It’s Why You Draft A Quarterback
March 21st, 2017
Top-graded.
The recent free agency land rush and open call for free food was jarring in one respect.
It exposed how desperate teams are for a quarterback in today’s NFL.
When a guy who was benched twice (for Josh McCown of all people!) and then saw his team draft a quarterback No. 1 overall can get $18.5 million guaranteed, when the Wrongo Starr of the NFL can still find a team open-minded to giving him a starting job, when the likes of Brock Osweiler and Brian Hoyer remain gainfully employed for top dollar, you know teams are beyond desperate.
Desperate as a skydiver whose parachute doesn’t deploy.
Folks, this isn’t quarterback purgatory. This is quarterback hell.
For the three people who wake up in the morning still irked the Bucs drafted America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, the aforementioned information should settle the score. If it doesn’t, how about this from well-respected NFL draft analyst Matt Miller of Bleacher Report. He believes, after exhaustive study, Jameis has been the best college prospect in recent NFL history.
@nfldraftscout: With QB grades almost final…Jameis Winston still highest-graded QB of the last three years.
And still, Bucs fans — not all, mind you — kvetch like old women about Jameis and his alleged deep ball struggles.
Joe just shakes his head. OK, so Jameis struggles with the deep ball (strangely, he had no issue with this in college). Fine. Joe maintains the stat geeks could probably run numbers and find that Stewart McClown was better with deep balls than Jameis.
Is that what you want? Or some fool like Sideshow Bob? Or a guy that just sleep walks through games like bratty Jay Cutler? Signing these dopes could very well solve the deep-ball issues of the Bucs — and plunge the team right back into the sewer of the NFL, Lovie Smith style.
Sometimes, instead of nitpicking, embrace the big picture.
March 21st, 2017 at 8:11 am
Its why I have no idea why the powers that be want to drop Watson. He put on a throwing show at the combine reminiscent of Jameis and Mariotta. He’s smart, hard worker, and oh yeah, won a national championship at Clemson, while lighting up a defense loaded with first rounf NFL talent. The only explanation, and you’re reading it here first, is because no one wabts to mock a qb to the factory of sadness, knowing a good likilihood of failure awaits.
March 21st, 2017 at 8:12 am
Yet, there are still plenty of people out there who still wish the Bucs drafted Mariota.
March 21st, 2017 at 8:16 am
Anyone who doesn’t thank God every day for Jameis is so dumb they should be banned from commenting on here
March 21st, 2017 at 8:24 am
Watson’s issue was the offense he ran. Very simple. Didn’t require too many reads, but he made all of the throws. He is an unknown in that he could make all of the reads. He seemed to take games for granted and could show up in the big games. I like his in game personality and I would draft him over most of the guys in this draft tho. This is just a very weak qb draft class. I hope he gets drafted in the first round in front of our pick myself. Anything that keeps a non QB on the board helps us.
March 21st, 2017 at 8:25 am
oh.. and Jameis made all the reads and the throws at FSU..
March 21st, 2017 at 8:43 am
You know what I’m sayin Joe? Fameis IS our qb of the present and future so eat it, breath it, enjoy it but above all else accept it and move on with your lives. Fameis has everything we need in our qb; a complete baller, loquacious but not obnoxious, a total team player, leader and an all around good dude who’s not so perfect you can’t even stand being around him. Each season he has improved and this is the magical year when things turn around for a player. If we draft OJ and draft McCaffrey Fameis will have 5k yards passing.
March 21st, 2017 at 8:50 am
IMO…..JW v MM, its a tie at moment…winner will be first to win playoff game.
Stats wise MM has slight lead when it comes to the value stats like completion percentage based on distance and TD to INT ratio.
JW is by far better at all the intangible stuff…Reading the DEF….NBL…passion…tape junky….makes others better. These are just as important because of the QB position role in an NFL offense.
Watson? Who cares…let him come in the league and prove he is worthy. Mike Jordan comparison…lol Guy didnt even win Heisman.
March 21st, 2017 at 8:54 am
Young QBs who show great potential are only as good as the players & coaches who surround them I think. Dak Prescott was the classic example of that last year … protected by an excellent OLine, benefitted from a very good running game and excellent WRs & TEs. Jameis is that rare young QB in my opinion who can take it to a level beyond that, not unlike Drew Brees & Tom Brady do. QBs like that seem to have the capacity to raise everyone else up one level … I see that in Jameis almost every game (he’s still ‘growing’ and isn’t 100% there yet by any means). As Jameis’ supporting cast improves, as I believe it will starting this year, this Bucs offense should turn out to be something special.
