Page 19 - Florida Sentinel 8-9-19

SportsBucs' Jameis Winston Working On
Bucs-Steelers Game To Get National Audience On NFL Network
Bruce Arians' first game on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' sideline will now be available to a nationwide audience.
On Tuesday, NFL Network announced that it would carry live broadcasts of 13 NFL pre- season games in August, includ- ing three in the opening weekend.
One of those three will be the Buccaneers visit to Heinz Field to play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday, August 9. That is Tampa Bay's first game of 2019, which means it will be its first live action under the guidance of Arians, the team's new head coach.
The Buccaneers-Steelers matchup will still be shown live in the Bay area by Tampa Bay's preseason partner, WFLA, News Channel 8. However, the NFLN simulcast will give out-of-mar- ket Buccaneer fans the same op- portunity to catch the team's debut under Arians. The Au- gust 9 contest is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Buccaneer fans can also get a sneak peek at the team's Week One opponent in the regular season, as NFLN will carry a live broadcast of the Dallas Cow- boys-San Francisco 49ers game on Saturday, August 10, with kickoff at 9:00 p.m. ET.
Rookie LB Devin White
Checking Down More
Tampa Bay’s Defense
Bruce Arians once coined the phrase "no risk it, no bis- cuit" to describe his offense. Taking over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that mentality seemed to fit well with quarter- back Jameis Winston's per- sona.
Entering a pivotal fifth- year, however, Winston has been working on checking the ball down and practicing pa- tience with the offense.
"Sometimes checking that ball down is the simple deci- sion," Winston said. "It's about moving the chains. It's about a completion here and a completion there. And that's how you know the game really slows down is when you're able to do that, when it's just second nature."
For Winston it will take a persistent mental tweak to get used to checking down quickly when the big play isn't there at the snap. Far too often in his first four seasons, the Bucs QB held on to the bar way too long, resulting in too many negative plays -- sacks and interceptions (58 INTS in 56 career games).
JAMEIS WINSTON Unstated in Arians' "no risk it,
no biscuit" sentiment is that by stretching the field vertically, his offenses open up the under- neath for running backs to feast. Arians' offenses have al- ways deployed prolific pass- catching backs that take advantage of the space created.
Winston insists switching his gunslinger mentality from missiles to guns won't be that difficult.
"It's not hard. It's challeng- ing at times because in terms of just wanting to make a play," Winston said. "But that's part of growth at the quarterback position and part of the aware- ness of knowing when the de- fense did a great job. How can we protect us?"
Devin White is the new face of Tampa Bay’s defense, and the 21-year-old rookie line- backer welcomes the responsi- bilities that come along with that.
A Buccaneer fan who goes to every practice stated that White never takes any plays off. "He plays hard every play. We have a special player."
“I’ve always been in big roles in my life. Everything I did, I always kind of grew up faster than probably what I should’ve, and I think it kind of helped me,” White, the No. 5 overall pick in the NFL draft out of LSU, said about lofty ex- pectations accompanying his arrival to a franchise that’s missed the playoffs 11 consecu- tive seasons — the second-
DEVIN WHITE
longest drought in the league behind Cleveland’s 16-year hia- tus.
With six-time Pro Bowl tackle Gerald McCoy now wearing the uniform of the NFC South rival Carolina Pan- thers, White is the unques- tioned leader of a young defense that ranked among the league’s worst over the past decade.
From LSU New Face Of
Cowboys DE Robert Quinn Fractures Hand In Practice
Vita Vea To Get Second Test On Injured Knee
The Dallas Cowboys, al- ready dealing with another in- jury to Sean Lee, suffered another blow on Tuesday.
Defensive end Robert Quinn fractured his hand dur- ing practice in Oxnard, Califor- nia and is heading back to Dallas to have surgery.
Quinn, 29, is still expected to be ready for the regular sea- son opener against the New York Giants on Sept. 8, Cow- boys executive vice president Stephen Jones said.
The nine-year pro projects to be a key piece on a Dallas de-
ROBERT QUINN
fense that includes fellow de- fensive ends DeMarcus Lawrence and Taco Charl- ton, middle linebacker Jaylon Smith and weakside line- backer Leighton Vander Esch.
Second-year defensive line- man Vita Vea left practice early on Tuesday and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wasted no time examining his injured knee. However, the Buccaneers are going to take a little more time before coming to any de- finitive conclusions.
"We did the MRI right away on Vea Tuesday," said Head Coach Bruce Arians following Wednesday's practice. "[There is] a little fluid in there, a little swelling, so we'll do another one on Friday. There's nothing really to report on what it is yet, or how much [the] timetable [is] as far as [his] return. We'll know more on Friday. But the original prognosis was good. Other than that, good fast prac- tice, ready to go hit somebody else."
Vea is the second starter from the middle of the defense that the Bucs have lost to a knee injury in the last week. Inside linebacker Lavonte David has missed four straight practices
VITA VEA
after undergoing a procedure to address a torn meniscus in his left knee. However, Arians emphasized on Wednesday that David's injury is not serious; he's obviously hoping the same will prove true of Vea.
Arians said that "two or three" players will pick up the slack while Vea is out of the lineup, mentioning Beau Allen and Rakeem Nunez- Roches by name. Vea is listed as the starting nose tackle on the Bucs' three-man line, flanked by Ndamukong Suh and Will Gholston.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2019 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 13-A