“Man, Does He Work Really Hard At It. And He’s Extremely Coachable.”

September 28th, 2015

Jameis BajakianJoe really feels for those Bucs fans who don’t realize what a gem the Bucs have in Jameis Winston, America’s Quarterback.

It’s hard enough to live the Bucs life, but it must be hell if you think Young Jameis is a problem or a shaky project QB.

Bucs quarterbacks coach Mike Bajakian is a straight shooter, a football junkie cut from the same county in New Jersey that raised Bill Parcells and Greg Schiano. It’s an area of the globe where BS is called out and football coaches expect you to work your ass off or feel the consequences immediately.

It’s no wonder that Bajakian and Jameis are such a great fit.

Consider how Bajakian described Jameis on the Buccaneers Radio Network tonight. He was asked about Jameis’ reputation for being a football genius, and Bajakian was more interested in highlighting Jameis’ savage work ethic.

“He’s very intelligent, and on top of that he works very hard,” Bajakian said of Jameis. “He understands that obviously it’s not a very easy position to be in. And there’s so much that goes into preparing at this level. So, I think what can’t be underestimated is, yeah, he’s very intelligent, but man, does he work really hard at it. And he’s extremely coachable. He’s always looking for ways to get better and ways to improve, and looking for any little bit of information that might give him an edge.”

Despite the Bucs’ woeful performance yesterday, Joe will sleep well tonight knowing America’s Quarterback is thriving and growing.

33 Responses to ““Man, Does He Work Really Hard At It. And He’s Extremely Coachable.””

  1. Architek Says:

    This is literally the only thing that makes me feel good about the Yucs

  2. bucrightoff Says:

    Ideally the next coach will be a good offensive mind to really bring out the best in him.

  3. mike10 Says:

    What does Bajakian know about QBs? An OC doesn’t know technique.

    I feel like I’m in the twilight zone. We try to turn a QB coach into an OC last year, and now were turning an OC into a QB coach.

  4. Tim Says:

    I know yesterday was a pretty ugly day. But i think Winston had a solid day. Or course he missed on a few passes. And had quite a few drops. But i feel like he made some really good solid throws. I just hope we can get a good solid team around him soon. As bad as we look sometimes i dont think we’re as far away as it looks sometimes. Just need both sides of the ball to play well on the same weekend. And need to cut out the dumb penalties

  5. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    I’m going to be optimistic here….I do agree that Winston is progressing well….each week…he may have a setback…but that will likely be followed by more progress….obviously, he has the tools & I believe the intelligence to be great.

    Along with that, I think our young linemen are also progressing….and Kwon is a real surprise in this draft.

    We have some others from last year with Evans & ASJ…..along with Sims(possibly)….then there’s Banks, LVD, GMC

    So, we have a nucleus of good young players along with younger veterans.

    I choose to believe that we will soon turn the corner….I also choose to believe that it just may be with Lovie….perhaps not….but I hope so, because another change at HC this soon could prolong the development even further.

  6. Phred Says:

    Remember seeing Doug Williams throw a ball 8 yards down the field to Ricky Bell as Bell ran parallel to the line of scrimmage. The ball hit Bell between the numbers and hit him so hard it knocked him over.

    Haven’t been this excited about a Bucs QB since Culverhouse let Williams walk over $500,000.

    Winston has all the physical skills. Add good work ethic to strong coaching and he’ll be an elite QB.

  7. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    Let me be clear about the Lovie comment……I wish him success because I am a fan and I wish every Buc….players & coaches success as long as they are Bucs.

    That doesn’ mean that I believe he is succeeding…..he’s not at this point.

  8. I'm tired and 87 is right Says:

    Tim I totally agree with your comments that I don’t think we are far off. It’s just sad with as much talent we have on defense Lovie can’t get these guy to be in position and perform well. So therefore I blame the coach. I warned people at the games firing Sciano would be a big mistake that the GM was the issue then. This go around I place all the blame on Lovie and the main reason is because he refuses to adjust the defense to what works well with this team of personal he has. I’ve seen other comments about how that’s exactly what Sciano did and it worked with less talent. Lovie has got to quit being so ignorant or he will run himself out of a job. So with all that being said who would we want as our next coach? I’ll be at this game this Sunday and I’m praying for this team to turn this around. I just want the penalties gone and to see consistent disciplined football. Come on Lovie get these guys ready! Go Bucs!!

