Lovie: Jameis Is Locked In
May 10th, 2015
Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.
If there is a football player Joe has seen that can tune out pressure, it is Jameis Winston. Just look at what he had to play through at Florida State.
More than once, Winston, while marching his team through undefeated regular seasons, was staring at the very real possibility of losing, not playing, or worse, incarceration.
Yet Jameis shut out all the dire distractions and led his team to win after win and, at one point, a national championship under conditions that would have made many adults wilt.
That is one reason general manager Jason Licht and coach Lovie Smith were so drawn to Jameis, and why they made him the No. 1 overal pick.
Through two days or minicamp practices, Jameis is who L&L thought Jameis was: focused. Locked in. No distractions as he learns to manage offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter’s playbook.
“He’s getting better [at the playbook],” Lovie said after Saturday’s practice. “As you talk about that starting spot, there’s a lot to learn for all of the rookies, but for the quarterback, that’s a big playbook. He’s cramming like it’s the final exam right now and doing a good job. We’ve seen marked improvement from the moment we gave him his playbook. Jameis is a bright guy. He’ll be able to get it all.
“Jameis’ focus is “like it always is. That’s one thing you won’t say about him, (that) he’s not focused. He’s into football and trying to get better, that’s who he is. And we definitely saw that today, like we did yesterday. We do not think it will be a problem for Jameis to be focused on playing football here. Not at all. We all have things that we’re dealing with off of the football field. Guys know when it’s time for football here, it’s about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and doing our work here.”
This is the first step. Jameis is proving himself to be who he always was, a playbook rat. A studious guy on the whiteboard. The best way to handle adversity is through preparation.
Jameis has said that before. It’s who Jameis is.
May 10th, 2015 at 8:04 am
or in others words Jameis won’t take no for an answer….
May 10th, 2015 at 8:16 am
I am excited with everyone else about the prospect of winning with Jameis….but I just hope we aren’t expecting too much….too soon. He is a rookie on a losing team that needs time to develop.
Lets not let our excitement override our good sense.
May 10th, 2015 at 8:25 am
Look who’s back…Joe Joe the troll! Just can’t keep away can you. Do any reading yesterday?
May 10th, 2015 at 8:30 am
Hey joe joe maybe your mom shouldve said no no
May 10th, 2015 at 8:35 am
I agree TBBF we should approach this with cautious optimism. But optimistic I will be.
Like Joe, I moved to the Tampa area in from IL (from Peoria in ’99 to be exact). I’ve adopted this area as my home ever since and have not looked back.
I root for the Bucs, along with the Rays, Lightning, Rowdies and the rest. I’ve not felt a reason to be this optimistic about the Bucs since the glorious Super Bowl year. I won’t anoint Jameis an All Pro but I do expect him to be a top 10 QB in this league and think he has all the tools to do so very quickly. Your comment o “… needs time to develop.” I fear those days are gone. You live or die immediately in this league. Darwin has taken it up a notch so to speak.
I’ve always liked your posts TBBF. You keep it real and fair. I hope we Bucs fans all start to enjoy this cautious optimism you and I have. Glad you are posting on JBF.com. Keep it up.
May 10th, 2015 at 8:36 am
Winston is a rookie. It’s all about the eye test, and I want my eye to tell me he’s improving as the year goes on. 30 TD’s and 20 INT’s seems very reasonable to me.
May 10th, 2015 at 8:51 am
Winston can’t win games by himself and Evans and Jackson will need help this year. On offense it appears that undrafted free agent Rannell Hall is the most impressive and exciting receiver, “out-showing” Kenny Ball (5th round) and Kaelin Clay (6th round) and may provide real competition for the slot position this year.
Winston is the big story and I get it, however, there are other stories that will have an impact on the level of success the 2015 BUCS will have. The BUCS 7th round pick, a fullback from Hawaii is going to be fun to watch as well.
May 10th, 2015 at 8:53 am
How bout his commitment to getting in shape? Study all he wants, if he’s still carrying a cheeseburger gut come August he wont cut it
May 10th, 2015 at 8:58 am
Bucco Bruce: first, they did not draft him to win any foot races. Playing QB doesn’t require you to be at 7% body fat. That being said, I am sure they will have their strength and conditioning coaches work with him to get him eating right.