March 21st, 2017 at 9:13 am
D-Rome- your just mad that Mariotta hasn’t fallen in his face like everyone said he would not coming from a “pro style offense” in fact his stats are comparable to Winstons, point being this team was lucky to have two great prospects to choose from both came in a started immediately for here teams and both did well…. that’s rare.
March 21st, 2017 at 9:19 am
This will be the trend going forward on QBs. College coaches get paid to win and are using a lot more of “the spread” and it is killing QBs for development to the NFL. These guys are going to have a very steep learning curve and will take years to develop into NFL caliber QBs. Years is not what fans want to hear when it comes to the #1 position on the team. Look at RG3, I’m not saying he’s a great QB by any stretch, but his career is looking very near done. He never developed from the Baylor spread. He has all the tools, but he doesn’t have a job and Geno Smith, Josh McCown, and Chad Henne all are still on a roster. Heck even EJ Manual got a job.
March 21st, 2017 at 9:49 am
Jameis was also turnover prone in his last year at FSU and that’s translated over to the NFL. While I’m happy he’s here over other QB’s as a fan you have to have high expectations and expect him to improve otherwise you are a loser and okay with mediocrity
March 21st, 2017 at 9:57 am
Enough about Mariota. U still wanna lick his jock go be a Titans fan. If you guys watch tape and think Mariota is better then you’re clueless. Jameis is still learning yes but not a better quarterback. With a really good running game Mariota complete EIGHT PASSES. EIGHT. against Denver. Yea jameis threw 4 int’s but he atleast tried. Had no weapons no line no running game. Mariota had all that and completed eight passes. Gimme a break. And the dudes that say “Mariota won” no his team won for crying out loud. No qb that passes for 8 completions and 129 yards is ever!!! The reason for a win. Mariota also played in the worst division football has ever seen. I rest my case
March 21st, 2017 at 10:26 am
It still makes me chuckle when I think of all the silly reasonings given by proclaimed members of the “trade down mob” from 2 years ago….
March 21st, 2017 at 10:33 am
Trading down from a pick that is truly hard to get a couple years ago was without a doubt the single dumbest idea I have ever read on this website. And it’s not even close. Now when jarred Goff and Wentz are the top quarterbacks- fine talk trade down. But when the best qb is the Heisman winning national champion beast from Florida state—it becomes the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. And honestly what would we have done with those picks. Draft a corner and wideout…
March 21st, 2017 at 10:35 am
I love me some Jaboo. As far as the deep ball goes, well I think Flash Jackson will make that a lot less of an issue this season. The only thing I have to say about the article to play devil’s advocate is that to say he had no problem with the deep ball in college may be somewhat like saying Aguayo was automatic in college. Otherwise, Jaboo is the man! Love his passion for the game, work ethic and desire to be great. I can’t believe there is anyone left who is not ecstatic to have him as our B.
March 21st, 2017 at 11:32 am
Its kind of ridiculous the way the media spins it to where to praise Jameis is to diss Mariota and vice versa. Leading up to the draft I couldnt believe how much praise Mariota got when the guy hadnt took a snap under center since high school. But he has definitely proven me wrong. I still prefer Jameis due to his gritty work ethic and leadership qualities that you just cant fake.
Itskind of funny how similar their paths have been despite how different they play. Both of their respective teams fired the head coach that drafted them. Then each of their offensive co’s got promoted due in large part to the work each of them did with their rookie qb. Then both of them take a step forward as does the team around them and go 9-7 and just miss playoffs.
Like I said, I prefer Jameis the same as I did leading up to the ’15 draft. But I got respect for Mariota’s game too. They both have strengths that fit well in their respective offense. Both of them along with Dak and Carr are the future. Soon it will be Dak and Jameis us Mariota and Carr fighting for their respective conference and a super bowl berth. And Im beyond thrilled that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can say they got their guy.
March 21st, 2017 at 11:51 am
jameis struggles with the long ball because he has no real deep threat mike evans gonna make his money 15-25 yards down the field desean gonna be gone 30+ yard flys every time and jameis is gonna get it to him
March 21st, 2017 at 12:31 pm
As stated above, the widespread use of spread read-option offenses in college has created a real drought at the position in the NFL. There are plenty of guys with the right abilities, but they are going undiscovered and undeveloped in the NFL. Guys like Kurt Warner, Tom Brady, Tony Romo, and even Dak Prescott got their chances due to injuries. It’s a quarterback driven league and there is a great divide among the haves and the have nots.
The NFL should invest in a post-college developmental league, not only for quarterbacks, but for late bloomers at every position. But as long as the money is rolling in like it is, the NFL isn’t going to do anything to improve the quality of the game.
March 21st, 2017 at 12:40 pm
The heck with them all. Only Jameis could make that play against Chicago!
