Page 26 - Florida Sentinel 12-22-17

Sports
Winston Faces Cam
Bucs DT McCoy Selected To Pro Bowl For 6th Time
GERALD MCCOY
Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy of the Tampa Bay Buc- caneers has been named to the 2018 Pro Bowl.
This is McCoy's sixth Pro Bowl selection of his career and marks the sixth consecutive year he’s been selected. McCoy is now tied for third-most Pro Bowl selection in Buccaneers history.
McCoy was drafted third overall in 2010 by the Bucca- neers. He was first selected for the Pro Bowl in 2012.
He leads the Buccaneers this season with five sacks, 12 tackles for loss and 22 quarter- back hits.
Three other Buccaneers players were named alternates. Tight end Kwon Alexan- der is a third alternate, tight end Cam Brate is a third al- ternate and linebacker Lavonte David is a second al-
ternate.
Dirk Koetter Declines To Provide Details After Doug Martin Inactive Vs. Falcons
DOUG MARTIN
Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter not only benched running back Doug Martin against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night, but he made him a healthy scratch due to a violation of team rules.
Koetter declined to specify what rule Martin broke, how- ever.
Peyton Barber started in Martin's absence and rushed for 53 yards on 13 carries, aver- aging 4.1 yards per rush. But Barber fumbled on second- and-1 at the Atlanta 9-yard line, killing a drive that began at the Tampa Bay 8-yard line and had six first downs. The Bucs lost to the Falcons 24-21.
A fumble is what led to Martin's benching last week, when he lost the ball on third- and-1 just before halftime and did not return for the remain- der of the game.
Colin K And Steph Curry Say ‘I’m In’ To Purchasing Team With Diddy
Newton And The
Colin Kaepernick wants in on Diddy’s quest to own the Carolina Panthers.
On Sunday, the hip-hop mogul tweeted that he wanted to “make history” by buying the team, adding that “there are no majority African Amer- ican NFL owners.” Diddy ex- panded on his vision in an Instagram video.
“I will be the best NFL owner that you can imagine,” he said. “I will immediately address the Colin Kaeper- nick situation and put him in the running for next year’s starting quarterback.” Golden State Warrior Stephen Curry added that he wanted a
Panthers Sunday
The Carolina Panthers are sharpening their claws in an- ticipation of their game Sun- day against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Panthers opened as 10-point home favorites.
Carolina is fresh off elimi- nating Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers from the playoffs by downing the Packers 31-24 on Sunday. The Panthers improved to 6-1 straight up and against the spread in their last seven games.
Tampa Bay lost by a game tying field goal miss 24-21 against the Falcons on Mon- day night .
The Panthers beat the Bucs 17-3 in a Week 8 yawner that saw Tampa quarterback Jameis Winston toss two picks with no TD passes.
Battered Bucs Putting Two On IR, More To Come
The Tampa Bay Bucca- neers have plenty of work to do to their roster, after 10 players were injured in Mon- day’s loss to the Falcons.
They know at least two players are headed to injured reserve, with more likely to join them today.
The Buccaneers know guard J.R. Sweezy and line- backer Adarius Glanton are
JAMEIS WINSTON AND CAM NEWTON
done for the year.
Glanton had surgery to
repair a broken leg Tuesday, and coach Dirk Koetter said Sweezy was done for the year after a lower-leg injury that had him leaving on crutches Monday night.
With tight end O.J. Howard and wide receiver DeSean Jackson leaving the game in walking boots with ankle injuries, and safety Justin Evans dealing with a long-term ankle injury, there could be more IR moves. There were 10 players injured Monday, though some re- turned to the game.
“That was by far the most we’ve ever had,” Koetter said. “We had a bunch of guys go down, and I am proud of the way our guys battled last night, but there will be a price to pay for that here this week.”
The team will fill the first two spots by promoting line- backer Nigel Harris and de- fensive tackle Channing Ward from the practice squad.
Colin Kaepernick and Diddy.
stake in the deal as well. Kaepernick responded to Diddy’s announcement on Monday morning, writing on Twitter that he would like to do more than just be on the
field.
Kap wrote:
I want in on the ownership group! Let’s make it happen!
Ex-Tampa Bay Coach Jon Gruden Joins Bucs' Ring Of Honor
Former Tampa Bay Bucca- neers coach and current ESPN Monday Night Football analyst Jon Gruden was inducted into the Buccaneer Ring of Honor during a halftime cere- mony of the Bucs' Week 15 game against the Atlanta Fal- cons.
Gruden took to the field for a special presentation dur- ing which his name was un- veiled in the northeast corner of Raymond James Stadium, along with fireworks.
"This is the greatest indi- vidual honor that I've ever had in my life," said Gruden, who was joined by his family and 60 former players, as well as fellow Buccaneer Ring of Honor members Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, Mike Alstott, Jimmie Giles and Doug Williams. Earlier
JON GRUDEN
this season, the Bucs inducted late owner Malcolm Glazer, who purchased the team in 1995.
The highlight of the cere- mony was Gruden leading his 2002 Super Bowl team to the north end zone for one final play -- a re-enactment of Al- stott's 2-yard touchdown run in the Bucs' 41-28 win over the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII -- which drew thunderous applause.
Antonio Brown Officially Ruled Out For
Week 16 With ‘Significant Contusion’
Antonio Brown appears to have avoided a major injury in Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots, but the star wide receiver is going to miss at least one week because of it.
On Tuesday, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin called Brown’s in- jury a “significant contusion” and said he will not play on Sunday vs. the Houston Tex- ans.
The exact extent of Brown’s injury is still a bit unclear. After he left Sunday’s game, the Steelers said he was dealing with a “calf bruise.” Tomlin’s talk of a significant contusion seems to be in line with that, but there have been indications that Brown is dealing with something more
ANTONIO BROWN
serious.
Brown took to Twitter on
Monday to provide a vague up- date about his injury, and it does not sound like he is in danger of missing any playoff time. However, the Steelers still need to lock up the No. 2 overall seed if they want a first- round bye, which could be ex- tremely important if Brown needs more time to heal.
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