It’s A Two-Way Street
April 10th, 2018
Ex-Bucs QB talks current Bucs QB.
It is mid-April and draft fatigue has set in. Thus, news must be made.
And so it has, between America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, and Bucs wide receiver DeSean Jackson.
Last year Jackson, the big-time pickup by the Bucs in free agency, and Jameis were just not on the same page. Dirk Koetter two weeks ago at the NFL owners meeting in Orlando all but said this must be corrected if the Bucs offense is to soar this fall. Reading between Koetter’s lines, one can calculate Koetter was laying the full blame on Jameis for not getting the job done.
Over the weekend, Jameis took to Twitter to say this issue will be resolved.
Speaking yesterday on “PFT Live,” enjoyed by intelligent football fans weekday mornings on NBC Sports Network, co-hosted by the creator, curator and overall guru of Pro Football Talk, the great Mike Florio, former Bucs quarterback Chris Simms suggested Koetter needs to hold up.
While not absolving Jameis of the lack of connections to Jackson, Simms said in so many words it takes two to tango and Jackson is not blameless in the pair’s inability to make magic on the football field.
Simms went into a dissertation of how and why Jameis and Jackson failed to be a dangerous combination and while he cited Jameis for being at fault, Simms said he thinks it comes down to the lack of reps the two have had to develop a consistent timing.
In short, Simms said it appears on film that Jameis isn’t used to Jackson’s sneaky speed.
“There was an issue here with both of these guys last year,” Simms said. “[Jameis] had a hard time connecting with DeSean Jackson. You can watch every game last year and there were one or two times every game where you go, ‘Oh, man! He had DeSean Jackson open for a 50-yarder right there and he missed him.’
“I will say this: He doesn’t miss Mike Evans, of course, because he’s had a lot of repetitions with him. And guys like DeSean Jackson, I will say this: It may sound like I am making excuses for Jameis Winston. But [speedy guys like Jackson] they are deceiving and they are very hard to throw to at times because they are not big guys and he is deceptively fast, really fast guy with long strides. And he can’t always adjust to the ball the best ways. And that right there can sometimes be hard to judge as a quarterback.
“It was disappointing last year. We were expecting big things from Evans and DeSean Jackson and Jameis Winston. It didn’t happen.”
Simms then noted Jameis has to alter the timing of his footwork and dropbacks in order to compensate for Jackson’s speed, which is likely very different than how Jameis normally sets up to throw to other receivers.
“Instead of with Mike Evans where he may take a five-step drop and he goes ‘OK, I will hit my fifth step and take a deep breath and hitch into this and throw it’ — with DeSean Jackson it is more like ‘I might have to make this a quick-five to get this ball up in the air and let him run under it and go get it.’
“There is a little skill to get used to that timing and that speed and the type of player that DeSean Jackson is.”
This, to Joe, sounds like two things are at work. Perhaps Joe underestimated the need of Jameis and Jackson to work together. That was hindered when Jackson was absent from many voluntary workouts last spring. Then, to hear some suggest, Jameis hurt his shoulder in the second game of the season and just when Jameis was getting healthy after Thanksgiving, Jackson got hurt. So a combination of absence and injuries may have denied the two ample time to get timing down.
Simms’ second element, timing of the Jameis dropbacks and footwork for Jackson compared to other receivers, that’s fundamentals and mechanics. This tells Joe that Jameis needs more help from his quarterbacks coach, Mike Bajakian.
Though no one with the Bucs has told Joe this, Joe is just about convinced Jameis had his mechanics monkeyed with after he was drafted. Jameis never had this many issues with deep balls in college. To make Jameis’ baseball windup less pronounced after he was drafted, Joe is certain Jameis had his throwing mechanics screwed up in the process.
No, Joe has never been overwhelmed that Bajakian is some quarterback savant. Prior to coming to the Bucs, Bajakian’s prized pupil was Dan LeFevour. Sorry, that’s not exactly a resume that blows Joe away.
Offensive coordinator Todd Monken has a far, far better resume of working with quarterbacks than Bajakian, which may be why Koetter has given Monken even more responsibility this season working with the offense.
April 10th, 2018 at 4:45 am
I always thought it would take a solid 4 full games for the two to connect, there is just something about guys like D-Jax, with special speed, going to a team where no one is fast and the time it takes to adjust. So you go through the terrible preseason with all the stop and starts with the weather which messes things up, then Jameis gets hurt at the beginning of game 5 and isn’t same until the end of the year, he just doesn’t have the arm strength until he’s out a few games and given time to rest, but the point Winston is back and looks fairly healthy then D-Jax is out with injury.
