“A Huge Thing That Means A Lot To Our Whole Team”
June 8th, 2019
Gushing Jameis
America’s Quarterback, Jameis Winston, was asked a Blaine Gabbert question this week on The North & South Podcast, but his answer focused on a different new member of the Buccaneers.
Joe documented the exchange that highlights just how confident Jameis is in the second offensive coaching staff of his career.
North & South Podcast host: How influential has Blaine Gabbert been so far in helping you get comfortable in the offense? And how comfortable are you in the offense now?
Jameis Winston: Man, what’s so unique about what B.A. did is not only do we have Blaine, who is a former quarterback in his system. But we got Byron Leftwich, and he’s my offensive coordinator — talk about a real veteran. I love Blaine and I’m happy we have him as an addition to this team with him being a previous first-round draft pick just understanding the pressures that come with that and just bringing his energy from all the different organizations that he’s been with. But having Byron in that quarterback meeting room, playing the positions, excelling in the position, and playing under B.A., winning a Super Bowl in Pittsburgh, I think that has been a huge thing that means a lot to our whole team.
Interesting response from Jameis. Joe is intrigued by Jameis and Gabbert apparently bonding over the pressure of being a high draft pick; Gabbert was the No. 10 overall pick in 2011.
Also, the gushing from Leftwich without being asked about him is a great sign. Whatever you think of Leftwich, the confidence Jameis has in Leftwich is a critical component to this season, especially to a fast start against very tough defenses early in the schedule.
Sure, Arians potentially could take back playcalling from Leftwich and assume more power in the offense, but that’s a long way off if it were to happen.
What does Derrick Brooks think of the swap of Gerald McCoy and Ndamukong Suh? You’ll find out on this edition of TAMPA TWO, presented by Caldeco Air Conditioning & Heating!! It’s another A+ production from The Identity Tampa Bay and JoeBucsFan.com.
June 8th, 2019 at 8:58 am
My fingers are crossed. 5 years of Vinny plus 5 years of Jameis potentially flaming out equals 10 years of my d+@k flapping in the wind hoping for a true franchise quarterback. It’s hard to be a Bucs fan at times. 😅
June 8th, 2019 at 9:07 am
Jameis “Meaningless Stats” Winston.
The “Best” QB in Buccaneers history is not even on track to make the Ring of Honor at Ray Jay.
Gabbert hasn’t had much success but he isn’t saddled with meaningless stats, so he has that going for him.
Imagine we lose the opener vs SF? Ugh!
June 8th, 2019 at 9:10 am
After 4 yrs Winston and being the top pick in the draft …Winston has shown that he has not been worth that .. Maybe this is the year he can start to change the minds of the national media and nfl fans
June 8th, 2019 at 9:25 am
I’m sorry… I didn’t know that having pretty much the worse defense in any three period help QBs out so much. The Bucs defense have given up over 30 points in 1/3 of Jameis’ games! Is it possible that with a defense that allow other teams to score at will could influence Jameis to take more risks and commit untimely turnovers??? Come on man! Of all the young QBs in the league, Jameis has been provided the worse defense and worse running game. Hopefully with B.A. some of this pressure will be taken off of him. And Pete from the earlier post ur a Joke!
June 8th, 2019 at 9:50 am
“Jameis Winston and Blaine Gabbert, the 2 proteges of Klueless Koetter…
and the Buc sheep considers Klueless an offensive genius..lol”
Kpbe Faker
June 8th, 2019 at 10:02 am
Being the #1 pick overall comes with a ton of pressure in its self, but being a QB selected #1 overall takes that pressure to another ridiculous level…
Very few of these QB’s succeed mostly due to the fact that you’re being drafted by a horrible team; being talented is one thing but for that QB to be successful it takes a team effort by the front office, coaching staff, and obviously team he has around him…
Jameis hasn’t always been perfect but, imho he has done his best to play with the hand he was delt…Not to mention, playing for a franchise and a fanbase with a pretty bad history when it comes to young QB’s; all of the best ones to play here were ran off before reaching their prime…
June 8th, 2019 at 10:48 am
Jesus Christ why are people (IE Buczilla and Pete types and most local media) so negative in tampa bay over sports. It’s a game played with a ball. Who cares if james is ends up being great or not. The outcome won’t change your responsibilities and life path. He is the QB of the team. Root for him. Root for your team. 2-14, 5-11, 12-5, playoffs, Super Bowl. Stop being no negative. That act is so worn out and boring
June 8th, 2019 at 10:54 am
ben I hope so, but if not, we may need to Draft another quarterback.
