Jameis Winston Loss Was Felt

May 29th, 2015
Jameis Winston's impact is on all sides of the ball

Jaquies Smith weighs in

Thankfully, not every Buccaneer thinks about Jameis Winston, America’s Quarterback, the way Evan (Dietrich) Smith does.

In fact, the opposite is true, key starters are feeding off young Jameis.

Joe talked to the Bucs’ top pass rusher about this yesterday, defensive end Jacquies Smith.

In fact, Smith said the loss of Jameis on Thursday — he was in Los Angeles for the NFL rookie premiere — was evident on and off the field.

“You feel his competitive spirit and his energy. It’s a different energy, you know, when he’s in the locker room or around. You feel it missing [Thursday],” Smith said. “You know, I’ve had a couple of sit-down conversations with him and talked to him. He’s a great guy, and we’re looking forward to seeing him grow.”

Smith added that Winston’s skills are inspiring.

“I love his arm, man. He’s got a real lively arm. It gets overlooked I think,” Smith said. “And he’s bigger than I thought he was. Just the way he soaks up the material the coaches are throwing at him. That said, there’s not too much I can see yet. We’ll see that when [a pass rush] comes at him.”

Joe can’t emphasize enough the respect brewing at One Buc Palace for Jameis.

Hopefully, Jameis can keep grinding away, enhance his leadership, and not just be ready for Day 1, but raise the intensity and focus of those around him.

It’s a lot to ask of a rookie, but Jameis’ shoulders are big enough.

30 Responses to “Jameis Winston Loss Was Felt”

  1. Wausa Says:

    Great article and it’s not surprising

  2. CreamsicleBananaHammock Says:

    As of right now — and I stress the right now part of it because none of this matters once you start playing for real on Sundays

    But as of right now is there any doubt that the Bucs made the right decision on draft day? Jameis is raising the level of competition in the Bucs locker room and Marcus Mariota has yet to sign a contract.

  3. Luther Says:

    Offset language doesn’t mean anything to Jameis because he expects to be a Buccaneer for a long time. Mariota is protecting himself in case he is a bust. One knee injury and he’s a less than average QB like RG3.

  4. bucs4lyfe Says:

    “I love his arm, man. He’s got a real lively arm. It gets overlooked I think,” Smith said. “

    who was it that named glennon the cannon if Winston is supposed to be this bigtime down the field thrower there shouldn’t be much of a difference in arm strength between him and the cannon hahaha

  5. America's Bucs Fan Says:

    Nothing means anything until we all see him in a real NFL game. PR and Fluff are just PR and Fluff. The proof will be in the playing and the winning

  6. BuccaneerBonzai Says:

    I remember this time last year, we were being told how great Josh McCown was.

    Forgive me if I maintain a wait and see policy.

    But I can understand the difference between Dead Fish Mike Glennon and Big Tuna Jameis Winston.

  7. Buc1987 Says:

    The decision to draft Jameis will go down as the best thing that ever happened to this franchise outside of winning the SB.

    Last season stung. At times it was painful to watch. Worse than Raheem’s last days. I think and have thought for awhile now, it was done for a reason. That reason is Jameis Winston.

    Are you freaking kidding me? The Bucs have Winston now?

    This is going to freaking awesome.

    I understand why most fans won’t get their hopes up for the kid. He’s just a rookie and the O-line was terrrrible last season. I’m right there with everyone.

    Something tells me though. Jameis is going to prove us all wrong and that would be GREAT!

    That’s why I’m not going to worry about the “he’s just a rookie” label. I’m going into this season with positive thoughts. I think he’s going to tear up the NFC South and a few teams along the way. No reason to NOT be optimistic. We and I have been let down for how many seasons now? So if it I get letdown again. No biggie. He’s just a rookie. lol

  8. Buc1987 Says:

    Oh yah and it starts week 1.

    1-0 out of the gate with a big premiere from Tampa’s Quarterback.

  9. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    I am becoming increasingly confident that the more players & people who depend on Jameis to succeed….the better chance he has of behaving well.
    I recall Winston saying that he had his little brother & kids looking up to him and that motiveated him to do good.
    Now, he can add the many Buc players & fans to that list.

  10. Bucsfanman Says:

    I can appreciate your optimism 1987! What else do we have?!
    Like Bonzai, however, I will take a ‘wait and see’ approach. He’s doing and saying all the right things….in practice. Just prove it on gameday.

  11. WS99 Says:

    Winston has been extremely successful at every level, call me naive but I don’t expect that to change now that he’s in the NFL.

    Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil for Jameis is with me.

  12. LargoBuc Says:

    People play Jameis to be cocky. Okay. I think that Mariota kid is qay more cocky. I dont know either guy, but thats just the vibe I get from watching them. Mariota dosent say much, he just sits there with that smug look on his face. Could be wrong. But I noticed that Jameis was all over espn. Then when it became, almost public knowledge that he was coming to Tampa, espn shifted gears and all you saw was Mariota. Just my observation.

  13. Winston missed by his teammates » The Bay Cave Says:

    […] The Buccaneers were without Winston on Thursday as he attended the NFLPA’s Rookie Premiere event. His absence was felt as defensive end Jacquies Smith tells our good friends at JoeBucsFan.com that there was some energy missing from Thursday’s practice. […]

  14. jb Says:

    The Jameis Winston Experience…..

  15. Ray Rice Says:

    JDubb can stand at the bottom of a bottomless pit, and squeeze orange juice out of a lemon. He will be just fine.

  16. DallasBuc Says:

    I expect greatness from Winston right away. If the rest of team picks up their game we could be a good football team. I look forward to Winston throwing lots of touchdowns and making his teammates around home better…from day 1.

