Florida Sentinel Bulletin

Josh Freeman became Tampa Bay’s first 4,000-yard passer and also threw for more touchdowns in a season than any player in franchise history, yet the NFL playoffs will begin without the Buccaneers for the fifth straight year.

Sunday’s 22-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons stopped a five-game losing streak and enabled the Bucs (7-9) to finish with three more wins than they did a year ago, when a season-ending 10-game skid led to the dismissal of former coach Raheem Morris and the hiring of Greg Schiano.

In addition to Freeman’s record-setting season, Tampa Bay had a 1,400-yard rusher in rookie Doug Martin and a 1,400-yard receiver in Vincent Jackson. One of Freeman’s other playmakers, Mike Williams, finished four yards shy of giving the Bucs their first pair of 1,000-yard receivers.

When Ray Lewis takes the field for the Baltimore Ravens-Indianapolis Colts game on Sunday, it may be the last time he puts on the uniform.

“I told them I just felt so much peace in where I am with my decision because of everything I’ve done in this league,” Lewis said to the media on Wednesday regarding what he told his teammates. “I’ve done it, man. There’s no accolade that I don’t have individually but I’ve never played the game for individual stats. I’ve only played the game to make my team be a better team.

Lewis hasn’t played since October because of a triceps injury. There’s a chance he could play on Sunday, but Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has been evasive in questions about Lewis’ status. Lewis said there wasn’t a reason for him not to play.

LAKE FOREST, Illinois — The Chicago Bears have fired coach Lovie Smith after the team missed the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons. Smith was informed of the decision by general manager Phil Emery on Monday, a day after the Bears beat Detroit to finish 10-6 but still missed out on a playoff spot.

Smith led the Bears to a Super Bowl, but also saw his team collapse in the second half of the past two seasons. Hired in 2004, Smith led the Bears to three division titles, two NFC title games and a Super Bowl appearance in his nine seasons. His record is 81-63. The Bears scheduled a news conference to discuss the move.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick had a few choice words for his teammates following the firing of head coach Andy Reid. Vick, who missed a number of games this season because of a concussion and rib injuries, lambasted the players for their lack of effort and said that it’s frustrating to play with a bunch of guys who don’t try to improve themselves week after week.

The comments come at a particularly raw time for the Eagles; Reid was let go on New Year’s Eve after 14 years with the team, the longest tenured coach in the league at the time, and the Eagles as a team are coming off yet another disappointing season in which a three game losing streak brought an end to their 4-12 season.

More changes could be coming to the team and Vick’s latest comments give more reason to believe that he will be playing elsewhere next season.

ST. PETERSBURG — The Rays have reached an agreement with American League Cy Young Award winner David Price on a one-year deal, thereby avoiding arbitration. The club has not officially announced the agreement, but a source close to the negotiations said the deal is worth just north of $10 million.

Price, 27, made $4.35 million in 2012 and was arbitration-eligible for a second time due to his “Super Two” classification.

Players who have at least three years, but fewer than six, of Major League service time, are eligible to file for arbitration. But players in the top 17 percent, based on service time, with at least two but fewer than three years of service are eligible for arbitration under “Super Two” status.

The rule states that a player must have at least 86 days of service in the immediately preceding season to qualify for this status. Price, who went 20-5 with a 2.56 ERA in 2012 , is eligible for free agency after the 2015 season.

Now that the 2012 NFL season is over for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they will look forward to trying to fix what’s broken with the team that was once at 6-4 before dropping 5 straight games. The Bucs on Sunday will travel to Atlanta to face the Falcons, who have already locked up their appearance in the playoffs. With the best record in the NFC, the Falcons will get home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Bucs will get no sympathy from the Falcons as they will try to close out their regular season on a positive note and set the tone for the playoffs. As far as the Bucs are concerned, first-year head coach, Greg Schiano, will sit down with the Glazers and try to find out what went wrong.

Quarterback Josh Freeman, tossed 8 interceptions in his last two starts, and a promising ground game came to a halt. The Buccaneer rookies performed well, but the veterans took a step back from the progress they had shown earlier in the season.

This is a time for evaluation as far as the Bucs are concerned, and this game will give the franchise a chance to see who wants to be there next year, and who will be sent packing.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers see Eric Wright’s return to the team after a four-game suspension.

Too little, too late. That’s the best way to describe Eric Wright’s return to the team. Like Aqib Talib, Wright was suspended four games for violating the league’s performance enhancing drugs policy. Wright claimed he took Adderall for medical purposes, but that he didn’t get a waiver from the league.

Carson Palmer was ruled out of the season finale against the San Diego Chargers with cracked ribs and a punctured lung Monday.

A day after coach Dennis Allen said Terrelle Pryor wasn’t ready to be the backup quarterback, there’s at least a possibility he could be the starter. Allen said backup Matt Leinart and Pryor would both get first-team reps and a decision would be made as to the starter late in the week. There are no plans to bring in a third quarterback.

Support has mounted from a fan base that’s never seen b at practice, and Allen was blunt following a 17-6 loss to Carolina about why Leinart subbed for Palmer.

“Matt’s our backup quarterback,” Allen said Sunday. “Terrelle’s done a nice job. He’s working extremely hard. We don’t feel like he’s ready to be the backup quarterback yet.”

Hopes that an MRI would prove negative were dashed Monday night with a report that San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Mario Manningham is lost for the rest of the season and playoffs with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Manningham suffered the injury in the third quarter of Sunday’s 42-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He was tackled low by Seattle linebacker Leroy Hill and fumbled. Manningham left the team’s locker room after the game limping and using crutches.

Manningham had 42 catches for 449 yards and one touchdown for San Francisco (10-4-1), which is already assured at least a berth in the NFC playoffs.