Jameis Now Trusts Kicker?

December 2nd, 2018

Newfound trust in kicker?

Joe has to wonder whether new kicker Cairo Santos is rubbing off on his teammates?

For the longest time, the Bucs had rotten kicker after rotten kicker. It was almost as if the football gods would not allow the Bucs to sign or draft a decent kicker. Were the gods that upset at those heinous uniforms?

(Don’t get Joe started on the red pajamas the Bucs wore today. Joe isn’t sure if those are little kids pajamas that are sold around Christmas time or if the players stole the cheerleaders’ yoga pants?)

On the Bucs’ second drive of the game, on third down deep in Carolina real estate, America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, ran to his left and with no one open, ran out of bounds for a three-yard gain setting up a 35-yard field goal by Santos.

Many in the press box murmured that this may be a sign of a new Jameis — that in the past, Jameis would have forced a pass into the end zone. Instead, savvy Jameis kept the ball to set up a chip shot field goal by Santos.

Could this be a sign that Jameis, and in turn his teammates, now trust Santos to kick field goals?

Maybe in the past, Jameis forced passes into the end zone because he (and his teammates) believed if they didn’t score a touchdown they would almost surely come away empty-handed not trusting Chandler Catanzaro, Roberto Aguayo, Kyle “Bada” Brindza and other kicking stiffs to kick field goals?

86 Responses to “Jameis Now Trusts Kicker?”

  1. JimmyJack Says:

    He can now trust his kicker and his defense is earning some trust too.

  2. Alaskan Abdominal Snowman Says:

    I’m still nervous when ANY Buc kicker goes to kick one but i think slowly Santos can heal us.
    I am good with Jameis taking sacks instead of throwing errant passes. People need to understand not every play someone is open on time and the way this o line is playing, there isn’t always a lane to escape.
    Great complimentary game by the Bucs, in al phases!!
    So proud of my Bucs!!

  3. Rod Munch Says:

    Amazing the difference is play when Winston isn’t down by 21 points by the third series of the game. It’s almost like being down huge early in the game changes the style of play since Winston is forced to try to keep pace with what has literally been the worst defense in football since he’s got into the NFL (along with playing the most difficult schedule in football since Winston got here).

    Give Winston a decent defense (doesn’t even have to be good, just decent) and he isn’t forced to throw it downfield to try to make up for a historically bad defense and the turnovers aren’t an issue. It’s almost like people that have watched football before have said this all along.

  4. stpetebucsfan Says:

    I thought officiating was weak today. I thought Barber had broken the plane…judgement call I guess. But that was a HUGE play…not only the seven points which would have been critical but the lucky Panthers got the ball in the end zone also picking up another 20 yards of field position. Between that call and the break of barely stepping on the line negating a great downed punt…we didn’t catch a lot of breaks.

    But to call a neutral zone violation of inches at the end of the game when the encroachment had NO effect on what should have been the final play is really…really weak.

  5. Rod Munch Says:

    Congrats to Winston today for being the Bucs all-time TD passing leader!

  6. El_Buc941 Says:

    I think our new kicker has big more of a difference maker than anyone thinks. AND JUST LIKE THAT WE ARE ONE GAME OUT OF THE WILD CARD WITH A TIE BREAKER VS THE EAGLES AND WE PLAY DALLAS IN 2 WEEKS!IM TELLING YOU BUC BROTHERS THAT DALLAS GAME COULD BE THE ONE TO DECIDE THE #6 SEED!!!

  7. Dapostman Says:

    Winston can not save the Bucs by himself just like Rodgers isn’t saving the Packers and Ryan isn’t saving the Falcons. All Winston has to do is his job. When he tries to save these guys is when the mistakes come. The other Bucs have also have to do their jobs. Today they did. Keep it going Jameis Winston and you will have a long career and get PAID!

  8. stpetebucsfan Says:

    Geez Rod it’s not like JW’s turnovers this year didn’t plant us deep in the hole at times as well eh. Why did Fitz have to overcome an 18 point deficit against the Bengals…bad D or pick sixes and horrid field position after JW hit as many Bengals as he did Bucs.

    There are two groups on this blog who both impress me as full of crap. Those who wish to canonize JW and call him the greatest QB evah…even better than Steve Young, and those who wish to run him out of town on a rail. Both resort to blatant hyperbole to make their arguments.

