TAMPA
Tim
Harris Jersey , Fla. (AP) ¡ª With six games remaining in mostly
disappointing seasons for Tampa Bay and San Francisco, both struggling squads
are seeking answers that will help them beyond 2018.The odds may be against
either club salvaging the year with a playoff berth, but that doesn¡¯t mean there
isn¡¯t anything meaningful the Buccaneers (3-7) and 49ers (2-8) can accomplish
beginning Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.Tampa Bay is turning back to Jameis
Winston a month after benching the 2015 No. 1 overall draft pick with hopes the
fourth-year will settle a debate about whether he¡¯s the right quarterback to
lead the franchise moving forward.Meanwhile, San Francisco returns from a bye
week during which coach Kyle Shanahan and his staff did some self-scouting. The
second-year coach had a straight-forward message for players when the team
reassembled for practice.¡°There¡¯s a lot on the line,¡± Shanahan said. ¡°That¡¯s
stuff that is obvious. Everyone knows that, but to state it to guys and just
make people aware because you never assume that everyone knows what you¡¯re
talking about. There¡¯s always guys you¡¯ve got to let them know what the deal is
in this league.¡°You come back and people might think you don¡¯t have much to play
for. You have everything to play for,¡± the coach added. ¡°You have your career,
you have your livelihood, you have the guys next to you and you have showing
people that you want to be (with the 49ers). When you start to think of that,
you think of all the challenges ahead. I¡¯m excited to do it.¡±Winston is excited
to have another opportunity as Tampa Bay¡¯s starter. He sat out the first three
games of the season while serving a suspension for violating the NFL¡¯s personal
conduct policy, then turned the ball over 11 times in 14 quarters after getting
back on the field.Ryan Fitzpatrick posted dazzling passing numbers during a 2-0
start, however the 14-year veteran has lost his past five starts and the Bucs
have dropped seven of eight overall to jeopardize their chances of ending a
10-year playoff drought.¡°I¡¯m just grateful that I¡¯m back on the field,¡± said
Winston, who replaced Fitzpatrick during the second half of last week¡¯s 38-35
loss to the New York Giants and led four straight touchdown drives to get Tampa
Bay back in the game.Coach Dirk Koetter isn¡¯t saying if he considers the job
Winston¡¯s for the remainder of the season.¡°You¡¯ve got to win. That¡¯s all that
matters in this
league
Tim Harris San
Francisco 49ers Jersey ,¡± Winston said. ¡°You can look at stats ¡ but
you¡¯ve got to win to be up to the standard of excellence we¡¯re held to at this
position.¡±The 49ers lost quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a season-ending knee
injury in the third week of the season. Nick Mullens, who¡¯ll make his third
straight start Sunday, replaced an injured C.J. Beathard three weeks ago and has
gone 1-1 while throwing for 512 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions
while beating the Raiders and losing to the Giants.One person who¡¯s not
surprised Mullens has responded to the opportunity is the quarterback¡¯s former
college coach Todd Monken, who¡¯s now Tampa Bay¡¯s offensive coordinator.Monken
recruited Mullens to Southern Mississippi in 2013 and left to join the Bucs in
2016.¡°He¡¯s everything you want in a player and as a quarterback,¡± Monken said.
¡°He¡¯s elite in a lot of areas that are hard to find when it comes to his
toughness, mental toughness, his preparation, how much he enjoys playing
football and his personality, where guys are going to gravitate toward him.¡°He¡¯s
not a flashy guy, he¡¯s not going to say the wrong thing. He¡¯s just going to work
his rear end off. I couldn¡¯t be happier for him. ¡We wouldn¡¯t have done the
things we did at Southern Miss without him. He¡¯s made me a better coach.¡±Some
other things to know about the 49ers and Buccaneers:MORE MULLENSMullens followed
up a record-setting debut with a much more mediocre performance in a loss to the
Giants before the bye. Now San Francisco wants to see which version of Mullens
shows up against the Bucs.In his debut against Oakland, Mullens joined Hall of
Famers Jim Kelly and Fran Tarkenton as the only players with at least 250 yards
passing, three touchdown passes and no interceptions in their first career game.
He also had the most efficient debut since the merger for a player with at least
20 attempts, posting a 151.9 rating in the 34-3 win. He followed that up with
two interceptions in the loss to the
Giants
2019 Tim Harris
Jersey , but remains the starter ahead of Beathard.PROLIFIC NUMBERSTampa
Bay has the NFL¡¯s top-ranked passing attack (374.6 yards per game) and leads the
league in total offense (458.5). Turnovers and a porous defense have hindered
the team¡¯s success. The Bucs have a NFL-worst turnover differential of minus-23.
The defense is yielding a league-high 32.9 points per game.SOMETHING HAS TO
GIVEThe Bucs have been giving the ball away at a staggering rate with their 29
turnovers tied for the most through 10 games since 2012. They face a 49ers team
that has generated only five takeaways, the fewest in the league through 10
games since at least 2000. One of these teams should be able to fix that problem
at least for one week on Sunday.49ers now have highest odds of claiming top pick
in 2019 NFL Draft The San Francisco 49ers 2018 season turned into a disaster
starting with Jimmy Garoppolo¡¯s torn ACL. The team¡¯s hopeful franchise
quarterback is done for the year, C.J. Beathard is taking his lumps, the team is
losing more players to injury, and everything on both sides of the ball is a
whole lot of inconsistent.The one upside to everything? The 49ers are staring at
a high first round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Football Outsiders released their
latest look at playoff and draft odds, and the 49ers have moved to the top of
the leaderboard for the top pick in the draft. They have a 19.0 percent chance
of claiming the top pick, and a 58.6 percent chance of claiming a top five pick.
The Arizona Cardinals have the second highest odds for the top pick (16.9
percent), while the Buffalo Bills have the second highest odds for a top five
pick (57.6 percent).A week ago, the 49ers had the third best odds, at 9.9
percent. When you lose to the winless Arizona Cardinals at home, your draft odds
are going to improve considerably. Things don¡¯t get easier anytime soon. They
travel to the Green Bay Packers, host the Los Angeles Rams, travel to face the
Cardinals, then host the Oakland Raiders and New York Giants before their Week
11 bye.Previously
Tim Harris
San Francisco 49ers Jersey , that Cardinals, Raiders, Giants stretch
seemed like a decent shot at a 3-0 stretch. Now, all bets are off. I think the
49ers come out of that stretch 2-1, but after Sunday¡¯s loss, who knows what
might happen. Can anybody say with any confidence that the team will win any of
their remaining games? I think they¡¯ll beat the Raiders and Giants, and grab one
or two other wins, but I can¡¯t say I¡¯m particularly confident about that
prediction. There will be some competitive games the rest of the way, but which
ones they are is not something I am comfortable predicting.So, as bad as things
are, I suppose there is some excitement to be had in considering what the team
could do with a top five pick ¡ª or maybe even the top pick in the draft.