“He Doesn’t Know How To Be Safe As A Quarterback”
October 21st, 2018
Strong words from ex-Buc.
Boy, the Bucs sure did give Ian Beckles plenty of firewood for his podcast.
The Bucs did their best to gag away a winnable game last week in Atlanta and it sure did fire up the former Bucs guard. The popular local radio personality took to his podcast, “Inside the Trenches,” and fired away.
In particular, Beckles is frustrated with America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston. Beckles sees the talent but is frustrated Jameis doesn’t always play smart. He’s not ready to give up on Jameis yet, however, and said the best comparison he can think of to Jameis was another frustrating quarterback, Brett Favre.
“In a perfect world, that’s what Jameis will turn into,” Beckles said. “He’s not there now. …
“He doesn’t know how to be safe as a quarterback. That’s important at times. It is important to know where not to miss.”
Beckles said a typical Jameis game is throwing for 350 yards, four touchdowns, a couple of picks and lose. As if he is snakebit, as many quarterbacks would love to have those numbers.
One thorn in Beckles’ side is Jameis’ lack of chemistry with wide receiver DeSean Jackson. Beckles noted it was odd that Jameis cannot hook up with Jackson but has no other issues with other receivers or tight ends.
“Him and DeSean Jackson, it’s like they’ve never practiced before, together,” Beckles said,,. “He always seems to be low and short to DeSean Jackson. …
“It is also very clear that Jameis and [Cam] Brate and Jameis and [Mike] Evans and [Chris] Godwin have chemistry and for some reason it doesn’t work with DeSean Jackson. … Something is funky with him and DeSean Jackson. It’s nothing personal. He wants to get it to him.
“I still like that he’s our leader. I still like that he’s a competitor. In the next few weeks, we will find out if he’s our guy or not.”
Beckles noted the reason the Bucs are losing is not Jameis, but the defense. Beckles is morally outraged how bad the defense is. This episode of his podcast was recorded before the defensive coordinator Mike Smith was fired and Beckles had a few choice words for him.
In short, Beckles is really, really down on the Bucs and fears they are ripe to be upset by the Browns today. And if the Browns win, Beckles predicted this area is going to erupt in anger and there will be hell to pay at One Buc Palace.
If the Bucs lose today, Beckles said, the season will quickly spiral into the abyss.
Beckles stopped short of calling for a total housecleaning at One Buc Palace if the Bucs lose but sort of expects that to happen come January if the Browns win.
Jason Pierre-Paul is a favorite of Beckles, but he says the offense seems off, the defense “is a sieve,” the coaching is shakey and he doesn’t like the draft picks.
Other than that, how was the car ride, Mrs. Kennedy?
As always, Beckles welcomes feedback at IanBeckles@RadioInfluence.com.
October 21st, 2018 at 8:24 am
“Communication” issues are code for the rookies in the secondary don’t understand the schemes. Look for Duffner to attempt a zone today with a less experienced QB and blitz the LBs. Smith would have preferred that but the young players simply don’t understand their assignments and you get nothing but blown coverages giving up chunks of yds in short periods of time.
In man, the concept was much easier….cover your guy….keep him in front of you….make the tackle….Hope that a condensed field eventually leads to a stop.
In zone its more complicated and you have a rookie safety having to cover for rookie CBs…..and neither of them have mastered their assignments. I don’t feel you can blame Smith for putting a roster together with ZERO experienced depth. Last year there was no pass rush….Again, that’s not on Smith. That’s your GM who simply isn’t capable of building a roster properly. Licht finds talent but he lacks vision on how to put it on the field. Desean Jackson is a great example….Grossly overpaid for the production we’ve got since him and Winston cant connect. We would be better served with Godwin starting and having at least one or two more veteran CBs for the salary we are paying Jackson.
