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Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston is on the way up as he enters his second NFL season.It isnt quite as easy to pinpoint a direction for Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan.Ryan and the Falcons are certainly mystery players entering the current season and their first chance to steer the compass in the positive direction comes Sunday when they host Winston and the Buccaneers.Ryan is entering the fourth season of a five-year, $103.75 million contract that he received after taking the Falcons to the NFC Championship Game in 2012. But Atlanta is just 18-30 since he placed his signature on the huge deal and he hasnt come close to etching his name into the upper tier of NFL quarterbacks.The 31-year-old Ryan has topped 4,000 yards in five consecutive seasons. But he is also coming off a campaign in which he threw the second-fewest touchdown passes (21) and second-most interceptions (16) of his eight-year career.He is well aware he needs to cut down on the miscues and increase the big plays.We have to create some explosive plays, Ryan said. We are getting the ball down the field a little bit and that will help us out. We have to be a little bit more consistent. There is no question about that.But there are questions about Ryan -- particularly whether or not the image of Matty Ice is beginning to melt away.What I need to do is do my job as best I can and not worry about what everyone else thinks about what youre getting paid, Ryan said recently. This is something that comes up for every quarterback. It doesnt matter. It doesnt affect the outcome of games. For me, the things that are important are the things that affect the outcome of games. Thats what I focus on.While Ryan must regain his stature to help Atlanta improve last seasons 8-8 record, Winston gets the opportunity to continue his development after passing for 4,042 yards and 22 touchdowns as a rookie.Dirk Koetter meshed well with Winston last season and then was promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach when the Buccaneers fired Lovie Smith after a 6-10 campaign.Koetter continues to work closely with Winston and sees the quarterback fully entrenched as a team leader as well as a talented passer.Hes definitely the leader of our football team now, Koetter said. A year ago, he was picking his spots. He was doing a good job of knowing his place as a rookie. But about halfway through that season, it became clear that he was the leader of our offense. Now, the players have voted him one of our five captains.Winston said he can see the strides he has made when it comes to the offensive system.I think its just being more comfortable in the offense, Winston said. Actually, knowing the offense and not trying to learn the offense on a week-to-week basis. Thats the main thing. When youre trying to process information and apply it to the field and execute it, thats always good.Winston has two solid receivers to work with in Mike Evans (74 receptions, 1,206 yards) and Vincent Jackson (33 catches while hampered with injuries). The Buccaneers also have a top-flight back in Doug Martin, who ranked second in the NFL with 1,402 rushing yards last season.Defensively, offseason acquisitions like defensive end Robert Ayers (9 1/2 sacks with the New York Giants) and cornerback Brent Grimes (four interceptions with Miami) fortify a defense that features stellar defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (8.5 sacks).Falcons receiver Julio Jones is bothered by an ankle injury but is expected to be ready. He is coming off a standout campaign of 136 receptions for 1,871 yards and eight touchdowns.Jones yardage was just 93 yards shy of the record held by former Detroit Lions star Calvin Johnson. The receptions are tied for second all time with Pittsburghs Antonio Brown and seven shy of the mark set by Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison of the Indianapolis Colts.Atlanta added pass rusher Dwight Freeney (eight sacks with Arizona) in the offseason to bolster a unit led by standout cornerback Desmond Trufant.Defensive end Jared Odrick, who sustained a jaw injury in practice on Wednesday, was cleared from the NFL concussion protocol and is expected to play. Odrick completed all of the necessary steps on Saturday morning to be cleared, the team announced.The Buccaneers won both meetings last season, scoring 23 points on each occasion. Aaron Rodgers Jersey . The judges scored it 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 for Jones (19-1). It was the champions closest call. Despite the loss, it was a remarkable show by the confident Swedish challenger, who had the best of the early rounds and then hung on in the fourth and fifth. Rashan Gary Womens Jersey . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats. http://www.packersrookiestore.com/Packers-Jaire-Alexander-Jersey/ . Walcott is available for Saturdays home match against Southampton as Arsenal looks to extend its two-point lead at the top of the Premier League. The Gunners are currently the second highest scorers in the league but Wenger insists Walcott will add something extra to his team. Reggie White Womens Jersey . Peter Holland and Brad Staubitz were sent to Toronto on Saturday as the Maple Leafs traded defenceman Jesse Blacker and draft picks to the Anaheim Ducks. Bart Starr Packers Jersey .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later. MIAMI -- Richie Incognito says Jonathan Martin reached out to him several times in the aftermath of the bullying scandal that sabotaged the Miami Dolphins 2013 season, but Incognito has no interest in talking.The two were teammates in the Dolphins offensive line and at the center of the scandal.Incognito is now a guard for the Buffalo Bills, who play the Dolphins on Sunday. In a conference call Wednesday with the South Florida media, Incognito said he has kept in touch with Dolphins players and Joe Philbin, who was their coach then.But he never patched up differences with Martin, once a close friend.Zero conversation with Jonathan Martin, Incognito said. He has reached out and tried to speak a few times, but I have nothing to say.Martin retired last year. He posted on Facebook that difficulties in the profession led him to attempt suicide multiple times.An NFL investigation found that Incognito and two teammates engaged in persistent harassment directed aat Martin, who left the team midseason in 2013.ddddddddddddIncognito was suspended for the final eight games and sat out the 2014 season before joining the Bills.Incognito described the Dolphins situation as surreal and a circus.The whole incident went down (and) Im a pariah in the national media and basically turned radioactive there for a few months, he said. Jonathan and I were close friends. I cared about him. If anybody was there for Jonathan, it was me. And Jonathan had his troubles. He had his demons, like we all do. He left for whatever reason and he handled it the way he did, and then really the story kind of takes on a life of its own.As for Incognitos role in the scandal?Im not saying I was a saint, he said, but I sleep well at night knowing what I did.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '