INDIANAPOLIS -- The Colts needed a linebacker.
Cooper
Kupp Womens Jersey . DQwell Jackson just wanted to play for a winner. On
Thursday, everybody got their wish. Jackson, who spent his entire career with
Cleveland until being released last week, signed a four-year, $22 million
contract to play with Indianapolis. "It wasnt a financial decision, it was a
decision to be around a good group of guys first and foremost and the chance to
get to a Super Bowl," Jackson said. "It wasnt about money." A chance to learn
from one of the best pass-rushing linebackers in football made the decision
easy, too. The 6-foot, 240-pound, eight-year veteran who had watched
Robert Mathis for years will now be paired with the perennial Pro Bowler, who
set a franchise single season record with 19 1/2 sacks and won his first league
sacks title in 2013 at the age of 32. Jackson has been productive since
Cleveland drafted took him in the second round of the 2006 draft. He started 96
games, had 891 career tackles, 11 1/2 sacks, eight interceptions, seven fumble
recoveries and one touchdown. Last season, at age 30, he still led the Browns in
tackles (143), posting his sixth 100-tackle season. He also had 1 1/2 sacks, one
interception and one fumble recovery. But hes hoping Mathis can teach him
something else. "I want to know how he found the youth somewhere. Im excited to
pick his brain. Ive watched him throughout his glory days and hes still having
his glory days," Jackson said. "Ive just got a good feeling in this situation."
Hes not the only one excited about the move, which comes five days before the
full free-agent market opens. "The Colts defence needs new members to turn up
the bluheat.....maybe we should take a ride down 5200 Jackson Street," Mathis
wrote Wednesday on Twitter, before the official announcement was made. It didnt
take long for Jackson to figure out this would be a good match. He visited
Tennessee, Denver and Miami before signing with the Colts, who guaranteed him
$11 million in the deal. In Indy, he is reunited with running back
Trent Richardson and new Colts assistant Rob Chudzinski. A year ago, Jackson and
Richardson were projected to be starters under Chudzinski, then the Browns
first-year head coach. Richardson was traded to the Colts in September for a
first-round draft pick. Chudzinski was hired as a special assistant to coach
Chuck Pagano last month. Jackson now gets a chance to play for a team coming off
two straight playoff appearances and with an organization that has reached the
post-season in 11 of the last 12 seasons. After reaching the divisional round
last season, Paganos second in Indy, the Colts are hoping Jackson can help them
take an even bigger step. "The tempo, energy and determination he plays with are
right up there with the best in this league," Colts general manager Ryan Grigson
said in a statement released by the team. "He brings a welcomed element of
experience and natural leadership to our team." With roughly $42 million to
spend in free agency, the Colts were expected to continue improving the defence.
At times last season, the Colts defence played well. At others, it really
struggled. Adding Jackson may not give Indy the big pass-rushing presence to
complement Mathis, but it should help shore up a position where four players
could leave in free agency -- Pat Angerer, Kavell Conner, Scott Lutrus and
Lawrence Sidbury. Angerer, Lutrus and Sidbury all finished last season on
injured reserve. But Jackson came to Indy for one reason: To win. "The last few
years this team has been productive and the success has been building for
years," Jackson said, acknowledging he was willing to restructure his contract
in Cleveland and left with no ill feelings toward his former team. "But this is
a business. It didnt work out and I have a ton of respect for what theyre doing
in Cleveland, but now Im an Indianapolis Colt."
Samson
Ebukam Youth Jersey . Pressley missed all of last season with Cincinnati
because of a knee injury, but the 5-foot-10, 249-pounder had been expected to
fill a need on Clevelands roster.
John
Johnson Jersey . James scored 25 points against his former team, leading
the energized Heat to a 114-107 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday
night. Dwyane Wade added 24 points and Chris Bosh had 22 for the Heat, idle
since a 90-84 loss Tuesday at Indiana.
http://www.footballramsshop.us/authentic-gerald-everett-rams-jersey/ .C. -- Eric Staal kept his focus after his apparent breakaway goal was waived
off early in the third period.TORONTO - In a play that sort of typified the
evening and maybe even their season, Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry led a
second-quarter fast break by delivering a one-handed bounce pass to
Greivis Vasquez, who lateraled to the trailing Amir Johnson. Johnson, the
beneficiary of a couple perfectly placed passes, capped off the sequence with a
tomahawk slam that put Toronto on top by 20 points. Fouled on the landing,
Johnsons momentum carried him into the first row, where he proudly pointed to
the team name on his jersey and slapped hands with fans seated on the baseline.