May 10th, 2015 at 9:00 am
@NonyaDamnBucsiness
Thanks….I do my best to see both sides of debates and stay as open-minded as possible…that allows me to stay true to my overriding passion….the Bucs.
As far as Winston is concerned, I am reminded of the first lesson of selling….once the product or service is sold….stop selling.
I think the overselling of Winston is setting us up for potential unmet expectations. Hopefully, he will measure up to the hype.
May 10th, 2015 at 9:00 am
Good point but at fsu he had so much talent around him. He had 11 players drafted off this years and last years team. This year fsu had a player drafted at every position. He also had the best line in college football during his time. True he can lock in but also remember most teams he was going against had no pro prospects while his team was stacked with future nfl’ers
May 10th, 2015 at 9:13 am
As we go through this process, i can’t help but think that maybe Winston handled all of the off field stuff so well because he knew he didn’t do it and it was unfounded. Gotta think that might be a possibility. Especially after it cleared 6 investigations
May 10th, 2015 at 9:38 am
There were 36 additional ACC players drafted this year. You must not have watched many FSU games this season if you think Winston’s line played anywhere to the prior year. Plus, he really only had 2 reliable receivers and they were 5th and 6th round picks.
May 10th, 2015 at 9:44 am
Tbbf,
But, be honest with yourself. We really did lose a bunch of games the past couple seasons by 1 score. It really wouldn’t have taken a ton of improvement to win alot of games the past couple seasons…. Some clutch QB play and better defense could be enough to get us over the hump.
I think 9-10 wins is totally realistic if we get those 2 aforementioned improvements.
May 10th, 2015 at 9:53 am
@Eric
I agree…being the optimist….but many others have us doing very poorly again. I’m just being cautious about Winston being the immediate savior…..better, yes…but it may take some time.
I think the wildcard last year was the loss of the OC….there is a reason why teams have experienced/proven OCs….and we didn’t have one.
May 10th, 2015 at 10:01 am
I really like the orange jersey. Please obi-wan, help us get back to orange jerseys…
May 10th, 2015 at 10:14 am
Destinjohnny,
9 of the 14 teams FSU faced had a defensive player drafted. There were a total of 21 defensive players drafted who lined up against Winston last year. 5 of those 21 were drafted in the first round, including the top defensive player (Fowler) and #8 Beasley.
QBASE ranked FSU’s “defensive” schedule as the toughest in the country.
The myth that FSU didn’t play anybody has long been dispelled.
May 10th, 2015 at 10:18 am
@Erik
Please tell me you aren’t welching on your bet with 87. He said he emailed you and you never replied.
May 10th, 2015 at 10:18 am
NonyaDamnBucsiness –
I moved to Clearwater from Peoria in 83 .. went to PHS .
I did the same thing, completely adopted the area and all of the sports teams… Moved to Atl for work and hate it here..
Joe’s website has kept my Bucs addiction fed, it would really suck without it!
As far as Winston, All of my worries have quickly faded away.
May 10th, 2015 at 10:47 am
Erik the WiseMMan Says:
May 10th, 2015 at 9:44 am
“Tbbf,
But, be honest with yourself.”
Be honest?
Where’s my jersey?
May 10th, 2015 at 10:47 am
Hey Atlbuc! Nice to meet another home towner on JBF.com! Sorry you had to move to Atlanta. 🙁
I about had to make the move to Hotlanta a few years ago due to work but that thankfully never happened. Even if I had, not sure I could support any ATL teams. The Bucs FTW!
May 10th, 2015 at 11:00 am
@TBBF,
Yeah, Jameis has been sold pretty hard and there is still some selling going on. Im this case, I think the additional selling is warranted due to Jameis being polarizing pick. I believe the Bucs are wanting to get the naysayers on board as much as pissible. They still have to “sell” the team to increase market share.
May 10th, 2015 at 11:03 am
@87 & L & WD,
Aww man, now I look like a douche. But I promise I tried to get 87’s address a couple times on here and thru
May 10th, 2015 at 11:28 am
New BUCS fan here and it is definitely due to Winston. Also never really had a solid NFL team, so this pushed me over the hump.
