of the day picking off the pass @wcnc #KeepPounding #CARvsTEN pic.twitter.com/bpBc7sg6eO
— Chris Clark (@Cdclarksports) November 15, 2015
How They Fared in Week 10
| Player | Team | Position | Stats/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Adams | Pittsburgh Steelers | OL | Still on PUP list, no update on his status from Mike Tomlin |
| Will Allen | Pittsburgh Steelers | S | 11 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 awkward photo in win over Browns |
| Michael Bennett | Jacksonville Jaguars | DT | Inactive for win over Ravens due to a hamstring injury |
| Alex Boone | San Francisco 49ers | OL | 49ers on bye |
| Philly Brown | Carolina Panthers | WR/KR/PR | 1 reception, 8 yards in win over Titans |
| Kurt Coleman | Carolina Panthers | S | 5 tackles, 1 interception in win over Titans |
| Nate Ebner | New England Patriots | DB/ST | Played more snaps at safety in win over Giants |
| Ted Ginn Jr. | Carolina Panthers | WR | 4 receptions, 45 yards in win over Titans |
| Doran Grant | Pittsburgh Steelers | CB | Active but did not play in win over Browns |
| Johnathan Hankins | New York Giants | DT | Placed on IR due to torn pectoral muscle |
| Brian Hartline | Cleveland Browns | WR | 6 receptions, 77 yards in loss to Steelers |
| A.J. Hawk | Cincinnati Bengals | LB | Plays tonight vs Texans |
| Boom Herron | Buffalo Bills | RB | 1 kick return for 22 yards in win over Jets |
| Cameron Heyward | Pittsburgh Steelers | DE | 3 tackles, 1 sack, blew up Cam Erving in win over Browns |
| Carlos Hyde | San Francisco 49ers | RB | 49ers on bye |
| Malcolm Jenkins | Philadelphia Eagles | S | Team-leading 10 tackles in loss to Dolphins |
| James Laurinaitis | St. Louis Rams | LB | 6 tackles in loss to Bears |
| Corey Linsley | Green Bay Packers | C | Packers threw 61 times in loss to Lions |
| Nick Mangold | New York Jets | C | Jets run for over 100 yards, kept QB clean against tough Bills front |
| Jake McQuaide | St. Louis Rams | LS | Rams kick 2 field goals in loss to Bears |
| Jack Mewhort | Indianapolis Colts | OL | Colts on bye |
| Andrew Norwell | Carolina Panthers | OL | Inactive for win over Titans due to hamstring injury |
| Mike Nugent | Cincinnati Bengals | K | Plays tonight vs Texans |
| Bradley Roby | Denver Broncos | CB | 4 tackles in loss to Chiefs |
| Ryan Shazier | Pittsburgh Steelers | LB | 6 tackles, 1 sack in win over Browns |
| John Simon | Houston Texans | LB | Plays tonight vs Bengals |
| Devin Smith | New York Jets | WR | 1 reception 22 yards, 1 fumbled kickoff return |
| Rod Smith | Dallas Cowboys | RB | 1 kickoff return, 26 yards in loss to Bucs |
| Jake Stoneburner | Miami Dolphins | TE | Active but did not record a reception in win over Eagles |
| Donte Whitner | Cleveland Browns | S | Inactive for loss to Steelers due to concussion |
