Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 9-19-17

Sports
Jameis Winston, Bucs Open Season With Rout Of Bears
Julius Peppers: Panthers Have ‘Best Defense I Ever Played On’
Jameis Winston threw for 204 yards and one touch- down Sunday, helping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers re- turn from an unscheduled bye week forced by Hurricane Irma to open the season with a 29-7 rout of the mistake- prone Chicago Bears.
The defense stymied for- mer teammate Mike Glen- non with four turnovers. Robert McClain returned one of the quarterback’s two interceptions for a TD, and the Bucs didn’t let the Bears into the end zone until De- onte Thompson scored on a 14-yard reception with 1:43 remaining.
Winston completed 18 of 30 passes without an inter- ception. He threw a 13-yard TD pass to Mike Evans,
JAMEIS WINSTON
who had seven catches for 93 yards.The Bucs (1-0) domi- nated despite having a short week of practice following the massive storm that forced postponement of the team’s scheduled season opener at Miami.
Glennon, who signed with Chicago as a free agent last winter, was 31 of 45 for 301 yards and two intercep-
tions in his return to Ray- mond James Stadium. The Bears (0-2) finished with 310 yards total offense, 1 yard less than a Bucs offense that has- n’t had much work in the past month.
By the time he lined up to face the Bears, Winston hadn’t taken a snap in a game in three weeks. Eight regu- lars, including Evans, re- ceiver DeSean Jackson, linebacker Kwon Alexan- der and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, hadn’t seen game action in a month.
The Bucs insisted, though, that they would not use rusti- ness as an excuse if they had a less-than-sharp debut. The way the Bears played, the lay- off never had a chance to be- come an issue.
LeGarrette Blount Lashes Out At Fantasy Owners After One-Touch Game
LEGARRETTE BLOUNT
LeGarrette Blount was essentially a non-factor in the Philadelphia Eagles’ loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, but he doesn’t care if that ruined your chance at winning your fantasy football matchup.
After he recorded zero car- ries and caught just one pass for no yards, Blount got tired of seeing fantasy football owners complain about his performance, so he fired back on Twitter: ‘I really could care less about all y'all fantasy teams, get outta my mentions with that sh*t.’
Blount then responded to a follower who called him an “entitled n—-r,” which obvi- ously takes things to a level they don’t need to go.
We all know how most players feel about fantasy football. Blount is probably more concerned that the Ea- gles decided to ignore him with Sunday’s game plan, though he took the high road when asked about his lack of involvement.
Carolina Panthers defen- sive lineman Julius Peppers has 16 years of NFL experi- ence, but he’s experiencing a first in 2017.
After the Panthers leaned heavily on their defense to grind out a 9-3 win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Pep- pers had high praise for the unit — calling it the best group he’s ever been a part of.
Peppers has 17 playoff games to his name, so he’s played on plenty of winning teams. They have some seri-
JULIUS PEPPERS
ous injury issues to deal with on the other side of the ball, but if the defense can keep playing like this, they’ll defi- nitely stay above water.
Football Player Sues
Former Denver Broncos linebacker DeMarcus Ware at least gave some thought to resuming his NFL career.
Ware admitted Sunday that he had considered re- turning to the NFL after for- mer teammate Shane Ray got hurt at the end of July, but ultimately stuck to his plan.
Ware explained that it was largely his back — and being able to play with his kids — that spurred him to his decision.
It sounds like there were a couple moments in which
DeMarcus Ware Admits
He Considered Coming
Out Of Retirement
School For Not Allowing
Him To Play Football
One of the young men convicted in the Steubenville, Ohio, rape case in 2013, is once again in the news.
Ma’lik Richmond, 21, who was convicted of rape as a teen—sued Youngstown State University because he was barred from playing on the school’s football team after a student on campus protested.
The AP reports that the sophomore sued Youngstown State last week after the school allowed him to join the football team as a walk-on de- fensive end in January, but then told him he would not be able to play this season.
After Coach Bo Pelini made his decision to allow Richmond to join the team, a female student at Youngstown State began cir- culating a petition calling for the school to not allow Rich- mond to play football.
Youngstown State subse- quently issued a statement in a university wide email saying the school takes sexual assault very seriously, and that Rich- mond would be allowed to continue practicing with the team but would lose a year of eligibility.
Richmond quit the team after learning of the email and sued the team to get a tempo- rary order to allow him to play. On Thursday night a
DEMARCUS WARE
Ware was quite close to de- ciding to play in 2017. Ulti- mately, though, the ship seems to have sailed.
Ma’lik Richmond was convicted as a teen of rape and served 10 months in ju- venile prison. He is suing his college for pulling him from the team once a female stu- dent circulated a petition.
judge ruled that she would temporarily allow Rich- mond to play football for at least the next 14 days, and scheduled a hearing Sept. 28 on whether to make the deci- sion permanent.
Richmond’s lawyer ar- gues that the school is harm- ing his football career prospects by curtailing his ex- posure to professional scouts at the peak of his abilities.
After being convicted, Richmond served about 10 months in a juvenile prison after he and a Steubenville High School teammate were convicted in 2013 of raping a 16-year-old girl who was deemed too intoxicated to give consent.
Russell Wilson Rallies Seahawks Past 49ers
Russell Wilson avoided two potential sacks and found Paul Richardson in the front corner of the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown with 7:06 left and the Seattle Sea- hawks held on for an un- sightly 12-9 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
It was an offensive night- mare as both teams had com- bined for 14 total quarters without a touchdown this sea- son before the Seahawks fi- nally broke the seal on the goal line. Wilson avoided Arik Armstead in the pocket and got his pass away before DeForest Buckner could pull him down. Seattle snapped a streak of more than 112 minutes without a touch- down, despite missing on op- portunities twice inside the 49ers’ 10-yard line earlier in the game.
Wilson was erratic at times and magical at the end.
RUSSELL WILSON
He was 23 of 39 passing for 198 yards. He rushed for an- other 34 yards, 27 coming on the decisive scoring drive. Wilsonwas4of5onthe drive and aided by a 20-yard pass interference penalty against Dontae Johnson.
Blair Walsh added field goals of 25 and 27 yards, but missed the extra point after Richardson’s TD that could have given the Seahawks a four-point lead. The 49ers only needed a field goal to tie but never got into position to have an opportunity.
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