DeSean Jackson Acknowledges Jameis Regression
January 18th, 2018
Talks about getting Jameis “back on track.”
Twice yesterday DeSean Jackson was told on national television that his starting quarterback regressed.
Actually, Jackson was being barked at, advised in a question on ESPN, “especially, I think your guy, Jameis Winston, regressed this year.”
Jackson was a guest on high-energy First Take and it struck Joe that Jackson didn’t offer to shoot down any of the talk on the show that Jameis had regressed in 2017.
Jackson even had clear opinions on what would get Jameis “back on track.”
Here’s the exchange:
Max Kellerman: … You put him with a young improving quarterback and Mike Evans on the other side. How are [defenses] going to cope with that? And you got an up and coming tight end, the whole thing. And yet it didn’t work out. And you won’t say it because you are a team player but I’ll say it: Mariota and Winston were the two quarterbacks who had experience and seemed to be heading in the right direction and were supposed to take that next step and they both regressed. Especially, I think your guy, Jameis Winston, regressed this year. What does he need to do to get back on track?
DeSean Jackson: Well, I just think he needs to continue to be what he was that made him be Jameis Winston, as far as coming from Florida State and winning the national championship. You know, I had some talks with him towards the end of the season, like I said, off the experience and the quarterbacks that I played with in the past. I think he just has to come in there and – which he is already doing – is being professional. But just go back to the steps that, when I was a young kid or when I was in high school or college, just have fun with it. I mean, a lot of times you try to, you know, impress and, ‘Hey, I want to do this and show them I can do this and do that.’ But you got to kind of get away from that and just go back to playing ball in the yard. How we played when he was young. That’s what I told him, he got to go back to getting comfortable with being Jameis Winston who we all know him to be. The past two years he had what, 4,000 passing yards (each season)? So I just stressed on to him that – everything about intangibles he has everything. I’ve seen him play. I’ve seen him in meetings. I’ve seen him on the practice field. He has the leadership. He has everything it takes to be that guy. So, just going back to having fun and not trying to impress the world. Just go out there and be yourself.
It sure felt a bit odd that Jackson wasn’t jumping at the chance to defend Jameis when it was served up to him on a tee. Jackson really wasn’t discrediting Jameis in this interview, but certainly his first instincts were not to go to bat for Jameis. (Joe will share more exchanges later.)
Keep in mind Jackson is a highly polished speaker with media, one of the best in the NFL.
Is Jameis playing to “impress” people versus just playing loose and taking what the offense gives him? Maybe that is happening to a degree. Remember, it was Jameis who twice said he was pressing through the season finale to get Mike Evans his 1,000th receiving yard in that game.
January 18th, 2018 at 9:15 am
Did DeSean Jackson happen to mention that Jameis having to force the ball to him caused the regression?
January 18th, 2018 at 9:17 am
The truth hurts…Koetter wasn’t good for Jameis this year. One more year, Koetter will be gone, and Jameis will be in a new system the last year of his contract here. Time is short, and yet..here we go…”business as usual”. That is why I hoped for a shake up…but NOTHING. Wake up guys… the Glazer’s are squandering his talent, as they likely will with the next “franchise QB”. These guys know nothing about building a successful football organization.
January 18th, 2018 at 9:23 am
First off Get Rid of this guy!
Secondly Koetter needs to quit trying to turn Jameis into Matt Ryan.
January 18th, 2018 at 9:27 am
Anyone with eyeballs can see this team has lost games due to JW3 force feeding Mike Evans and sometimes ignoring the rest of our receiving corps. Last year this was tolerable because our receivers were a weakness not a strength. This year, the same excuses can not be made.
Does anyone know what his TD:INT ratio was this season when he targeted Mike Evans?
It’s not 100% on Winston. There was very little game planning and halftime adjustments from Koetter and Smith. Not to mention having an anemic run game doesn’t help anyone do anything. The Bucs need to take a page from the Jaguars book. Beef up the trenches and invest everything into defense. Blake Bortles is going to knock off Brady and the Patriots on Sunday. Not because he’s a better QB or he has superior receivers but because the Jaquars organization has put him in the best position to win with a physical Oline, a punishing run game and a #1 defense. The bucs need to follow a similar path.
