Jameis And The Bucs: A Shotgun Wedding
March 3rd, 2020
Tied together.
(Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.)
One national columnist thinks all this drama of who will be the Bucs quarterback this fall is a lot of hot air.
The Bucs, if you connect the dots, are sure treating Mr. Entertainment, America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, like a carrier of the coronavirus.
And Jameis, if you believe reports, won’t find work in the NFL, despite leading the league in passing and ranking second in touchdowns thrown.
So Jay Busbee of Yahoo! Sports thinks at the end of the day, or shall Joe write, “at the end of free agency,” your starting quarterback for your 2020 Buccaneers will be…
Jameis!
And why is that? Both sides need each other, Busbee believes. He doesn’t think the heavy-hitter free agent quarterbacks will want to come to Tampa Bay and no one else left will be a better option than Jameis.
Winston and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have spent the last half-decade locked in this awkward dance. Winston is a gothic cathedral; his ceiling stretches so far overhead it’s almost out of sight, and his floor runs so far below the surface of the earth that you could get lost down there. His talent is undeniable, but so are his mistakes.
Would you rather have:
Jameis Winston or Ryan Tannehill?
Jameis Winston or Philip Rivers?
Jameis Winston or Nick Foles?
Jameis Winston or Teddy Bridgewater?
Jameis Winston or Andy Dalton?
Jameis Winston or Cam Newton?
Jameis Winston or Case Keenum?
…and, in a fun coda to the 2015 draft, Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota?
Of course, Busbee noted Tom Brady would likely be a dealbreaker for Jameis.
Joe is dubious Brady wants to come here, mostly for business reasons, not football reasons. But Brady’s agent only has to point to one football element that might scare Brady out of the Sunshine State.
Per NFL.com, the Bucs were tied with the Jets for allowing the fifth-most quarterback hits last year, 106. And that was with a quarterback who has escapability. Imagine what a pounding a mailbox like Brady, who will be 43 this August, would take?
If Brady needed further evidence he may not want to throw to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, try to envision his reaction when he sees what the Bucs try to pass off as running backs.
March 3rd, 2020 at 12:25 am
Give Jameis the opportunity to wear the new Buc uniform. That would be a pretty heavy thing to take knowing that your first and last passes as a Buc were bookend pick sixes, and that and everything along the way was while having to wear that ridiculous looking creation of Nike.
March 3rd, 2020 at 12:35 am
My curiosity wonders if the Bucs get stuck with Jameis and Arians has said he WANTS Gabbert, how quickly will Arians bench Jameis for good for his chosen and preferred QB?
March 3rd, 2020 at 12:57 am
Good question Tye. Me personally I would much rather roll with Blaine Gabbert as the franchise starting quarterback for the Buccaneers in 2020 than bring back Winston for another year. At least with Gabbert you’re only paying him the veteran minimum while Winston is demanding $30+ million to return to Tampa.
I would gladly celebrate and cheer in the JBF comment section if Arians held a press conference later this month saying he’s moving on from Winston and that Blaine Gabbert is his franchise quarterback and I would even buy Gabbert’s jersey at that point! Blaine Gabbert is only 30 years old so he’s got plenty of quality football years left in him!
March 3rd, 2020 at 1:18 am
Arians said he likes Gabbert as a backup. Not a starter. Let’s not get carried away!
March 3rd, 2020 at 1:23 am
Blaine Gabbert? Haha he is not a starting QB no less “franchise” starting QB….great troll comment though.
The answer to the above is that I would rather have several of those QB’s over JW at this point. My preference would be to bring in a vet, draft a QB and see how things play out. Who knows if BA would actually do that or not….
JW has proven he can’t elevate a team around him and not only that, he frequently throws games away single handedly with mind bogglingly bad decisions. He simply can’t be depended on. When building a playoff team, you can’t give a QB like JW such a high % of the cap – only QB’s who have proven they can put a team on their back and win should ever get paid that much (and in my mind QB salaries have really gotten out of hand).
I wanted so badly for JW to be the “guy” but after 5 years he is more or less the same QB he was in college. Too inconsistent (even within games) to be a consistent winner in the NFL.