    I gave JW an A- last week for his game..this week…two balls were bad decisions…but they didn’t cost us and he played well for most of the rest of the contest. B+ or A- again this week.

    Again IMHO if JW can simply play like he has the past two weeks and the DL keeps playing like they’ve been playing we’re going to be a team that nobody wants to play at the end of the season.

  9. Zwak Says:

    I still say he’s wearing contacts and the visor is to protect them. Whatever it is he’s definitely playing better let’s just hope this is permanent!

  10. Alaskan Abdominal Snowman Says:

    I’m not even gonna hope for playoffs until we get through the Aints. If we beat them again, now we’re talking.

  11. JimmyJack Says:

    The only thing Winston has to do is win and the fanbase will love him. Just keep it up baby!!

    I wanted 4-2 when you got off the bench now I wanna be greedy and ask for 5-1!!!

  12. Rod Munch Says:

    JimmyJack – Winston would be 5-1 in his last 6 if he had a kicker in Atlanta.

  13. AKickInTheBucNuts Says:

    Whatever they did, KEEP DOING IT!

  14. Chris b Says:

    This has nothin to do with the article but I still think we need to clean house There’s no point in messin up another draft pick when we’re out of it. If cam didn’t have a hurt shoulder they would’ve won anyway I’m sick of this incompetent staff and this idiot gm

  15. JimmyJack Says:

    Another division game at home. Good teams win these games.

    It’s time to start expecting more wins.

  16. Bird Says:

    Saw it live

    That is good Jameis x 2 games And yes the visor is hide and go seek – you can’t see my eyes

    Saints game is on.
    Sucks free tickets for bucs and it was barely 50%

  17. JimmyJack Says:

    Rod you play the “if” and “should of” game.

    It’s of little interest to me.

  18. dmatt Says:

    I’d take a sack over a turnover any day. The defense played Buc ball but I gotta say…please Get someone to replace Ryan Smith n Isaiah Johnson, they continue to miss Simple easy tackles. Jameis is playing better ball because he didn’t like b n benched for repeated turnovers. He’s playing smart now…just what we drafted him for. This De’ Vante Harris is a playmaker. He’s aggressive n a ball hawk. He should start for the remaining of the season. Let’s be done with DJax n put BoBo in there, he’s got some wheels on him. Finally, it’s time to call it a day with Koetter even if emery win out. He is pitiful with decision making n has no heart to throw the kitchen sink at opponents. He almost cost us a lost with his passive roll over n play dead offense vs get get creative with a trick play as the panthers repeatedly played the run within our last three possessions of the game. He had no clue of how to mail the coffin.

  19. Jonathan Lipnicki Says:

    Good job, Winston….looking solid Santos…

  20. Bird Says:

    Terrible fans.

    Brad Johnson “the bull “ got no love at the game
    He can barely walk for all the hits he took

  21. buccfan305 Says:

    Hey Joe…lay off the color rush jerseys….when I saw them today I knew we would win……LOOK GOOD FEEL GOOD PLAY GOOD!!!!

    GO BUCS!!!

  22. JimmyJack Says:

    Dmatt good points.

    The one play all that goes overlooked was the bubble screen that Hump botched.

    It was the perfect playcall against that defense and that drop was critical. We are not mentally tough in clutch moments but JPP bailed us out.

    What was wrong with Brate today? Awful awful performance.

    And yes, Harris looked very good.

  23. Rod Munch Says:

    JimmyJack – Actually “should have” makes a big difference when you’re evaluating players, unless you think you just read the stat sheet and that tells you everything you need to know. In any case he’s 4-2 in his last 6 while YOUR boy Fitz, who you said should be starting, is 1-5.

    So yeah, we “should have” started Winston instead of Fitz against DC and NY, and if we did we might be in the middle of the playoff talk right now.

  24. Alaskan Abdominal Snowman Says:

    Yo let’s celebrate this win TOGETHER!!!! We all just want to win and we happen to be…wait for it…WINNING!!
    Gooo BUCS!!

  25. JimmyJack Says:

    Rod Much. You are right and “should of” has it’s time and place.

    But when you are saying that we should have won a game that just makes you sound dumb.

