Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 10-2-18

Sports
Jameis Winston Can't Afford To Blow
Bucs Coach Says Everyone Should Be Fired After Blowout Loss
DIRK KOETTER
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were blown out 48-10 by the Chicago Bears on Sunday, and it was a performance that left a lot of people embarrassed.
That included head coach Dirk Koetter, who stated that everyone involved with the per- formance deserved to be fired — including himself.
The Buccaneers allowed 483 total yards, and Bears quarterback Mitchell Tru- bisky threw six touchdowns. Tampa Bay also switched quar- terbacks at the half, though it did little to alter the course of the game.
The Buccaneers can’t quite fire everybody, even with a per- formance that bad. However, given Koetter’s forceful an- swer, defensive coordinator Mike Smith might be a little bit worried heading into work this week.
Jon Gruden Earns First Win As NFL Coach In Nearly 10 Years
JON GRUDEN
It took four games and al- most 10 years, but Jon Gru- den has his first victory since his return to the NFL as Oak- land Raiders coach.
The Raiders' 45-42 over- time win over the Cleveland Browns at the Oakland Coli- seum on Sunday was Gru- den's first win since Nov. 30, 2008, when he was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It is Gruden's first win with the Raiders since Oakland beat the New York Jets in a playoff game on Jan. 12, 2002.
As such, Gruden has tied Vince Lombardi in career coaching wins with 96 victo- ries.
JR Smith Says NBA Threatening To Fine Him Over Tattoo
Another Chance As He Returns To The Field
JR Smith says the NBA is threatening to fine him over one of his tattoos.
Smith has long been known for having his body covered in tattoos, but he added an even more notice- able one over the summer. Smith got the Supreme logo tattooed on the back of his leg. Smith says that tattoo has the league’s attention.
The Cleveland Cavaliers guard posted on Instagram Saturday that the NBA is threatening to fine him if he does not cover up his tattoo during games.
As ridiculous as the entire
matter sounds, the league does have some basis for making the threat. The NBA has a deal with Nike to be
their apparel
Supreme is a competing ap- parel brand. However, it’s not like Smith is wearing the tat- too as an apparel accessory to his uniform; it’s inked onto his body as a tattoo he chose, and one he says he was not com- pensated for.
Don’t blow this chance, Jameis Winston.
The Buccaneers star quar- terback got his job back, for a half Sunday and likely the rest of the season. Where he, and the Buccaneers, go from here largely depends on Winston and whether he re- ally has learned from the in- cidents that have left so much wreckage in their wake.
Will his immaturity resur- face, knowing his talent will get him a pass? Or will he fi- nally be the grown-up he swears he has become, some- one his team can rely on?
It’s all Winston’s call.
“My role is just to do my job,” Winston said after re- placing Ryan Fitzpatrick for the second half of Sun- day’s 48-10 rout by the Bears. “Go out there, get us in the end zone. As long as I do that, everyone’s going to be happy.”
It’s more than that, of course. The Buccaneers made Winston the first pick of the 2015 draft despite a checkered career at Florida State that included a Heis- man Trophy and sexual as- sault allegations. He showed promise his first three sea- sons with Tampa Bay, but his absence the first three weeks of this season was the result of his suspension for groping an Uber driver in March 2016.
The Buccaneers have in- vested too much in Winston for him not to be the changed man he now says he is. With Atlanta suddenly a shell of the team that reached the Super Bowl two seasons ago, there’s no reason Tampa Bay
can’t stake a claim to the NFC South crown. But it will need Winston to do it.
As wildly entertaining as FitzMagic was the first two weeks of the season, every- one knew it was too good to last. Sure enough, Ryan Fitzpatrick returned to his 14-year journeyman form in a debacle of a first half Sun- day that saw the Buccaneers fall behind 38-3.
Realistically, there wasn’t much Winston could do when he replaced Fitz- patrick to start the second half.
“We put Jameis in a ter- rible situation,” Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter said.
Still, Winston did give Tampa Bay a spark, complet- ing five of his first six passes. Gave them a touchdown, too, on a drive in which he be- came possibly the first per- son this year to have a close encounter with Khalil Mack this season and escape unscathed.
But more is expected now. The Buccaneers have a bye week before playing the hapless Falcons. That’s two weeks for Winston to work with his teammates and re- gain their rhythm.
Two weeks to remind everyone he’s no longer a cause for concern but, rather, someone to be counted on.
“We’ve got to eliminate the negatives and build on the positives. Nobody wants to be in a game like this,” Winston said. “So we’re def- initely going to come in to- morrow and put it to bed. Look in the mirror and let’s go to work.”
Earl Thomas' acrimo- nious season with the Seattle Seahawks might have reached a head.
The three-time all-pro safety was carted off the field during Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals with what Seahawks coach Pete Carroll later revealed to be a lower leg fracture. As he was leaving, Thomas was shown on camera giving a middle fin- ger toward the Seahawks' side- line.
Thomas sustained the in- jury in the fourth quarter on a touchdown pass from Cardi- nals quarterback Josh Rosen to receiver Chad Williams. An air cast was placed on his left leg and players from both teams approached him to offer their support as he exited.
EARL THOMAS
Entering the final year of his contract, Thomas waged an offseason holdout before deciding to report for the regu- lar season after the team re- fused to oblige his request for a trade or extension.
He missed one practice last week and two more prior to last week's win over the Dallas Cowboys, saying he would re- fuse to participate if he did not feel up to the task.
JAMEIS WINSTON
Sideline After Leg Injury
Earl Thomas Gives Middle
Finger Toward Seahawks
JR SMITH
provider.
NFL Rule-Makers Expect Roughing The Passer Calls To Decrease
The NFL has not made any actual rule changes in the wake of all the controversy we have seen surrounding roughing the passer calls early in the season, but it sounds like we can still expect to see a difference going forward.
Earlier this week, the NFL Competition Committee met to discuss the new emphasis that has been placed on de- fenders not driving quarter- backs into the turf or landing on them with all of their body weight. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that no changes were made to the language of the rules, but the league em-
phasized to officials that they need to be certain before throwing a flag.
Several people who took part in a conference call with the Competition Committee told Rapoport the expecta- tion is there will be fewer roughing the passer calls going forward.
“The ultra-simplified mes- sage from the competition committee to officials is this: See the entire act. Make sure you see all of it. If you aren’t sure, don’t throw the flag,” Rapoport said. “The NFL can always review the play later and issue fines if warranted.”
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