Bucs’ Home Crowd Roars For Winston

April 10th, 2015
jameis 0324

Winston fever struck last night

Last night, Bucs general manager Jason Licht and coach Lovie Smith, along with some assistants, held court at the Den of Depression in sort of a meet-and-greet with season ticket holders, specifically club seat buyers.

In other words, the guys who have plenty of expendable cash.

One guy who got behind the curtains for the mingling and Q&A session was Woody Cummings of The Tampa Tribune. When viewing a video showing Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, the throng of fans roared, Cummings noted, as if they were encouraging Licht to do the right thing and draft the former Heisman Trophy winner and national champion.

Winston’s mere appearance in the brief video clip that kicked off the team-sponsored Front Office Forum in the East Club of Raymond James Stadium sparked a raucous round of applause, the first and perhaps loudest of the evening.

Licht, per Cummings, admitted it is a tough choice between Winston and Mariota, but then added fuel for the Woody Hayes crowd when he stated “if” the Bucs draft a quarterback at No. 1.

If the Bucs listen to their ticket-buying public, the answer appears clear: Winston, baby.

60 Responses to “Bucs’ Home Crowd Roars For Winston”

  1. Me Says:

    If it is in fact going to be Winston , why aren’t the Bucs negotiating a contract at this time ?

  2. Cruz Says:

    Did they even show video of marriota?

  3. louden Says:

    Guess they didn´t watch game-breakdown-films
    and Joe, well, you could assume he is pro-Winston

  4. Josh P. Says:

    how do we know they aren’t negotiating a contract?

    I know this is petty but people, Cruz you aren’t the only one.

    Its MARIOTA… 1 r 1 t.

  5. Jim Says:

    How did the last Buc QB to wear #5 work out? picks, picks ,picks!!

  6. Dan Says:

    Propaganda machine. Feed the propaganda machine Joes. This is getting pathetic.

  7. Brawndo, The Thirst Mutilator Says:

    I wonder if they’ll let a homeless man tell them who to draft like good ol Jimmy Haslam

  8. I'm a great person Says:

    So. .. The boo birds came out when they showed a Mariota video clip? Can we get the thoughts from a fan or two who were actually there, not named Joe? That would be nice. Just be honest for all of us. If not a chirp for a Mariota video and roars for Winston than I could be less nervous if Winston is the pick.

  9. Mariota Joe Says:

    And to think just a couple of days ago, JBF scolded me in denial that he doesn’t have unmitigated blind man-love for Winston. “Winston baby”??? My stomach is turning.

  10. Harry Says:

    “if” the Bucs draft a quarterback at No. 1

    And “IF” they don’t, Harry will be so done with them. And the light you see glowing at a distance will be OBP burning to the ground!

  11. Cruz Says:

    Josh p for the record i am team winston.. Would be happy with either though. Was just curious if they were promoting both qbs or just jw.

  12. JFat Says:

    @Harry – I’m pretty much right there with you. I won’t be done with the team but I’ll be put off for sure.

    They can’t pass on both QB’s at this point, if they do they might as well go door to door and kick every season ticket holder square in the balls/lady parts.

  13. bucs4lyfe Says:

    Mariota LOL….thanks joe atleast your reporting actual events and not rumor or heresay like what gets the mariota crowd going…..the ticket holders have spoken and knowing the way the bucs do business they will listen

  14. Brawndo, The Thirst Mutilator Says:

    Jameis sure looks lean and fit in that pic with the Dog!!

  15. bucs4lyfe Says:

    lol yes I just read the article

    The appearance of Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota in the same video a moment after Winston appeared sparked some mild applause from the crowd, but it didn’t compare to the response that was generated by Winston’s on-screen image.

  16. JoeJoes Fungi Nails Says:

    Brawndo, The Thirst Mutilator Says:
    April 10th, 2015 at 8:02 am
    Jameis sure looks lean and fit in that pic with the Dog!!

    I was thinking the same thing…..in comparison 😉

  17. bucrightoff Says:

    Throng of fans = 12 people?

  18. JoeJoes Fungi Nails Says:

    certainly appears Jameis will be the pick……I’ll play devils advocate until the name is called….

  19. Josh P. Says:

    Cruz Says:

    i was referring to the way you spelled his name…

    The first part of my comment was directed at @ME in regards to the negotiating.

  20. Josh P. Says:

    Come on Joe…. no comments on the Big Dawg post…really.

  21. ATrain Says:

    WINSTON it is… Now pray he doesn’t get a pocket full of money , a IM the great one complex and go wild…

    The worst thing for this team will be if he goes off the deep end and does something stupid..That may end this team…

  22. LUVMYBUCS Says:

    Rick Stroud: (9 minutes ago)
    • Gators DE/OLB Dante Fowler is visiting the #Bucs today.

