Page 30 - Florida Sentinel 11-6-15 Edition

Sports
Buccaneer
Linebacker Dedicates Season To Slain Brother
NY Giant Jason Pierre Paul Could Play Against The Bucs Sunday
Bucs To Host Giants At Raymond James
JAMEIS WINSTON
ELI MANNING
Jason Pierre-Paul’s mangled hand has kept him off the field since July. He may play on Sunday.
Coming off an overtime vic- tory over the Atlanta Falcons last week, the Tampa Bay Buc- caneers (3-4) will be hosting the New York Giants in a 4:05 p. m. game at Raymond James Stadium.
The Giants are coming off the third highest scoring game in NFL history, a 52-49 to the New Orleans Saints. In that game, the Giants defense sur- rendered 608 yards and 35 first downs.
The Giants (4-4) will enter Sunday’s contest with starting cornerback Prince Amukar- mara and defensive captain, linebacker Jon Beason’s sta- tus in doubt.
Two former number one overall draft selections, Jameis Winston for the Bucs
and Eli Manning for the Gi- ants, will challenge each other Sunday.
So far this season, Winston has completed 59% of his passes for 1,648 yards and 10 touchdowns, along with 7 in- terceptions. He also has 24 car- ries for 91 yards and two scores. He has not turned the ball over since a four intercept- ing game in their fourth game of the season.
The Buccaneer offense is ranked 11th in total yards, fourth in rushing yards, 23rd in passing and 16th in points. Running back Doug Martin is fourth in the NFL with 612 rushing yards and tied for sec- ond with seven carries of 20 yards or more.
A week after re-joining the New York Giants and signing an adjusted contract, Jason Pierre-Paul could make his season debut this Sunday against Tampa Bay.
The former USF defensive end, who did significant dam- age to his right hand in a July 4 fireworks accident, returned to practice on Wednesday, and is expected to practice on Thurs- day as well, according to coach Tom Coughlin. Pierre-Paul got reps with the defense and scout team.
After practice, Pierre-Paul told reporters, "I'm going to play on Sunday...maybe." He added that the hand no longer hurts and that he believes he's still the same player he was be- fore his accident. Though he hasn't played a game in over 10 months, since the Giants' regu-
lar-season finale, Coughlin seems impressed with how fit Pierre-Paul is.
“He’s in outstanding physical condition, we knew that,” Coughlin said. “We tried that right away. We had him in pads on Saturday morning, we had him in pads on Monday, so we’re feeling good about accel- erating him along. There’s nothing unusual about it when a guy who is in his position is in the condition that he’s in and prepares himself to play. That’s what he’s done.”
Though the Giants are last in the league in sacks with nine (Pierre-Paul had 12.5 last year) and are coming off a game in which they gave up 52 points to New Orleans, Coughlin said those are not influencing Pierre-Paul's timetable.
Lovie Smith: Jameis Winston Is More Confident And -- Believe It Or Not -- Vocal
Kwon Alexander leaves the field after the team’s win over the Atlanta Falcons last week, grieving the loss of his younger brother.
Rookie Tampa Bay Buccaneer linebacker, Kwon Alexan- der, turned in his best per- formance as a professional last week against the Atlanta Fal- cons, earning him NFC Defen- sive Player of the Week honors.
The stellar performance came just a few days after he learned that his younger brother had been killed.
According to news reports, Broderick Taylor, II, 17, was shot and killed in Alabama.
Alexander, a fourth round draft pick, has started all seven games for the Bucs and has de- cided to dedicate the rest of the season to his brother.
Buccaneer guard Logan Mankins presented Alexan- der with the game ball after their victory over Atlanta last week, and Alexander is look- ing forward to Sunday’s matchup with the Giants.
Buccaneers' Clinton McDonald: Placed On Season-Ending IR
McDonald (pectoral) has been placed on season-ending injured reserve, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times re- ports.
Though rightfully overshad- owed by teammate Gerald McCoy, the 28-year-old Mc-
Donald emerged as a solid starter the past two seasons. In his absence, the Bucs will need more snaps from Akeem Spence, Henry Melton and Tony McDaniel (groin). None of the bunch warrants IDP consideration.
Each week, Tampa Bay Buc- caneers coach Lovie Smith has observed rookie quarter- back Jameis Winston's growth as a leader.
"That happens with confi- dence," Smith said Monday. "He is more vocal. And I know you guys know Jameis -- that's saying an awful lot, 'Jameis is more vocal.' Be- cause he likes to talk, which is a good thing. He is going to be our leader. He's not a captain yet. But he is in that role."
Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston completed 16 of 29 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's over- time victory over the Falcons.
PAGE 14-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2015