Do people really thing after 5 years he will magically eliminate the boneheaded plays? If you do i’ve got a bridge to sell you…
March 3rd, 2020 at 1:32 am
Only a stubborn senile moron for a coach would have an offense that got the QB hit consistently almost by design
Prove me wrong
March 3rd, 2020 at 2:06 am
asdf
believe it or not
it’s not about hoping a guy will magically turn into the polar opposite player
what we’re talking about with Jameis is either exacerbating a player’s flaws versus magnifying his strengths
It’s what the NFL is all about and what no one seems to get
The team has been so bad that the strategy they used to magnify his flaws ended up doing the opposite… having a young gunslinger prone to mistakes throwing 40-50 times per game with zero threat of play action, poor protection and a historically bad defense every year giving up 30ppg is literally a formula to exacerbate that player’s flaws
Same reason Bruce has said multiple times “we can win with Jameis, BECAUSE WE’LL HAVE A DEFENSE”
Is JW a perfect, bada$s QB? Hell Nawh… but if you were to build a play action game, involve his tight ends & supply just an AVERAGE defense, he would get you to the playoffs probably 6 times out of 10. He’ll still have his headscratchers even as a vet, just like guys like Eli, Rivers, Big Ben, hell even Peyton threw 6 picks as a 10 year vet on primetime MNF
So, let’s get real. Jameis has been in a crap situation with a crap team that has not done his game any favors. You people need to stop acting like you can evaluate QB’s without weighing the context of the situation they were drafted into account, because it doesn’t work like that. Simply put; put Jameis in a better, more balanced situation on the field and he would look like a different guy *most* of the time.
And your comment about the salary cap is off too… because the cap ceiling raises every year, top QB market guys are taking up the same % of cap that they were when ‘crazy’ money for a QB was like 12-18mill/yr. Also, guys that put the team on their back??? That’s a myth… How did that work out for Drew Brees when he had all those years “putting the team on his back” with 5000 yards and the team went 7-9? They had to slow it down, run the football and play some defense to start winning games and now they’re a powerhouse again in the superbowl conversation every year. It won’t be any different for the Bucs.
Think about it. He threw 30 picks, had a putrid defense for like 80% of the year, torn meniscus, broken thumb, zero threat of a running/play action game and the team still went 7-9, with arguably 3 wins left on the table where Jameis did his part in all 3 to help the team win (NY, TENN, SEA). not 2-14… not 4-12… 7-9 with a few they got robbed of. I’d say that’s grounds for seeing what this same squad can do with a few adjustments. Give the kid a more balanced team and if he $hi+s the bed THEN you can tell me you have enough to evaluate him properly.
March 3rd, 2020 at 2:16 am
And lastly, I’d just like to point out that we really just had this dude named Blue-footed booby come in hear and advocate for BLAINE GABBERT as franchise QB, and that’d he’d be promptly buying a jersey… the sickness IS REAL FOLKS.
Btw my friend, regardless of what you heard from Chris Sims, Florio, Max Kellerman or any other strutting pigeon on TV, Jameis Winston did not demand 30+ million to stay in Tampa. In fact, my money says he’s about to sign a team friendly deal… with the Bucs. Do you guys ever get tired of just regurgitating things?
March 3rd, 2020 at 2:35 am
All a smoke screen to get Jameis to come down on his price cause Licht’s public obsession during the season took away any real kind of leverage the team may have had. I mean c’mon when you write a book about JW it makes you the biggest fanboy there is, especially for a GM. Kind of defeats the purpose of serious contract negotiations, don’t ya think?
March 3rd, 2020 at 2:51 am
The Jameis hate runs so deep in some fans they’ve convinced themselves they rather roll in 2020 with Blain Gabbert. If that doesn’t say it all I don’t know what will.
March 3rd, 2020 at 3:24 am
Blaine Gabbert has never had a supporting cast as talented as this current Buccaneers offense unit in his entire career from Jacksonville to San Francisco to Arizona to Tennessee. Remember Rich Gannon? He didn’t make his first pro bowl until like late in his career, who says Gabbert can’t do the same?
