on Ward moved up the depth chart with Freeman’s concussion. As Coleman’s top backup, there is a greater chance he’ll go against older brother T.J. Ward, Tampa Bay’s backup safety. The head-to-head competition is rare for the brothers. ”We never played against each other,” said Terron Ward of the broth

DENVER (AP) — More than 330 of college football’s finest players are gathering in Indianapolis this week for the NFL’s annual combine David Long Jersey , where they’ll be poked and prodded, timed and tested, quizzed and questioned.Not all the players who will get drafted in April are on the invite list.The combine simply can’t accommodate all worthy candidates, and some prospects will work their way into teams’ draft plans via their impressive pro day performances or private team workouts in the coming weeks.Emblematic of the inexact science of projecting which players will succeed in the pros is this: Super Bowl 53 featured 30 undrafted players on the rosters of the New England Patriots (16) and Los Angeles Rams (14).More than a third of the 300-plus players invited to the combine last year didn’t get drafted, whereas 38 players who weren’t at the combine did.Among them were P.J. Hall, a defensive tackle from Sam Houston State who was drafted by Oakland in the second round, and two players from Southern Miss: defensive back Tavarius Moore, a 49ers‘ third-rounder, and running back Ito Smith, a fourth-round selection by Atlanta.The biggest snub last year was Colorado running back Phillip Lindsay , the first undrafted offensive rookie ever selected to the Pro Bowl.Lindsay understandably has chips on both shoulders, one for going uninvited to the combine and the other for going undrafted altogether, and he figures one had plenty to do with the other.“Oh yeah, it’s disrespectful. But it fueled my fire and got me here to where I am today,” Lindsay said. “Maybe I wasn’t meant to go to the combine.”Miffed that John Elway had used a seventh-round selection on Arkansas running back David Williams, whose career numbers over four years with the Razorbacks didn’t even add up to Lindsay’s senior stats http://www.losangelesramsteamonline.com/bobby-evans-jersey , the Colorado native nearly took the Baltimore Ravens‘ offer before calling back and accepting the Broncos‘ proposal.“But I’m going to win the starting job,” Lindsay added as he hung up on his new employer, vowing to beat out Williams, third-round pick Royce Freeman, incumbent Devontae Booker, and anyone else they would bring in.At 5-foot-8, Lindsay was accustomed to the underdog role, so he was ready to put his immeasurable attributes such as desire and hustle up against anyone’s bench press, 40-yard dash or vertical jump.“It comes down to heart,” Lindsay said. “It comes down to you not sitting here and letting people tag you as something. They’re sitting here telling you this is who you are. How dare somebody tell you this is who you are? That’s why it’s funny when these commentators tell you he’s going this round or he’s not this, he’s not that.“We don’t sit here and critique how they talk on TV, and a lot of time what they’re talking about, it’s stupid.”Lindsay rushed for 1,037 yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie. Only a wrist injury denied him a shot at breaking Dominic Rhodes’ record of 1,104 yards for undrafted rookie running backs, set in 2001.Notable players who aren’t among the 338 invited to Indy this year include Nebraska running back Devine Ozigbo Greg Gaines Jersey , Georgia State receiver Penny Hart, Utah State running back Darwin Thompson, Cincinnati defensive tackle Cortez Broughton, and North Carolina receiver Anthony Ratliff-Williams.Lindsay is pulling for every one of them to have a rookie season like he did. He’s proud to serve as an I-told-you-so example for all this year’s snubs.“For me, I would tell everybody that the combine’s cute. It’s something where you go and put some little pants on and let them weigh you and all that,” Lindsay said. “Don’t worry about it. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. And that’s it.