Dein erstes Forum » Ryan Fitzpatrick backpedaled giddily for about 20 yards

as he watched DeSean Jackson come down with a 36-yard touchdown pass over the middle. The journeyman quarterback then turned toward the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sideline and triumphantly thrust his arm in an upward arc.Time will tell if the Bucs are on a similar trajectory this season Youth Lavonte David Jersey , but there's no denying they're off to an encouraging start.Fitzpatrick highlighted a 417-yard, four-touchdown performance with two scoring strikes of more than 50 yards, and the Buccaneers stunned the Saints 48-40 on Sunday."I'm happy to announce: FitzMagic is alive and well," Tampa Bay coach Dirk Koetter said of his 35-year-old reserve quarterback, who was starting for suspended 2015 first-overall draft choice Jameis Winston. "Quite a start, huh?"Fitzpatrick completed 21 of 28 passes without an interception and also ran for a short touchdown, bowling over free safety Marcus Williams on his way into the end zone."I hope somebody had him in fantasy because he went crazy today," Bucs receiver Mike Evans said of Fitzpatrick. "And he was running the ball 鈥?phenomenal game. One of the most complete games I've seen."Coming off a playoff appearance and hosting a team that won only five games last season, the Saints were among the more heavily favored teams in Week 1. But some of the Saints' defensive players who were instrumental in New Orleans' success a season earlier had a miserable start to 2018.Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore, the 2017 defensive rookie of the year, had trouble covering Evans, who caught seven passes for 147 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown that put the Bucs up 41-24 late in the third quarter."It isn't going to get me down. Everybody gets beat," Lattimore said. "We needed to get slapped in our face one good time to see we're not on a level we think we're on."A season ago, Evans was so frustrated with coverage by Lattimore that he hit him after the whistle and wound up being suspended a game for it. After this latest meeting, Evans said, "I like my odds against anybody, not just him."Jackson caught scoring passes of 58 and 36 yards to highlight his five-catch, 146-yard day before leaving with a concussion.Fitzpatrick also threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Chris Godwin."The talent level in that huddle, with guys that can go up and make plays, it's a pretty special group," Fitzpatrick said. "I'm glad we showed it today, but now it's about consistency."COMEBACK BIDThe Saints put together a frantic offensive flurry in the fourth quarter, scoring twice on touchdowns by Alvin Kamara 鈥?the first a 1-yard run and the second a 7-yard catch Peyton Barber Jersey , both followed by 2-point conversions. That cut the Saints' deficit to eight points with 3:31 to go.On third-and-11, Fitzpatrick needed to make one more play 鈥?and did. He scrambled to his left for 12 yards at the two-minute warning. With New Orleans out of timeouts, Fitzpatrick was able to run out the clock."That's the type of game we've played in year's past as a .500 team," Saints coach Sean Payton said, alluding to three straight 7-9 seasons from 2014-16 before the Saints returned to the playoffs with 11 wins in 2017. "Nothing carries over from last year. I've said it a millions times."STATS AND TRENDSThe combined 88 points set an NFL record for a regular-season opener, narrowly eclipsing Philadelphia's 45-42 victory over Washington in September of 1947.New Orleans' Drew Brees was 37 of 45 for 439 yards and three TDs. Kamara, the 2017 offensive rookie of the year, caught nine passes for 112 yards and one touchdown to go with two touchdown runs. Receiver Michael Thomas set a single-game franchise record by catching 16 passes for 180 yards and a TD, but turned the ball over on a fumble across midfield in the third quarter.Tampa Bay scored on six of its first seven possessions. The only Bucs drive of the first half that did not produce points was when they ran out the final 55 seconds before halftime. Tampa Bay did not punt until their eighth drive about halfway through the third quarter. The Bucs finished with eight passing plays of 20 or more yards.The Saints punted only once in the first half and trailed 31-24 at halftime after Thomas' 6-yard touchdown catch.FUMBLED OPPORTUNITYWith Mark Ingram serving a four-game suspension for use of a banned substance, the Saints brought in running back Mike Gillislee after he was cut by New England. In his Saints debut, Gillislee fumbled in the second quarter on a hit by Vernon Hargreaves. Cornerback Justin Evans scooped up