January 18th, 2018 at 9:30 am
Bonzai….Koetter could have used Jackson more like he did later in the year, with shorter routes… particularly after Jameis was injured. But the bonehead Koetter is a poor Offensive coach… can’t create a coherent game plan or make in game adjustments until we are behind three scores. And then it is mostly Jameis improvising out of desperation.
January 18th, 2018 at 9:31 am
@Bonzai
He shouldn’t be forcing the ball to anyone. Not ME or DJax. We have enough receiving talent to go toe to toe with anyone. The offensive scheme combined with JW’s unpredictable accuracy is what is keeping the offense from reaching its potential. JW had too many scattershot throws. That’s on the QB coach
January 18th, 2018 at 9:33 am
mark2001 Says
“The truth hurts…Koetter wasn’t good for Jameis this year.”
Actually, I think you are mistaken.
I believe there were multiple issues on offense this year.
1 Offensive Line
The 2017 offensive line had Ali Marpet (newly moved to center), JR Sweezy (only one year at guard and then almost two years injured), Kevin Pamphile (mostly new to guard), Donovan Smith (a 3rd year player who has been improving year to year) and Demar Dotson (an often injured Right Tackle). It needed time to gel, and it was getting better toward the end of the season. Contrary to what many fans wish to claim, it does take time for good offensive lines to become good. Look at any team with a good Oline and it took years to get that way.
2 Desean Jackson
From the beginning, Jameis Winston was pressured by the media, the fans, and by Jackson to connect with him, but Jackson is a horrible route runner and he always gets held up by coverage (making him late; hence, why Jameis overthrew him so much)…not to mention he dropped a lot of the passes that reached him. Because Jameis was under such pressure, Mike Evan’s numbers plummeted from lack of plays.
3 Jameis Winston
Why do you think Jameis held onto the ball too long at times? Because he was trying to throw to Desean Jackson, who had trouble getting open and running routes. As a result, Jameis got hit more (just look, sacks on him were high)…which resulted in his injury….which affected his game.
4 Dirk Koetter
Believe it or not, he is less to blame than you think. Jameis was constantly going off-book. Just as an example, consider the last game…the last play. Dirk had told Jameis to do something else entirely…but Jameis went off book as he had so many time throughout the season. This time he got lucky and won the game because of it, but he also lost more games as a result.
Sure, there were a few times Dirk screwed the pooch, but not so many as you may think.
January 18th, 2018 at 9:34 am
Djax wasn’t here in prior years. He has nothing to compare it to.
January 18th, 2018 at 9:36 am
” and not trying to impress the world. “….BINGO !!!!!
January 18th, 2018 at 9:36 am
And this isn’t the first time someone has recognized Koetters shortcomings ….in a Bleacher report article by Michael Dunham in 2010, he was ranked #6 out of 10 among the NFL’s 10 Worst Play calling Offensive Coordinators. Seems most have realized that for some time but for the Glazer boys. Do a simple search guys, and you can read it for yourself. Except for Koetter and Greg Olson of the Bucs that year, I don’t think any of the rest of them are even coaching anymore.
January 18th, 2018 at 9:37 am
ShutTheBucUp Says
“He shouldn’t be forcing the ball to anyone. Not ME or DJax.”
He has chemistry with Evans. Why? Because Evans worked hard to develop that chemistry. He didn’t whine about not having it.
Jackson whined for something he had not earned.
.
mark2001 Says
“Bonzai….Koetter could have used Jackson more like he did later in the year, with shorter routes…”
That’s actually a great point. I would take it a step further. I would say Koetter needs to go back to his no huddle that he ran in Atlanta (still works for them) and do a lot more of the shorter routes across the board. (short to medium I mean)
Clearly, Jameis excels in the hurry up offense. No huddle is a good thing for him. My only theory on why he has not done this as much is the offensive line is not ready for it.
January 18th, 2018 at 9:38 am
I’ve written for the Bleacher Report under another name…if they accepted me, they can’t be too reliable 😉
January 18th, 2018 at 9:39 am
one shlep defending another shlep…classic.