  23. Supersam Says:

    They should’ve showed the video of him robbing publix.

  24. jimmy53 Says:

    Less informed fans keep asking to trade down for more picks without bothering to see if we could get equal value with those picks. WHICH WE CANT.

    We need Oline, Dline, and a QB. the handful of mediocre players we would get do not equal the one superstar QB we can get.

  25. ATrain Says:

    Jimmy the Chargers want to move up and trade Rivers… Get Rivers and a their 1st round and 2nd round picks…

  26. DallasBuc Says:

    Winston & BD article following this one: “Comments have been disabled to avoid mass quantities of evil hate”
    Gotta protect the poor, misunderstood geriatric that otherwise cannot protect himself from all the “evil hate”.
    Critisism leveled at people we like or have business relationships with must be dismissed as “evil hate” to avoid having to defend it…”as far as that’s concerned”!

  27. rayjay1122 Says:

    Wow. Some of you are really amazing to me. I am leaning toward Winston but I began more for Mariota. I have never slammed either prospect though. Winston and Mariota both have star and bust potential. Only time will tell. I just really hope we take one of the two. The most negative thing I have ever said about Mariota is that if he were our QB, his talk show would be boring because he is very monotone. I guess the majority of people get a hard on by being full of hate. Sad!!! Why can’t Winston and Mariota supporters just pull for their guy and quit slamming the other and their supporters. Your hateful comments are not going to affect who the Bucs pick and show yourselves to be pretty immature. I find it especially funny how people who slam Winston for being immature do so in such an immature manner. Hypocrites.

  28. tval Says:

    Dont be confused, mariota lovers, its winston or trade down, which could theoretically land marcus.. because all signs point to a brady quinn-like drop, for mariota on draft day..you dont take someone #1 whose stock has plummeted since the season ended when people broke down film instead of watched highlights. Why dont you genius gms just trade back into the top 10, after the ridiculous reach for mariota, so you can land gregory?..marcus may fit well with the druggie, all his teammates in college were stoners..lol!!..i can hear you cry babies already,” well he just couldnt stay healthy, or he cldve eventually held jameis’s jock strap.”..the alex- geno project is marcus mariota. . And you guys who claim marcus is some outstanding prospect probably said the same for geno and alex, until reality strikes, and then theyre horrible, your words…geno, alex, colin, tannehill, cam mariota isnt as good as any of these guys. Not as good in pocket as tannehill, alex, or geno..not nearly as strong and physical, or the arm (which can help with accuraçy) as cam nor colin. Marcus is seriously a 2nd 3rd rd project, at best..but go ahead and use #1 pick on someone who wouldnt beat out glennon, guaranteed..im just dumping polynesian sauce in your wounds now..:)

  29. bucrightoff Says:

    tval Says:
    April 10th, 2015 at 9:03 am
    Dont be confused, mariota lovers, its winston or trade down, which could theoretically land marcus.. because all signs point to a brady quinn-like drop, for mariota on draft day..you dont take someone #1 whose stock has plummeted since the season ended when people broke down film instead of watched highlights.
    __________________________________________________________

    Exactly. I mean Aaron Rodgers did exactly that and…oh he’s the best QB in the league by far? Hmmm…..

  30. WS99 Says:

    Hehe 🙂

  31. Clintro Says:

    bucrightoff Says:
    __________________________________________________________

    Exactly. I mean Aaron Rodgers did exactly that and…oh he’s the best QB in the league by far? Hmmm…..

    __________________________________________________

    So did 100s of other QBs that are out of the league now… That is like saying we should be able to find a Tom Brady in the 6th round..

  32. Pickgrin Says:

    LOL at Joe closing comments for the article showing Winston hanging with big poodle. Why are you protecting him from negative comments? Are his pompous and aggressive, belittling responses towards anyone who happens to disagree with him the reason people would want to throw “mass quantities of evil hate” at this so called “dean of Tampa Bay sports radio”?

    I just find it interesting that dislikers are allowed to say practically any negative thing they want on JBF about Winston or Lovie – yet Joe feels the need to protect SD against backlash resulting from the way he treats callers who have the Gall to complain about his rude and overbearing responses whenever someone questions his oftentimes ridiculous takes.

  33. LUVMYBUCS Says:

    Possible (2015) Line Up

    (Quarterbacks)

    • Philip Rivers
    • Mike Glennon
    • Bryce Petty

  34. JoeLikeToBloeBigBlackMenToe Says:

    JW is the franchises only hope at this point.We drafted suck muscle Freeboy and look how much the hope of one single player raised the stakes for this floundering team..

