Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 10-6-15 Edition

Sports
Bucs Loss To Panthers Cause For Concern
Scene from Sunday’s game.
Warren Sapp
DeMarco Murray On Not Getting Enough Touches: 'It's The Plays Being Called'
It wasn’t under the most perfect of conditions Sunday at Raymond James Stadium, but the weather had nothing to do with the performance of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Losing 37-23 to the Carolina Panthers, the Bucs fall to 1-3, with their only win two weeks ago against the New Orleans Saints.
On Sunday, it would have been easy to throw kicker Kyle Brindza under the bus for missing critical field goals for the second week in a row.
But this time, he had a lot of help. Quarterback Jameis Winston’s performance was sloppy with him throwing four interceptions and fumbling a snap from center. He also picked up a couple of inten- tional grounding penalties.
Buccaneer head coach Lovie Smith said Winston has shown signs he can be a great player, but he’s not there yet.
On Sunday, Winston’s
first pass attempt was re- turned for a touchdown, and later as the rained picked up, he mishandled a snap from center, turning the ball over to the Panthers.
Winston finished the game completing 26-of-43 passes for 287 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The one bright spot Sunday was running back Doug Martin who carried the ball 20 times for 106 yards and a touchdown.
Brindza ended the first half by kicking a 29-yard at- tempt off the right upright, then later missed wide left on a 43-yard attempt early in the second half.
Sunday’s loss was the fifth straight to the Panthers, and 11th at home.
The Bucs will stay home this Sunday to play the Jack- sonville Jaguars and hope that they can regain the form they displayed on the road against the Saints and register a vic- tory.
WARREN SAPP
Warren Sapp has reportedly just plead guilty to domestic vi- olence charges in Las Vegas fol- lowing the April incident in which he reportedly bit his girl- friend Chalyce Moore and stomped on her head.
According to TMZ, Sapp, 42, was arrested on 3 counts of do- mestic violence but prosecutors agreed to drop two of the charges in exchange of a guilty plea.
The former NFL player was ordered to pay nearly $3,000 in fines, complete 6 months of do- mestic violence counseling and perform 48 hours of community service. He is also prohibited from contacting the victim.
According to the original po- lice report Sapp allegedly threw a drink in Moore's face, bru- tally bit her finger and stepped on her head during the April 28th incident.
Sapp faces six months in jail if he violates any term of the deal.
Tiger Woods Takings It Real Easy
TIGER WOODS
Tiger Woods is recovering from his second back surgery in just over a year in Florida at his home as he prepares for the 2015-16 PGA Tour season.
His buddy Notah Begay III said recently that Woods is "taking it real easy. He's just spending a lot of time at home and going to soccer games and watching Sam and Charlie play their fall soccer."
Sam and Charlie better be on their respective national times for how much soccer they play.
But seriously, it's going to be fascinating to see if Woods can bounce back from this latest surgery. I said recently that I think we're sort of at the end of the road. Begay doesn't neces- sarily disagree.
“I think he has a clear under- standing with where he's at in regard to his career that the sun is setting,” Begay said.
DEMARCO MURRAY
one," Murray said. "It is what it is. We'll all watch film and get better. Everyone has to get bet- ter. Losing a game like this in the division, going 0-2 in the division, it sucks."
Murray missed last week's game against the New York Jets with a hamstring injury. His availability Sunday was a game-time decision. The Ea- gles beat the Jets 24-17 for their only victory of the season.
Reaches Plea
Deal In Domestic
LANDOVER, Md. -- De- Marco Murray says he knew what he was getting into when he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent. After a 1- 3 start, Murray was asked if he's getting the ball enough.
"Do I think I'm touching the ball [enough]?" Murray said. "No, I'm not. I don't think I am. But it's the plays that are being called. I love this offense. I love playing with these guys. It's just how it is."
In the Eagles' 23-20 loss at Washington on Sunday, Mur- ray carried the ball eight times for 36 yards. He also caught two passes for 12 yards. Through three games, Murray has 29 carries for 47 yards.
Through four games, De- Marco Murray has just 47 yards on 29 carries, but says he doesn't plan on talking to Ea- gles coach Chip Kelly about his workload.
Murray said he didn't plan to talk to Eagles coach Chip Kelly about his workload.
"I don't need to go to any-
Violence Case
Jameis Winston After
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Sunday's game in Buffalo was the 16th of Odell Beckham Jr.'s NFL career. That means the second-year wide receiver, who missed the first four games of his rookie year with a hamstring injury, has now played the equivalent of a full season. And by one statistical measure, he has done it better than any other receiver ever has.
Beckham boosted his ca- reer receiving total to 1,612 yards -- the most by a player in his first 16 games. He finished the Giants' 24-10 win over the Bills with five catches for 38 yards.
An 8-yard catch in the first quarter sent Beckham past the previous record of 1,593 by Houston's Bill Groman in 1960-61.
ODELL BECKHAM
Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2014, catching 91 passes for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns in just 12 games following his injury. Through the first three games of this season, he ranked 11th in the league with 269 receiving yards and 18th in the league with 19 catches. He also had two touchdowns through the Giants' first three games.
Loss: 'I've Just Got To
Giants' Odell Beckham Jr. Sets 16-Game NFL Record For Receiving Yards
After a rough 37-23 loss to the Carolina Panthers that in- cluded four interceptions, it's safe to say that there were probably plenty of thoughts going through Jameis Win- ston's head. According to Jenna Laine of Sports Talk Florida, though, Winston's confidence isn't wavering, not in the slightest.
Yes, it was a tough showing for Winston, who salvaged his stat line a bit by throwing two second half touchdowns. With that said, it's been a whole lot of up and down for Winston through the first four weeks.
The Panthers have proven to have one of the stronger sec- ondaries in the NFL, specifi- cally cornerback Josh Norman, who intercepted Winston twice.
It's back to the drawing board for Winston, who you
Completion, 400th TD Pass
Work Harder'
Beckham was the NFL's
Drew Brees Logs 5,000th Career
Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers struggled in Week 4, but the rookie quarterback says his confidence isn't an issue.
can bet will head into next Sunday's matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars with a full head of steam.
NEW ORLEANS -- Drew Brees hit C.J. Spiller with a short pass that the running back turned into an 80-yard touchdown -- the 400th of the Saints quarterback's career -- on the second play of overtime, and New Orleans won for the first time this season, 26-20 over the injury-decimated Cowboys on Monday night.
The Saints quarterback com- pleted 33 of 41 throws for 359 yards and two TDs in his re- turn, including a 3-yard touch- down to tight end Josh Hill, to give New Orleans a 7-3 lead over.
That TD pass marked the 5,000th completion of Brees' 15-year career, which ranks third in NFL history behind only Brett Favre and Peyton Manning. It was also the
DREW BREES
399th touchdown pass of Brees' career, which ranks fifth all time.
"We had to really earn it on both sides of the ball, all the way around," Brees said. "These types of wins really strengthen you, really bring you together, help build confi- dence."
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