Cousins and, to hear Zimmer to tell it [url=http://www.carolinapanthersteamo

TAMPA Brian Burns Jersey , Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got after Cam Newton all game long, sacking the Carolina star four times and intercepting four of his passes.“The ‘D’ was fantastic,” coach Dirk Koetter said after Sunday’s 24-17 victory over the reeling Panthers.Truth is, though, the Bucs go as Jameis Winston does.Article continues below ...The fourth-year pro delivered another strong performance in his second start since regaining the starting quarterback job, outplaying Newton and fueling hope for a season-ending turnaround.Winston threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns without a turnover, Andrew Adams had three of the defense’s takeaways, and Tampa Bay (5-7) suddenly has its first winning streak since starting the year 2-0.“Jameis’ production when we don’t turn the ball over — when he doesn’t turn the ball over — is always going to be there,” Koetter said.“Jameis is a fantastic player, and sometimes that gets negated by turnovers,” Koetter added. “You could see the last two weeks when we don’t turn the ball over we’re a lot harder to beat.”Winston completed 20 of 30 passes, following up on a turnover-free outing during the previous week’s 27-9 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. He also led the Bucs in rushing with 48 yards on five attempts.“I thought Jameis hurt us big time with his mobility, tucking the ball and running a couple times and converting some early first downs for them. That kept us off-balance,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. “A couple times he got outside. And when he did, he was able to find the receivers open.”Meanwhile, Adams led a spirited defensive effort against Newton, who came into the game feeling he’s been playing the best football of his career this season, even though the Panthers (6-6) have lost four straight after a 6-2 start.“I take this one personally. I just have to play better, that’s what it comes down to,” Newton said.“As a signal-caller, as a quarterback, it’s hard to point blame when you’ve got to account for yourself in the mirror,” Newton added. “And when I look back at this game http://www.carolinapanthersteamonline.com/greg-little-jersey , it really comes down to myself protecting the football. … You can’t just keep throwing the ball up for grabs. I’m a better player than that, and I know that.”Winston threw TD passes of 3 yards to Adam Humphries and 13 yards to Chris Godwin in the first half, moving the No. 1 overall pick from the 2015 draft ahead of Josh Freeman as Tampa Bay’s career touchdown pass leader with 81.Newton completed 28 of 41 passes for 300 yards and two touchdowns, an 8-yarder to Christian McCaffrey in the first half and a 10-yarder to Devin Funchess that finished a 92-yard drive and trimmed a 14-point deficit to 24-17 late in the third period.Tampa Bay couldn’t put anything together offensively to put the game away after that, and Carolina’s chances of getting closer were thwarted by two fourth-quarter interceptions.“We gave ourselves a chance at the end of the game, but you’ve got to make some plays earlier so it doesn’t come down to that,” Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly said. “We did some good things, but obviously we didn’t do enough.”A week after setting a Carolina franchise record with 237 total yards from scrimmage during a 30-27 home loss to Seattle, McCaffrey rushed for 106 yards on 10 carries and had nine receptions for 55 yards.Godwin, starting in place of the injured DeSean Jackson, finished with five catches for 101 yards.STREAK STILL ALIVENewton has thrown at least two TD passes in 11 straight games, extending his franchise record. In addition to being sacked four times, the Bucs hit him as he delivered the ball on his past two interceptions.Rivera said the quarterback was “a little sore” by the end of the day.“We’ll see what the doctor has to say,” the coach said. “For the most part we’ve been able to get through it, but he got really sore at the end of this game.”TAKEAWAYSThe Bucs went seven consecutive games without forcing a turnover before creating six takeaways — all interceptions — the past two games.That’s after only having one interception in the first 10 games of the season.The first two picks Sunday led to a field goal and Winston’s TD pass to Godwin.INJURIESPanthers: TE Greg Olsen limped off after re-injuring his right foot in the second quarter and did not return. … G Trai Turner also left in the first half with a neck injury.It’s Olsen’s third injury to the same foot. He missed nine games last season with a broken foot, had surgery and returned to play. He re-broke it this year, did not have surgery and came back quickly.“Today, my foot just kind of had enough, kind of ruptured on me,” Olsen said. “I’ve been able to manage it since I came back (from surgery). But today it popped pretty good on me.”Buccaneers: Played without three starters, Jackson (thumb), CB Brent Grimes (knee) and T Demar Dotson (knee/hamstring). … S Justin Evans (toe) left in second quarter and did not return. … S Isaiah Johnson was evaluated during the second half for a concussion and did not return.UP NEXTPanthers: at Cleveland, their fourth road game in five weeks.Buccaneers: vs. New Orleans Will Grier Jersey , finishing stretch of three consecutive home games. EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Stefon Diggs has dived into yet another playbook. The fifth-year player is taking direction from a fourth offensive coordinator, Kevin Stefanski, since he was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings.As challenging as the frequent changes in philosophy and terminology have been, well, at least the Vikings’ veterans are used to it by now. Might learning a new system become less daunting when players are doing so almost every spring?“Yeah, it actually does,” Diggs said this week with a smile, as he attempted to downplay the difficulty of another scheme shift. “We have run the same route a million times. Just because it has a new name doesn’t mean we can’t run it. Just being around for a little while now has made it a little easier.”Still, there’s been no denying the defense in Minnesota has had the edge in full-team drills over the defense during the practices that were open to the media in May and June. Sure, the defense is stacked with Pro Bowl players at each level, one of the most elite units in the league, but it’s hard to beat the familiarity with coach Mike Zimmer’s system that has remained stable since its implementation upon his arrival in 2014.“They might give us some formation that we haven’t seen, and our guys can adjust to it just because they’ve seen it and done it before. Maybe not this spring, but they’ve seen it and done it before,” Zimmer said, making no mistake that his perspective continues to lie with the defense despite his authority over and responsibility for the entire roster.Stefanski, who took over on an interim basis for the final three games last season following the firing of John DeFilippo, has been on the staff since 2006. So he has absorbed pieces of several different schemes as his favored ingredients for the yet-to-be-defined system the Vikings will employ this fall.At Zimmer’s urging, they’ll strive for a better pass-run balance, and the arrival of new offensive line coach and running game coordinator Rick Dennison has helped the offense hone in on a zone-blocking scheme to maximize running back Dalvin Cook’s cutback abilities and the mobility of the blockers up front. They’ll also likely strive for more play-action passes, a strength of quarterback Kirk Cousins and, to hear Zimmer to tell it http://www.carolinapanthersteamonline.com/christian-miller-jersey , a bother for any defense if properly executed.“You have to take a peek at it from 20,000 feet, as opposed to on the ground, but what I’m appreciative of is that we have some really good position coaches here, and they’re great teachers,” Stefanski said. “I love to walk around this practice field and just listen to them teach, because I pick something up every time that I’m out here. I bounce around to each one of these position groups as they’re working in individual, and I can tell you we have an outstanding staff here.”That, of course, includes new assistant head coach and offensive adviser Gary Kubiak. The former Houston Texans and Denver Broncos head coach, while trying to let the 37-year-old Stefanski forge his own identity, has a significant role in the rollout, a valuable sounding board and strategist for both Stefanski and Zimmer.“It’s a different role, but I’m really enjoying it. I mean, I get to watch guys coach. I’m watching all the good young coaches on the offensive staff, being with Kevin every day, and watching him do the things I did for 30 something years and then sitting down with him after practice and talking through situations,” Kubiak said. “Me and Zim have battled for many, many years, and now we get to battle every day in practice. But it’s been really good.”