Bucs LT talks about Jameis having his back.

One of the coolest things Joe has heard come from the mouth of America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, was an indirect blast at the spreadsheeters (namely, the PFF tribe).

During his postgame press conference after the loss to the Rams, a reporter asked Jameis about the blocking of left tackle Donovan Smith.

Now before Joe brings Jameis’ quote, some background: For reasons unknown, the stat geeks go wild about Smith. For the PFF tribe, the Penn State product is fingernails on a blackboard — or in Joe’s world: a warm bottle of Miller Lite. They just think he’s the worst in their convoluted grading system (talk to NFL types about how the PFF tribe grades offensive linemen and you will hear grown men howl as if they are at a Chris Rock concert).

The only thing Joe has to say about Smith’s blocking? Do some research.

How many rushing yards did the Bucs rack up last year? Look at the right defensive ends Smith faced and add up the number of sacks they registered and then remember Smith was a rookie.

So last week when a reporter hit Jameis — who wasn’t in a good mood to begin with — about Smith’s blocking, specifically Robert Quinn’s lone sack, Jameis shot back, “Man, how many times did Robert get to me? That was one time, so I think Donovan Smith had a great day.”

BOOM!

And as we later found out, it was Jameis’ fault on that sack for dropping back in the pocket too far, allowing Quinn to dodge Smith and get to Jameis.

Joe spoke with Smith yesterday and he didn’t know anything about Jameis going to bat for him Sunday night. But he was impressed and humbled to learn.

“We are teammates for a reason,” Smith said. “We are not going to let anybody talk about anybody else, regardless. You know, it’s like anybody in your family or anything like that.

“That’s my brother and I’m his brother and you are going to protect your brother.”

This was pretty cool to Joe. It’s obvious Jameis and Smith are tight. They hang out together, go to Orlando Magic games together, play paintball together, all sorts of stuff.

So it seems when it comes to Jameis and the offensive line, it’s all one big family.