we dont seem to care about competition at the position for some stupid reason….we need 2 good quarterbacks, not just one. someone to take over when the first gets hurt.. which he will.
or, if he is not doing well.(change of pace)SCREW his feelings!
he is getting paid to do a job!!!
Blain Gabbert??? Really???
June 8th, 2019 at 11:13 am
I’m sorry, just don’t remember Leftwhich as anything more than a serviceable to subpar qb- Am I missing something?
June 8th, 2019 at 11:28 am
Clean House….Remember you don’t have to be a great QB to be a great QB coach. Leftwich was serviceable at best. He had a ridiculous windup and was about the slowest QB in terms of running ever.
June 8th, 2019 at 11:39 am
Buczilla – you forgot to add the 6 years Dilfer….
June 8th, 2019 at 11:45 am
Funny, so just because he (Leftwich) wasn’t a “great player” means he can’t coach the position or be a good coordinator…
Wow! Smh, Just Wow…
Some people in this fanbase are just sad ..
June 8th, 2019 at 12:01 pm
Right now the Bucs winning the Super Bowl is looking like a once in a lifetime event. Poor Bills, Vikings and teams who never got there.
June 8th, 2019 at 12:03 pm
Let’s not forget the genius comment that JW made when he said why he can relate better with Leftwich.
Nope….. it wasn’t racist at all.
June 8th, 2019 at 12:17 pm
Doosh, stop it…there was nothing racist about that statement; it’s an unspoken reality in this league when it comes to African American QBs…Even the great Warren had to win 6 grey cups before he even got a chance to play in the NFL…
June 8th, 2019 at 12:18 pm
“Warren Moon”
June 8th, 2019 at 12:23 pm
@Dooloosh
Nope it wasn’t FOH w that BS JW said that for a reason its obvious media and all slants stuff against him cus he can see thru the bs. Espn is still mad at him for him not letting them in his draft party which I dont blame him for. Baker Mayfield was ARRESTED and running from cops etc. and espn didnt hype that as much as crablegs from publix. But nope thats not racist.
Nevertheless I think B-Left will be our version of Frank Reich who like Lefty was a decent QB but excelled as a coach because he can relay it and he’s been there b4. Remember its not what you KNOW but what you can TEACH
Go Bucs!!
June 8th, 2019 at 12:27 pm
Joe, I don’t understand why my comments were deleted but whatever man…
June 8th, 2019 at 12:36 pm
It’s all about #3 this year. I firmly believe if he can be more consistent and is ranked in the top ten QBs in the NFL this team is going to be very competitive. I also feel secure having BA to make the final decision on Winston for this franchise.
June 8th, 2019 at 12:39 pm
I like B. Leftwhich. How many all pro QBs turn into good coaches? Our beloved John Gruden played division 2 football… Mike Harbough is a rare case. Name me another.
June 8th, 2019 at 12:42 pm
Last time I checked the Dallas Cowboys are doing pretty well playing for Coach Garrett a career backup QB…
June 8th, 2019 at 12:45 pm
Dead Jeff—
“ Stop being no negative. That act is so worn out and boring.”
Ding, ding, ding. These knuckle-dragging gamma negativists are merely negative attention whores.
June 8th, 2019 at 12:46 pm
Jameis is getting better development than Koetter gave him. Secondly, Jameis does not have to worry about throwing long for MeJax who was short and would not adjust to the pass and would not try to prevent interceptions either and then would complain about Jameis’ throws too. Perriman is tall with long arms and will make an effort to catch the ball and Jameis has had no trouble throwing to him or to Scotty either who also adjusts to the ball, so our passing game should be improved this year. With a legitimate running game too DEs will hesitate to make sure the ball was not handed off which will help as well.