March 21st, 2017 at 12:58 pm
Oh look mariota-nut-hugger supersam showed up in this article. Color me shocked.
March 21st, 2017 at 1:32 pm
Besides the “no experience under center” and “spread offense” stuff, the biggest question mark for Mariota was his durability. The dude looks fragile. So far he’s had two serious injuries that cost him games both seasons. Titans got lucky last year it came really late in the year, because it might have cost him a whole season if it happened earlier. Jameis, meanwhile, has played every game despite taking more hits than any other QB in 15.
March 21st, 2017 at 1:32 pm
I hope Mariota & Jameis are both successful because I’ve always kind of liked the Titans.
Both have done well but I still believe Winston has much more “it” factor. I charted a lot of losses already on close games Mariota could have won and didn’t and really couldn’t come up with many for Winston. The one game was the Rams game basically where he came up short at the end. Otherwise he always seemed to have us in position to win if it was possible on his part towards the end of the game
Mariota’s also gotten hurt each year with pretty big injuries; despite being one of the least hit QBs last year because of their dominant O-line and dominant run game.
His #s are better in terms of TD/turnovers per attempts but not by that much of a margin; and he plays in a safer system in terms of easy completions with a lot more YAC than we get out of any of our players. Just think of his TD pass to Kendal WRight in week 1 of 2015 that went down as a 70 yard TD pass. It was like a 5 yard completion over the middle. Think of all the dump offs to Demarco Murray last year that went for huge gains after the catch. Hell think of that freak fluke TD he had to Delanie Walker for 70 yards or something vs the Saints that should have easily been an interception. I don’t think we’ve had any single big plays like that since Winston’s been here in terms of an easy completion for huge gains. Maybe a few RB screens and that’s it
March 21st, 2017 at 1:48 pm
I have no regrets initially lobbying for MM. I felt that with our weak O-line at the time and MM’s mobility, it was a better match.
That said, our decision to draft Jameis looks to have been the better decision. I think both guys will have decent careers, I just see the “IT” factor in Jameis. He could be special with some more work and experience. Oh, and most of all, WEAPONS!
#MOREweaponsforWinston
March 21st, 2017 at 3:57 pm
Winston runs a pro-style offense, Mariota is still learning that. The last time an afc South got to the Super Bowl?? How many years has the NFC south teams made the super bowl?? Fameis Jamies baby
March 21st, 2017 at 5:36 pm
I love Mariota but he’s a gimmicky, system QB … Jameis is a legitimate gun-slinging Pro Bowl QB. The two aren’t close imho.
March 21st, 2017 at 5:54 pm
Jameis is the man! Our QB for the long run…..bring in Kapp for back/up with experience!!
March 21st, 2017 at 6:03 pm
Offered without comment, and I am not calling anyone out. I am far too busy in March to post much with all of the snowbirds down for the winter, but I couldn’t let this one go.
All stats are from nfl.com, and I invite anyone to go there to watch the videos of the plays in question to see for yourself.
JW3 has 13 total passes for more than 40+ yards in his two year career: nine in 2015, and only four in 2016.
In 2015:
Mike Evans had a 40 yarder vs. Wash, and a 68 yd pass vs NYG.
Louis Murphy had a 54 yd completion vs. NO.
Donteea Dye had a 44 yarder vs. StL., that he promptly tossed over his shoulder at the two yd line for a fumble, if you’ll recall, since no one had touched him.
ASJ caught a 9 yd slant down 42-7 vs the Titans, who missed the tackle, and then high-stepped into the endzone for a 40+ TD?
ASJ also caught a long Hail Mary at the end of the game against the Bears.
Charles Sims took a 1 yd screen pass more than 50 yds for a TD as well.
Charles Sims also scored a long TD on a broken play, on one of Joe’s favorite defensive calls where he was covered by a Bears defensive lineman but not very well, as it turned out, as he took a relatively short pass to the house.
In fact, Cameron Brate had a similar long gain on a broken play, where he managed to out jump the defender for the ball for a long gain.
In 2016:
ME13 had one 45 yd completion vs Atl in the first game.
Freddie Martino had a 43 yd completion vs those same Bears.
And perhaps surprisingly, Adam Humphries had two 42 yd receptions! But the first was a 14 yd crossing pattern with a missed tackle again allowing the longer gain and score vs. Oak. The last score was on an underthrown ball that was tipped vs. Dallas that he caught in the endzone.
So, make of it what you will, but the majority of these are not from timing, accuracy, and planned plays. It is bound to improve.
tickrdr
March 21st, 2017 at 7:03 pm
How may games has MM?? and JW?
March 21st, 2017 at 7:04 pm
“Missed” (sorry)