    I bet the Glaziers firmly put their foot on lovie dovies head on this one…

    Bet jw4life!

  35. BuccaneerBonzai Says:

    You know…it would almost be worth taking Mariota, just to see the meltdown of most Bucs fans…personally, I’m pretty certain he’ll be the pick, but I don’t agree with it.

    If he is, he’ll have to earn my respect.

  36. BuccaneerBonzai Says:

    @tval

    Here’s something to consider…it doesn’t matter where Mariota is taken. Or Winston.

    What matters is what he does in the NFL after he is drafted. I would wager Kurt Warner, Russell Wilson and Tom Brady would have been #1 picks if people had known how they’d work out.

    I believe Tim Tebo and Johnny Football have warped people’s opinion of mobile QBs, and they will be on the rise because of rule changes. Why? Because mobile QBs are more exciting. That’s why Michael Vick was so popular in his prime.

    I mean, if you think about it, outside of Andrew Luck, what pure pocket passers have had recent success that entered the league since the rule changes?

    None?

  37. StPeteBucsFan Says:

    @Me

    If it is in fact going to be Winston , why aren’t the Bucs negotiating a contract at this time ?

    How do you know they aren’t? Seriously. If Licht has a good relationship with Fameis” agent they could very well be working behind the scenes as I type.

    Part of those negotiations would involve secrecy! If Fameis or the agent broke that veil of confidence before the Bucs were ready they would be scrwing themselves and so they would be motivated to keep the talks as secret as the Bucs wish.

  38. LUVMYBUCS Says:

    Sure as an organization we don’t have Mike McCarthy, Tom Clements, Tom Rossley, Joe Philbin, and Jeff Jagodzinski to Coach Up a young unproven-yet raw quarterback like Aaron Rodgers (Circa 2005).

    Just let Petty sit behind Rivers for a few years- In the mean time Rivers could help turn organization into a perennial playoff contender.

  39. Joe Says:

    If it is in fact going to be Winston , why aren’t the Bucs negotiating a contract at this time ?

    Joe wrote about this last week. It’s a dumb move. For any team with the top pick, not just the Bucs. There is no advantage in doing so.

  40. tval Says:

    @ buc bonzai, in that regard i totally agree, sir. I was actually selfishly hopeful of browns for jameis to put he & lebron in my home state. But as a fan of the kid i truly think he deserved last years #1, and this years, all things considered..i believe hes w once in a generation that will inevitably be special..mariota has potential to be special, huge difference in my book..but i respect the hell out of marcus. Hes one of the greatest college qbs ever, and never won a title. Perhaps top 10 in my book? Thats enormous praise from me..that being said, now its a new slate, and nothing else matters. I know jameis has all the tangible and intangible tools to excel at the highest level from what ive watched closely. After having mariota being lauded as the #1, after rose bowl, i strongly disagreed and everyone was destroying me (not here obviously). The more people looked at that game they saw the real teams and players for what they were, instead of the most flukey blowout ever distorting someones analysis.

  41. Buccfan37 Says:

    Bad boy bad boy what cha gonna do, what cha gonna do when the Bucs come for you? Winton it is!

  42. Tiny Tim Says:

    Some of you are hard to explain. Who in their right mind believe that trading for a qb that is 34 years old that has never won crap who may have maybe 3 good years left is better than drafting a qb that is 21 with his whole career in front of him? Our team is far from complete so putting a 34 year old qb does not help us 5 years from now. Drafting a qb will (if they are as good as advertised) help us.

  43. tval Says:

    yes, that good..hed succeed with the garbage browns..be real, hoyer made 7 wins look ew
    asy in that tough division..what won the nfc south, again? :)..put it all on his shoulders, imho, hes literally built for it. What will be harder as opposed to what he went through in college, I ask anyone? Hed have josh gordon walking the straight line and free agents flocking like muslims to mecca..same will happen if tampa takes him..#1 new destination for young nfl free agents and vet stars. Consider that benefit

  44. WS99 Says:

    I see 87 kicking back with a coke and a smile. Do the words “told you so” ring a bell?

  45. Architek Says:

    Speculate all you want and fantasize but no one is trading for a old quarterback and no one loves in you all nerdy fantasy football worlds.

    The crowd will always be drawn to swagger and charisma – Winston is a rock star before even winning but Mariota can have the same status only after winning.

    No one fault he’s just a quiet personality.

  46. Architek Says:

    Joe Says:
    April 10th, 2015 at 9:53 am
    If it is in fact going to be Winston , why aren’t the Bucs negotiating a contract at this time ?