June 8th, 2019 at 1:02 pm
“These knuckle-dragging gamma negativists are merely negative attention whores.”
Said the biggest Pollyanna this side of the Mississippi….
Give it a rest Mr. Positivity Police…annoying works both ways.
As far as JW…I’m sure he is comfortable with a number 1 pick who has had even less success than he has…No Pressure.
NoPressure = No Diamonds
June 8th, 2019 at 1:07 pm
This fanbase is so beat down with losing and false hope over the last 11 years – that its no wonder many are skeptical of Leftwich’s meteoric rise from 2016 coaching intern to 2019 NFL Offensive Coordinator – WITH full playcalling duties!
Here’s the thing – you either trust Bruce Arians to spot and nurture an up and coming young offensive coaching savant – or you don’t.
Its really that simple.
BA has put his full faith in Leftwich to direct his offense.
All those who say – “we need a true head of football operations to guide this team” – well – you’ve got one – one of the best in fact. And he conveniently happens to be the head coach as well for now…. With a proven track record of turning around floundering franchises, quarterback whispering and WINNING!
Leftwhich will have “resources” and “suggestions” and “guidance” galore from Goodwin, Christiansen, legendary offensive mind Tom Moore and Arians himself – all of whom together have like 50 years of combined NFL play calling experience between them for young Byron to draw from.
My bet is that Leftwich as OC/playcaller is going to work. Its going to work well. And the only thing I have to go on really is that BA obviously has supreme faith and confidence in this young coach.
Bottom line is – I trust Bruce Arians to transform this franchise from a loser to a winner. He’s a got a fairly talented young squad of players to mold and a VERY accomplished coaching staff to help them get there.
The Cavalry arrived in early January – a good number of the beat down and tired of getting their hopes up only to be dashed over and over and over again Buccaneers fans just haven’t bought in to that fact yet. I get it.
Its OK to get your hopes up this year Bucs fans. There are many legit reasons to do so without even having seen a 2019 snap yet….
June 8th, 2019 at 1:19 pm
Pick,
I’m willing to call it now. You have today’s best post. Well done Sir.
June 8th, 2019 at 1:42 pm
Well said Pick…
Alot of Arians strategy with the players seems to be mentally…changing the losing mindset of this team had to be his top priority…Also may be a big reason Geraldini is gone…
June 8th, 2019 at 2:21 pm
I think Steve Spurrier spent 11 years as a back up QB, and then became a pretty good coach.
My memory of Leftwich, is not as an average pro QB, but of his college days when his teammates thought so much of him that they carried him down the field from play to play because he was too hurt to walk.
Maybe, this dude can be something special.
June 8th, 2019 at 2:34 pm
Onebuc55,
You’ve had some solid takes as well. But the Warren moon comment was loaded with assumptions and false premises. But you skipped over them to draw a larger view of the world that you then reject with the inclusion of winston. I don’t believe you even recognize the contradictory position you ended up with nor that it’s not just contradictory it’s a rejection of the first premises with actual evidence . Just saying. .
When winston made the comment about Leftwich, many if not all the people who said that’s rasicts did so tongue in cheek. Knowing full well that the situation wouldn’t be dismissed or defended by the same exact people who would be accusing someone else if the color of the people were reversed.
It’s so predictable and so many examples exist That the hypocrisy is what’s being questioned not weather what winston said was or wasn’t racIst.
The fact, you immediately rejected the possibility of racism and then used rasicism to make your case is the heart of what is happening. You don’t see it, that’s what is so damning and ridiculous at the same time. That’s what the point is…..not some false charge based on a simple comment taken to one extreme. Which..is done every day for years ..but the color is different therefore it’s not an issue.
55 ..Bottom line is..this game is so great that it should serve to Unite us all no matter where, what..blah blah..you’re from. I personally think it’s more important than ever as some many idiots have devoted their entire existence to keeping us apart. Color, sex, shorter , taller..Doesn’t matter anyone will do if it’s causing a divide. That’s why race is way the heck less important if we come together under red and pewter. And it ends a stupid division created by fans if their guy is criticized by someone In another group. Tribalism.
If you can’t join modern society then limit tribal behavior to being a fan of the team. One buccing tribe bitc@es!
