Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
What rating did Saquon Barkley and Allen Robinson get in Madden NFL 22?
You can tell football is coming soon, because people are going crazy over the ratings given to some of the top NFL players in the annual release of the Madden NFL video game franchise. Madden NFL 22 is just around the corner and the first batch of player ratings have started to be revealed.
We’ll keep track of some of the notable Penn State players getting rated by the video game this year and see how they all stack up.
What rating did Saquon Barkley and Allen Robinson get in Madden NFL 22?
You can tell football is coming soon, because people are going crazy over the ratings given to some of the top NFL players in the annual release of the Madden NFL video game franchise. Madden NFL 22 is just around the corner and the first batch of player ratings have started to be revealed.
We’ll keep track of some of the notable Penn State players getting rated by the video game this year and see how they all stack up.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have ruled out starting left tackle Donovan Smith for this Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have ruled out starting left tackle Donovan Smith for this Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons. Smith, a former second-round pick who’s helped solidify the left side of the Bucs’ offensive line, was reportedly in close contact with a family member who tested positive for COVID-19.
In accordance with NFL guidelines, Smith is self-quarantining as a safety precaution and Tampa Bay is preparing to play without him. The team’s Twitter account released the following statement from Smith on Friday morning.
Statement from T Donovan Smith: pic.twitter.com/abdASlTOC6
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) December 18, 2020
Smith will be replaced in the lineup by backup Josh Wells, but the team remains confident. Buccaneers guard Alex Cappa said the offensive line has faith in Wells, per team reporter Scott Smith.
Bucs guard Alex Cappa says continuity has helped the Bucs' offensive line perform well this season. That will be tested on Sunday without LT Donovan Smith but Cappa says the linemen are confident in Josh Wells.
— Scott Smith (@ScottSBucs) December 18, 2020
Atlanta has yet to face off against Tampa Bay this season, however, the two teams play each other twice over the final three weeks of 2020. The Falcons will be without wide receiver Julio Jones (hamstring) and possibly right tackle Kaleb McGary (personal) on Sunday.
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New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton commented on Marcus Davenport’s elbow injury, saying that he doesn’t expect the DE to be sidelined long
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The NFL draft is hyped up as the event when teams seek to get better by adding fresh talent from the college ranks, so it was frustrating to see the New Orleans Saints prepare for their Week 1 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers without the most valuable players they’ve picked in recent years.
In a Monday appearance on WWL Radio, Saints coach Sean Payton preached patience with one of those players: third-year defensive end Marcus Davenport, ruled out with an elbow injury suffered late in training camp.
“Look it’s gonna be soon here Davenport’s back,” Payton said. “He’s got an injury that if you try to hustle him back too early, [he would] be out for a lot longer. We’re gonna be making the right decisions regarding his health.”
If there’s a silver lining for Saints fans here, it’s that Davenport didn’t start the season on injured reserve. NFL teams are allowed to sideline players on I.R. for three weeks at a time this year, so if this were a long-term problem for Davenport then he would have been designated to the reserve list.
It might suggest the Saints expect him to be back in a week or two, which is supported by Payton’s comments. We’ll learn more when the Saints publish their first injury report on Thursday.
Fortunately, the Saints backups did a great job filling in for Davenport across from starting end Cameron Jordan. Jordan saw his usual majority of snaps (60, 85.7% of the defense’s total) with Trey Hendrickson (39 snaps) and Carl Granderson (23) rotating in. Versatile practice squad call-up Margus Hunt (21 snaps) also got some looks out on the edge. Both Hendrickson and Granderson got onto the stats sheet with sacks, and Hendrickson was credited with a pair of other quarterback hits.
It was enough to raise the hackles of Bucs coach Bruce Arians. After reviewing the game tape on Monday, he roasted left tackle Donovan Smith, who was charged with blocking the Hendrickson-Granderson combo in Davenport’s absence.
“I was very disappointed in his play,” Arians said. “I think every now and then he reverts back to some techniques that are not very good [and] he got beat. He had, probably, the easiest guy to block up there and he did a poor job. It was one of his poorer games and [I] expect for him to bounce back this week, yes.”
The Saints will visit Tampa Bay for a rematch on Nov. 8, under the bright lights on Sunday Night Football. And Smith will probably be drawing a matchup with Davenport, who beat him for a pair of sacks in their meeting last year. The Saints pass rush got off to a great start against the Buccaneers, and it looks like they’re set up to keep that momentum going.
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Bucs QB Tom Brady took to Instagram to show respect to his offensive linemen over the years.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded up a spot in last month’s NFL draft to select Iowa offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs with the 13th pick.
The Bucs were determined to walk away with one of the draft’s top-rated tackles given that Tom Brady will be taking over the reigns of the offense in 2020. The Buccaneers allowed Jameis Winston to be sacked 47 times last year, while Brady was only sacked 27 times with the Patriots.
The future Hall of Famer knows the importance of having strong linemen up front, and took to Instagram yesterday to pay homage to his linemen both past and present.
Take a look at some screenshots from his Instagram story.
The linemen featured are Matt Light and Marcus Cannon of the Patriots and Logan Mankins and Donovan Smith of the Bucs. Mankins actually played with Brady for years in New England before joining the Buccaneers.
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Buccaneers offensive tackle Donovan Smith took to Instagram to show off his healthy meal.
The Buccaneers are ready to make a run at the postseason in 2020, and maybe even the Super Bowl, so it’s vital that everyone is in peak condition for the start of the regular season.
For Bucs defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, it looks like a healthy brinner is just the ticket. And for offensive tackle Donovan Smith, who will have to help protect quarterback Tom Brady this year, it’s nothing but clean eating, too.
Take a look.
And even though social distancing has kept players away from team facilities, Smith has still found a way to get a little workout in at home.
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With social distancing preventing athletes from going to the gym, Bucs tackle Donovan Smith showed off his home gym setup on Instagram.
With the coronavirus pandemic putting the sports world on hold, NFL veterans are having to find new ways to stay in shape without the benefit of the world class training facilities they’ve become accustomed to using during the offseason.
For Bucs safety Andrew Adams, that means doing a little band work in his driveway, while former quarterback Jameis Winston has been putting in the time and effort at home in his own backyard. For Bucs offensive tackle Donovan Smith, who will be part of the O-line in charge of protecting Tom Brady this upcoming season, that means setting up a sweet little home gym right in his garage.
Smith posted to his Instagram story recently to show the setup he has going on and some of the equipment at his disposal. I’m sure Brady doesn’t care how Smith stays in shape, so long as it means he stays upright.
Take a look at some of the screenshots from Smith’s story below.
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