Face Of The NFL?
September 7th, 2017
Soon a superstar?
Bucs fans have heard that America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, is the face of the franchise just about from the moment he first walked through the front doors at One Buc Palace.
But how about the face of the NFL?
It is an interesting thought and Frank Schwab of Yahoo! Sports believes Jameis may be on the cusp of becoming just that thanks in large part to “Hard Knocks.”
Winston came off as charismatic and likable. He was the one firing up his teammates before games with funny, silly rhymes. The show showed Winston hosting a camp for kids and inspiring them. He was also the one in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ gym working out before the rest of his teammates got there, before the sun was up. Winston has more depth now. He was already a Heisman Trophy winner, a top overall pick and had the level of celebrity any starting NFL quarterback holds. But his profile increased with his “Hard Knocks” turn, and his celebrity status might grow. Winston is entering his third season and because of the improvements the Buccaneers made, he has a chance for a true breakout season. And at just 23 years old, there’s no reason to believe Winston can’t be an upper star in the NFL for many, many years.
It is an interesting point Schwab makes. Look, Tom Brady is 40. Drew Brees is pushing 40. Ben Roethlisberger has been whining like Brett Favre about retiring for the past two seasons.
With rare exceptions (Jerry Rice, Ray Lewis, Adrian Peterson), quarterbacks almost always are the face of the NFL. With a lot of star quarterbacks in the sunsets of their careers, Jameis and his bigger-than-life personality could easily fill the void.
September 7th, 2017 at 11:05 am
Somebody has to be the next top QB. Winston has a high probability of being that guy.
September 7th, 2017 at 11:09 am
#3 clearly wins the battle of charisma. I don’t think it’s even close. Although I do think Aaron Rodgers has his own quiet charisma with that devilish smile and his on field exploits.
Dak Prescott is perhaps a good guy but he’s not a flashy personality…Derek Carr seems to flash a bit…and Russell Wilson is likeable enough but #3 is in a class all his own when it comes to charisma.
Now it’s just win baby!
September 7th, 2017 at 11:21 am
After the Super Bowl when we shutdown Mr. Deflated and BillyCheat you can take it to the bank Winston will be the new sheriff in town.
The main topic after the Super Bowl will be how without a regular season bye week Winston led this team to WIN a Super Bowl in his 3rd year in the NFL.
The second topic will be how Smitty has emerge as a defensive guru with his latest troop of snipers delivering chaos to opposing offenses. Smitty will bring the elephant in the room to come into fruition. Brady announces retirement. BillyCheat will follow in a couple of years once he realizes Jimmy Garoppolo is not the answer to the Bucs defense.
Folks let go of the old Bucs!!!!
Expect Different!!!
Go Bucs!!!
September 7th, 2017 at 11:34 am
Will buc fans wait till or if Winston will ever be rated in the top 10 qb’s by the nfl .You keep pushing Winston who last year was rated as average and i believe Carr,Mariota and Prescott are viewed as better by most nfl people.
September 7th, 2017 at 12:09 pm
Why do you believe that Ben? If you’ve read that by all means share the link.
MM in particular has a long row to hoe. His major strength over #3 was his speed and running ability. But we can already see his thin frame is simply not handling that punishment. He has already missed more than 15% of his games in his first two seasons. He came out as a spread option QB not an NFL pocket passer like #3. If his frail frame won’t allow him to run it…you’ve just taken away a huge part of his game.
Dak has ONE good year behind one of the top three or four OL’s in the NFL. He had Zeke to hand the ball off to…he has a LOT to prove!!!
Carr is another story. But he too will be coming off a major injury. Of the three you’ve mentioned Carr is the ONLY one who compares favorably to #3.
But #3 has stats just as good…remember Carr has one more year than #3.
Carr’s passing % started at 58 improved to 61 and last year to 63. #3 improved from 58 to 60 just like Carr. This preseason #3 is completing 70%
Carr’s average completion is 7 yards #3’s 7.5. Bottom line they have very similar results…Carr had a breakout year in his 3rd season…shouldn’t we wait to see how #3 does in his 3rd year?
September 7th, 2017 at 12:19 pm
Ben … you don’t know what you’re talking about … Dak is widely viewed as a system QB that would struggle outside Dallas while Jameis has a higher career QBR than both Carr and Mariota and Carr is playing catch-up when it comes to projected stats as he came into the league 2 years older than Jameis.
Dak had a great rookie year playing behind the best offensive line and with the best running game in the NFL but most NFL folks think he is a system QB and many rate Wentz ahead of him, let alone Jameis … Nick Foles had a Dak like year in the past as well … and then 2 years later he was a bum.
Jameis is the greatest and most accomplished 22 year old (his age when last season ended) QB in the history of football and barring injury, will most likely rewrite the passing record books … Mariota is efficient in an Alex-Smith-esque way and Carr came into the NFL much older, had a bad QBR his first two years and last year came into his own … but he’s no Jameis.
Jameis is the new Marino, Favre, Peyton … Dak is the new Nick Foles, Mariota is the new Alex Smith and Carr is the new Matt Ryan (a dude who will put up good stats but came into the league much older than most) …
September 7th, 2017 at 12:27 pm
As for “face of the NFL” … it’s Brady till he retires, then Rodgers till he retires … then Jameis (maybe).
Dak and Mariota have no real shot imho … Dak is viewed as Robin to Zeke’s Batman and even his fans refer to him as “check down Dak” … and Mariota has almost no personality; he’s like Tim Duncan … boring … plus he’s also a “game manager”
Carr has some charisma and is a bit of a gun-slinger, but Jameis blows him away in both categories as Jameis oozes charisma and is the type of QB a coach hands the ball to and says “win us the game”.
However … it doesn’t really matter who the “face of the league” is … Manning was the face and not Brady while Manning was playing … I think Jameis would rather have rings than commercials …
September 7th, 2017 at 12:28 pm
Gotta at least get to the playoffs first. Winning the division would be very nice. Getting to the NFC championship or Super Bowl would no doubt make him the new QB face after all the older guys are gone.
September 7th, 2017 at 12:29 pm
Love Jameis and him explaining the facts about being a “Southerner” and hard work to be good at football to succeed and get out was spot on, I always tell ppl around here that you have to drive north to get to the South: boiled peanuts, sweet tea, blackened catfish, football and Jameis, so glad he is a buc
September 7th, 2017 at 12:35 pm
What is Winston’s QBR? Where does he rank among starting quarterbacks? We may see something wonderful this year, that’s TBD, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
September 7th, 2017 at 1:11 pm
Been in the south my whole life. I’ve eaten way more fried catfish than blackened.
September 7th, 2017 at 1:12 pm
Let’s see if he can land a commercial or an endorsement first, shall we?
September 7th, 2017 at 1:39 pm
This is not anything new or breaking. Everyone should know by now.
He has been Americas QB from day 1.
September 7th, 2017 at 1:43 pm
1st tier: Brady, Rogers, JJ Watt
2nd tier: Matty Ice, Cam, Jameis, Dak, MM
September 7th, 2017 at 3:08 pm
I’m cool with Winston being the face. But absolutely no freaking Madden Cover…..EVER!
September 7th, 2017 at 6:34 pm
it’s crazy to look up and realize that even “young” veteran QBs like Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson, Kirk Cousins, and Matt Stafford are closer to 30 than 25. it could be Winston’s NFL for a long time