People need to realize 1 thing. The 2013 and 2014 teams Winston played on were 2 totally different teams talent/experience wise. He lost 2 RBs, 2 WRs, and 1 C that are all playing on NFL rosters after the 2013 season and had 3+ years in the FSU system. He replaced those with 2 FR WRs, inexperienced C, and inexperienced/FR RBs. The C loss had a HUGE affect on the OL performance until making a switch for the Miami game. He never really got over the WR losses as the young guys were learning as they played. This caused him to rely to heavily on Greene and O’Leary and he paid for this by throwing more INTs this year as teams knew he’d rely on those 2 more often. The running game came around once the OL switch was made and helped him towards the end of the season.
He still managed to go 13-1 with the major losses on offense from 2013. That shows that he can do what is necessary with whatever talent is around him. I believe Dirk will help him to lose the habit of focusing on 1 or 2 players constantly. I believe Dirk will put him in a position to succeed and not ask too much of him from day 1. There is a HUGE benefit to him getting to play with the rookie WR, RB, and TE now. He can develop rapport and trust with them and will not have issues going to them when it matters in a game. We all know Jackson and Evans are the primary, but the rapport built now with the rookies will payoff during the season.
Looking forward to watching this team progress this year. Go BUCS.
May 10th, 2015 at 11:40 am
Eric Hughes Says:
May 10th, 2015 at 11:28 am
“New BUCS fan here”
Are you sure that you want to do this?
Do you have any idea what you’re getting yourself into?
May 10th, 2015 at 11:52 am
Its not overselling guys. Its just winston is just that damn good. The national media ran that damn smear campaign all throughout the draft process (now that was the definition of overselling) that they have to remind you’ll that they drafted him to play football. And he is a hell of a football player!
May 10th, 2015 at 12:02 pm
Overselling was when they tried to tell us that Old man Mccown was leading the Bucs to the playoffs last year, or that he would sniff a pro-bowl last year!!!
May 10th, 2015 at 12:11 pm
As long as Jameis can focus on football and works hard to learn and improve like his history proves he will, Then there is a very good chance that he will become the best QB in Bucs history. Nothing is guaranteed of course – but even doubters would have to admit that he’s off to a very good start in pursuit of earning the starting job and that he is a good teammate and has a strong desire to bring winning football back to Tampa Bay.
May 10th, 2015 at 1:32 pm
Lol @ jameis having the best offensive line during his time at fsu..ridiculously ignorant. And other than kelvin, who wasnt near mike evans, his highest offensive skill players drafted were d devonta and rashad in 5th rd..craziness to say his teams were “so loaded” on offense, especially
May 10th, 2015 at 2:06 pm
JoeJoes Fungi Nails Says:
May 10th, 2015 at 8:04 am
or in others words Jameis won’t take no for an answer….
Explain! Otherwise, I will just except that you are a sick individual.
May 10th, 2015 at 2:08 pm
87, gotta get that Jersey!!! Anyway, what’s up with all of the Eric’s on this site?? Damn
May 10th, 2015 at 2:14 pm
@ tval…
The 2014 line was hot garbage until Cam moved to center. The 2013 line though… they were beasts. Another great stat: the entire 2013 offense was either drafted or taken on as UDFAs. The. Whole. Offense.
As far as over-hype, Winston was hyped coming into college as well. His response? 25-27 with 4 TDs (plus one running) on the road to open his FSU career. One of his two incompletes was caught on the sideline and looked to be in (no review). So, of the 27 passes he threw, ONE hit the turf. Not too shabby, and I hope he has a similar debut against Mariotta and the Titans.
Now, I am a fan of another team (won’t say who, you all will hate me!) but I grew up in FL and always liked the Bucs. I will be rooting for them in all but one game this year. (That’s a hint)
May 10th, 2015 at 2:22 pm
Destinjohnny Says:
May 10th, 2015 at 9:00 am
Good point but at fsu he had so much talent around him. He had 11 players drafted off this years and last years team. This year fsu had a player drafted at every position. He also had the best line in college football during his time. True he can lock in but also remember most teams he was going against had no pro prospects while his team was stacked with future nfl’ers
Winston’s best receivers went in the 5th and 6th rounds. The FSU center was drafted in the first round, but the others were drafted in the mid to seventh round which adds up to three. What says you?