And yes PriMech, Winston’s camp is reportedly demanding $30+ million annually, reported back in late December. Blaine Gabbert for $1 million gives us much more bang for the buck than Winston for $30+ million or even $15 million. Besides didn’t one of the JBF posters on here say that they watched the training camp practices this past August and straight up said Gabbert flat out outplayed Winston in the practice sessions open to the public?
March 3rd, 2020 at 4:51 am
Cappa is a career backup. His feet are too slow, his center of gravity is too high, and his body is horrible for a guard.
He needs 2 more years of practice reps. He is not an NFL starting guard. Maybe eventually a starting RT.
A 3rd round pick as a 5 position backup is a good investment.
However, we strongly need a new RG and RT if we ever want to compete in the NFL.
March 3rd, 2020 at 5:28 am
Whoever wrote this doesn’t get it. That’s okay, it takes all kinds of idiots. I think the Glazers would settle for a little of something less exciting but much less caustic to a fan base, football team, and community in general. Two important points to let soak in here. If the Bucs really wanted Winston as their long term guy, they’d have signed him up aleady as they have the cash–at the very least they’d have said it. You don’t act lukewarm to cold on a guy you want leading yoru football team, even when you are trying to put up a smokescreen for negotiations. If they wanted him as their short to mid-term guy over so many others, they’d be positive on him too, probably may have announced a tag. Only reasons for not doing it: Half the fan base is not going to like it, and season ticket holders may not renew…something this team can’t afford; they need to pretend (at least) they have done due diligence to try to get someone better. By better I mean who fans will get behind, who will take care of the ball. The Bucs know that having a 5,000 yard passer doesn’t necessarily equate to wins. They also know a less acrobatic/risky thrower who can take care of the ball will win more games if only other squads do the basics. None of those guys have the raw (and I do mean raw) talent Winston has. But ALL of them have experience in winning (SBs in some cases), and take care of the football. Even Case Keenum. Only an idiot thinks Winston is a better choice right now. But on this last point: NONE of them, including Winston, are the long term solution. And this is something a vulgar two-bit blogger will never understand.
March 3rd, 2020 at 5:39 am
Cam Newton over Winston? Case Keenum over Winston? GABBERT over Winston? Hahahaha, some of you have lost your minds.
March 3rd, 2020 at 5:46 am
I’d take Teddy over Jameis hands down. If Brady is there I’d take home over Jameis as well. Ultimately we know what we get with Jameis and it’s not ideal.
March 3rd, 2020 at 5:46 am
Too bad Butt Fumbles Sanchez retired, several Bucs fans would be pining for him as starting QB.
March 3rd, 2020 at 6:33 am
All the talk about Bridgewater smells like smoke to me.
NextGen has a stat for completed air yards(CAY).
JW is #2 and Teddy is near the bottom.
Of course you can take into account the differences in NO offense and ours because Brees is in the lower quarter of that stat as well.
Kinda makes it look like BAs offense may not be the best fit for Bridgewater.
I doubt Arians is in the mood to change his offense very much at this stage of the game.
March 3rd, 2020 at 6:43 am
Brady won’t take those hits, he will get the ball out faster, take the check down or throw the ball away. Something Jameis dose not know how to do.
March 3rd, 2020 at 6:44 am
Haven’t really followed Case Keenum since Minnesota. At the very least he would provide competition and a upgrade over Gabbert,IMO. I also think he has a skillset that Arians could work with. He is tough and he hangs in there to throw the deep ball. Frustrated with a franchise QB whose TO’s have been a major factor
in about 20 losses in his five years.
March 3rd, 2020 at 7:03 am
Finally someone who makes sense. Odds are real high that Jameis will be the Bucs starting QB in 2020 … ‘shotgun marriage’ perfectly describes it. And the Bucs will get him on a reasonably priced contract, or he won’t be here.