October 21st, 2018 at 8:35 am
It’s easy to figure out if you watch the games and rewind. Jameis who I am a fan of struggles with the same thing every strong armed QB struggles with…..touch on the ball. Every pass does not need to come out 90 or 100 miles an hour. Last week his passes to Evans were in his face before he could even get his head turned around. Evans made a fantastic grab on one but you could tell he’s like WTF. Jackson needs air on the ball! Give him some space to run under it or through it. If the ball is thrown on a rope there is zero room for adjustment to make the catch. If he eases up just a bit on his throws it will give these guys room for adjustments which will also increase YAC
October 21st, 2018 at 8:45 am
I do think they probably will lose today. The defense is just awful and barely is even a speed bump to opposing offenses. I don’t think a LB coach for that awful defense is going to miraculously turn this defense around. The rookie corners out there are playing much worse than typical rookies would look. They are like the bad news bears. I completely agree with Beckles regarding JW and DJ. We saw what Jackson is capable of when Fitz was in there and now with JW back under center DJ in nonexistent again. The fact that JW is limiting what we can get out of an extremely valuable receiver has me questioning whether or not Jameis is the long term answer for the team. I mean he is simply awful with his deep throws, has trouble hitting guys in stride, and those are big issues limiting the team as a whole. He is good enough to produce a lot of offense regardless, but I am now doubting he will ever be a top tier QB due to those flaws and his propensity to turn the ball over. I have always defended JW as a QB, but after watching our backup QB come in and shred defenses with all of the offensive firepower the Bucs have, it got me thinking that maybe JW isn’t as good as I used to think he was.
October 21st, 2018 at 8:59 am
Nice post TDTB.
I happen to feel the same way.That doesn’t mean we’re hater we just expect a franchise QB to be able to make the throws a franchise Qb should make.Btw can we stop with the comparison to Favre?Jameis can’t hit a deep ball or a receiver in stride to save his life and Farve didn’t use touch hardly ever he just put the ball where it needed to be with accuracy and velocity
October 21st, 2018 at 9:05 am
It just appears we can’t play long ball with Jameis at QB. He can be as good as advertised from 30 yards and in, especially on slants and crossing routes but his vertical accuracy is suspect. This neuters the offense in an age where the long passes are dominating the game. But then again if we score to quickly it puts our defense back on the field.
October 21st, 2018 at 9:19 am
As I’ve said Qbs that are supported by the worst pass defense in the league are going to take more chances . If you give Jamie’s a defense that can actually cause the opposing team to punt the ball he will drastically dial vac those bad decisions.
Look up stats on what team forces punters to come out on the field less than any other. Guarantee it’s the bucs not even close
October 21st, 2018 at 9:39 am
@bucnjim
I happen to agree with you on that.
Jameis throws a flat ball most of the time
A little more air on the deep throws would help quite a bit
October 21st, 2018 at 9:41 am
Nice tackle Derwin James! guy gets first down cuz you dont wrap up…this is the NFL son.
October 21st, 2018 at 9:45 am
Could be Jameis throws Desean “low and short” as Beckles puts it because Jackson is only 5”10 (most likely 5”9-5”9 because they always exaggerate in football) and he is just a little shortie who doesn’t really try to catch for Jameis anyway because he wants to pout like a little BE…ATCH.
October 21st, 2018 at 10:10 am
@bucnjim
Your post on Winston was very good.
I would add this: Winston has issues once the ball is snapped reading the D and throwing to the open or best option away from the strength of the D. The result is less YAC (TB was 14th in 2017). In 2017, Evans (81 in NFL) YAC is very low whereas Godwin’s (12 in NFL) YAC is above average. Godwin is not the #1 target and is not on the field in 2017 at all times. 17% of our Yards were YAC; the league high was 25% (PIT). I think Godwins stats are a bit of an anomaly a the result of the fact he is getting away from defenders once he has the ball. Coach K always says this is Winston’s strength but I think its more that he is hiding Winstons weakness as any good coach would. I think Winston can see the D pre-snap but being confident in what to do is another thing and you have about a split second to decide. His weakness is right there; he over thinks it or tries to do too much.
