Gauntlet 2.8 - Game Time Decision

Gauntlet : Hangover
Genre : Sports / Drama
Showrunner: Antoine Fuqua
Writer : Matt Parker

Cast: William Fichtner, Josh Duhamel, Trevor Jackson, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Jared Keeso, Corey Hawkins, Kat Graham, Saffron Burrows and Jaimie Alexander

Plot: Before the team leaves for its next game in Atlanta, Coach Ken Heath (William Fichtner) meets with DeAndre Colson (Corey Hawkins) in his office to get Colson's side of the story of what happened between the security guards and Jefferson Thomas at the night club. Colson tells his coach that he honestly didn't see what happened, but that Thomas had a lot to drink and was getting a bit out of control at the club. Heath thanks Colson for his honesty.

Reporter Natalie Cornish (Jaimie Alexander) gives a news update on the night club incident, reporting that a security guard from the night club has officially pressed assault charges against Jefferson Thomas. A police spokesperson has told her that they are taking these accusations against Thomas seriously as they continue their investigation.

Coach Heath is at his home when the doorbell rings. He opens it and Tim Collins (Josh Duhamel) is outside. Heath thanks Collins for being able to come over. Collins is eager to find out why the coach called him over to his house. Heath says he'll just go ahead and cut to the chase. He would like to offer Collins the job of quarterbacks coach on his coaching staff. Collins asks if Heath is suggesting he no longer be even the backup quarterback of the team, and Heath immediately cuts him off, telling him he still wants Collins as the backup quarterback in case things don't work out with Alex Wright or he gets injured. He wants Collins to be an official player-coach, the first the league has seen since the 1980s. Collins is admittedly confused by the offer, but Heath assures him he thinks that it will work and he wants Collins busier on the bench. He also wants Collins in the ear of Alex Wright more than Stan Swift. Collins asks Heath if he can have a few days to think the offer over. Heath says of course and shakes Collins' hand.

Jefferson Thomas (Trevor Jackson) knocks at a door late at night and Nikki (Kat Graham) answers. She is annoyed that he's at her door, and he apologizes but needs to talk to her. She invites him in and sits down. Thomas paces back and forth in the living room while he talks to her. He tells Nikki that he wants her to move in to his house. He wants her and the baby to be close to him. Nikki isn't sure about the idea. Thomas tells her that his dad left while his mom was pregnant and he thinks that's partly to blame for his current issues, and he doesn't want anything like that happening to his kid. Nikki is still unsure until Thomas says that she can have her own room in his house if she wants, the house is plenty big enough.

Collins and Sharon Matthews (Saffron Burrows) are having sex in bed. Afterward, they lay there. She asks him what the coach wanted to talk to him about. Collins tells her that he was offered the job of quarterbacks coach. She asks him what he wants to do, and he says that he thinks he wants to try out the extra responsibilities. Life without football has been a scary thought for him, but as a coach he can stay in the game he loves without 300-pound behemoths trying to rip his head off. Sharon jokes that it sounds like a happy medium.

Jefferson Thomas is at his house helping Nikki move her things in when Coach Heath shows up at his front door. Heath apologizes for not calling first, but Thomas tells him that's alright and invites him in. Thomas introduces Nikki to Heath, who asks Thomas if he can have a quick word with him. Thomas agrees and asks his coach what's up. Heath tells Thomas that he's made the difficult decision to scratch Thomas from the lineup for this week due to the night club fight charges. Thomas is clearly upset and insists he didn't start the altercation. Heath says he isn't pointing any fingers, but is just playing it safe this week while the team and the league both continue their investigation into what happened. Thomas says he understands and shakes Coach's hand.

Offensive coordinator Stan Swift (Jared Keeso) is going over some last minute game tape with rookie quarterback Alex Wright (Patrick Schwarzenegger) at the practice facility before the team hops on the bus to the airport. Coach Heath calls them both into his office where Collins is already sitting. Heath tells them that Collins is the team's new quarterbacks coach. He would like Wright to spend more time with Collins when it comes to going over film so that Swift can oversee more of a tactical game-planning role on the staff. Heath then tells them that Thomas won't be playing that week, so he would like Swift to go over the playbook and find some running plays for Colson. Without their star running back, they're going to need the ball in the hands of their best play makers as much as possible to defeat a stout defense like Atlanta's.