Rock Bottom In New Orleans
November 10th, 2022
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BY IRA KAUFMAN
In a professional career marked by so many setbacks, this is the low point.
A healthy Jameis Winston, the former No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, can’t beat out a 35-year-old journeyman quarterback for the starting job in New Orleans. Saints coach Dennis Allen is sticking with Andy Dalton — and that tells you all you need to know about Winston’s future in the Big Easy.
Jameis Winston has hit NFL rock bottom, says Ira Kaufman.
He doesn’t have one.
Even at 3-6, the Saints are only one game out of the division lead in the wretched NFC South. Dalton appeared helpless in a 27-13 home loss to Baltimore Monday evening, yet Allen said after the game that he never even considered giving Winston an opportunity to spark the team.
Winston has overcome a torn ACL and a fractured back in the past two seasons, but he can’t overcome the reputation he built at One Buc Place: he simply can’t be trusted.
The Saints have learned it the hard way after giving him a 2-year, $28 million contract extension in March, with $21 million guaranteed.
A 1-2 start and a back injury prompted the switch to Dalton and now Winston is relegated to the bench, even though he’s been declared 100 percent healthy.
How did he sink this low?
No matter what his handlers will tell you, Winston has only himself to blame. His teammates and coaches have no trust or confidence in him at this point, otherwise Allen would be naming Winston the starter for Sunday’s matchup in Pittsburgh.
All signs point to Winston being with another team in 2023, likely as a backup. Meanwhile, Marcus Mariota has grabbed the starting job in Atlanta, his third NFL stop since being selected right behind Winston.
And while the Falcons would surprise no one by choosing a quarterback with a premium draft pick, at least Mariota is playing.
Winston hasn’t taken a single snap since a 22-14 loss to Carolina in Week 3. He was inactive for two weeks while rehabbing his injured back. Allen still hasn’t called his name despite Dalton’s 2-4 record under center.
Andy Dalton knocked out Jameis, despite being unimpressive.
On his fourth different team in the past four years, Dalton has kept his starting job despite throwing only 12 passes that gained at least 20 yards. That’s one fewer long completion than Winston in twice the playing time.
Winston’s career has been plagued by turnovers, but he did lead the league in passing yards in 2019, his final season with Tampa Bay. He backed up Drew Brees in 2020 and was off to a 5-2 start last year in New Orleans before suffering a torn ACL against the Bucs.
And now he can’t beat out Andy Dalton.
A Third Chance?
At the age of 28, Winston is mature enough to keep his mouth shut amid all his frustrations. He suits up every week, waiting for an opportunity that hasn’t come.
The continued absence of Michael Thomas has compromised a once-proud offense, but Alvin Kamara is still in the backfield and rookie wide receiver Chris Olave looks like a keeper.
If Winston gets another chance, he just might provide a spark. Instead, he sits as the Saints flounder in a division ripe for the taking.
Perhaps it’s Winston’s 34-46 career record that has Allen skeptical. More likely, it’s Winston’s three picks in Week 2 vs. Tampa Bay and his two interceptions at Carolina that have reduced him to an afterthought.
Maybe Winston can channel the spirit of Geno Smith and find success down the line with the right team at the right time. But eight years into his NFL career, Jameis Winston has bottomed out.
Dennis Allen says Andy Dalton’s his guy …and that says it all.
Ira loves that lifetime warranty on new and used vehicles!
Watch the Bucs-Seahawks game Sunday with Joe, Ira Kaufman and fired up Bucs fans at Big Storm Brewery in Clearwater. …. Great breakfast menu and bloody mary bar, mimosas and Florida’s best craft beer. (Lunch starts at 11 a.m.) … Giveaways and more.
The taproom is at 12707 49th St. North in Clearwater
SUNDAY, Nov. 13, Bucs-Seahawks in Germany!
The fun starts at 9 a.m.
Join Joe and Ira Kaufman and Bucs fans!
Breakfast menu for Bucs-Seahawks on Sunday @BigStormBrewing Clearwater has arrived!
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Kickoff at 9:30.
