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Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Grading Jameis Winston’s debut

By Robert Brewer

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Number one overall draft pick Jameis Winston made his preseason debut for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday night. Statistically speaking, it was a rather underwhelming performance as Winston completed just nine of 19 passes for 131 yards and one interception while playing the entire first half. I don’t think we should overindulge in Winston’s shaky outing, but there were some elements to his game that alarmed me moving forward.

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From my vantage point, Jameis Winston always appeared confident and in command of the situation at the college level. The same cannot be said for Winston’s debut against Minnesota because it looked as though the game was moving too fast for him. Winston’s passes were often underthrown, overthrown, or just flat out nowhere near a Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ receiver. In fact, Winston missed on his first three pass attempts by a wide margin before finally connecting with Vincent Jackson on a 3rd and 15 play.

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Winston’s accuracy issues were very apparent on an interception that occurred when an errant pass was a good five yards away from the intended target. It also appeared to me that because Winston was thinking too much rather than just reacting, he did not put his customary zip on each and every pass. It almost reminded me of a prize fighter who is so preoccupied with defense that he is afraid to let his hands fly and go on the offensive.

Winston eventually showcased his true arm strength during a scoring drive in a two minute situation, but it took far too long for a player of his talent level to get into that groove. On the positive side, we did see Winston’s competitive juices start to flow on an eight yard diving touchdown scramble. Winston will never be noted for his mobility like fellow rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota. However, this play proved that Winston appears to have the savvy to make something happen when the pocket breaks down.

May 8, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (3) works out for rookie mini camp at One Buc Place. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ coaching staff allowed Winston to play the majority of time with the first team offense. Therefore, the two botched snaps with Winston at quarterback is certainly cause for concern. It is hard to tell if Winston was at fault for these mishandled snaps, but these issues signal to me that the chemistry between he and Bucs’ starting center Evan Smith needs to improve.

For the majority of the first quarter, the Buccaneers’ offense was in poor field position inside their own 20. As a result, the Bucs’ play calling in these situations was very conservative. In Tampa Bay’s next preseason contest against Cincinnati, it will be interesting to see if Tampa Bay’s defense and special teams can hand their rookie signal caller better field position to start the game.

I will also be paying attention to the Bucs’ play calling strategy as the preseason moves along. Will offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter allow Winston to rip more deep balls earlier in the contest? If Winston is going to be successful, I think it is of the utmost importance that he takes more chances downfield. I understand that preseason football is played close to the vest, but things need to change based off what we saw in Winston’s debut.

Overall, I would give Winston a C for his first preseason game. He got into a bit of a groove as the game progressed, but certainly looked shaky and skittish as well. Perhaps some pre game jitters were partly to blame, after all, it was Jameis Winston’s NFL debut. Regardless, all eyes will be on the first year quarterback when he takes the field again on August 24th on ESPN.

Next: Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Expectations for Charles Sims

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