the loose ball and ran it back for a 34-yard TD.INJURIESBuccaneers: Hargreaves was helped to the locker room with a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter.Saints: New Orleans did not announce any injuries.UP NEXTBuccaneers: Host Philadelphia on Sunday.Saints: Host Cleveland on Sunday. Dave Gettleman and the New York Giants have to answer one question heading into the NFL draft with the second pick overall.Is there another Eli Manning?If the new general manager is convinced there is a guy who can lead to the team to a couple of Super Bowls — and the Cleveland Browns haven't taken him — the Giants grab a quarterback.It's that simple when you are coming off a 3-13 season and Manning is 37 years old. General managers don't pass on quarterbacks who have the potential to make everyone on the team better. That's what Ernie Accorsi did in 2004, when he engineered a blockbuster draft-day trade for Manning.Accorsi was convinced Manning was a can't-miss QB, and it didn't hurt that the Ole Miss product didn't want to play on the West Coast. So the Giants packaged Philip Rivers, who they took with the No. 4 pick overall, their third-round pick that year and their first and fifth-round choices in 2005 and sent them to San Diego.It was a big price. The return was Super Bowl titles after the 2007 and '11 seasons. Well worth it."When you're picking this high, if you make a mistake, you're done," said Gettleman, who was hired to replace the ousted Jerry Reese. "We talk that when you miss on a quarterback, you really hurt the franchise for probably five years. It's a five-year mistake. Yeah, it's a big decision, but as long as you've done your homework and turned all the rocks over, you will come to the right answer. You ask the right questions and you will get the right answers."Four quarterbacks in the draft class are attractive: Josh Allen of Wyoming, Sam Darnold of Southern California Authentic Ryan Smith Jersey , Josh Rosen of UCLA, and Baker Mayfield of Oklahoma."It's a really a neat group to evaluate because they are all different players," said Gettleman, who spent four-plus seasons as the general manager of the Carolina Panthers before being fired in July. "With the second pick, I'm sitting at Ben and Jerry's and I've got a lot of flavors to look at and they're all different."Manning seemingly has a year or two left in the tank, so there will be no rush to play a rookie if the Giants pick a quarterback.If they decide not to, they have needs at running back, a pass-rushing lineman with the trade of Jason Pierre-Paul to Tampa, and on the offensive line.Saquon Barkley of Penn State clearly is the top running back. He offers the added bonus of being a return man.Bradley Chubb of North Carolina State is the top defensive end, while guard Quenton Nelson of Notre Dame is probably the most NFL-ready offensive lineman, although guards usually are not taken this high.The other needs can be filled in later rounds.The release of veteran receiver Brandon Marshall will have New York looking for a big receiver for the offense being installed by new coach Pat Shurmur. He replaced Ben McAdoo, fired less than a year after leading the franchise to its first playoff berth since the 2011 season.Signing Kareem Martin as a free agent and acquiring Alec Ogletree in a trade with the Rams gave the Giants outside linebackers for the new 3-4 system of defensive coordinator James Bettcher. Gettleman needs some inside linebackers. B.J. Goodson was good when healthy last season, but an ankle injury limited him to seven games.OFFENSIVE LINEFailing to fix the offensive line was a major reason last season went south and Reese was canned in early December. Gettleman is good at finding hogs. He signed tackle Matt Kalil as a veteran free agent and guard Andrew Norwell as an undrafted college player while drafting guard Trai Turner and tackle Daryl Williams in his time with the Panthers. Since joining the Giants, he signed free agent left tackle Nate Solder, allowing Ereck Flowers to move to the right side. Brett Jones returns at center, but the rest of the linemen need to improve. Finding a good guard or two in the draft will fix the problem.HITS, MISSES AND BARGAINSTight end Evan Engram (first round, 2017) and Odell Beckham Jr. (first round, 2014) have been outstanding picks. Cornerback Eli Apple (first round, 2016) and Flowers (first round, 2015) have been disappointments. The Giants have done well in the second round with defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson (2017), receiver Sterling Shepard (2016) and safety Landon Collins (2015). After the second round, the Giants have missed the target more often than not.