“There’s nothing necessary about the combine. The combine’s just something that somebody put together to … I don’t know. I wasn’t part of the combine, so I couldn’t tell you.” ATLANTA (AP)Two-game winning streaks have given much-needed midseason boosts to Tampa Bay and Atlanta. Now it’s time to see which team is ready for the tough NFC South. The Falcons (6-4) have moved into playoff position with back-to-back wins over Dallas and Seattle. Atlanta plays five of its last six regular-season games against NFC South rivals, including Sunday’s visit from the Buccaneers. The Buccaneers (4-6) have won two straight over the Jets and Dolphins. Four of their last six games will be against NFC South opponents, including two against Atlanta. Tampa Bay faces a tough climb up the NFL’s only division with three teams with winning records. The two straight wins have come with Ryan Fitzpatrick subbing for injured quarterback Jameis Winston . Fitzpatrick, who will make his third straight start against Atlanta, says the wins have helped boost morale. ”It’s definitely changed a little bit, a little more upbeat, but it’s still businesslike attitude,” Fitzpatrick said. ”We know we’ve dug ourselves a big hole and we still have a long way to go.” Asked what Fitzpatrick has brought to the offense, Tampa Bay coach Dirk Koetter said ”Toughness. Smarts. Competitiveness. Desire to win. Calming influence. How’s that off the top of my head?” The Falcons have the same record through 10 games as they did in 2016 Christian Wilkins Jersey , when they won the NFC championship before losing to New England in the Super Bowl. Last week’s 34-31 win at Seattle left Atlanta in position for a wild card, even though they still trail New Orleans (8-2) and Carolina (7-3) in the division. ”I knew it was going to be a battle,” said Falcons coach Dan Quinn of the division. ”That would be certainly the case this weekend. …We had real regard for the division before the season started. As you go through and look at the different matchups and how some of the teams play, that’s certainly the case.” While the Buccaneers’ surge has come without Winston, the Falcons have had starting running back Devonta Freeman for only two snaps of their two straight wins. Freeman left the 27-7 win over Dallas with a concussion after only two plays and was held out last week. Freeman was still in the concussion protocol for the start of practice this week and is expected to miss his second straight game, leaving Tevin Coleman as the starter. Here are some things to watch as the Buccaneers and Falcons renew their NFC South rivalry: RYANS EXPECTING TWINS: Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and his wife, Sarah, are expecting twins. For Ryan, the news brings more significance to his jersey number 2. ”There is something about 2,” Ryan said, smiling. ”Before, I just liked it. Now I have something for it. It’s cool.” Ryan said the twins are due ”in a couple months. We’re just very happy, very excited.” REAL MCCOY: Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy is tied with Arizona linebacker Chandler Jones for the NFL lead with 20 quarterback hits. McCoy is tied with Atlanta’s Grady Jarrett with 10 tackles for loss, tied for the most among defensive tackles. He leads the Bucs with 5.0 sacks. GOODBYE GEORGIA DOME: This will be the Falcons’ first home game since their old home, the Georgia Dome, was imploded on Monday . Koetter http://www.miamidolphinsteamonline.com/michael-deiter-jersey , the former Falcons offensive coordinator, is eager to see the $1.5 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which was built beside the old facility. ”I’ve heard it’s awesome,” Koetter said. ”I am anxious to see it. I always thought the Georgia Dome was dark and had bad acoustics. I couldn’t hear a word anybody said in there.” 90-GAME MILESTONES WITHIN REACH: Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones is on the brink of setting new NFL standards for catches and yards receiving in the first 90 games of a career. Jones has 551 catches. He needs eight receptions to pass Anquan Boldin’s record of 558. Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown is second with 554. Jones has 8,396 yards receiving. He needs 107 yards to pass Lance Allworth’s 90-game record of 8,502. WARD VS. WARD: Terron Ward moved up the depth chart with Freeman’s concussion. As Coleman’s top backup, there is a greater chance he’ll go against older brother T.J. Ward, Tampa Bay’s backup safety. The head-to-head competition is rare for the brothers. ”We never played against each other,” said Terron Ward of the brothers’ childhood, noting he is 5 years younger than his 30-year-old brother and the two would play together against cousins. ”We used to get out there at Thanksgiving and Christmas, two on two,” he said. ”… It would go back and forth so it’s always been fun.” —