January 18th, 2018 at 9:40 am
ShutTheBucUp, you nailed it. The media keeps focusing on individuals (like Jameis & DJax) in the Bucs’ case, whereas it focuses on T-E-A-M in the Jaquars case. Teams win championships; individuals (even like Tom Brady) can’t be truly successful without a strong T-E-A-M around them. There are a LOT of ‘extenuating circumstances’ (so to speak) as to why Jameis ‘regressed’ this year (only in some areas BTW … he improved in a number of others). Factors like OLine mediocrity, running game mediocrity, injury, not enough time spent developing chemistry with DJax, mediocre play-calling at times … the list goes on. But the bottom line stays the same: Jameis won 3 out of 13 games this past season, and that has to improve. And quickly.
January 18th, 2018 at 9:41 am
Bonzai…think you are mistaken. We have as much Offensive talent as we have ever had. Better talent than we had during the SB year…yet our offense was anemic. And ask yourself why it took the bulk of the year to get Godwin and Howard out on the field as “go to guys”. You know there is no rule that rookie WR’s and TE’s can’t be normal targets during their rookie season, don’t you?
January 18th, 2018 at 9:43 am
Desean needs to pack his bags and get the hell outta town. Jameis was so terrible trying to force it to him every game. Cut him and start Godwin, who actually makes an attempt at balls that don’t drop perfectly in his lap.
January 18th, 2018 at 9:46 am
Bonzai…like I said…look at those 10 guys listed…seems the writer was right on the target…regardless of his name. Ask yourself why Koetter hasn’t brought in someone else to assist him in those duties? And why do you think it will change next year? If he is the same OC playcaller he has been for eight years ago, doubt he will have a metamorphosis next year.
January 18th, 2018 at 9:48 am
Djx. Cut the excuses
This team is full of excuses
Djx go back to your eagles days when you was dynamic how about that?
January 18th, 2018 at 10:10 am
I saw this interview. Funny, Winston was one of the best qbs the last four games in the league…and djax didnt play as much down the stretch. Dont get me wrong, I think DJax can be a key part of this offense in creating mismatches for himself and teammates, but hes going to have put a lot of work in this offseason get cohesion down with Jameis and co.
January 18th, 2018 at 10:21 am
It’s clear all koetter had planned for today guy was deep shots and the play caller it took him forever to realize he could do other things
January 18th, 2018 at 10:21 am
While I think some of the blame should fall on DeSean Jackson for last year’s failed season I do agree with everything he said here. It looks like Jameis plays like a guy trying to get on Sportscenter’s Top 10. You all remember that amazing throw to Mike Evans against the Bears in 2016. For every one of those kind of plays he’ll have 2 or 3 where he turns it over or takes a bad sack.
It’s the equivalent of when a head coach makes a bad 4th down decision. When it works people say “Genius!” but when it doesn’t he looks like a fool.
January 18th, 2018 at 10:32 am
Winston regressed this year…..anyone that watches the games would know that…..people who care about stats will say otherwise…..
even if his 2017 stats are better than 2016, he “looked” a lot better last year….9-7 with lower stats sure looks better than 5-11 with improved stats….GO BUCS!!!!
January 18th, 2018 at 10:58 am
Winston did NOT regress! Jameis is on a higher plane than DeSean, that is why you see no ink on Jameis. Jameis is of the purist QB ingredients, nurtured and grown in an environment no mortal could withstand! Once DeSean kneels and kisses the halo-ring on Jameis’ finger he will be able to receive the sacramental footballs that Jameis throws. Jameis is all-knowing and all-forgiving. Next season DeSean will receive the blessed football from Jameis.
Do not fear the wrath of Jameis, DeSean. He will have you eating the blessed W’s in no time!
January 18th, 2018 at 11:11 am
Jameis’ regression is not exactly a secret as we all saw it. His coaches saw it also which is why they went to more of a short, safe passing game the last three games.
January 18th, 2018 at 11:40 am
Says the guys who doesn’t show for OTA’s, quits on routes and runs out of bounds/dives to the ground at the first sign of contact. Yeah his opinion means a lot.
January 18th, 2018 at 11:44 am
I think Jamies did regress some but I think it was do to the shoulder injury. Koetter would be an ok Off. Cor. if he has a head coach to guide his play calling. Like when we should run or when to call plays with shorter routes etc. Basically Koetter needs to be coached to be successful.
January 18th, 2018 at 12:13 pm
SB
Whats good brotha?
U know I agree
January 18th, 2018 at 12:51 pm
Man I wish I could pull a montage of every deep pass attempt at Djax last year – between both Fitz & Winston.