  26. Alvin Scissors Harper Says:

    I’m not gonna jump on the Jay Miss bandwagon after two turnover free games, but it’s a definite start! Good job today Jay Miss.

  27. Alaskan Abdominal Snowman Says:

    Oh and color rush jerseys > regular atrocities, hands down.

  28. Rod Munch Says:

    buccfan305 – I actually like the color rush jerseys as well, although it’s more about how much I hate the regular jerseys and I’m just thankful they’re not wearing them.

    Next year the Bucs can finally change these God awful jerseys and I hope they do so. Bring back the orange and Bucco Bruce already. I know the team had to kill the old stuff to break the Doug Williams curse, but that is done, now it’s time to back to the real Buc look for a new SB run.

  29. JimmyJack Says:

    And your wrong because Winston was awful in that first half and helped us get blown out. Winston earned that loss with a garbage half of football.

  30. Alaskan Abdominal Snowman Says:

    Bucs need to go black or Dark Gray with red letters. Normal non alarm clock looking letters.

  31. TheBucsAnthem Says:

    but Brad Johnson issues didn’t all steam from his short time in Tampa……….you can thank mostly the vikings for all that…….

  32. JimmyJack Says:

    And Rod I never said Fitz should be starting. This is at least ten times now that I have caught you spreading lies. Your pretty bad at commenting.

  33. Alaskan Abdominal Snowman Says:

    49ers are so bad, it sure would be nice if they won

  34. Not there yet Says:

    I’m a Winston supporter but it sure sounds like your blaming the kickers for all the horrible decisions made in the red zone. No one in the world would dare suggest such a thing as an excuse. Lol whatever that’s just nonsense and you probably knew it when you wrote it.

    Aguayo the most accurate kicker in college history and Winston’s college teammate was drafted and your saying Winston didn’t trust him so made stupid decisions? Now that he’s having consecutive good games don’t ruin by saying he’s making better decisions with the football because of the new kicker

  35. Rod Munch Says:

    JimmyJack – I was literally responding to you saying you want to see him go 5-1, and pointing out with a good kicker he literally would have just gone 5-1.

    Pointing out when a kicker cost you a game, and that is what happened in Atlanta, that is fair to game. Just like pointing out how the refs blew the offensive PI call in 2010 cost the Bucs a playoff run – the Bucs should have won that game against Detroit – and the NFL came out and said the same thing when they said the ref blew the call. That “should have” play was a domino that lead to Morris getting fired, Schiano getting hired, Schiano forcing Freeman to a life of drugs, and years of losing after seeing a potential franchise QB flame out.

    BUT even worse than that it lead to the Packers getting into the playoffs, who stole the Bucs spot, and going on a run that resulted in them winning the SB and YEARS of terrible Aaron Rodgers double check commercials. None of that “should have” happened since the Bucs “should have” been in the playoffs and history is dramatically different.

    So “should have” is a legit scenario to discuss – in particular on a fan site like this.

  36. firethecannons Says:

    Impressed with Jameis Winston’s ball security today, he took some sacks and I did not see any ball getting tossed up for grabs while going down. Many times he took the sack or ran the ball–dude is extremely evasive–looks funny but he can get skinny when needed. Jameis needs to keep it going. I was hoping they would bench Cam newton after 5 int–yeah 5–Ryan Smith dropped one.

  37. ATrain Says:

    Wonder when ATrain will get back on the list for my posts to come up right away

    Prob when I stop talking bad about the GreattMcCoy

  38. JimmyJack Says:

    Rod whatever your argument is goes nowhere when you inculde 1 single game from last year(only God knows why) in your hypothetical record.

    I also have no idea why you change losses to wins but we will just have to disagrre.

    Also stop spreading lies.

  39. JimmyJack Says:

    In either case. Let’s just be happy that Winston earned a win today and let’s see him get us more before the season is over.

  40. Rod Munch Says:

    JimmyJack – Oh jeez, I was just having some fun pointing out once again how much I hate those Aaron Rodgers commercials and how they should have never been, how if the Bucs aren’t screwed by the refs then Rodgers isn’t in the playoffs and doesn’t have a chance to win a SB, and we’re not subjected to years of torturous commercials.

    It was literally all just a setup to point out how much I hate those commercials.