It was that kind of night. The proceedings began with the unveiling of a second
Atlantic Division Championship banner and concluded with a well-deserved
standing ovation just over two hours later. The Raptors - trotting off the court
following a 110-100, wire-to-wire win over the Bucks - had set a new franchise
record with their 48th victory of the season, while also going 15 games above
the .500 mark for the first time in team history. "Its definitely great because
we fed off our fans," said DeMar DeRozan, who stood centre court and counted
down from three, as the banner was uncovered from the rafters atop Air Canada
Centre, hanging adjacent to the one they had earned in 2006-07. The final home
game of the season - Fanapolooza, as its been dubbed - had been a somber event
for five years running. It was an opportunity for the Raptors loyal, albeit
frustrated supporters to come bid farewell to a team that had let them down, a
chance to vent their disappointment but mostly to guzzle up free t-shirts, pizza
and whatever swag the remorseful organization was offering up. Most importantly,
it meant the end of basketball in Toronto for another long summer. Not the case
on Monday. Monday night was a celebration, a show of appreciation from a starved
fan base to a team that has captured their admiration with resilience and hard
play. It was a night of reflection, looking back at where they came from and
rejoicing in what theyve accomplished. It wasnt a goodbye. Theyll see them again
in five or six days. "Weve got to have some of the most devoted fans in the
league," he continued. "Ive been here through the struggles and tough times and
our fans were still right there with us on this journey. So it definitely felt
good to share it with them because they played a major part in it as well."
Although DeRozan was in uniform, available to play if it would have come to
that, he was given the night off to rest going into his playoff debut next
weekend. As it turns out, they didnt need him, not against the league-worst
Bucks on Monday night. It was the 11th time theyve played without a member of
their first unit - a group that has won more games than any starting five in
franchise history - and the 11th time theyve come away victorious. With the
Raptors all-star guard cheerleading from the sidelines, Greivis Vasquez started
in his stead, pacing the team with 25 points and seven assists. "It was a fun
win," said Vasquez, who knocked down his first six shots, five of them from
beyond the arc. "They gave me a chance to start, I just went out there and did
my job." Performances like his, like Tyler Hansbroughs double-double in 20
minutes, are a big part of whats gotten them to this point.
John
Johnson Rams Jersey. DeRozan has carried this team more often than not, so
too has Lowry - who scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half - but when one
or both have needed it, someone has generally been waiting and ready to back
them up. "All it takes is the right chemistry, the right group of guys and you
can do whatever it takes," DeRozan said. "You dont need no big name players, you
dont need this, that and the third, what people supposedly say you need. Were
proof of that and we continue to keep growing, keep learning and keep building.
On to the next step." The next step, as the Raptors leading scorer puts it, is
Wednesdays regular season finale in New York. With a win over the Knicks,
Toronto would lock down the Eastern Conferences third seed and face whomever
slots into sixth, most likely Washington. The Raptors would fall to fourth and
play the fifth place team - likely Brooklyn - if they should lose on Wednesday
and the Bulls defeat the Bobcats in Charlotte. "Im more worried about us, more
so than who we play," said Casey. "Its about us, about our health, the rest,
whatever we decide to do in that situation. If we play Brooklyn we play
Brooklyn. If we play Washington we play Washington. There are no easy teams left
in the playoffs right now. All of the teams are very capable. Brooklyn is
probably more playoff-ready. But we cant control that. And Im not going into
[Wednesdays] game trying to control that." The Raptors coach said he has not
decided whether DeRozan - second in the NBA in minutes logged this year - will
play in Wednesdays season finale. Home sweet home The Raptors will finish the
season with 26 wins at home for the fourth time in franchise history. After
dropping eight of their first 12 games at the ACC, they have become one of the
toughest teams to beat on home court, winning 22 of 29 since the end of
December. "Coach definitely stressed to us, weve got to protect home court,"
DeRozan said of the turnaround. "Thats big. We cant let teams come in here and
think they can get wins. We really started taking it personally, understanding
weve got to use our crowd to our advantage. Everybody bought in, so every time
we were home we felt comfortable and felt that we could get any win." "I think
our guys have gotten better, matured, improved, I think more than anything
else," Dwane Casey said of their success at home. "You should have the same
approach whether youre on the road, playing on the moon, wherever youre playing
youve got to have the same approach and our guys have done a good job of that,
whether were on the road or at home." They were undefeated, 19-0 in games they
led going into the fourth quarter in Toronto, something that should serve them
well as they go into the first round of the playoffs with home-court advantage.
The stat With their fourth straight win over Milwaukee, the Raptors swept the
season series with the Bucks for the first time in team existence. The quote "We
had group at the start of the season that was motivated, dedicated to winning,"
said Lowry, "and when everything didnt pan out we made a move and we got a group
of guys who came in that really filled the voids that we needed. Everyone is on
the same page.
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