For every missed pass; there was a play-able ball that he made absolutely 0 effort on. I counted at least like 2-3 for WInston and 1 obvious one when Fitz started. But without the tape I really can only say that’s what I saw personally.
He was never wide 4ss open by 5+ yards the entire season; other than 1 play in the Vikings game by my count. Tyreek Hill on the other hand got that open probably 8-10 times last year.
January 18th, 2018 at 12:52 pm
Man get rid of this guy
January 18th, 2018 at 1:23 pm
Maybe he’s realized Jameis is not that good of QB!?!? The head coach is not overthrowing receivers nor producing 4+ turnovers in a game. That’s on Jameis
January 18th, 2018 at 1:25 pm
If you continue with the interview Jackson said he still wants to show the world what he’s got, lol. He’s a dumb ass the Bucs didn’t need
January 18th, 2018 at 1:35 pm
“Koetter could have used Jackson more like he did later in the year, with shorter routes… particularly after Jameis was injured.”
Agree with that Mark….I don’t blame DK as much as you perhaps although he certainly bears SOME responsibility.
If you bring a home run hitter to your baseball team you don’t ask him to lay down a bunch of bunts and try for walks or whatever to get on base. He’s a home run hitter you brought him here to mash the ball.
There was some of that in DK’s thinking I’m sure. Too many home run attempts perhaps but I understand it.
As for DJAX’s response…He’s clearly not a good spokeperson for #3…nor are the morons on BSPN.
DJAX’s first sentence should have been…well you know he missed three games due to injury and was effected in at least three other games he did play by that injury. #3…like other on our team simply needs to get HEALTHY.
How can you talk about #3’s performance last year without at least acknowledging the injury had “some” effect?
January 18th, 2018 at 1:38 pm
So are we to ignore that Jameis hasn’t had a deep ball since he came into the league. Coming into this year we were told this would improve with Jackson because “there was no way you could over-throw a [speedy] guy like DJAx.” I’d say Winston left 5-7 TDs on the field this year to Jackson alone, and at least another 5 on the field in 2016 to Evans.
I did see Jackson run some lazy route in the second half of the season. And although it hurts everyone to put the blame on ‘america’s QB’ – he has got to get better for this team to turn the corner. And Jackson knows it, that’s why he keenly avoided defending Winston.
January 18th, 2018 at 1:43 pm
St Pete
His accuracy was poor before he got injured. I saw better thrown balls from Fitz in the second half of that ARIZONA debacle and the 3 games JW was out. Towards the end of the season Winston’s accuracy did improve (stated mildly)… with an “injured shoulder”
January 18th, 2018 at 1:58 pm
Did I misread the stats? You would never know bucs were 4th in the nfl in passing offense
January 18th, 2018 at 1:59 pm
After reading some of these comments about Winston and excuse making djax
January 18th, 2018 at 2:11 pm
Jameis was better when Djax was on the sidelines.
Fix the trenches, fix the Bucs!!
January 18th, 2018 at 2:13 pm
You jameis haters are idiots. Djax is 100% correct. Jameis is trying to impress the idiot fans like on this thread like mike10, robert, dislocatedbuc, etc.
Dear jameis, stop trying to impress the idiots who know nothing about football. Jameis, you could go 30-30 with 400 yards and 6 tds in a game and these same idiots would complain. Djax is right….go back to having fun and keep that gunslinger mentality. Thats what made farve, manning who they were. They worried about the ints later. You see jameis, the white qbs get celebrated when they throw ints. They are called fearless and a competitor. When you throw an int, you are called garbage, horrible, pick machine etc. So djax and my advise is the same….drown out these idiots and go back to having fun and then your natural talent will take over. Signed a loyal buc fan
January 18th, 2018 at 2:25 pm
@ robert
I am glad to know you like alternative facts and try to spin what you just said as if the rest of us are missing something. But i will play along any way. What color are the black panthers? Obviously you are a butt hurt fan who do not like black people protesting. As it relates to stadium attendance…….yes, milineals/big screen tvs and concession prices have affected attendance. And that is why the nfl lifted their antiquated black out rule years ago. But i will let you think it was the black players kneeling uurr black panther protest party urrr ….
