this year because of fumbling and attitude issues when he wasnt happy about his place on the depth chart.Ive watched him struggle, teammate Jarvis Landry said, and Ive watched him grow by leaps an

When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take the field for their first training camp practice Thursday morning, quarterback Jameis Winston will take on a new role as face of the franchise, replacing defensive tackle?Gerald McCoy.Me and Jameis had a private conversation about what he feels this team needs me to be as a leader, McCoy said Wednesday just after veterans reported.Hes an intelligent guy, McCoy said of Winston. Young or not, [hes] very mature ... very intelligent. He sits back, he watches and analyzes and he [saw] something that I could do to help this team be better. Its not hard to do. Its just a matter of me doing it.Although McCoys role within the team is changing, the 28-year-old said hes ready to embrace it.You guys are used to seeing me do things a certain way, McCoy said. Thats going to change because the face of the franchise came to me and said, Hey, listen. If were going to win, we need you to do this, OK? Our quarterback said this is what he needs, so this is what Im going to do.McCoy wouldnt reveal the exact details of the conversation, but the four-time Pro Bowler hinted that he was moving away from the spotlight.[Im] passing the torch. Ronde [Barber] gave me the torch. I didnt ask him for it. He passed it to me. So, Here you go, Jameis. Go take us to the Super Bowl.There was no grand entrance to camp for McCoy on Wednesday -- no bathrobe or pajama pants like in past years, and the vibrant red streak of hair he sported all last season is gone.?The transition from McCoy to Winston over the past year has had a few hiccups. Just before the Thursday night game in Week 15 last year, a fan captured video of Bucs players huddled up around Winston, while McCoy was noticeably absent. Instead, he was walking around the outside of the huddle with no helmet, far removed from teammates, appearing detached and indifferent.McCoy denied Wednesday that there was any rift.I love Jameis, man, he said. The day after he got drafted, I went to both his parents and told them, Im going to take care of him. Dont worry about him. When you get on that plane and go home, I got him. I love him, man. Hes like my brother.Winston has immersed himself in the Tampa Bay community. He has participated in diabetes walks and kickball games in the park designed to strengthen community relations with law enforcement officers, and he has visited survivors of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando and served as a staff member for many of his teammates camps this summer.By showing up at events, he has filled the citys need for a star quarterback.When they show commercials of the Bucs, theyre not showing Gerald -- theyre showing Jameis, McCoy said. Thats for a reason, and Im happy about that because if your quarterback is the face of your franchise, usually that tags to winning, or going in a positive direction. Im excited about it.Winston also lost 20 pounds this offseason in an attempt to get stronger and healthier. While McCoy took notice of the weight loss, that wasnt what ultimately won over his support as a teammate, and neither was his 26-1 record as a starter in college. Instead, it was Winstons authenticity.Hes Jameis. Hes him. He [doesnt] care if Im Gerald, if youre Vincent Jackson, if youre one of the Glazers [the Bucs owners], if youre Mr. Licht, he doesnt care. Hes going to be Jameis, McCoy said. For a guy to come in and regardless of what people say to him, how people feel about him, hes going to be himself -- you cant do anything but respect that. Cheap Ken Griffey Jersey . According to a report from the Vancouver Province, the Lions are expected to replace former DC Rich Stubler with defensive backs coach Mark Washington. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. http://www.cheapredsjerseys.com/ . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. Cheap Chris Sabo Jersey .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. Cheap Reds Jerseys Authentic .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Jay Ajayi talked with his offensive line before Sundays game about his yardage objective, and at the time the numbers discussed seemed outrageously optimistic.After all, the Miami Dolphins second-year pro had never had a 100-yard day.I told him before the game, `Lets go for a couple of hundred, guard Jermon Bushrod said. He said 150. And I said, `No, a couple of hundred.Ajayi met the goal by crossing it. He ran 62 yards for a touchdown on his final carry, pushing his total to 204 yards and punctuating the Dolphins 30-15 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.It was by far the most impressive victory for the Dolphins (2-4) under first-year coach Adam Gase. Their only other win came in overtime against woeful Cleveland.No one likes losing week after week, Ajayi said. We were determined to come out this week and put a stop to that.Ajayi became the first NFL rusher this year to top 160 yards. He joined Ricky Williams as the only Dolphins to rush for at least 200 yards and two scores in a game.Ajayi carried a career-high 25 times, and his other touchdown came on a 1-yard run. He became the Dolphins first 200-yard rusher since Reggie Bush in 2011.Afterward, he said the milestone was still stinking in.In the NFL, probably thats a big thing, Ajayi said. It hasnt hit me yet, but its a big deal. Its something to cherish for sure.It helped that Gases offensive line was intact for the first time this year after a series of health issues. Along with the stout one-man ground game, Miami netted 252 yards passing without a sack.It makes a bigg difference when we have holes and the quarterback is not on his back, Gase said.ddddddddddddAjayi was a fantasy league bargain last week because he totaled just 117 yards in the first five games. He ran for 187 all of last season, his rookie year.He was so off the radar that even after the game, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin didnt refer to Ajayi by name.That back ran hard, ran through tackles, Tomlin said.The Dolphins saw the potential in the former fifth-round pick from Boise State, even though he fell out of favor at times this year because of fumbling and attitude issues when he wasnt happy about his place on the depth chart.Ive watched him struggle, teammate Jarvis Landry said, and Ive watched him grow by leaps and bounds.Gase went with a four-back rotation early in the season, but when the offense sputtered, he decided to try Ajayi as his feature back.Ajayis previous career high for carries was 13, so he was understandably tired in the fourth quarter. But rookie running back Kenyan Drake and other teammates urged him to finish strong against the equally weary Steelers.It felt great, Ajayi said. The other running backs were pushing me. My boy Drake kept saying, `Get that 200.On the last carry, he did. Objective accomplished.---Follow Steven Wine on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Steve-Wine. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/steven-wine---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '