In his third season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jameis Winston needs to prove that he truly belongs among the NFL’s eite.
What I am about to say may sound drastic. However, there is an element of truth to it. The success of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 2017 season relies on the arm of Jameis Winston.
Now some of you may say “Well duh, he was a top-5 draft pick. Of course he is going to be put in a situation where he is relied upon heavily.” If that is your view, I understand it. There is no doubt that Winston is going to be a successful player in this league. However, if he wants to make the leap from a great player to superstar in Year 3, he is going to have to work on a couple of things.
First, he needs to cut back on the interceptions. He was second in the league in interceptions last year with 18 (second only to San Diego’s Philip Rivers with 21). That was three more than in 2015, his rookie year. That year he ranked No. 5 in the league in interceptions.
For one, Winston has a cannon arm. We all know this — it’s part of what made him such a coveted prospect out of Florida State. However, sometimes, that can work against you. I’ll cite Matthew Stafford of the Detroit Lions as another example. He has a cannon arm, but sometimes struggles to make the tight-window type of throws. That is the problem that Winston runs into at times.
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Second, Winston needs to focus on protecting the ball better. Last season, he ranked third in the league in fumbles with 10, tying him with Sam Bradford of the Minnesota Vikings. With that in mind, this was not entirely his fault. The Buccaneers allowed 35 sacks in 2016, tying them with Green Bay and the New York Jets. That is not an insanely high number, but Tampa Bay should look to lower that figure a bit.
What can the signal-caller do to help prevent that problem? Without getting into too much strategy, one very simple thing he can do is be cognizant of the line play. Making quicker reads or just throwing the ball away could help immensely. The caveat with quicker reads is a higher chance of interceptions, but something as simple as a screen play could alleviate defensive pressure while getting the ball out of his hands.
Lastly, he is going to have to spread the ball around. DeSean Jackson, Vincent Jackson, Mike Evans Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard are just some of the weapons at his disposal. To put it simply, there are many places he can throw the football. This is not a bad problem necessarily. In fact, many people, including myself, would consider this a very welcome problem.
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“It’s a great problem to have,” Winston told Sports Illustrated on Monday. “I don’t discriminate. I throw to the open guy. God blessed me with those weapons so we have to use them.”
He is surely bound to use them in his third NFL season, perhaps his most crucial campaign to date.