January 18th, 2018 at 2:27 pm
Winston did not regress the stupid coach regressed, asked for all those weapons but the way he coaches we could have spent the off-season upgrading the defense and gave this fool a kicker and we would have accomplished more wins. Timid head coach don’t last long same thing with gun-shy Jason licht
January 18th, 2018 at 2:28 pm
My last post to robert was meant for another article
January 18th, 2018 at 2:38 pm
Whoa, that went sideways real quick.
I don’t recall Bucs fans calling Josh McCown fearless and a competitor when he threw bad interceptions.
January 18th, 2018 at 2:45 pm
“Towards the end of the season Winston’s accuracy did improve (stated mildly)”
Yeah 67% completion is terrible
January 18th, 2018 at 3:03 pm
ShutTheBucUp,
Which game did the Bucs lose because of Jameis?
January 18th, 2018 at 4:15 pm
Better completion %, Better Yds per game, Better Yds per attempt, Fewer Int per attempt, Better Over Passer Rating….and we throw around the notion of regression like it’s fact. Look at the real facts, we run a vertical passing attack without an effective running game or O-line and our QB passes for 3,550 – 65% -19 Tds – 11 Ints…in 13 games. We have become a fan base of complaining about results without searching for the reasons for failure and discussing those honestly without bias. Poor play calling, ineffective running, and sub par O-line play are just as responsible for JW’s fumbles as his pocket awareness. all of those need to improve for the team to be successful. To put the blame solely on a 23 yr old QB and say it’s regression is the reason why most, if not all of us would never be a GM or talent scout in the NFL. We evaluate with our own emotional agenda rather than seeing if what’s wrong is correctable, or needs to be changed. IMO, if we employ a mid-range passing attack with fewer 5-7 step drops, improve our running game with better RB talent and O-line talent, and take limited deep shots based off of play action, JW can continue to grow into the player we want him to be.
January 18th, 2018 at 4:37 pm
I don’t have real data to support this, but it seemed like Djax quit on plays and didn’t show much effort blocking. Compared to 16, when Jameis made his biggest plays off scrambles, it seemed like there were more times when Jameis got free, looked around and couldn’t find anybody. It was only when Godwin began starting that things got better.
Like every fan site, there are a lot of trolls, misanthropes and eternal pessimists on JBF, but there are also a lot of really smart people on here, long time fans who know their stuff. Pickgrin, Ndog, Munch, Lord C, Saturday Nole, St. Pete and even the guys I often disagree with, Def Rules, DB, Bonzai, Realist, etc. are always good reads.
Like Cornelius, I just watch the games on TV, and though I’ll often go back through the games, that’s nothing compared to what the coaches see. If the coaches do a thorough review of the all 22, and it shows DJax loafing on plays, quitting on plays, not blocking on plays, forget him (pretend that this is italicized and vernacularized). He has to go. Trade him, take the cap hit and release him if you have to, and go with Godwin.
This is a team where everyone hustles. The qb blocks. The other receivers, including some guys that make less than 10% of what Djax makes, run forty yards at full speed to throw blocks. The running back, Barber, always runs hard and fights for every single yard. It’s a team where everyone comes to OTAs. How many teams over the last few years with a 4-9 record played three straight need to win playoff teams like we did, lost by three missing the tying field goal, lost by 3 on a last ditch TD drive, won by 7?
January 18th, 2018 at 4:43 pm
@R.O.
Totally agree!
“Djax wasn’t here in prior years. He has nothing to compare it to.”
This is so ridiculous and only plays well with lazy, parroting media or the Jameis haters!
JAMEIS WAS HURT EVERY SINCE THE 2nd GAME!
Jameis had to IMPRESS when he was heathier..to white out the tarnish of trying to hit DJAX…so he lit it up while Djax was sidelined!
I WILL BE SO GLAD WHEN JW STUFF YOU NAYSAYERS MOUTH WITH SO MANY W’s …you will not be able to regurgitate this BS salad!
January 18th, 2018 at 6:50 pm
Max Kellerman is just protecting his prediction before the 2015 draft that Mariota would be the better QB … he knows he was wrong about that but he takes every chance he gets to bash Jameis and prop up Mariota.
However, NO, DJax did NOT admit Jameis regressed … and the numbers prove Jameis did not regress.
