Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 3-28-17

Sports
3 Bucs Named To NFL.com’s All-Under 25 Team
Boxing A Part Of Russell Wilson's Offseason Workout Regimen
On Wednesday, NFL.com’s Elliot Harrison published his All-Under 25 team, and the Buccaneers were well-represented. Three Bucs made the list – quarter- back Jameis Winston, wide receiver Mike Evans and guard Ali Marpet. No other team in the league had more than two players listed.
This past season, Win- ston completed his second 4,000-yard passing season in as many years. He’s the only quarterback to do so in his first two seasons and was the only quarterback selected to Harrison’s All-Under 25 team.
“Statistically, he is behind both Dak Prescott and Marcus Mariota,” Harri- son wrote of Winston’s 2016 season. “Yet for Jameis Winston, the youngest of the three, he is asked to do so much more on a football field in spite of that youth. He’s al- ready thrown nearly 300 more passes than Mariota, even though both came into the league the same year. (Of course, Mariota has missed some time due to injury — but that’s part of this equation, too.)
“Ultimately, Winston’s
QB -Jameis Winston, WR- Mike Evans and G- Ali Marpet.
Seattle Seahawks quarter- back Russell Wilson re- cently gave his Instagram followers a glimpse of what his offseason workouts have been like.
Wilson has been working out in Los Angeles, and wide receiver Doug Baldwin said recently during a 710 ESPN Seattle interview that he's heard great things about the work the quarterback has been putting in.
"I keep tabs on him during the offseason to check in with the guys that are around him to see how he’s doing, and what I’ve heard just recently was that he’s being an animal right now," Baldwin said. "He’s grinding his butt off."
RUSSELL WILSON
Wilson started every game last year, but battled through three different injuries -- a high ankle sprain, a sprained MCL in his knee and a pectoral strain.
Baldwin pointed out how much the Seahawks have rid- ing on a healthy and produc- tive Wilson.
lack of help — juxtaposed with Mariota’s luxury of leaning on a top-flight running game — landed the Bucs QB a spot on this list.
Asked one of our resident scouts here at NFL.com, Daniel Jeremiah, to rank them if he was starting an ex- pansion team. ‘1) Winston, 2) Prescott, 3) Mariota.’ There you go.”
Evans, who earned a trip to his first Pro Bowl this past season, is one of two wide re- ceivers on the list, along with the Giants’ Odell Beckham. Evans has gone over 1,000 yards every year he’s been in the league.
“Mike Evans turned 21 in the preseason of his rookie
year, so despite already catch- ing 238 passes in the NFL, he won’t turn 25 until August of 2018,” Harrison wrote. “Evans put up career highs in catches and yards last season, while leading the league in targets. There were times in 2016 when Evans repre- sented the entire Bucs passing attack. The arrival of DeSean Jackson, and continued de- velopment of TE Cameron Brate, should only help Evans.
Marpet was one of two guards selected, along with Carolina’s Trai Turner. Marpet was the NFL’s fifth- best run-blocking guard in 2016, according to Pro Foot- ball Focus.
Bears' Deiondre' Hall, Packers' Makinton Dorleant Arrested In Iowa
DEIONDRE’ HALL AND MAKINTON DORLEANT
Chicago Bears cornerback Deiondre' Hall and Green Bay Packers cornerback Mak- inton Dorleant were arrested on Saturday night in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Hall was arrested and cited for disorderly conduct, public intoxication and interference. Dorleant was cited for inter- ference.
According to Cedar Falls po- lice, officers observed and then responded to a disturbance out- side a local bar. A bouncer told police that he was assaulted after a fight broke out inside.
Hall did not respond to po- lice instructions and spit in the officers' faces, according to the affidavit. Police say an officer used a Taser on Hall's legs in order to get him into the squad car.
Dorleant was detained after authorities say he approached officers "in a threatening man- ner'' following Hall's arrest.
Bennett: Teams Should Want Leader Like Kaepernick
DeSean Jackson: Jameis Winston Driven To Be Great
With everyone weighing in on former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's curious unemployment, including Around the NFL's very own Chris Wesseling, it was only a matter of time before one of the league's most outspoken activists lent his two cents to the conversation.
Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett joined NFL Network's NFL Total Access on Friday to reiterate his plan to donate all of his incoming en- dorsement money to inner-city charities, and to also offer a unique player's perspective on Kaepernick's predicament.
"Yeah, it does surprise me. Kap is one of the best quarter- backs in the NFL," Bennett said of the quarterback's mar- ket. "He's also one of the most
MICHAEL BENNETT AND COLIN KAEPERNICK
genuine people you could pos- sibly meet. All the stuff that he's doing off the field, the things that he's doing in the communities, he's just serving everybody. Teams should be happy to have a leader like that, a guy who's dedicated to the people around him and he's dedicated to making their life better. The only thing he could do is make the offense even better."
Quarterback Jameis Winston lobbied hard for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to sign wideout DeSean Jack- son, saying before free agency, "I've met him before, and we want DeSean. You better believe we want De- Sean here."
Now that Jackson calls Tampa home, the former Ea- gles and Redskins star made it clear how much he values his new signal-caller.
"He has a determination to be great," Jackson told ESPN on Thursday, per FloridaFootballInsiders.com. "It hasn't even been a month since I've been with the Buc- caneers and we're going back and forth, texting, talking on the phone, and I can see how hungry he is.
"He wants to win. And not only win, but he wants to bring a championship to Tampa. I think those are the intangibles you want in any young quarterback, but he's a guy that doesn't just talk about that but has the work ethic, too. That's what makes the difference."
What makes Jackson such a promising signing for the Bucs boils down to fit. The pairing of the field-
JAMEIS WINSTON
stretching pass catcher with All-Pro Mike Evans gives Tampa a custom-made pass- ing game that should drive opposing cover men insane.
Jackson told ESPN that he and Evans "can dominate together," while saying that he plans to take a visible lead- ership role, at age 30, akin to how a trio of former Eagles teammates operated when he was a younger player.
"I remember being in Philadelphia," Jackson said, "with Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook and Brian Dawkins and kind of picking their brains and lean- ing on them and then going to Washington and being that guy that's a little older and expecting other players to be at their best and expecting to get the best out of (them)."
Tomlin, Steelers Prepping For Life After Roethlisberger
By the start of training camp, we might look back at Ben Roethlisberger's re- tire-or-not-to-retire waffling as a silly storyline, a manufac- tured Favrian imitation, short on suspense and void of in- trigue.
But in Pittsburgh, Steelers brass is taking Big Ben's hints at retirement as, if not a serious threat, a sign that it's time to evaluate the quarter- back position.
In an interview with NFL Network's Judy Battista that will air on Wednesday during Up To The Minute, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Pittsburgh is "proceeding" as if Roethlisberger is going to play for the organization in 2017 and noted he doesn't "spend a lot of time dwelling on it." But he added that does- n't preclude the Steelers from looking at acquiring a quarter-
MIKE TOMLIN AND BEN ROETHLISBERGER
back of the distant future. When asked if Pittsburgh has been considering Life After Ben (L.A.B.), Tomlin responded, "I think we've been in that mindset for the last several years, that's what this business tells us to be in. We better start sharpening our sword in terms of evaluation of quarterbacks and what's available to us or potentially available to us, that's just due
diligence. So yes, we have."
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