In any event, rest assured that 2020 will be yet another ‘prove it year’ for Jameis Winston. Personally I think he’ll come through … the TDs will be somewhat lower, but the INTs will be much lower. What’s more interesting to me is what the Bucs do between now & the start of Training Camp about (1) recreating a solid defense; (2) fixing the OLine; and (3) fixing the running game. Any chance for success that we have hinges as much on those as on who our starting QB is.
March 3rd, 2020 at 7:04 am
Trade Winston to Chucky for Carr.
March 3rd, 2020 at 7:13 am
Sounds good, Defense Rules.
March 3rd, 2020 at 7:24 am
Per NFL.com, the Bucs were tied with the Jets for allowing the fifth-most quarterback hits last year, 106. And that was with a quarterback who has escapability
Sad part about that is 2 quarterbacks played because the QB illness. Tired fir fifth most quarterback hits bur explosion why they still threw half the picks Winston threw. Thanks for proving her makes bad decisions
March 3rd, 2020 at 7:51 am
You can put up big numbers in this offense as a QB but the down side is you will also take a beating in the process…
I believe it was BAs last year in Arizona when he was down to his 3rd string QB…That’s one reason why we can’t just bring any QB in here to play in this offense… Bridgewater imho is solid but way to fragile; that’s a big reason why Minnesota gave up on him…Also a little mobility is must; especially with an offensive line that has issues keeping their QB clean…
Lastly, I know BA bullsh!ts alot but he did specifically say from the beginning that Jameis was a big reason he wanted to come to Tampa…
March 3rd, 2020 at 8:00 am
There’s something behind the scenes with the Bucs and Winston that we likely wont hear about until he’s replaced. I find it odd that Winston held off to do the Lasik procedure until he hit free agency….I think its safe to say the Bucs would have liked him to do that years back. The Uber situation certainly put a ding in trust….I can tell you with a high degree of certainty not all the Glazer siblings were fans of Winston BEFORE the draft….and definitely weren’t after the Uber incident. Now we hear they’re not even interested in tagging him, its a very odd situation to say the least. The team has never been comfortable promoting him as the face of the organization nor have any companies. Winston flashes a smile, sounds Alabama humble, dazzles you with throws at times….but there’s another side to him that I believe the Bucs don’t trust and I can assure you they’ve done a thorough assessment both on and off the field.
March 3rd, 2020 at 8:01 am
I think Licht and the Glazer boys are still focused on the glitter of flash of Jameis’ 5k and 33 touchdowns.
I don’t think Arians is and I think he sees the problem of his promise to make Jameis into a GOAT. Jameis is a goat but the lower case kind.
If Arians can’t muster the right argument we might end up proving insanity, by repeating the same thing, over and over, and expecting a different result.
Better eyes might help Jameis, but I feel only anger that he refused to wear contacts for five years and doomed us and himself to those Magoo antics.
March 3rd, 2020 at 8:04 am
Clean House Says
Only a stubborn senile moron for a coach would have an offense that got the QB hit consistently almost by design
Prove me wrong
With pleasure cleanhouse because quarterbacks have proven success in this system you are basically saying this is yet another system that doesnt work for winston. He processes to slow throws to clearly covered receivers and doesnt know when a play is busted and continues to hold on to the ball too long, it’s his fault he’s trying to play hero ball. No one teams fanbase complained about BA’s quarterback taking too many hits they were too busy winning.
Arians became Roethlisberger’s OC in 2007, and the Steelers quarterback made his first Pro Bowl that season after throwing 32 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions.
Palmer had his best season ever under Arians in 2015, throwing for over 4,600 yards with 35 touchdowns and a passer rating of 104.6
Arians served as both the offensive coordinator and interim head coach of the Colts in 2012, which happened to be the rookie season of Andrew Luck Luck made the Pro Bowl as a rookie after throwing for 4,374 yards and leading his team to an 11-5 record
March 3rd, 2020 at 8:09 am
I always hear the o line needs to be better, the run game needs to be better, the coaching needs to be better, the kicker needs to be better why is it so hard for your highest paid player to get better and make smarter decisions with the ball?