Joe confirmed that @IKaufman76 is buying you 1 drink of your choice OR the "The Ira Kaufman" quesadilla. Just ask Ira BEFORE 10 a.m pic.twitter.com/recVl9O87p— JoeBucsFan (@JoeBucsFan) November 9, 2022
November 10th, 2022 at 2:53 am
Oneilbuc….. the floor is yours.
November 10th, 2022 at 4:48 am
Oneilaints told us it was BA fault amongst a lot of excuses. Even though jameis was jameis before BA got here. Oneilaints with new excuses in 3 2 1…….
November 10th, 2022 at 6:20 am
Winston just isn’t that good. Admit it and move on.
November 10th, 2022 at 6:53 am
I seriously doubt that the 4-5 Bucs are gloating over the 3-6 Saints misfortunes, and surely not over Jameis Winston being benched in favor of Andy Dalton. We still have to face them 1 more time this season (Monday, Dec 5th) and I’m sure there’s nothing the Saints would love better than to punch us in the mouth & steal our lunch money.
Wily ‘journeymen QBs’ like Andy Dalton & Ryan Fitzpatrick run hot & cold. I still remember when Fitz absolutely took the Saints apart … in the Superdome .. back in 2018, laying 48 points on them. Dalton’s capable of similar games, providing the team around him stands tall. He’s throwing at a 65.2% clip this season, the same as Tom Brady & a tad better than Jameis.
BTW Joe, every time I read a JBF article about our ex-QB Jameis Winston it reads like gloating … ‘Wow were we get lucky to have gotten rid of Jameis’. Well, to me those articles are reminders of how naive the Bucs were to think that a struggling franchise with meh coaching could expect that an immature 20-year-old would be our savior & lead us to glory. Especially when that 20-year-old had no concept of what true leadership was all about. Please, no mas on the constant reminders.
November 10th, 2022 at 6:56 am
What is THE best job in the NFL? Clipboard holder making millions. Winston quietly lands on his feet.
November 10th, 2022 at 6:59 am
I was so happy when we drafted him. Now? I’m glad he’s doing badly. He’s a sex offender. He deserves what he gets.
Even if he wasn’t a sex offender, I would be very tired of him (although I wouldn’t be glad he’s doing badly). He’s the rah rah guy that makes everyone mad because he doesn’t back up the talk. He needs to stop talking about how’s he learned so much from this experience and that experience, and start showing that he learned from them.
I got into a huge 3-4 day battle with Saints fans on social media about him, right before he played the Bucs. Their points were: JW is great. I don’t know a damn thing about football. The Saints will kick the Bucs’ arse.
My points were: He could have a great game and kick the Bucs’ arse BUT I’ve seen him play for 5 years. I know him. He will be benched this season. Don’t let a couple of games and a decent stretch a couple of years ago fool you. I’ve seen this before.
They stopped talking after the game. Not one responded to my “now do you understand what I’ve been sayin?” .
November 10th, 2022 at 7:30 am
We KNOW this Jameis. It’s the reason we moved on from him.
That said, there are a plethora of QBs that have flourished late in their careers and there’s no reason to believe that he can’t achieve the same with some dedication and hard work.
November 10th, 2022 at 7:38 am
None of this is a surprise to me or most anyone else that isn’t an FSU homer. I turned the page on Jameis early in the 2018 season when he turned it over 4 times against the Bengals in the first half. At that point that was 7 turnovers over the course of two weeks. He was benched for Fitzpatrick and Fitzmagic nearly won the game for the Bucs despite trailing by 17 points when he came in. At that point I knew it was over. Said back then the Bucs needed to move on and would end up being a backup for the rest of his career. Bucs had to turn the page despite the Winstonittes thinking he was Hall of Fame bound.
I said after the Bucs game in NO that Dalton would be starting by the midway point of the season. It wasn’t hard to predict. Joe still celebrates that Winston made a pro-bowl as a replacement player. Dalton is a 3x pro-bowler with a winning career record. Yet you still have clowns who think the Bucs didn’t give him enough weapons or a good enough offensive line.