    I thought it was pretty obvious.

  41. Rod Munch Says:

    BTW you can play the “should have” over and over and over again. The Bucs should have won the NFC Championship game against the Rams when the refs once again screwed over the Bucs on the Bert Emanuel catch. He caught the ball, the refs made a complete BS call, then the NFL has spent the entire time since then trying to figure out what a catch is – and it all goes back to that blown call that cost the Bucs a SB ring since there was no way they were losing to the Titans.

    The Bucs history is full of “should have” games – and those are fun to talk about on a Bucs fan/news site. Otherwise it’s all just people saying the same 4 things over and over again.

  42. JimmyJack Says:

    Sorry Rod I didn’t read the rest of your post. I was too triggered to think straight.

  43. Dreambig Says:

    Bucs played a good game today. I could complain about Koetter hand cuffing the offense with horrible first down play calling (Seemed like it was Koetter play calling) but why bother? A win is a win so I’ll take it! The uniforms however are ungodly ugly.

  44. Kobe Faker Says:

    “Jameis doesnt have a pass catching runningback as an outlet. Charles Sims was that person last 3 years for JW.

    All the top offenses have runninbacks that can catch and make explosive plays for their QB

    JW has the worst offensive line, runningbacks that cant catch and an Klueless HC that doesnt playcall them

    It is absolutely amazing how JW escapes constant pressure and still throws darts”

    “No Homo”

    Kobe Faker

  45. Kobe Faker Says:

    “Jameis doesnt have a pass catching runningback as an outlet. Charles Sims was that person last 3 years for JW.

    All the top offenses have runninbacks that can catch and make explosive plays for their QB

    JW has the worst offensive line, runningbacks that cant catch and an Klueless HC that doesnt playcall them…

    AND THIS IS THE MAJOR REASON OF THE TOTAL OF INTERCEPIONS, because Gump didnt give JW an outlet pass catching runningback

    It is absolutely amazing how JW escapes constant pressure and still throws darts”

    Kobe Faker

  46. Rod Munch Says:

    Barber getting the same 2.8 ypc that Doug was getting, yet Doug is getting over 4.5 ypc in Oakland. Maybe that completely 100% predictable first down run up the gut isn’t working. It really is the worst thing on offense about Dirk – it’s predictable and almost never works and always puts you like 2nd and 8 on every drive. Yes the Bucs end up moving the ball and getting first downs, but I really do wonder how much better the offense and running game would do if they just mixed it up a little.

  47. Dom is gone ...Licht Says:

    Makes you wonder where we would be if Dork or Licht had of fires Smitty in the off season. Defense has played much better since the change at DC!

  48. WalkdaPlank Says:

    See what happens when Jameis doesn’t turn the ball over? Of course Rod Munch thinks interceptions are a good thing because Brett Favre threw them.

    I’m starting to like this turnover free Winston but he’s still America’s Turnover Machine until he proves himself. He had a good game and helped the Bucs get a win so for the second straight week I will withhold my Jameis “hating”.

  49. Rod Munch Says:

    JimmyJack – Fair enough, I rarely read your comments past the first few words either. LOL!

  50. martinii Says:

    Buc’s have lost 4 games by 3 pts this year. I think a dependable kicker could have made our season look a lot different at this point.

  51. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    The bottom line for this team is winning the turnover battle…….then we win….

    Ray Charles & Stevie Wonder could see that…..

    We are getting some pressure from the line…..defending passes…..but still missing too many tackles….we miss Kwon but the D is playing much better with a bunch of UDFA’s & rookies…..

    I don’t think we missed Djax….so we can easily kiss him goodbye and use the $10 mil.

    Our Oline still can’t run block…..I don’t know what it is but every time we hand the ball off to Rojo there are 2 or 3 defenders in our backfield as he receives the handoff…….Ray Charles & Stevie Wonder could also see that.

  52. JimmyJack Says:

    Jamies played a good game today despite the offense around him choking all game long……our our 1st TD he had to score twice because Brate dropped a gimme(again).

    Barber coughed up 7 points. Hump had a couple of really bad drops.

    Mike Evans did more to hurt the team then help us and the Oline missed many blocks and had a ton of stupid pentaltys.

    Winston overcame a lot today!!!