May 10th, 2015 at 2:35 pm
Abu is a Jaguars fan
May 10th, 2015 at 2:37 pm
Wait Abu, we wouldn’t hate you if you were a Jags fan!! Maybe your an Eagles fan??!
May 10th, 2015 at 2:39 pm
Hold up Abu, could be Rams too! $hit!!! It’s gotta be Eagles or Rams!! Tell me!!!!lol!
May 10th, 2015 at 2:46 pm
Erik the WiseMMan Says:
May 10th, 2015 at 9:44 am
“Tbbf,
But, be honest with yourself. We really did lose a bunch of games the past couple seasons by 1 score. It really wouldn’t have taken a ton of improvement to win alot of games the past couple seasons.”
The flip side of that coin is that the Bucs could have just as easily lost those games by TWO scores. I do not remember any games when McCown was tearing up the field to score the winning points. It seems like it was usually a game where the Bucs got lucky that the clock finally ran down.
Last year, my expectations were 8-8 +/- a game. Unless the new guys really ‘get it’ quick, I expect 6-10 +/- a game, and would not be terribly upset. Of course, I would expect four of the wins in the second half to show they are improving. So much rides on who is still to be signed (waivers/trades/etc), how good these guys really are, and of course… coaching.
May 10th, 2015 at 3:08 pm
No, no. I am a fan of a team outside the division, but in conference. A team that most people hate. You guys are smart, you should get it now! 🙂
May 10th, 2015 at 3:33 pm
This guy has to be a cowboy. R
May 10th, 2015 at 4:21 pm
Winna winna chicken dinna!
Nole on Sat. wins the prize.
Unfortunately, there is no prize.
Don’t hate, been a fan since the Staubach days, born in TX.
I did go to FSU back in the Brooks/Ward/Dunn days, and love the fact that so many Noles have made their mark in Tampa. With Winston being there, I will certainly be pulling for the Bucs… in all but one game.
May 10th, 2015 at 4:26 pm
@destinjohnny
He didn’t play against anyone?.
Whaaaat?? What about miami and Louisville. They were at least top 5 in drafted players. Then kevin johnson he went first round. He played against him also. Do you’ll watch college football or just listened to what everyone else says about the ACC??
May 10th, 2015 at 4:44 pm
Fsu like most confrences has 3-4 good teams. But overall every team they played they had twice the talent. They have 21 guys the last two years playing in the nfl . They had the most talent in college football the last two years
May 10th, 2015 at 5:03 pm
Acc if you go by players drafted is a solid confrence the last few years. Fsu Clemson Louisville tech are solid teams but after that it’s slim Pickens
May 10th, 2015 at 7:08 pm
Abu5217… I knew you were a stinking Cowboy fan immediately after the post saying you were a fan of another team but would not mention who it was. That makes you a semiBucs fan, sport.
May 10th, 2015 at 8:05 pm
Abu5217 Says:
May 10th, 2015 at 4:21 pm
“I did go to FSU back in the Brooks/Ward/Dunn days”
Ahhh yes my time at FSU.
The “Whoop there it is” days. Doak Campbell stadium was rocking back then.
Good times!
May 10th, 2015 at 8:07 pm
iamkingsu Says:
May 10th, 2015 at 4:26 pm
“@destinjohnny
He didn’t play against anyone?.
Whaaaat?? What about miami and Louisville. They were at least top 5 in drafted players. ”
Let alone the non conference games weren’t exactly scrubs…
May 10th, 2015 at 10:42 pm
Optomism
May 10th, 2015 at 11:08 pm
Buc1987 – Tell me about it. Remember the Spear? My freshman year was the year we beat UF 52-17 (hence my screen name). Then a couple years later, the Cowboys won the Super Bowl 52-17.
When you call me a semiBucs fan, is that a perjorative? Is it “half a fan” or “just a fan because of the FSU players”?
Hell, as a Cowboys fan, I have a certain connection to Bucs fans.
(It was a CATCH dammit!)
(If the language violates any board rules, my apologies)