  9. LargoBuc Says:

    Its going to take time for this offense to develop. Jameis has been steady. Right now, we need a slot receiver with speed to stretch the field. A fast running back to be that change of pace for work horse Martin. I dont see it in Simms. Another TE would be nice considering how prone to injury ASJ has been. And of course we need to keep building that o line.
    Defensively, the fact that Lovies guys have held opponents to less than 20 pts in 2/3 games is great. But alot of those players are stop gap quick fixes at this point. We need a big time sack artist to help Jac Smith. A massive DT to play the 1 to Geralds 3 would help our run d so much. We really need a corner. We got some good corners but we need “that guy” to line up across other teams top receiver. Banks is good, but im not sold on him being that dominant “island”(How I miss Revis). A true game changer at safety is also a must. Also, it looks like Lansahna has taken a step back this year. So a sam would help to at the very least create more depth.
    I know, ppl like to point to Dan Quinn and you know the rest. But the guy has Matt Ryan, a vet qb who is very good. Two of the best receivers in the game. Julio Jones has been the best receiver in the game this season. His defense is agressive but that dosent mean its better than ours. They gave up fewer rushing yards, but teams have 30 more attempts against us. So that means Atlanta is defending the pass more often, yet their aggressive blitzing defense only has four sacks to our seven. They are also only give up two points less per game than we are. So all that blitzing isnt making better than us. The reason Quinn is more succesful is because theycare not in full rebuild mode. They have a damn good veteran qb and playmakers. So to keep comparing Lovies Bucs to Quinns Falcons is out of context.
    We are building and yesterday was not as bad as many are making it out to be.

  10. bucrightoff Says:

    Largo for real, how is yesterday being undersold?

    If we played the Packers, thats a 400 yard day for Rodgers, 175 for Lacy and 650 total yards and a 52-7 loss. We essentially played an entire offense of backups and were run over and thrown over with ease. We’re not going to get to see too many, if any, worse offenses than the Texans. They had their own miscues that cost them 10 points at least, so 19 points isn’t indicative how much they controlled the game.

    I get that people want to believe this team is much closer than it is, but look at how much these team struggles to beat average to bad teams. It is nowhere close to the best teams. That’s why walking away from Lovie now is the play because there’s still a lot of work left to do, so a new coach isn’t going to be in any worse position than Lovie as far as “rebuilding”. Lovie has essentially built nothing so far that we can see.

  11. This Guy Right Here Says:

    @Joe,

    Most Bucs fans with knowledge of the game, have noticed the kids progress & potential…

    The only problem I have with the kid is how he got so close, but couldnt close the deal on Draya!

  12. SuperSam Says:

    I agree the problem isn’t Jameis its Lovie, but heres the question. Do we blow up the entire coaching staff and start Winston from scratch? Or do we continue this mediocre football with Lovie? Tough question indeed.

  13. LargoBuc Says:

    My point being that our defense gave us a chance to win, despite the blown coverage and yards allowed. But this team, especially the offense, aint there yet.
    As for your Packers reference, how many defenses can actually stop them? Again, the defense gave us a chance to beat a bad team.
    Im nit freaking out about it. I can see alot of fans are though. Will I next week when we get blown out by Carolina? Maybe. But I like some of the talent we got and they will figure it out with or without Lovie. You see Rightoff…its as simple as that.

  14. bucrightoff Says:

    I’m not freaking out about anything. I always had this team going 4-12 this year, and that’s exactly what they look like right now. My point all along is who wants Lovie coming back if he’s 8-24, or 6-26 after two seasons? Lovie isn’t some new NFL coach, he’s had 11 years as a coach. He is what he is at this point.

    The defense did not do enough at all. You aren’t getting to play all backups every week. If we see the same play this Sunday, it’s gonna be a laugher and Cam is gonna do his stupid ass Superman all afternoon. Mallett is likely the worst QB they’ll see all year, and they got 1 coverage sack and he picked apart the middle. And Alfred Blue ran free as a backup line did as they pleased to our defensive front. It was a C+ at best performance. It was only enough to win because of the competition level.

  15. ndog Says:

    Watching this MNF game and hearing how wonderful Aaron Rodgers was so good pre draft and yet he still didn’t draft him just makes me sick. Gruden brought us a Superbowl but man he could not spot talent and was so short sided.He screwed is over so hard core with his horrible talent eval.

  16. This Guy Right Here Says:

    “But this team, especially the offense, aint there yet.”

    Problem is, our defense shouldve been there by now..

    They let Alfred Blue…………….. Alfred “Fcuking” Blue, LEAD THE AFC, 2nd in the NFL, in Rush Yds this week.. They let the Texans dominate the Time of Possesion.

    We all expected our offense to have its ups & downs.. But Lovie’s D just made Alfred “Fckuing” Blue, and Ryan Mallet look like All Pros..

    Our D is fcuking freelancing out there!!!! They have no coach!! they have no fcuking idea what the fcuk to do!!!!!

  17. This Guy Right Here Says:

    @ndog,

    Gruden got greedy… He was a hell of a coach, but he wanted it all… Personnel moves and all….

    But hell, I would take a Gruden/Licht combo anyday!

  18. LargoBuc Says:

    Whatever happens next week will be next week. All im saying is the defense kept points off the board and gave us a chance to get a win against a ho hum team. But our young offense was over matched by a top tier defense and here we are at 1-2. If we were facing this team or that team, no. Our defense gave us a chance against the Houston Texans. But our offense will get there. I know they will. But you are right that our defense has some things to get down and get down fast because Cocky Cam is on his way to Tampa.

  19. cmurda Says:

    I just watched Aaron Rodgers surgically remove the hearts of the KC defense. I think Winston has many of the same traits as Rodgers. I can only hope he grows into the ability to read defenses and move to 2nd and 3rd reads as smoothly as Rodgers does. The effort and ability from JW is inspiring. Eventually the game will slow down for Winston and his mental and physical tools will be at the same level. I’m excited about the future with JW.