    GO BUCS!!!

  53. Rod Munch Says:

    WalkdaPlank – Hey stupid, see what happens when Winston isn’t down 21 points and isn’t forced to throw the ball deep over and over again to keep up with a nonexistent defense? Do me a favor and take yourself and your fake news agenda to the top of Regions building in downtown, then walk the plank. You won’t be missed you boring d-bag.

    God bless.

  54. WalkdaPlank Says:

    Rod Munch

    Whoa man that’s a lot of hate LOL.

    It’s laughable that you call anyone stupid when you literally, LITERALLY, blamed Winston’s four INT game on the wind. THE. WIND.

  55. DBS Says:

    And see what happens when Jameis helps put points on the board in the first half? Not help with picks and fumbles that lead to them being down by 3 scores?
    A nother good game by him and the team. Congrats to All.

  56. JimmyJack Says:

    Those 1st 2 runs to ROJO were just awful. The first one was obvisous that Kuechly was keying in on RoJo…..He was basically outcoching our coach’s…….Then we run to RoJo again on the next 1st down and of course Kuechly outfoxes our coach’s again. Our coaching shows how unpreped they are by not accounting for Kuechly….You can’t let that happen twice. Very disgraceful.

  57. JimmyJack Says:

    LOL…..Blame it on the wind……That sounds like a real Buc fan right there.

  58. JimmyJack Says:

    BTW……..Hump better get out on to the field on the next windy day and practice Fielding punts in it. Don’t care when the next scheduled off day is. We need to have the advantage fields punts in all this gusts. Especially with a dome team coming.

  59. WalkdaPlank Says:

    JimmyJack

    There are archives for a reason. If you backtrack to the Cincy game you will see Rod here blame Winston’s poor decision making on the wind. The same wind Fitzpatrick threw into when he sliced up the same Cincinnati defense that got Jameis benched.

    Then goes and has the gall to call other people stupid and instigate self harm LOL

    Stay classy bud and go Bucs

  60. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    @JimmyJack

    You are correct sir, Jameis overcame many mistakes from his offense today….holding penalties, offensive PI…….drops and that fumble on the goal line cost us 7 points……he tucked the ball and ran with some authority (lumbering in the style of Big Ben)…..but got the job done.

    Ray Charles & Stevie Wonder along with the Blind Boys of Alabama & Helen Keller could all see it…..If someone didn’t, they are simply suffering from JDS….
    “Jameis Derangement Syndrome”

  61. Alaskan Abdominal Snowman Says:

    Yeah Rojo isn’t getting a fair shake out there at all. We have to have one of the worst lines when it comes to yards before contact. I watch other teams and their backs get 3 or 4 yards consistently without being touched yet.

  62. JimmyJack Says:

    Very tough to win with the offensive line we saw today.

    Thankfully btue Dline is coming along.

  63. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    It seems like teams are keying the run on 1st down…..and we don’t disappoint. Jim Brown couldn’t run on those plays…..

  64. Wesley Says:

    Those jerseys were as disgusting as the 7$ price for water at ray jay.

  65. Alaskan Abdominal Snowman Says:

    Yeah, Why was Benenoch playing over Cappa? Can it get worse?
    Donovan Smith has one of his worse games. He seems to play to his competition, plays better vs studs.
    In a prove it year, I think he has proven he deserves RT money.

  66. stpetebucsfan Says:

    I noticed on a couple of JW’s runs…especially one down near the goal line that when he got near contact he put BOTH arms over the ball protecting like a fullback. MAJOR IMPROVEMENT.

  67. JimmyJack Says:

    Seems like Winston is looking to run more then he has before.

    I’m not sure why he was more reluctant to run before but it seems obvisous that it’s been missing from his game.

    If he continues to look to run more it should help him immensly in the turnover Dept.

  68. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    Give Jameis:

    A running game.
    A halfway decent defense
    A decent kicker

    And he will win games………(well, two our of three wasn’t bad today)

  69. Alaskan Abdominal Snowman Says:

    Jimmy I think that is part of his new found emphasis on being decisive. Instead of waiting for something that might not develop, he tucks the ball and rolls out.
    This is reminiscent of his rookie season and one of the things Fitz was doing very well the first two games.

  70. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    On subject…

    Has anyone noticed that Cairo’s kicks are “no-doubters”……so far, so good….I mean, he is right down the middle with some authority……he hasn’t been tested on a long FG yet……but so far, so good.

  71. JimmyJack Says:

    Yes Santos looks like a solid kicker. Not even worried about it anymore. One less way to lose a game.

  72. Alaskan Abdominal Snowman Says:

    “One less way to lose a game”
    That’s funny and it reminds me…
    Back when I was young, I used to watch with my parents. We always used to say the Bucs are Kings of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

  73. Jeagan1999 Says:

    I love the fact that Jameis took the sacks and ran out of bounds, instead of making poor decisions and throwing into double or triple coverage! If he keeps this up, maybe he has learned a lesson! And if he has, Koetter deserves a lot of credit for teaching him that even a #1 overall draft pick has to play smart and not turn the ball over! Maybe benching Jameis was the best thing that has happened to him this season?

    The last few games of the year will tell whether this is a new Jameis, or just an aboration.

  74. JimmyJack Says:

    Alaskan……We sure tested that theory today. Fumbled away 7 points, dropped another 7, we had a pentalty before halftime that tryed to keep us out of the endzone……….Good win but still a lot of issues on this team.

    I’ll look to see they hard hard this week and play even better against a very tough Saints team.

  75. JimmyJack Says:

    I think if anybody would objectively evaluate Winston they would definitely say that his last two games have been some of his most effective as a pro QB.

    It’s only 2 games but each game he keeps performing like this make his “ATM-style” games less and less relevant.

  76. Bucsfan1988 Says:

    Jimmy-Jack, That so-called Fumble by Barber at the goal line was a TOUCHDOWN!!!

    I have a couple of pics that proves it.

    The comment that the refs said that the call was CONFIRMED of a fumble makes them look even more like total jackass clowns. I don’t know who the idiots were that reviewed that play but that was pathetic…

  77. buccfan305 Says:

    @Bucsfan1988

    I totally agree with you bro….we got Robbed without a gun on that play!!!

  78. SOEbuc Says:

    Those red uni’s look a lot better than the whites. And I was loving em today.

  79. SOEbuc Says:

    I know he hasn’t gone very deep yet, but every Santos kick I’ve seen has been right up the middle.

  80. Rod Munch Says:

    WalkdaPlank – There was no hate, I said God bless at the end to end it on an up not.

    Anywho dummy what I said was Winston had a bad road game on a windy day, that’s not why you bench your franchise QB. Now do me a favor and go drink some drano, you’re too stupid to live.

    God bless.

  81. Bucsfan1988 Says:

    Buccfan305, I have a sweet pic of that play I’d love to post here.
    I wish Joe would let us post pics of plays for debate…

  82. WalkdaPlank Says:

    Rod Munch

    Solid advice, I’ll be sure to do that though I hear Tide Pods are the way to go these days.

    Meanwhile you and ndog will probably be trying to set up a 3 way with your messiah America’s Turniver Machine, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston. But be careful to not take an Uber to his place and be sure to bring the crab legs!

  83. BucEmUp Says:

    kicker and also that he can live to play another down possibly because he trusts his defense more as well?

    Jamie’s is going to be a starting qb for a long time in this league. I just hope it’s not for another team

  84. mesh Says:

    Honestly, I have always believed that Jameis felt as though if he didn’t pull off miracles they weren’t going to win and that’s what formed the habit of pushing the ball into bad situations; not only the kicking game but the defense allowing 30 odd points a game.

    That’s what Koetter was telling him all along. It just took awhile for him to figure it out. He had the same problem at FSU.

  85. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    I think Winston deserves an A for this week. B for last week. Level of competition has to play a role.

    49ers are tanking.

    Panthers were on a 3 game losing streak…but we have always struggled against them.

  86. Notabucsfan Says:

    Have you guys cut him yet? Please do. He deserves much better than to play for the hapless, hopeless yuks. I enjoyed the 30k “fans” booing every time he was sacked. Put him on a real nfl team and he will light the league up. And as usual yuks fans will be shocked. But but but he sucked when he was here. Yeah, he was playing for a joke of a franchise. You will see how god he is when he lands on a real team. Please bucs do the typical bucs thing. CUT HIM.