Bottom line: He has 9 games to make an impression that he is a franchise QB. A franchise QB does not have 2-3 turnovers per game regardless of what some of his most ardent fans will state. A franchise QB puts his team in position to win. If we see, 20-7 deficits at half time constantly…this would be a death nail. If he can tighten up his play, he may get that 2019 option…..if not I think we may see another number in 2019 playing QB for these Bucs. I still see Winston as an average QB in the NFL…sadly this franchise will need more than average if it wants to sniff the playoffs.
To make matters worse: Licht has blown alot of draft picks and not focused on the DEF as much and put himself in a situation where he does not have depth or quality on his DEF line, which in turn is resulting in a lack of QB pressure or 78% passing by opposing QBs. The team’s struggles are not all on Winston by far but his non-elite play is exasperating the Bucs “win” wound.
#GoBucs
October 21st, 2018 at 10:12 am
Bad decision making, both on field and off, is usually lethal when your D and kicker are questionable at best.
I agree that 4TD, 2 INT and maybe a fumble lost is a typical Jameis day at the office.
Statistically, he maybe be the best QB the Bucs ever had. That’s not saying much.
Once again, W/L record is the only stat that counts for a franchise QB.
October 21st, 2018 at 10:26 am
Totally agree with everything in article except the Favre comparison …
Favre never lost 10 of the last 11 games. He was a winner …and I know the bucs defense sucks. The elite quarterbacks can put teams on their backs.
Jameis is a middle of the pack qb who went first overall. He is just ehhh. He has the elite game a few times a year. No question. Great between 20’s. But not good for a td. But people here think he is Jesus Christ reborn again. Just don’t get it. He gets the credit when they win and doesn’t get any blame when they don’t.
However we pull for him cause he is a buc and we want the bucs to win !
October 21st, 2018 at 10:29 am
Donuts.
Well said. It seems like he has chosen his target before the ball gets snapped and forces it to that guy whether he is double covered. Can’t seem to find the best matchup or open guy at times.
And the deep ball is just not good for someone who has played football for almost 20 years.
October 21st, 2018 at 11:04 am
Look up Favre’s stats early in his career…then you’ll understand.
Then look up Green Bay’s defenses…
Favre carried his team on his back many times, only because he made so many mistakes early on in the game and he had to. Least that’s what I saw back then….others see thing’s different. Not everyone has 20/20. See what they want to see.
I know……excuses…..everyone that sees Winston as a future star including current and former NFL players always make excuses for him…..
We get it Bird……you might be able to fly…but you’re blind as a bat.
October 21st, 2018 at 11:09 am
Gawd…I walk into the house after busting my azz with yard work,Yes it’s still HOT. Anyway first thing I hear is Michael Clayton blaming coaching for Jameis’s woes….yeah coaches teach him to throw late into double and triple coverage, teach him to hold on to long waiting for something better rather taking the yards and keep the chains moving…yeah they teach him to run around like a chicken with it’s head cut off drifting farther and farther behind the LOS…yeah….the most NFL ready QB…
October 21st, 2018 at 11:50 am
Wait a minute… So is Ian Beckles racist too? So it is possible for Jameis to makes crucial mistakes that hurt his team AND the team being bad primarily because of the defense? It was a shootout in ATL. Everyone knew it would be. The QB that won, threw 0 interceptions.
October 21st, 2018 at 11:51 am
Ian is a Buffon. Why do you keep shoving his pointless opinions down our throats Joe?
October 21st, 2018 at 12:01 pm
Joe is “shoving” nothing down anyone’s throats. If you automatically tune out a guy because you don’t like him, don’t read it.
Joe finds Beckles’ takes compelling if not enlightening and gives Beckles credibility for playing the game.
October 21st, 2018 at 12:42 pm
Hey Joe…..
Maybe we break this Jinx today ,
It’s a no turnover game,…with over 140 yards rushing
The FG kicker with no misses.
JW of course must create his own confidence,
That cannot be given,…it’s Earned!
Jamie the Leader, …….We find out today!