It was just a wasted year – but even in that wasted year the Bucs had the 4th best passing offense in the NFL. Just think what is possible if Jameis is healthy and can get those connections with D-Jax – this team can literally lead the NFL in passing, well considering Ryan Smith and Chris Conte are starters they’re going to be behind and having to pass a lot.
April 10th, 2018 at 5:28 am
@Joe … “It was just a wasted year – but even in that wasted year the Bucs had the 4th best passing offense in the NFL.” You could have stopped after “It was just a wasted year” Joe. 4th best passing offense? Bucs had the 3rd most passing attempts (605), right behind 2 other losing teams: Giants (608 attempts) & 49ers (607 attempts). All 3 maybe passed so much because they had such lousy running games? And maybe because they fell behind early in games & had to pass to try to catch up?
Far as Jameis & DJax not connecting goes, bunch of excuses. Jameis hurt his shoulder in the 2nd game? Newsflash to our HC: if your QB is hurt & isn’t getting the job done, sit his butt on the bench. Suggested that after the Cardinals game last season & as I remember Joe you were the one who poo-pooed that for various reasons (HC & medical staff knows best & the like). Jameis AND DJax BOTH screwed the pooch last year & we ended up with a 5-11 season despite very high expectations by media & fans. Funny how when the defense sucks Scapegoat Smitty gets all the blame. When one critical aspect of the offense sucks, it appears that Bumbling Bajakian gets the blame. Who knows, maybe 1 day players not doing their job on the field might even become a valid reason for our 5-11 records.
Now that I think about it, you were right at the very beginning of this article: “It is mid-April and draft fatigue has set in. Thus, news must be made.”
April 10th, 2018 at 5:47 am
No question Jackson hurt the team by not attendind OTA’s. But to give credit where credit is due,its hard to knock the coaching when jameis’s
completion percentage has improved every year. I am all for Montgen giving it a shot,but also have to wonder if Jameis ‘s off season coaches could also be part of the problem.
April 10th, 2018 at 6:06 am
As for the baseball windup,it is designed to deliver velocity to the pitch. Jameis’s deep ball on the go routes especially needs a little less velocity and a little more air underneath them for receivers to run underneath them.
April 10th, 2018 at 6:39 am
They make this sound like rocket science.
See guy.
Throw ball.
You adjust to each individual talents….on the fly (whatever happens during the play).
This explains it all:
When throwing the football to a receiver, take into account the atmospheric pressure of dP = Dg dz where D and g are, respectively, the density of air and the acceleration of the football due to gravity at the altitude of the air layer and dz is a horizontal layer of air having unit surface area and infinitesimal thickness, while simultaneously calculating the terminal velocity speed of the receiver in Nike shoes. (calculate less if receiver wears Adidas).
Maybe the Bucs should hire some NASA scientists to teach Winston how to throw to Jackson.
April 10th, 2018 at 6:59 am
Simms should know, the guy threw a very tight and pretty deep ball (although not always accurate). I remember going to a practice and watching Simms drop 40+ yard bombs in to trash cans down the field. Very impressive.
April 10th, 2018 at 7:10 am
It’s a team game and there is not a single player on this team that does not need to work.
IMO, the timing could have been assisted through shorter patterns in space. That’s coaching! Each week you extend the route out until the timing becomes second nature. Deep fly routes will always keep defenses honest, unless you are not accurate.
Shoulder issues? Stop running deep routes. Timing issues? Stop running deep routes. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Speed in open space= Danger!
April 10th, 2018 at 7:16 am
I think this is good stuff from Simms. Another thing that’s been bugging me is that there were a few throws to Jackson that I thought should have been connections but he didn’t hold up his end. I’ve gone back and watched almost every game from last year and there were at least 3 long throws where if D Jax just extended (I’m not even talking about laying out for the ball, just reach harder, damnit) then he could have made the reception. Yeah, Jameis has some work to do on his deep ball but I also think Jackson needs to up his effort.
April 10th, 2018 at 7:44 am
@Seanbassak
My favorite was the one that they did connect on, But it came back because DS76 was called for holding!!!!!!!!!!!
GO Bucs!!!!!!!!!!
April 10th, 2018 at 8:06 am
D Jack has never worked with a team in the offseason; if I have recalled properly. It hasn’t hurt him in the past and his lead leading average per catch. Let’s see if he shows this year. There shouldn’t be excuses either way, still be nice if he showed though.
April 10th, 2018 at 8:39 am
We really haven’t changed anything since last season. We can expect about the same record. Until this team brings in a football President we will be lousy. Sorry it’s the truth and if you think we will be better it’s just wishful thinking.
April 10th, 2018 at 8:43 am
Wow, now we’re listening to what Chris Simms has to say LOL!!!
