Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 1-12-16 Edition

Sports
Winston Nominated
Bucs Say Goodbye To Leslie Frazier, Three Assistants
LESLIE FRAZIER
With the departure of Lovie Smith, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers decided they would not be retaining the services of defensive coordina- tor Leslie Frazier, defensive backs coaches Gil Byrd and Mikal Smith, and assistant head coach Larry Marmie.
According to reports, de- fensive line coach Joe Cullen and linebackers coach Hardy Nickerson will stay for now.
Bucs To Interview McDermott, Goodwin For Head Coach Vacancy
For Two NFL Awards
On the Monday following the conclusion of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 2015 season, Jameis Winston said he would take a few weeks off but didn’t yet have a comprehen- sive plan for the offseason. Well, the first thing he may want to do is clear out a little space in his trophy case.
On Friday, Winston was revealed as a finalist for two of the NFL’s end-of-the-season awards. He is among five players nominated for NFL Rookie of the Year honors, and his signature play of 2015 is one of five being considered for the Castrol Edge Clutch Performer of the Year award. Both awards will be deter- mined by fan voting on NFL.com.
Voting for both awards
JAMEIS WINSTON
began on Friday afternoon. The balloting for Rookie of the Year will conclude on Thurs- day, January 28 and the winner will be announced during Super Bowl festivities.
The final day to cast a vote for the Clutch Performer award will be Thursday, February 4, and the winner will be announced during the fifth annual “NFL Honors” awards show on CBS two days later.
SEAN MCDERMOTT
In less than 24 hours after the Tampa Bay Bucca- neers announced they were parting ways with head coach Lovie Smith, offen- sive coordinator Dirk Koet- ter was the front runner to replace him.
Since that time, the Bucs have scheduled interviews with Carolina Panthers de- fensive coordinator, Sean McDermott, and Arizona
HAROLD GOODWIN
Cardinals offensive coordi- nator, Harold Goodwin.
Under McDermott, the Panthers have finished in the top 10 in defense the last four years, and led the league in takeaways this season.
Goodwin has served as Cardinals coordinator since 2013 and his offense was tops in the NFL this season in terms of total yards, aver- aging 408.3-per-game.
Road Teams Come Out Victorious In First Round Of NFL Playoffs
Martin, Conte Free Agents
Doug Martin
Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back, Doug Martin, and safety Chris Conte are among a list of key players who will be unrestricted free agents in 2016.
Martin could hit the open market in March and he and others have expressed an in- terest in returning to the Bucs.
Conte said he’d like to stay, because he feels the team is heading in the right direction and with a few more pieces, they will be top con- tenders.
Martin finished second in the NFL this season in rushing with 1,402 yards and
Named AP
AARON RODGERS
For the first time in the history of the NFL, all four road teams came out winners as the NFL playoffs kicked off this past weekend.
Featuring wild-card matchups, two of the four teams squeaked out victories, while the other two left no room for doubt.
In the Kansas City Chief/Houston Texans game, the Chief prevailed 30-0 by frustrating Texan defensive end J. J. Watt and shutting down their running game.
The Steelers win over the Bengals came with anger and an uncharacteristic loss of poise by a Marvin Lewis coached team. That along with some penalties by Adam “Pack Man” Jones and linebacker Vontaze Burfict ended any chance of the Bengals entering the next round of the playoffs.
In the NFC, it was bitter cold in Minnesota and it showed in the performance of both team’s offense, but the Seattle Seahawk defense proved to be 1-point better in their 10-9 victory. Viking quarterback Teddy Bridge- water guided his team to the 10-yard line and left it up to their kicker, Blair Walsh to win the game on a chip shot from 27 yards. However, Walsh’s kick drifted to the left, and ended the hopes of
RUSSELL WILSON
the Vikings.
The Washington Red-
skins had been favored to beat the Green Bay Packers based on the surprising per- formance of Redskin quar- terback Kirk Cousins, and the inconsistency of quarter- back Aaron Rodgers of the Packers. But it was Rodgers who found his game again, leading his team to a 35-18 win.
The next round of the playoffs will feature the teams with first round byes.
The New England Patri- ots will be facing the Chiefs; The Denver Broncos will face the Steelers; the Seattle Sea- hawks will face the Carolina Panthers, and the Green Bay Packers will be facing the Arizona Cardinals.
The Seahawks will be looking to reach their third- straight Super Bowl, and the Kansas City Chiefs will be looking for their first Super Bowl appearance since Super Bowl IV. Carolina, with pre- sumptive league MVP Cam Newton at quarterback, will be looking for their second Super Bowl appearance in the history of their franchise as will the Arizona Cardinals.
The Denver Broncos will be trying to reach the Super Bowl and add to their back- to-back wins during the John Elway era.
DOUG MARTIN
Last Friday, the Associated Press announced that Bucca- neers running back Doug Martin has been selected as an All-Pro for the 2015 season. Martin finished with 1,402 rushing yards, the second- most in the league behind Minnesota’s Adrian Peter- son.
“I’m truly honored and blessed that people think that of me,” Martin said. “At the same time, it’s not an individ- ual honor – it took 11 guys to get me here and to be as suc- cessful as I am today. It’s a team accomplishment and I’m truly grateful,” said Martin.
“The O-line really doesn’t get the credit that they de- serve. I get the handoff and fans only see me running by people and scoring touch- downs, but all the hard work is in the trenches and the O-line did an awesome job this past year. I have good chemistry with them and those guys don’t get a lot of credit, but this is an O-line/running back accomplishment. Those guys are fighters and that’s some- thing that I’m very apprecia- tive of and thankful for.”
DOUG MARTIN
said he wants to stay, and he understands they have a very young team.
Buccaneer offensive line- man Logan Mankins is considering retirement, and other players know they have to step up to make the roster in August.
All-Pro
Bengals Not Planning To Make Coaching
Change, Sources Say
The issue of Marvin Lewis’ future in Cincinnati really isn’t much of an issue, as the Bengals have no plans to make a head coaching change at this time.
With the Bengals’ wild 18- 16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday, Lewis became the first NFL coach to sport a 0-7 postseason mark. Lewis, 57, has a 112- 94 record with the Bengals in the regular season. He has been the team’s head coach since 2003.
The Bengals’ meltdown in Saturday’s playoff loss came after Lewis led his team to a franchise-record-tying 12-4
MARVIN LEWIS
regular-season mark and a fourth AFC North champi- onship without the benefit of having starting quarterback Andy Dalton (broken thumb) for the last four-plus games.
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