June 8th, 2019 at 2:58 pm
Is he happier if he felt that way about a real former QB, who happens to be a a QB coach. Like if Montana had coached, young, manning, farve, Marino. Shoot I’d even take warren moon. Leftwich had a garbage career and was nothing outside of Marshal. I’m hard pressed to say that I believe he’s a good QB coach.
June 8th, 2019 at 2:59 pm
@ Ghost
I agree. I was going to add that memory of Leftwhich being carried down the field at Marshall with a broken or severely sprained ankle… The guy is a leader and is tough as nails… I was never a big fan of his but I always respected him for having that kind of mentality.
June 8th, 2019 at 3:35 pm
Buczilla, Pickgrin, add 5 more years for JoFro. That’s 20 years of wankin’ at QBs!?
However, if #3 gets some latitude do to bad coaching then, I certainly believe Vinny deserves some for being molded under the offensive genius that is Ray “3-a-day” Perkins. Vinny ended up with a nice career, too.
Man come to think of it, JoFro worked under Rah & Shiano. No wonder we’ve been so dreadful, for so long! Everyone has been inhaling vigorously!
June 8th, 2019 at 4:06 pm
D1, I respect your assessment of my comment but you still missed it bro…
Example, Winston could never get away with saying some of the things Baker Mayfield has said and done regarding his previous coach…It’s considered leadership and swagger when Mayfield does it; had Winston said and done some of those same things it’ would have gotten a totally different spin…
From grabbing his crotch and using explicit language during a nationaly televised game or running from the cops, getting tazed, and arrested…these things are never brought up, yet people nationaly and even on this very site still talk about a 3 year old Uber “incident” and a 6 year old crab leg hook up like it happened yesterday…
June 8th, 2019 at 4:10 pm
Who’s better Josh Mccown or Blain Gabbert?
June 8th, 2019 at 4:38 pm
I hope Blaine Gabbert. Definitely has suffered less damage than McCown so he should be a bit healthier…
June 8th, 2019 at 5:19 pm
Everyone should read this article.
http://www.footballperspective.com/comparing-jameis-winston-and-carson-wentz-by
June 8th, 2019 at 5:19 pm
Great post Pickgrin and D1 per usual. Shouts to Lordcorn too. Man I wish I could write to express my thoughts that well as you’ll. As much as the local rubes make me embarrassed to live in Tampa you’ll make me proud.
June 8th, 2019 at 5:45 pm
What I find totally hilarious and ironic is that most people that did not want Winston to be drafted here were afraid that he would just be another Byron Leftwich – long, slow wind up, turnover prone, awkward and clumsy, play for multiple teams and just be a journeyman backup.
Now, that very same Byron Leftwich is Winston’s new offensive coordinator and QB guru and is supposed to show him how to be a better NFL QB and save his career with the Bucs.
PRICELESS!!!!! You just can’t make this stuff up ……
June 8th, 2019 at 5:54 pm
Clean House Says:
June 8th, 2019 at 11:13 am
I’m sorry, just don’t remember Leftwhich as anything more than a serviceable to subpar qb- Am I missing something?
No correlation to being a superior player and being a superior coach.
Bill Belichick comes to mind.
June 8th, 2019 at 6:16 pm
Ha, you buffoons-
Let’s hope leftwhiches brain isn’t as slow as his feet-
His offense sucked in Arizona
Does any one recall some superior intelligence as a QB?
Peyton Manning was like a field general- a chess player.
Hey reality is I have no idea what’s going on upstairs with these guys.
They say Jameis has this remarkable Football I Q
Have not seen it translate yet. He seems to revert into some trrrible choices.
Is levtwhicb the answer.
Either Jameis kicks some serious behind or he’s a bust- as a #1 overall QB
Having Byron leftwhich scares me and I’m entitled to it. I’m concerned he will prepare him to be a career backup just like himself.
HE NEVER HAD SUCCESS
June 8th, 2019 at 6:17 pm
Those who can’t, coach.
Great players make the worst coaches.
June 8th, 2019 at 6:42 pm
t’s not really fair to hold a coach accountable for his skill as a player. It’s just a lazy way to score points in a debate. Leftwich’s first stop as an OC didn’t go too well, but neither did Belicheat’s first stop as a head coach.
I choose to remain reservedly optimistic going into the season, just like I always do.
Go Bucs!!
June 8th, 2019 at 6:51 pm
Sir Winston wins the Belmont. Things are falling into place.
June 8th, 2019 at 7:14 pm
Wait , what is Leftwich the backup!
Sh5t, I thought He was a coach.
Yeah, shut it down seasons over…go home.
June 8th, 2019 at 7:57 pm
Onebuc55,
Personally, I care zip about crab legs, bb guns, shouting nonsense in the lunch room. So I kinda dismiss those who start off with a recap of past transgressions. Tone deaf to it.
I agree with you on the local fan or media recital of these things.
If I understand your first comment, you were speaking about national media
Not local. If I got that wrong..please stop me there.
I expect different national reporting on winston than mayfield . Two biggest reasons is winston was the villian of a highly rated much publicized full length documentary film. A film that critics and activists loved and lavish
h with both praise and awards. Winston was cast as a privileged serial rapists on imax wide screens for the entire length of that movie.
Now have a think, and ask yourself from starring as a predator of a privileged class , who preys upon women in a movie that has nothing in his defense or attempts to seem balanced. This is the starting point with winston.
Mayfield, grabs his sack, and runs from a cop only to be tackled and arrested. You failed to mention that he wasnt doing anything wrong , he was drunk, ran and that series of events unfolded. He wasnt accused of raping 2 women.
And they made no movies about him.
There’s your starting point. You think it’s going to be even at the end of the cycle? It’s OK if you say yes. I dont see it but it’s opinion based.
2nd thing is the espn s of the world are very progressive leaning. By that I mean there’s a formula or math particular to how progressives rate oppressed people and the people oppressing them. You see may fields crotch grab as swagger or reported as it. Mayfield didn’t grab an uber drivers crotch.
Winston is a privileged class , macho man, high testerone neanderthal. He plays football.,lfrankly thats a much bigger offense to a college progressive than a bus full of white clad kkk members. Hated. But he’s black…
Black is not a fixed nor permanent identity. So that’s why I can buy race as the issue. Because football is targeted , the accusations of racism are easier to hide. Mind you 95 percent of national media reporters are registered democrats. I’m not overlooking that can of worms but I’m not going to spend anymore time on either.
Onebuc, across the nation institutions of higher learning have taught, taught in the classroom, that the United states is a rape culture and men are dangerous rapists who at any second could go all rapey and bang angry sjw chicks.
Not exa
ctly an unbiased atmosphere to be accused of the outrage of day offense. Which is where winston started. And Baker never has.
Please make a counter argument wIth these facts included and explained away. My mind isn’t fixed with an opinion. I’m spending tim
e on it only because fake racism is obscuring real racism daily. The fake stuff gets treated with kid gloves and the actual racism is hidden
June 8th, 2019 at 8:06 pm
LOL @ Ndog
That “article” is a JOKE. Comparing to Winston to Wentz. Notice how the writer doesn’t even give Wentz credit for WINS and having enough success during a season to put his team in position to WIN A SUPER BOWL? LOL.
Winston hasn’t even sniffed a single playoff game in his entire career.
And the “Wentz was a backup” in reference to the college comparison is DUMB. Tom Brady was a PRO BACKUP for awhile, does that mean he isn’t as good as Winston either?
I’LL SAY IT AGAIN…
Winston is one of the WORST NFL QBs during the first few drives to start a game. That has NOTHING to do with how good or bad our Defense is. He’s given the ball with a chance to drive us down the field and score points and he has rarely done it. And you can’t blame that on kicking either… the top QBs often score TDs within the first 3 drives of a game. Winston has rarely ever does that.
June 8th, 2019 at 8:09 pm
BUY YOUR GABBERT JERSEYS NOW!
He’s your new Buccaneers Starting QB by mid-season. BOOK IT.
June 8th, 2019 at 9:16 pm
Calm down. Belicheat had the Browns in the playoffs. Leftwich was part of a staff that ran the Cardinals into the top pick in the draft and may have ruined a first round QB.
June 8th, 2019 at 9:47 pm
So we’re going to blame Leftwhich for why Rosen is not a good QB Joe? Ever thought about how Leftwhich had a washed up Sam Bradford and a rookie tennis player to work with his first year?
June 8th, 2019 at 10:21 pm
Joe has a funny thing about coaches. Joe is of the (naive?) mind they are to help make players better. Otherwise, you can just pull people off the street and just holler and cuss at players and get paid $100k a year and teams could save all sorts of dough.
Given the fact that it is unprecedented in the Super Bowl era that a team would draft a quarterback in the first round and in less than a year give up on him, speaks volumes. Should Leftwich, who was QB coach in Arizona and then promoted to offensive coordinator, be totally blameless in this Rosen mess? Of course not.
If Leftwich is to be blameless in Rosen’s meltdown, then that tells Joe he was a total empty suit in Arizona. And if that is the case, then why would anyone want him entrusted with Jameis as an offensive coordinator?
And yeah, no one has more to lose (aside from Jameis) if Jameis regresses than Leftwich.
June 8th, 2019 at 11:41 pm
BucsBandit Says:
June 8th, 2019 at 8:06 pm
Winston is one of the WORST NFL QBs during the first few drives to start a game. That has NOTHING to do with how good or bad our Defense is. He’s given the ball with a chance to drive us down the field and score points and he has rarely done it. And you can’t blame that on kicking either… the top QBs often score TDs within the first 3 drives of a game. Winston has rarely ever does that.
So you say rarely if ever do you?
Well in his 9 starts this past year, which was his worst, he scored points in 7 games in the first 3 drives in his 9 starts. Below is each instance, so you think scoring on 78% on your first drives is doing something rarely? Bro know your facts before running your mouth.
@ Atlanta first drive TD (L)
Cleveland first drive FG second drive TD (W)
49ers second drive TD (W)
Carolina first drive TD second drove FG (W)
Saints first drive TD (L)
@ Dallas first drive FG (L)
Atlanta second drive TD (L)
June 9th, 2019 at 4:17 am
Ndog – yeah, he did better in those games, but then again those were against all teams with losing records except for Saints & Cowboys. Over his career he has sucked compared with the early scoring output of the top QBs in the NFL.
But you keep believing Winston is some ‘great’ NFL QB… don’t worry, you’re about to find out soon enough. I don’t want to hear your excuses when Arians benches Winston (like Koetter did) during this upcoming season. Then again, you’ll just be ready with some sort of excuse like you always make for Winston when he plays bad.
June 9th, 2019 at 7:30 am
Prediction Jameis’s erratic play drives BA into second retirement the assistant head coach leaves Jason Licht promotes Byron Leftwich to head coach drafts a kicker #1 pick in draft. HAHAHAHA.
June 9th, 2019 at 8:09 am
Worse qb backups in nfl. Ryan Griffin never played in a regular season game, Blaine Gabbert 48 tds and 47 ints in his career. Jameis goes down or stinks up the field replacing him will be even worse.
June 9th, 2019 at 4:00 pm
Interesting fact 12 teams have NEVER won a Super Bowl and 2 of those teams reside in the NFC South (Carolina, Falcons).
I enjoy following the Bucs so I can wear my arm chair GM/Coaching hat and pretend my decisions would have turned out differently. In the end the NFL requires a cohesive team and not 2-3 superstars like the NBA to win championships.
June 9th, 2019 at 6:06 pm
Winston’s career will mirror Gabbert’s. They will both have lengthy backup careers.
#tankfortua
June 9th, 2019 at 6:48 pm
The saints didn’t started winning till they got a running game. The Patriots wouldn’t have won nothing without the running game. Why is Jamies the only quarterback in the league that have to win with a 32 ranked defense and a 29 ranked running game ???
June 10th, 2019 at 8:20 am
Oneil, it’s due to the persistent belief that Winston’s arm and a great receiving corps was all you need to win. Remember #WEAPONS4WINSTON?
June 10th, 2019 at 10:09 am
About time for another off the field incident with Jameis to go along with assaulting a girl, stealing crab legs and groping an uber driver. This is a fine model for the bucs franchise the face of the team.