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Sports
Can Jameis Winston Lead The Tampa Bay Buccaneers To The Playoffs?
Colin Kaepernick Likely To Be Cut By San Francisco 49ers
Jameis Winston was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and showed why throughout his rookie season. He has made the entire fan base excited about the upcom- ing 2016 NFL season.
Looking ahead to the 2016 NFL season, could Winston lead the Buccaneers to the playoffs and make the fran- chise relevant again?
Tampa Bay has a lot of young talent that new head coach Dirk Koetter will have to develop throughout the sea- son. They are not in an easy di- vision, to say the least, although they held their own last season.
There is no question that the Buccaneers have put to- gether the kind of talent neces- sary to compete for a playoff spot. Simply looking at their offense should give the fan base hope for the 2016 season.
Winston isn’t the only ta- lented player that the Bucca- neers’ offense can lean on. Doug Martin finally broke out last season after struggling since his rookie year. Mike Evans and Vincent Jack- son are a very dangerous wide receiver duo as well.
JAMEIS WINSTON
Winston and Evans ab- solutely destroyed the Cleve- land Browns in their preseason game last week. If that duo can play the way they did against the Browns, the fu- ture is incredibly bright for the Buccaneers.
Koetter is going to be a very intriguing head coach to keep an eye on this season as well. He is a great offensive mind, although there are still quite a few question marks about the team as a whole. Tampa Bay will need their de- fense to step up first and fore- most to have any chance at making it into the playoffs.
Last season as a rookie, Winston ended up complet- ing 58.3 percent of his pass at- tempts for 4,042 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 15 intercep- tions. His completion percent-
age could use some improve- ment and he needs to cut down on his turnovers, but outside of those two things, he showed superstar potential.
Answering the question is fairly easy. Winston can lead the Buccaneers to the playoffs if he develops the way that Tampa Bay is hoping he does. They have the talent on both sides of the football to be a se- rious threat in the lower half of the playoff race.
One area of concern at this point in time is the kicking sit- uation. Robert Aguayo has struggled a bit in preseason and training camp action. He had a much better game against the Browns, although it will be a concern until he proves himself during the reg- ular season.
It will be interesting to see how the season goes for the Buccaneers. Even if they can improve off of the six games that they won last season, it will be a big step in the right direction. Finishing with an 8- 8 record would be enough to call the 2016 season a success- ful year for the Buccaneers.
The Sentinel pick the Bucs to make it to the playoffs.......9-7 or 10-6!
Spike Lee: Trump Trying To Capitalize On Murder Of Dwyane Wade's Cousin
SPIKE LEE
Filmmaker Spike Lee said Monday Donald Trump was trying capitalize on the shooting death of Nykea Aldridge, cousin of NBA star Dwyane Wade.
"He should be giving condo- lences to the Wade family from the first tweet," the director told Anderson Cooper on "Ander- son Cooper 360." "To me, that just shows where his heart is."
Donald Trump tweeted Saturday that tragedies like the shooting death of Wade's cousin are one of the reasons African-Americans will vote for him.
"Dwayne Wade's cousin was just shot and killed walking her baby in Chicago. Just what I have been saying. African-Amer- icans will VOTE TRUMP!" he tweeted, initially misspelling Wade's first name.
Lee, who directed "Chi- Raq," a film about the violence in Chicago, said people should not get "caught up on what his is saying."
"What happens in Chicago is way bigger than Donald Trump who is just trying to capitalize on it."
Colin Kaepernick is likely to be cut by the San Francisco 49ers, but not for his decision to sit during the na- tional anthem in protest.
The 49ers have real con- cerns about Kaepernick's decline and whether he can ever regain lost skills, accord- ing to a report.
The quarterback didn't play well against Green Bay Friday during his preseason debut. Kaepernick looked rusty, which wasn't too sur- prising after he didn't fully participate during OTAs and mini-camp in the spring and only recently started fully throwing passes leading up to Friday's game.