He seems like a good person and as we’ve seen with Mike Glennon and Josh Johnson you can make MILLIONS as a backup in the NFL. I’m pretty sure Josh Johnson is still on a roster somewhere in probably his 13th team in 14 years. Not a bad gig to have.
November 10th, 2022 at 7:39 am
America’s GB….no more…..and never was.
Winston joins Glennon as ex Buc QB making millions as NFL backups.
November 10th, 2022 at 8:37 am
He’s 28 & earning 10s of millions of dollars. I wish I could reach that level of “bottom”! Maybe “bottom” was earning $1m behind Breeze? But even that had it’s perks.
I don’t route for him professionally but, he has several more years to improve his situation. He may even find his way back into the starting lineup by the end of this season- heck, maybe even against the Bucs, in a month. Don’t think that they couldn’t defeat our Bucs with or without Winston, either! We haven’t forgotten that they’ve done it before.
Jameis needs to rah-rah less, get smarter and oh yes, cut down on the turnovers. When the chips are down, he just doesn’t seem to be thinking quickly enough to have been accepted by Stanford!
November 10th, 2022 at 9:12 am
Somewhere, ndog is weeping……
November 10th, 2022 at 9:36 am
Too bad Bowelswich can’t be benched.
November 10th, 2022 at 10:15 am
Not happening. Dalton gives that team the best chance to win. Don’t get me wrong, I wish they would start Jameis because he gives them the best chance to lose and drop the Saints out of division contention.
November 10th, 2022 at 10:17 am
Winston is a bum…I would never trust him with my daughterbor football team.
People who bring him up are typically either race baiting or trying to.save face from previous arguments.
He’s not even worth the words I’m texting.
Thank God for the goat coming here and showing how he was fumbling the bag for years with a beast roster.
November 10th, 2022 at 10:24 am
Lazy commentary lumping in game 2-3 performance. He was playing hurt. Very hurt. Anyone could see that … if they bothered to look. DA has a history too. See his tenure with the Raiders where he sat a healed T Pryor for another QB who could not move the ball. New Orleans has far bigger issues. JW isn’t one of them.
November 10th, 2022 at 11:50 am
Dennis Allen is a defensive coach and the thing that defensive coaches hate more than anything else are Turnovers.
Winston is on the bench right where he should be
November 10th, 2022 at 12:50 pm
I moved on from Jay Miss his last year at FSU. For the record, I wanted Mariota here. Never a Jay Miss fan personally or professionally. I can’t believe people are saying all these years in that if you put him in the right situation, he’s going to be good. A tiger can’t change its stripes. Jay Miss is what he is……
November 10th, 2022 at 1:38 pm
Vinnie Testaverde fixed his issues and became a very good QB in his 30s. JW could too but I don’t think he has Vinnie’s temperament. It’s possible but I’m just not seeing it. Second string is a great job. On Mondays you wake up feeling great and checking your bank balance.
November 10th, 2022 at 1:58 pm
He has all the talent….100% between the ears!!
November 10th, 2022 at 4:28 pm
But..But..But.. ESPN and Fox sports said the saints were going to win the division and Winston would be a mvp candidate. This doesn’t make sense.
November 10th, 2022 at 6:46 pm
Maybe Dennis Allen has a daughter and loves her.
November 11th, 2022 at 8:27 am
Love how Jameis is getting blamed for the Saint’s misfortunes while sitting on the bench. DA made his decision and will lose his job by his decision. Jameis won the first game when he was healthy and lost two when injured. DA should had benched him until he recovered. I blame two of Jameis losses on DA. Jameis career record is comparable to Peyton Manning at this juncture in his career. Look it up… Thank God the coaches didn’t give up on Peyton.
November 12th, 2022 at 9:26 am
Mel K, yeah, the colts lost like all of the games with manning in the first 2 seasons….. like almost all, you are reaching for comparable statistics but miss the forest from the trees.
November 13th, 2022 at 11:28 am
Just pointing out that Jameis is a proven big time quarterback with issue that can be fixed like Peyton. Like Peyton he’s not afraid to push the offense. He just haven’t been given the opportunity this season due to his injuries in game one. He should have been benched then.