It’s In Jaboo’s Hands
April 19th, 2017
All about Jameis.
For long-time readers of this here website, the following may come across as heresy.
Next week after the Bucs draft their next bellcow running back — Joe is willing to lay cash Joe is so certain this will happen at some point next week — virtually all the pieces will be in place for any talented young quarterback to succeed.
After next weekend, and likely by late Friday night, the Bucs will have a freak of a young, Pro Bowl wide receiver just entering his prime, arguably the most dangerous deep-ball threat of a receiver on the other side of the field, the incumbent NFL leader in touchdowns for a tight end, a young, consistent growing offensive line, and a new solid running back (though untested), and likely a speedy, backup rookie receiver to groom.
Plus, that receiver is likely to return kicks (though Joe isn’t as certain of this as he is of a rookie running back).
It’s what every young quarterback dreams of and you could tell from the pure, unbridled joy that America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, was awash in Monday, that he knows it.
Now, as Jenna Laine of ESPN types, Jameis just has to keep on improving.
Of course, those new weapons won’t work unless Winston does. Jackson can’t take the top off a defense if Winston is overthrowing him downfield, putting too much heat on his fastball. Evans can’t continue winning those 50-50 jump balls if Winston isn’t putting his passes in a spot where only Evans can grab them. That’s why Winston recently assembled those two, along with Derel Walker, Freddie Martino, Josh Huff and Bernard Reedy, for a series of workouts down in Houston.
Laine then details how Jameis must continue his upward climb as an NFL signal-caller and be the quarterback everyone believes he can be for this offense to hum. After next week, there are no more excuses. There should be no more crying for #WeaponsForWinston.
Joe has been a long-time supporter, booster and defender of Jameis and will continue to be so. That doesn’t mean Joe ignores facts. Laine is on point. If Jameis regresses, then the Bucs are likely still looking for that elusive playoff berth come January.
What Jameis wants, Jameis gets. He’s now got the rig he wants. He just has to drive it properly and not run it into the muddy median.
It’s all about Jameis now.
April 19th, 2017 at 12:06 pm
Don’t forget about players around the league getting cut to make room for the new rookies. We can always get help there.
April 19th, 2017 at 12:11 pm
He is everything man. That’s why so many fans are all in on the #weaponsforwinston bandwagon. That’s why I am ok with a RB in round 1 when I normally wouldn’t be. Hell we could draft all offense and I’d be ok with it.
Year 1 – 4000+ yards 22 TD 15 Int
Year 2 – 4000+ yards 28 TD 18 Int
Year 3 – 4500+ yards 32-38 TD 12-18 Int is kind of what I’m thinking
April 19th, 2017 at 12:12 pm
Two things:
First, dare I say that Freddie Martino is actually better than Humphries? Based on targets v catches and ypc Freddie is almost twice as productive. So was Shep but that’s another story.
Second, you have Doug Martin and AP spilt in the backfield with DJax and Evans on the left hash with Adam Shaheen or Brate on the line. As a def co wth do you do? You can’t stop that madness.
April 19th, 2017 at 12:13 pm
I wanna see if Winston can calm himself down in big games and not overthrow receivers this season……..
…..that’s all I wanna see from him
April 19th, 2017 at 12:14 pm
It will be interesting to see at what point Winston turns his focus to improving his mechanics. It will need to happen at some point. Hopefully that’s what he did this offseason.
April 19th, 2017 at 12:15 pm
The Bucs can draft or sign any RB you want but if they don’t upgrade the OL, then that said RB will be getting stuffed over and over in the backfield just like last year and Jaboo will be running for his life again.
We we willing to risk him with Sweezy and his untested back without drafting an interior lineman? Right tackle needs to be addressed as well.
April 19th, 2017 at 12:18 pm
Genco
Love the comment and love the screen name even more.
April 19th, 2017 at 12:19 pm
“Are we willling” rather
April 19th, 2017 at 12:20 pm
2017 offense the same as 2016 offense
low probability time consuming deep routes
They will blitz blitz blitz….
need a jarvis landry type reciever to open our whole offense
etc
Kobe Faker 2017 State of the Union(Bucs) after the draft
the uneducated will put all the blame on jamies….Kobe here to open eyes
April 19th, 2017 at 12:20 pm
thanks DB55
April 19th, 2017 at 12:27 pm
You all know how you feel deep inside. We all have our doubts. But I swear for some reason I’m having trouble even imagining #3 not improving and not taking us to deep in the playoffs and hopefully all the way to Minny.
I really can’t even imagine it which means I’m obviously guilty of being incredibly overconfident. Mea Culpa. I plead guilty. I honestly can’t envision a season where #3 doesn’t breakout big time…along with a few other Bucs…enough to make us genuine contenders. If just few stars have career years…obviously if it’s #3…we are on our way to the big time!
HELL YES!!! IT’s on #3!! Honestly can you think of a a single player on our team or any other team in the league that you’d rather have it ALL on than #3?
I can’t! Call me a homer! Call me a blind fan…I just can’t see it. And when I think who in the past game me this sense of just “bring it on”…it was our great SB defense. That was great! But I shall now reveal my prejudice and turn half the board against me. That was truly GREAT….lots of fun…but I LOVE imagining the swagger coming from the OFFENSE….from the number one position on the field. #3 is going to be a blast to watch this year is all I’m sayin’.
April 19th, 2017 at 12:31 pm
SPBF
As long as the def can hold onto a 4th qrt lead we are SB bound. Hence all the focus on 4th qrt heroics.