Kaepernick's $11.9 mil- lion salary is guaranteed for
COLIN KAEPERNICK
the 2016 season, so it would be surprising if the 49ers decided to cut Kaepernick and pay his salary. If the 49ers decide to jettison Kaepernick, they would hope another team would sign him, which would reduce the 49ers financial obli- gation.
Cam Newton Finally Has A No. 1 Receiver
Yes, two of the most popu- lar athletes in Seattle history are buddies.
Russell Wilson has a Super Bowl ring, a new pop- star wife – and an occasional golf date with soon-to-be Hall of Famer Ken Griffey, Jr.
”He’s a great guy,” Wilson said during an exclusive inter- view with the official home of the Seahawks, Q13 News. “Al- ways smiling, you know, loving life.
You might’ve noticed the Seattle Seahawks’ newlywed quarterback had a busy offsea- son. He got engaged, got mar- ried, attended teammates’ weddings, gave a commence- ment speech, traveled to the ESPY awards and showed up at all kinds of fundraisers.
Wilson says it’s all by de- sign.
“I always say that the more
RUSSELL WILSON
that I have going on in my life, the busier the better, cause it keeps you motivated,” Wil- son said. “It keeps you moti- vated to continue to strive for greatness, strive for the best that you can possibly bring to the table.”
So what, exactly, is the best Wilson and the Seahawks can bring to the table this season?
“We’ll try to bring back Super Bowl 51 if we can,” he said. “We’ll do everything we can, every day.
Russell Wilson’s Promise: ‘We’ll Try To Bring Back Super Bowl 51’
CAM NEWTON
In 2015, Cam Newton
won MVP, ran one of the most enterprising and un- usual offenses in league his- tory, tossed 35 touchdown passes ... and he did it all with Ted Ginn Jr. as his no. 1 re- ceiver.
Yes, returner-first, re- ceiver-with-a-case-of-the- dropsies-second Ginn was Carolina’s most dangerous threat on the outside last year, and yes, the Panthers still led the NFL in scoring.
Enter Kelvin Benjamin, the 2014 rookie sensation who lost his entire sopho- more season to an ACL tear. With the 25-year-old Ben- jamin back on the field, Newton reunites with his go-to guy on third downs and gets another big body to throw to in the red zone.
Normally you have to make a trade, sign a free agent, or use a draft pick in
KELVIN BENJAMIN
order to make such an up- grade, but just due to the passing of time and the heal- ing ability of the human body, the Panthers come into the 2016 season having added a star-quality receiver to an al- ready-elite offense.
In 2014, Benjamin caught 73 passes for 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns. Newton looked his way a lot, and the former Seminole racked up 142 targets, the most for a rookie receiver since 2007 and 10th most in the NFL that year.
Since Benjamin’s last game, Ginn has returned to the team and Devin Funchess and Corey Brown have emerged as le- gitimate receiving options, so while Benjamin instantly becomes Carolina’s best wideout, Newton won’t need to force-feed him with reck- less abandon.
Jim Brown: I'm With Colin Kaepernick '100 Percent'
Cleveland Browns Hall of Famer Jim Brown is best known as perhaps the greatest player in NFL history.
Coming of age in America's turbulent 1960s, though, Brown is also recognized for a social activism beyond foot- ball that led to the Black Eco- nomic Union and the Amer-I-Can program which has changed the lives of for- mer gang members and ex- convicts.
Appearing on Monday's edition of NFL Total Access, Brown weighed in on the controversy surrounding San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's recent protest during the playing of the national anthem.
"I listened to him and he makes all the sense in the
JIM BROWN
world. He's within his rights and he's telling the truth as he sees it," Brown explained. "I am with him 100 percent. ... Now if you ask me 'Would I do that?' No I won't, because I see it a little differently. I'm an American citizen, I pay my taxes, I want my equal rights but this is my country, and consequently I don't want to open up for ISIS or anybody that will take away what we've already gained."
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