Especially since the QB position is so important to a teams success and failure but yeah let’s go ahead and keep blaming the dumb decisions and inaccurate passes on everyone but the qb who doesn’t get better
March 3rd, 2020 at 8:20 am
As someone who wanted Jameis at #1 please give the Bucs Brad Johnson version 2.0, Kenyatta Walker version 10.2 and Michael Pittman version 2.0.
Please! As a holder of season tickets since 1972 I have spent way too much money on Bucs’ induced psychotherapy.
March 3rd, 2020 at 8:51 am
JW and BG are both back-ups….
get teddy and keep BG as a back up….
GPO BUCS!!!!
March 3rd, 2020 at 8:56 am
These national talking heads (and one of the Joes) are tied to the 5100 yds and 33 TD numbers. These are all BS stats for Losers.
The only stats that count are:
iWin/Loss record
Playoff appearances
Playoff wins
Bucs and JayMiss suck loudly at all above. Plus, JayMiss is forever haunted by his off field activities
Time to cut bait.
Peace, out
March 3rd, 2020 at 9:00 am
sign kappernick for 6 mil and lets roll… 🙂
March 3rd, 2020 at 9:10 am
This is what I’ve seen saying from the beginning. Everyone is stuck with each other, the Bucs, Jameis, BA, Buc fans. Nobody is going anywhere.
March 3rd, 2020 at 9:50 am
I’d trade Winston for a one-armed, blind amoeba. Would save a ton of cap space and definitely cut down on the turnovers.
March 3rd, 2020 at 9:57 am
Joe thinks that no one can do what Jamoist does. And he’s 100% correct. There is no other QB that can throw 30 interceptions and still think that he be ballin. As fans we’re told that we should keep the turnover machine because he’s got multiple SB titles in his future. Better check your sheet Joe, 28-42 in 5 years, 110 turnovers, zero payoff appearances, and three last place finishes.
If failure is the thing that no one else can do like Jamoist, and you’re OK with that, then bring him back and enjoy the basement of the NFC south. #NoPlayoffs
March 3rd, 2020 at 10:22 am
My favourite soap opera…… “As the Bucs Churn”
March 3rd, 2020 at 10:41 am
@813bucboi Teddy B is definitely back-up. Lets get that clear. Not even worth our time. I’m a Jameis fan because simply we’ve never had a better qb in the history of our franchise. If you guys can name one I’ll wait…. Only qb acquisition I’ll entertain is some sort of deal for Matthew Stafford, assuming he’s healthy. TB12, Rivers, and Teddy B are all bums at this point of their career.
March 3rd, 2020 at 10:52 am
You cannot trade a FREE AGENT because that player does not belong to the team to trade………LOL
March 3rd, 2020 at 10:54 am
BA once got fired from the Steelers for getting his QB Big Ben hit too much and calling plays that required Big Ben to hold the ball longer. That folks was about 14 years ago and my point is a long ball vertical offense requires QB to hold the longer the most.
March 3rd, 2020 at 10:59 am
Once upon a time a QB drafted number 1 overall to the Colts met his new OC BA. Mr Luck got hit so many times because BA’s offence REQUIRES the QB to hold the ball longer than most. All those hits and concussions added up over time and Mr Luck decided his luck had ran out and retired.
March 3rd, 2020 at 11:02 am
Teddy Bridgewater is slight of body build may not last a whole season, Matt Stafford is recovering from a broken back and playing for BA may cost him the rest of his career. Carr well “Mr throw the ball into the ground on 4th and goal” I don’t think he has the guts to take the deep shots and BA would just go crazy.
March 3rd, 2020 at 11:13 am
I bleed pewter. I am with you about a smoke screen being tossed up by the Bucs to get Jameis signed cheap. One thing Arians said was, 10 of Jameis interceptions were about a new offense and receivers running the wrong route. In that case as erratic as Jameis was he only threw 20 interceptions Also I watched every game last season and I saw at least 4 passes were intercepted because of the receivers tipping the ball up in the air. So that leaves 16 interceptions and 33 tds. I think if they can get Jameis under contract in the 25 mil range Arians will give Jameis a second year to get acclimated to his system
March 3rd, 2020 at 11:27 am
Per NFL.com, the Bucs were tied with the Jets for allowing the fifth-most quarterback hits last year, 106.