January 18th, 2018 at 6:55 pm
Drome
It went sideways for you because you fail to see correlation. You compared jameis to a career back up. Hilarious. Here is the point….luck, manning, farve all threw many ints early and often yet their franchise qb status was never questioned. They were never called dumb like many here call jameis eventhough he had a scholarship to stanford. Farve according to mike holgrem was too amped up at the start of games yet he did not seek to change him and fans cheered farve far and wide. Many here says jameis being pumped up is a problem/weakness. Farve threw many picks his whole career and many fans beg the bucs to sign him in 2007 eventhough he had a long history of throwing ints. With jameis who has only been in the league 3 years, you want him gone. You were willing to let them develop yet with jameis, many here want the bucs to draft another qb and wish they would have drafted mariota. So the question is why is jameis held to a standard that the likes of manning, farve, luck etc was not held to? Sure he has his flaws and made mistakes but so did the others. So what is the difference? And no, josh mccown does not count because he was never tabbed to be a franchise qb. Can you hear me now?
January 18th, 2018 at 7:18 pm
Robert,
Schlepper? You are an inbred subhuman.
January 18th, 2018 at 8:56 pm
^ That escalated quickly … some people, wow …
January 18th, 2018 at 9:02 pm
Webster it is not a white black thing it is a clueless Buc fan thing. We have so so so many of them.
January 18th, 2018 at 10:30 pm
I would have practiced a quick slant with Djax a thousand times and hit it for at least 10 TD’s. It’s great with pressure but Dirky runs screens which occasionally work well but usually don’t. Koetter has tunnel vision and can’t get out of his own head. He isn’t a student of the game and his playbook is too small to succeed. Who’s going to be our next coach in 2019? They should have made Gruden an offer he couldn’t refuse. Cheap b@$+ards
January 18th, 2018 at 11:01 pm
If Jameis could throw a deep ball that didn’t resemble a laser beam and let Jackson run under the ball, you could’ve added about 500 yards to DJax’s season.
Needs to throw a higher deep ball, right now there’s no room for error on that ball.
January 18th, 2018 at 11:06 pm
Ndog
I agree. Tampa has some of the most idiotic fans and that is why other fan bases laugh at us. For example, luck has many ints but he also had many fumbles. In his first 3 or 4 years, he led the league in turnovers with his ints and fumbles. Yet there were posters on this site saying before jameis was drafted that he would never be a andrew luck. I do not want to make it about color, but what is it? Why is jameis held to a higher standard. Im tired of arguing with these idiots/racist.
January 19th, 2018 at 12:34 am
I think it’s more of a gator fan base thing who are still yearning for more tebow so next best thing is to bash on Jameis
January 19th, 2018 at 9:02 pm
Webster,
I think it’s about years and years of ineptitude which has polished the fan base
perchant for negativity. I recall Trent Dilfer and Vinny T both were criticized by fans as much if not more than JW. The expectations for a #1 draft pick are high,
when it’s a QB they are ridiculously high. Add that to a down trodden fan base who are as nilistic as optimistic and swing to each extreme with the beginning of each season and criticism of JW is expected.
I don’t see that much criticism of JW as racial. I have seen some and it is not difficult to see the difference between the two. I think it’s more about perception than anything else. African American fans are quick to go base line and perceive anything about performance as racial . I’ve seen both and fortunately, the racist are in a small minority.
As for the fan base being football savvy, it’s hard to when the only thing that you can learn being a bucs fan is how to explain away why the team is not winning.
Never have I seen a more backwards looking fan base. “We could have had this guy in rd 7 of the 2012 draft”, some guys even go to the trouble of posting their retroactive draft picks, talk about retarded. That’s what happens when the team you love rips your heart out year after year.
Being a bucs fan is something that should bind us together but when you throw out racial nonsense as a knee-jerk reaction, as opposed to when it’s obvious, you’re not allowing what sports does best. Which is bring all people together.
January 20th, 2018 at 11:37 am
Did he happen to mentioned his (Jackson’s) lack of off-season work doesn’t help develop chemistry between him and his “regressed” QB?
January 20th, 2018 at 11:39 am
@Daniel…tell Jackson to show up in the off-season and I’m sure they will connect. They never played together until camp, so the idea that they would be on the same page is crazy. Jameis hit every other receiver except Jackson…whats the difference? All the others worked in the off-season.