    Joe wrote about this last week. It’s a dumb move. For any team with the top pick, not just the Bucs. There is no advantage in doing so.
    ——-
    Exactly but trying to talk logical and business to these herd of nerds is like teaching a dog to talk!!!

    Who in their right mind would give away all negotiating chips they have and who would trade for a 35 year old qb and give away a potential franchise qb for the next 12+ years???

  47. Jacko101 Says:

    It was one loud family group that sat front and center that cheered for him. Most people just watched the video. It wasn’t most club members who cheered.

  48. tval Says:

    I cant take credit for this take, but always similarly said it showed how marcus couldnt establish rhythm with huge turnover advantage, when bucks dared him to throw over the middle (very telling, but i won $300 from jealous wolverine i gave 6 pts so its not monday morning qb’ing from me) and jameis just kept regaining momentum, time after time, fighting uphill battle, first down after first down, all over the field, every conceivable throw when his freshman phenoms finally struggled to keep pace altogether…thats why i question many folks so called expertise..i know i can come across as a smart alec, but im just an old qb from ohio qb family(of course jameis would fit my scheme more) HERE it is tho : Mariota accomplished something which was almost impossible in the NCG

    He quarterbacked a team which was up plus four in turn overs until he threw an interception with about a minute left in the game. Yet he quarterbacked Oregon to a 22 point loss.

    I am not sure many QBs could accomplish this,

    I do note that in the 2013 Fiesta Bowl Bryce Petty did almost the same thing. Petty led the high scoring Baylor Bears to a humiliating 10 point loss to UCF. In this game Baylor had won the turn over battle 3-1, yet the the game was over by mid 4th quarter. This is not quite as impressive as Mariota in the NCG. Of course Bryce Petty lead the Baylor Bears to a 20 point lead (41-21) in the 2014 Cotton Bowl over Michigan State. Then he lead the high scoring Baylor Bears to a 42-41 loss in the 4th quarter. And yes MSU had lost the turn over battle 2-1. Still not quite as impressive as Mariota.

    I am thinking both Mariota and Petty have “accomplished” things Jameis never could. They should go 1 and 2 in the draft.

  49. loggedontosay Says:

    Jim Says:
    April 10th, 2015 at 7:32 am
    How did the last Buc QB to wear #5 work out? picks, picks ,picks!!

    Take a minute and think about what you typed. If you cannot see how stupid it is, admit yourself…

  50. LUVMYBUCS Says:

    I’ll take an a proven commodity over unproven one

    Philip Rivers
    Born: December 8, 1981 in Decatur, AL (Age 33.123, YY.DDD)
    • 5-time Pro Bowler
    • QB win/loss record: 88-56-0
    64.7 || 36655 || *TD’s 252 || Int’s 122|| 7.8 ←Y/A

  51. WS99 Says:

    Rivers wants to go to tenn bc it’s his home. He’s not coming here.

  52. Strider #FamousJameis Says:

    Yeah my boy that works sales told me yeah we all excited about Winston around here

  53. tmaxcon Says:

    Trading for an over 30 qb and passing up on a more talented qb who is 12 years younger makes zero sense. Winston is the ONLY CHOICE

  54. LUVMYBUCS Says:

    *I’ll take a proven commodity over an unproven one

    @WS99

    If Diego trades him here-Do Rivers really have choice?.

    Besides he’ll be reunited with his BF Vincent Jackson-so I don’t think he’ll complain too much.

  55. LUVMYBUCS Says:

    @TMax

    You know I’ve got LUV for you my brotha-But Right -Wrong or Indifferent, I’m just speaking my opinion.

    A Possible (2015) Line Up of

    • Philip Rivers
    • Mike Glennon
    • Bryce Petty

    Would be real good look going forward.

  56. LUVMYBUCS Says:

    Would be a real good look going forward.

  57. Lord Cornelius Says:

    Well there goes that argument about season ticket holders leaving if Winston is selected.

  58. Tiny Tim Says:

    Rivers on this team is idiotic. Anyone who can’t see that needs help period. A team like Buffalo or Texans makes more since because those teams are a good qb away from competing for the next 2-3 years. The bucs need much more than a veteran qb. Thats why you draft one and build the team around him.

  59. Florida Hillbilly Says:

    #5

  60. Jerry Says:

    There’s a reason the Bucs have never had a true franchise QB, and if they draft famous Jameis the history will continue. the kid won’t be able to handle millions of $. Give me someone humble and committed like Brees, or Rodgers, or Ryan, or anybody other than that cocky sh** of a person that I can root for. I’ll be true as always but if they draft JW I’m the newest Jaguars fan.