  17. lovinsomecrablegs Says:

    I think we will be more than competitive but actually challenge for division champs in this weak ass NFCS, jameis has a history of elevating his team mates, and from every buccaneer web site or blog the chatter is always in concurrence that not only the rookies are seeing him as their leader but the veterans are seeing something special, a young man brimming with confidence and actually working his ass off, in and out of the film and class rooms at one buc place, and I guarantee the veterans by day one and the titans will have bought in also, and their will be some teams we actually catch sleeping at the wheel. we lost a lot of close games last year and were tanking it the last quarter of the season if not half. prediction 9-7/10-6 barring injuries from any of our key players. remember 7-8-1 won it last year.

  18. tamparob Says:

    not to burst anyone’s bubble, but go through the Joe archives and see what they were saying about the now “Leaky Sleepy Josh Freeman”. https://www.joebucsfan.com/2010/10/peter-king-spins-josh-freeman-tale/
    The stories were much of the same. I’m hopeful, but still a realist. The messages coming from One Buc Palace and the media are all about hype. As we have seen in the past we heard much of the same about “maturity” and “leadership” and “talent” when Josh F was drafted.

  19. Nole on Sat.-Bucc on Sun. Says:

    I know you didn’t do it for me. But I greatly appreciate that post Dallasbuc…

  20. iamabuc Says:

    There are too many debbydowners in this here site, in a way I get, I’ve been there myself, too many years of dissapointments….but ….Have no fear, Jameis is here!….in a way, he give us a real positive feeling…..9-7 at least, is in our future, …….you just has to Believe!

  21. sneedy16 Says:

    tamparob

    Where did you get ” “maturity” and “leadership” and “talent” when Josh F was drafted”? All I saw was Peter King talking about meeting Josh’s father. We’ve heard people from outside of the organization about Josh, but not many from the inside. Josh was a really good player, but his personal issues ruined him.

  22. tamparob Says:

    Sneedy- that was one article.. didn’t have time to dredge up the rest. But I remember reading them here– about how Rock Star met with his family, coaches, etc. and they all raved about JF. About how the players raved about his presence and command of the playbook. I’ll go back in the archive tonight after the hockey game. I know they’re in there.

  23. Jim Says:

    Good one tamparob! Tony was worse than Chucky at evaluating QBs.

  24. Tiny Tim Says:

    And Josh Freeman was never as talented as Winston nor was his football IQ anywhere close to Winston when he was drafted. If it was, then Freeman would have been the #1 overall pick and not Stafford. Freeman also sat the first 8 games of the season. There is no doubt who is starting from day one here and its not even close. Apples to oranges. Please note, you have your franchise QB in Winston. Lovie told you that they have to kick this guy out of the building sometimes. Did they ever say that about Freeman? Apples to oranges.

  25. rayjay1122 Says:

    I do not think comparing Winston to Freeman is in any way relevant in my view. I was not excited about us picking Freeman and I never saw star potential with him. He also did not have that polarizing personality and extreme leadership traits. He did have an NFL caliber arm and size but that is about it. I naturally pulled for him because at the time he was our QB. Winston is a guy that has everything Freeman had as far as physical tools but is so much more of a leader and fires the whole team and fans up. Funny part is that people who did not want Freeman, never feared character or alleged substance issues, but we all know how the Freeman era ended. I did not like Schiano either, but we can’t blame him for Freeman’s failures. Winston has so many critics and people who think he is going to fail but I think 10 years from now that Winston will be hailed as the best QB in Bucs history by far and will prove his critics wrong as he becomes one of the stars of the NFL…..he has already begun that journey as he is winning over not just rookies but veterans as well. I hope he likes pineapple because I think he will be eating a lot of it before his career ends.

  26. bucsbedabest Says:

    It is a breath of fresh air to see the Winston bashing has finally begun to subside. Jameis is a dazzling playmaker and charismatic leader. No matter what you think of him personally, he has the skillset and a pathway to lead him to success. Jameis Winston is going to be good. Real good. This will not sit well with the haters, who hang onto every negative word about certain players. He is the QB the Buccaneers have waited for a long, long time.

  27. Buc-A-New Says:

    Howdy Fellas. I just got off work after an 11 and a halfer. Going to win a couple hun at poker tonight. Just thought I would say “What Up and GO BUCS”

  28. BuccaneerBonzai Says:

    DallasBuc Says
    “I expect greatness from Winston right away.”

    Maybe it’s the past handful of seasons that has made me a skeptic, but that sounds like a pitfall to me.

    I just don’t think it is realistic to “expect” greatness in any player’s rookie year.

    If it happens…cool. But don’t expect the unlikely.

  29. drdneast Says:

    Thanks for your common sense TampaRob.
    I really hope Winston becomes as great as everyone is saying he will be, but until he starts a regular season NFL game, all of the preening Joe or anyone else does doesn’t mean a thing.
    Even if he does great in the preseason, it doesn’t mean anything. Most teams run very vanilla defenses in the practice games.
    I remember a Jerry Golstyn who lit it up in the preseason but when the regular season came around he looked like a high school QB.
    All of this was also said about Josh McClown last year as well.
    I do think he has a lot more talent and ability than Freeman ever had and also twice the leadership skills. The kid also loves the camera and the spotlight
    and both of those always seemed to make poor Freeman nervous.
    So, until Winston gets a few regular season NFL games under his belt, I am going to withhold all the slobbering and fawning over him that Joe is doing.
    Besides, Joe is doing enough for the whole community and it’s really kind of nauseating.

  30. Oahubuc Says:

    No one with a trace of football knowledge compares Winston to Freeman. There is no comparison.