April 10th, 2018 at 8:50 am
The amount of time this team spends waisting kissing djx azz …u can spend that time looking for a trade partner. Be done with this experiment
April 10th, 2018 at 9:02 am
@ joe
Simms was not saying that winston has to change his mechanics overall. He was saying that his five step drops may need to be quicker when throwing to djax as oppose to evans. And thats why on another thread i was talking about chemistry. Winston has no problem hitting brate or humphries. There has always been chemistry there. Winston and evans 1st season there was no chemistry because evans missed all preseason and the first two games. That offseason evans and winston worked out on their own and that led to an all pro season for evans. Yes chemistry is real and that is why winston and djax said they will be working out this offseason. Jameis will learn how quickly he must move his feet when throwing to djax. Its a different rhythm than throwing to hump.
April 10th, 2018 at 9:12 am
@jljones
You do realize that simms played in the nfl and his dad was a superbowl winning qb. Yea, im sure simms may have a little understanding of how the chemistry between a qb and receiver works. He has forgotten more about football then we actually know. You do realize most great coaches were not great players? Trying to discredit someone opinion just because you dont think they were a good player is lazy and it can keep you clueless to way football is actually played which leads you to add to the notion that tampa fans are a joke to the rest of the sports world due to lack of knowledge. Instead of laughing, learn something.
April 10th, 2018 at 10:20 am
I was all for #weaponsforwinston, but I was thinking more run game…..I thought Jackson was a good addition at the time and still do but looking back at Winston’s career, I think the bucs outsmarted themselves…..
while at fsu Winston had 3 main weapons……KB….rushing attack…defense…..
all the other offensive weapons were ok…..Winston made them better…..players like nick oleary, rashard green, bobo Wilson, kermitt whitfield, karlos Williams were all better with Winston…..im not sure if any are on an NFL team….maybe green and oleary…..
defense is a different story…..Mario Edwards…timmy jerrigan….demarcus walker…..ramsey….darby….l.joyner….and more all helped lead fsu to a natty along with Winston……
all the offensive weapons from here on out need to be thru the draft imo…..
with that being said, all 3 share 33.33 of the blame…..dirk should’ve ran the ball more, especially once Winston got hurt…..djax should’ve came to OTA’s and spend extra time with his QB…..Winston has to cash in on wide open opportunities…..
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!!
April 10th, 2018 at 10:26 am
Preach it Bucsfanman.
#MoreSlants
#MoreQuickThrows
#WayLess7StepDrops
April 10th, 2018 at 10:49 am
Dan
You are what’s wrong with our fans.
We haven’t changed anything? Umm Jensen, jpp, beaux, unrein, Catanzaro, monken to have more influence on offense, Jameis’s shoulder should be better, improvement from vh3 Spence Kwon j Evans jameis Godwin oj etc. Not to mention the draft. There’s a lot more too.
You joking bro?
April 10th, 2018 at 11:23 am
Bajakian needs to drive a shuttle van for a living. He sucks.
April 10th, 2018 at 11:32 am
Yes Joe they did but then allowed it to open back up a bit last year and he lessened the high balls . Sims is kinda right but also he short stepping to extend on his Jackson throws so his hand doesn’t hit the o line. He just isn’t lining up correctly and clearly not stepping and following through as he would wish .
Yes 100 percent , there is coaching all over this
I believe his motion was close to good at the end of last year ( terrible @ end of 16 ) but the deep ball to Jackson is different than Evans and he is behind the route with his follow through and footwork and is missing about 6 inches in his drop or o line separation and isn’t fully / comfortably following through in my opinion ……. Or more air and much more timing or hitting Jackson earlier as he is just coming open but there is a lil more read and guess work and higher prob for a pick .
O line scheme / blocking scheme has to coincide with those plays and I don’t think it differs from any other vert pass but that’s just a guess . This isn’t college , d coord and d lineman sniff out a play and know how to get to your hand / follow thru and you must prevent that on the other side , especially on long throws !!! Koetter May be great in the coord. film room but he has allot to learn in the head coach room !!!
April 10th, 2018 at 11:41 am
Horseliver
Ronde claims Bajakian is a good QB coach. You claim he sucks.
Who to believe…a blog poster or a SB winning CB?
April 10th, 2018 at 12:21 pm
Improve the oline with a Nelson, Hernandez, Wynn or McGlinchy and the Jameis->DJax chemistry will magically improve.
April 10th, 2018 at 3:11 pm
Said it plenty of times, the chemistry is off because Mesean just doesn’t do OTA’s. And it was CLEAR there a few that were very catchable and he just literally didn’t adjust to make a catch. Sure Jameis missed some throws as well but it was lcear to anyone watching, extra effort on a catch is not really Meseans forte.