THANK YOU!
All this talk about us having a good to average offensive line is a crock. Blame the offensive line for a lot of Winston’s turnovers (but not all).
I think Cappa, Marpet and Jensen are good…but I think Dotson has been the weak link for years, and Smith is barely acceptable.
If we get Tua in the draft, who is left handed, does anyone really think Smith will be good enough?
March 3rd, 2020 at 11:29 am
TexBuc Says
“Carr well “Mr throw the ball into the ground on 4th and goal” I don’t think he has the guts to take the deep shots and BA would just go crazy.”
Oh please, it’s not like it happens a lot. Carr is actually the closest to Winston’s level…but he still falls short.
Winston really is our best option…but the smart move is to tag him and see if the right guy falls to use in the draft, then let him sit behind Winston this year. Winston gets his final shot to prove himself, and we have a young guy being developed.
March 3rd, 2020 at 12:22 pm
Coroner, the Bucs first season in the NFL was 1976.
March 3rd, 2020 at 12:55 pm
Gabbert? Arghhhhhhhh!
March 3rd, 2020 at 1:03 pm
Thank you Bonzai. You beat me to that very myopic assessment of Derek Carr. Maybe ‘ultra-subjective’ would be a better word for it. Come on TexBuc, you’re much better than that on most analyses. Take a detailed look at what Carr has accomplished in his 6 years on a perennially bad team and I think you’d modify that assessment considerably.
Oh and Bonzai, I agree on your ‘best option scenario’, although I think the fly in the ointment is QBs who’ll be left when we draft at #14 versus what other players will still be available. For instance, if say Wirfs & Eason were both still on the board, which one would BA pick? (I think that Burrow, Tua & Herbert will be gone by then, but you never know). Given a choice between Wirfs & Eason, I’d take Wirfs because he could solve our RT and/or LT problems for 10-12 years. Not at all sure Eason could do that at the QB position.
March 3rd, 2020 at 1:35 pm
Joe, I’ll agree with you that Jameis has more escapability at this stage in their careers. But here is why Tom Brady would not get hit as often as Jameis, all other things being equal. He is able to read defenses much faster that Jameis. He knows where he will be going with the ball before the snap. He is better equipped to check out of something that he knows isn’t going to work. And he is much more likely to throw the ball away rather than holding onto it for an extended amount of time. His experience will come into play and allow him to avoid the hits that Jameis doesn’t.
March 3rd, 2020 at 7:10 pm
You point out the QB hit stat, but how much of that was Winston holding the ball too long and taking a unnecessary hit where with Tom Brady being able to read the defense 2 or 3 times faster and getting the ball out 2 or 3 seconds faster would cut down the QB hits. We all know JW would stare down his targets which allowed opposing defenses to instantly attack knowing where the ball is going vs a QB that looks off defenders causing them naturally to hesitate to rush so not to be the one caught out of pave knowing a accurate QB would burn them
March 3rd, 2020 at 11:40 pm
New uniforms yes that’s the only positive reply I have to say on this article
March 3rd, 2020 at 11:54 pm
On the “new” uniforms I’d keep your expectations in check. The Bucs website says this about the “new” uniforms….
“And now 2020 will bring a new set of uniform enhancements”
Uh – enhancements? That’s not a new uniform – that’s just trying to enhance the turd that is the current abortion.
Hopefully it was just some moron trying to hit a word count and come up with a different way of saying “new uniform” – but it wouldn’t shock me if the Bucs blow this and just replace the number font and invert some colors on the current awful design.
March 3rd, 2020 at 11:57 pm
Yahoo is fake news – but the simple truth is that if the Bucs didn’t want Winston, they’d just say they didn’t want Winston. They have nothing at all to gain from saying nothing if they in fact did not want him. They’re trying to drive down his cost before resigning him – and fair enough, they still need to build the rest of the team.
But again, if they didn’t want Winston, they’d just say they were moving on.