As Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston makes his way toward a potentially major payday from his current team or someone else
Devin White Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jersey , Winston has removed completely an incident that could have complicated his career, considerably.According to Matt Baker of
the , Winston has settled the lawsuit brought against him by an Uber driver who
accused Winston of groping her. The incident, which happened in March 2016,
first came to light in November 2017. It sparked an NFL investigation and,
eventually, a three-game suspension under the Personal Conduct Policy.The terms
of the settlement weren’t, and surely won’t be, disclosed. Part of what the
defendant in a case like this pays for is confidentiality, a very common term
ensuring that the person who receives compensation won’t announce the amount
paid to the world, which in turn creates the impression that the payment implies
guilt.Winston has successfully avoided publication of chapter-and-verse details
of the event. A negotiation with the NFL regarding his punishment, which kept
the league from sharing those details with the world, may have gone a long way
toward preventing Winston from becoming ostracized. The settlement of the civil
lawsuit ensures that, barring a breach of the settlement agreement, the details
never will emerge, allowing Winston to continue playing pro football without
facing the kind of backlash that has forever altered multiple careers in the
entertainment world. The NFL playoffs are right around the corner, and we now
know for certain the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won’t be anywhere to be seen this
post-season.We’ll have plenty to discuss about the Bucs as the calendar moves
into a new year
Mike Evans Jersey , but here are three things I wanted to discuss with all of you right now.OFFSIDES: Disrespecting the ChargersDenny Medley-USA TODAY
SportsThe hottest team in Los Angeles right now isn’t the Lakers and it isn’t
the Rams. It’s the Chargers.Who runs the AFC West? Most would say the Kansas
City Chiefs do. However, after their dramatic comeback win over the Chiefs, the
Chargers are tied for the lead in the division with two games to play.In Week
16, Los Angeles faces the Baltimore Ravens at home and the Chiefs travel to
Seattle to play against the Seahawks who have plenty to play for.Don’t sleep on
the Chargers. They’re the best chance Los Angeles has at a championship, right
now.FALSE START: Don’t bury the Eagles just yetKelvin Kuo-USA TODAY SportsIt
looked like the Philadelphia Eagles were going to be next in a catalog of Super
Bowl hungover teams who win or make it to the big game just to miss the playoffs
entirely the next season.Well, after a letdown loss by the Dallas Cowboys and a
big win over the Rams by the Eagles, things have gotten a little more
interesting and it may not be time to bury the champs quite yet.Philly fans are
Buccaneers fans this weekend as a loss to Tampa Bay in Dallas drops the Cowboys
to 8-7 with one game remaining.The Eagles have to take care of their own
business of course as the 10-4 Houston Texans come in looking to secure
Philadelphia’s off-season plans.If things go right for the defending champions,
then Week 17’s divisional contest filled schedule will carry a ton of weight
with Dallas traveling to face the New York Giants and Philadelphia headed to
D.C.FREE PLAY: Coaching candidatesMatthew Emmons-USA TODAY SportsI don’t know
many people who feel like Dirk Koetter has a realistic shot at returning for
2019 as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.That being said, I figure now
is a good time to give my top three of possible coaching candidates. So, here
they are.KRIS RICHARD, DALLAS COWBOYS PASSING GAME COORDINATOR AND DEFENSIVE
BACKS COACHRichard was on the top of my list of candidates until the Glazers
announced they would be bringing coach Koetter back for 2018.Unless this happens
again, Richard will be at the top of my list again, and for good reason.Until
this year, Richard had been groomed by Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll
and was part of the staff which helped create the fabled ‘Legion of Boom’.Moving
on to Dallas, he’s been a big part of the improvement Dallas’ defense has seen
in 2018. The Cowboys are among the league leaders in scoring defense, total
yards allowed and rushing yards allowed. They’re Top-10 in passing yards allowed
as well.After spending three years as the defensive coordinator in Seattle and
with this successful experience with the Cowboys, Richard is a man on the way
up. Tampa Bay needs to take a good hard look at him as their next head
coach
Gerald McCoy Jersey , if they do indeed move on from Dirk Koetter.JOHN HARBAUGH, BALTIMORE RAVENS HEAD COACHWith this season being his eleventh leading the
Baltimore Ravens, Harbaugh has gotten his team to the post-season six times, but
have failed to make the playoffs since the 2014 season.Despite their four-year
drought, Harbaugh’s only losing season came in 2015 when his squad finished
5-11. His team’s finished with eight or more wins in both 2016 and 2017, and
with their Week 15 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, have eight victories up to
this point in 2018.The Ravens want to be serious contenders, and this much is
understandable, but with many other franchises trying to fight their way simply
into playoff contention on a regular basis, Baltimore’s unwillingness to stick
with a successful coach may give the Bucs an opportunity to land a proven leader
this off-season.PETE CARMICHAEL, NEW ORLEANS SAINTS OFFENSIVE COORDINATORSean
Payton and Drew Brees get a whole lot of well-deserved credit for the Saints’
offensive successes since they moved to NOLA, but Carmichael deserves his share
too.Carmichael has been with the Saints since 2006 - the same year Peyton and
Brees arrived.Since then, New Orleans has had an offense ranked sixth or better
in the NFL every single season and has had the top offense in six.One of the
biggest abilities the Saints have had over the past twelve years with Peyton and
Carmichael has been flexibility.Just this year alone New Orleans has won seven
games where Alvin Kamara touched the ball fewer than 20 times while also winning
seven games this year while Drew Brees threw for fewer than 250-yards passing.In
fact, in two road wins in 2018, Brees didn’t have a single passing touchdown and
in the six games Kamara failed to find the end zone this season the Saints
averaged almost thirty-points.Offensive flexibility is big in New Orleans, and
has helped the franchise sustain a high level of performance and success for
over a decade. Bringing Carmichael into the building could help end over a
decade of underperforming in Tampa.