  20. Stevek Says:

    SuperSam,

    “Mediocre” football would be two steps up from where we are right now. I long for a mediocre team.

  21. TheBucsAnthem Says:

    Blah

    Blah

    Blah

    What else do you expect him to say about a member on his own team…..you think he would actually bash the 1st Rd pick of the organization that employs him…..I don’t think so joe…..it’s called Politics Joe!……politics!!

    Beside what he said can be applied to any young qb any organization just drafted for the future.

  22. Stanglassman Says:

    Phred-
    It was over 200k doug was making 120k per year, 42nd in the league of 28 teams and Culverhouse offered him 400K and Doug wanted 600K. Doug did throw hard but he also threw high, I remember a few hospital ball he sailed out to Kevin House.

    NDog- Gruden two faced lies bit him in the arse that time. Rogers really is something special to watch. My favorite QB to watch since Joe Montana.

  23. Pick6 Says:

    people are being awfully hard on a defense that locked the texans down for most of the game despite only 1 3rd down conversion on offense and a boatload of missed kicks that finally took the wind out of them. the texans are no big threat on offense, but if we can stay on the field just a little bit on offense the defense would’ve kept suffocating them and probably shaken another turnover or two out of them like they did to the pressing saints. we just can’t play a complete game right now

  24. 1nebuc Says:

    I think Lovie is outdated with his football schemes. I mean know disrespect but sometimes the game passes you by. What i would love to see next year is Dirk Koetter move to HEAD COACH , run his offense at his pace , which would be much more explosive and then hire Chuck Pagona … (Pretty sure he is done after this year anyways . ) Then we would see some real up 2 date football and alot more wins .”JUST SAYING”

  25. FLBoyInDallas Says:

    Growing? Perhaps. Thriving? Hardly. Completing only 47% of your passes in a game is not the definition of thriving. Not to mention he’s only completing 52% on the year, placing him dead last in the league. And his QB rating is eighth lowest in the NFL.

    I believe Winston is the answer at QB for the Bucs same as most fans, but being a homer and spewing exaggeration is not something I’m willing to join with. Real fans have their eyes open. Real fans realize their QB needs some work before it can be said that he’s “thriving”.

  26. Marvelous Mayhem Says:

    I am happy with Winstons progress over three games. Seems like baby steps game to game but you can see progress. We need consistency at the QB position. Jameis will be fine. His future is bright. He may end up needing therapy with all the losing he endures with the Bucs.

  27. DB55 Says:

    Winston Moss for HC! Look’m up!

  28. BucIt941 Says:

    If for some reason Lovie does get the boot i hope they let KOetter take over as HC and just pair him with a strong DC. I think Koetter and Winston are a great pairing!

  29. Tom Edrington Says:

    Will Jameis be this eras’s Archie Manning? Good quarterback on horrible teams……

  30. BuccaneerBonzai Says:

    Tampabaybucfan Says
    “I choose to believe that we will soon turn the corner….I also choose to believe that it just may be with Lovie….perhaps not….but I hope so, because another change at HC this soon could prolong the development even further.”

    DING!!!!!!!

    This is exactly what I believe.

    Winston is a rookie that is developing. No one works that hard without getting results sooner or later. It will come.

    But people forget we also have 5 other starting rookies on the team. They also need time to develop.

    And you are right…replacing Lovie would result in the team development being prolonged even more than it will be now. People suggesting an offensive head coach at this stage seem to thing such a coach would turn around our defense.

    The offense is already fixed. It now only need a little time for the fixes to settle in. It’s the defense and special teams that need the work, and Lovie is the one to do it. I can see replacing Frazier and Licht, but beyond that, stay the course.

    It will pay off by the end of next year.

  31. Fartman Says:

    He’s going to have to become a lot more accurate with the football before I become a believer.

  32. Gus Says:

    I’ve avoided this website for months because I preferred Mariotta over Winston and the constant boosterism was annoying. Glad to see I didn’t miss much in the last 6 months. America’s Quarterback? Ugh.

    Winston, like all young QBs, will show promise and show weaknesses. NFL QBing is witchcraft, nobody can accurately predict how they turn out. I am surprised by how bad Winston’s footwork seems — he trips, stumbles and is generally a little bit heavy on his feet. To me, he looks like he’ll end up in the Josh Freeman/Vinny Testerverde range as a QB. An organization of limited abilities around him isn’t going to help the win total unless they hit on the next coaching hire.

  33. Johnny Dejay Says:

    Can we get a look at Mike Bajakian’s resume? Which NFL Franchise QB(s) has he developed, or at least, worked with? All this praise without any context doesn’t mean much to me.

    As far as I can tell from his Bucs Bio page, he’s only worked with NFL QBs from 2004-2006 under Lovie Smith in Chicago during the Rex Grossman era, the rest have been college jobs, and not even very impressive ones. Rutgers, Sacred Heart, Central Michigan, Univ of Cincinnati, and Univ of Tennessee. We’re not exactly talking about someone from the Bill Walsh coaching tree.