April 19th, 2017 at 12:37 pm
I’m confident the Bucs will add a RB in rounds 1-3 but I’m not convinced Licht will add a wr. Joes have stated how much the team loves Hump. If Licht doesn’t add a wr in the 2-6 games Jackson misses this wr corp will struggle
April 19th, 2017 at 12:59 pm
R1-Dalvin Cook RB
R2-Budda Baker nickle CB / FS
R3-Carlos Henderson/Crutis Samuel WR
R4-George Kittle TE
R5-R7 BPA D-line / O-line
That should do it for offensive weapons. Henderson or Samuel will be your Landry type underneath but way more explosive than Landry and great for special team returns.
Kittle = in-line blocking TE with pass catching ability to complement Brate as the move TE
WR1 Evans
WR2 Djax
WR3 Henderson
WR4/slot Hump
WR5 CFL star guy
Y TE – George Kittle
F TE – Cam Brate
RB1 – Cook
RB2 – Quiz
RB3/pass catching back – Sims
RB4 – Barber
You’d have every skill set possible basically with all these players
April 19th, 2017 at 1:02 pm
Just hope we don’t forget the “D”. Still have some holes and/or hoping some players show the same form they did late last year
April 19th, 2017 at 1:34 pm
Tampa Tony, Jackson has missed 8 games the last two years. If he goes down, the Bucs will be in worse shape than last year with Shepard already gone.
The Bucs need another WR and/or TE that can stretch the field.
April 19th, 2017 at 1:35 pm
LC
I think we go deep in the playoffs with that draft
Curtis samuel game is made for the NFL
We were continuously bogged down on erd and short
Samuel, sims, brate making plays short and interminant WITH evans and djax deep?….There will be open holes all over the place!
+5000 yards 40 tds 15 ints
Time for young Jaboo to fully develop
April 19th, 2017 at 1:35 pm
Joe is going to be so surprised by the picks next week, lol.
We have all the wide receivers we need…unless they intend to replace Huff because of his off field issue.
Personally, I think everything depends on who is available whenever we make a pick. I think in the first round, Licht is hoping for DE Derek Barnett, S Jamal Adams or S Marcus Williams.
In round two, I think he’ll find a way to trade up a little and get CB Adoreé Jackson. That addresses the secondary AND kick returns.
But he could stand pat and get OG/C Dan Feeney or S Obi Melifonwu (if a safety is not taken already.
I would go into my whole wishlist thing, but I don’t usually do that until the day before the draft. And I usually get 3-4 players on my list picked by the team.
I don’t do mocks. And I only do one wishlist before the draft. That list will evolve during the draft though, from pick to pick as players go.
April 19th, 2017 at 1:38 pm
Lord C – that would be so awesome if we could land Cook and Budda Baker in the same draft. That’s almost my dream 1st and 2nd picks right there. (I would take Howard over Cook).
But its pretty unrealistic without Licht making some moves (up). Cook is unlikely to last until 19 IMO and there’s no chance in hell Baker makes it to #50. So we are gonna have to trade up somewhere to make that happen and thus probably give up at least a 3rd round pick (or more) to do it.
And I would take Josh Reynolds in the 3rd round if I was picking a receiver there.
April 19th, 2017 at 1:47 pm
Stpetebucsfan…overconfident? I’ve been overconfident for every Bucs season. I thought every fan was that overconfident.
April 19th, 2017 at 2:45 pm
@gencoimports- That’s why I’m not 100% enamored with the signing dude can’t be counted on every week
April 19th, 2017 at 3:06 pm
Jameis is the new Sheriff in the NFL … when Manning retired Jameis became “The Sheriff 2.0”.
HOWEVER, I think some fans need to temper their enthusiasm of the “TEAM as a whole.
To me, this is a 7 year project:
Jameis Rookie Year: took team from 2 wins to 6 wins
2nd year/Last year: Winning record of 9-7
3rd year/ This year: At least 10 wins and a playoff berth
4th year: At least 11 wins and a 2nd round playoff appearance
5th year: At least 12 wins and a Conference title game berth
6th year: Conference champs and a SB berth
7th year and moving forward: Super Bowl champs or bust
Now, I’d love to see Jameis lead the Bucs to the title this year and jump ahead of schedule …. but a 7 year plan is more “realistic”.
April 19th, 2017 at 3:12 pm
JW definitely needs to clean it up. While we didn’t have an all-star cast at WR, there were plays that he missed. It’s OK, he’s a 3rd year guy but he needs to continue working just like everybody else does.
April 19th, 2017 at 3:56 pm
@ Pickgrin – for sure. It’s definitely an optimistic wishlist of a draft – primarily Baker in the 2nd. But I’ve seen him mocked after pick 50 a few times and I’ve seen Henderson and Samuel in the 3rd in a few mocks (especially Henderson who I don’t see much in round 2); and definitely seen Cook available to us in multiple mocks at 19 – so it’s still semi realistic
could also be happy with
R1-Derek Barnett DE
R2-Curtis Samuel WR
R3-Samaje Perine RB
R4-George Kittle/Bucky Hodges/Jake Butt – TE
There are so many combos that could help us. I can’t take this wait lol
April 19th, 2017 at 4:07 pm
Quality intel there @Bucsfanman. Jameis needs to keep improving. Uh. I wonder if he knows that? What the hell kind of statement is that? Haven’t quite come around yet, uh? You will.
April 19th, 2017 at 5:09 pm
DBS here to open Kobe’s eyes. If that happens? It is the SAME they did to Glennon and called it EXCUSES. Oline let him run for his life. But he did not have this core of receivers or running backs. And yes they will be back to “But all we need is a franchise QB”.
Educate all you want. Watch what happens if he does not get the to the playoffs this year.
April 19th, 2017 at 5:10 pm
^them
April 19th, 2017 at 7:06 pm
Yes they will blame jameis….but
Can never compare jameis to a garaiffe
Jameis will still throw the passes that only he can in the nfl. His arm talent is undeneiable.
We need to give jameis a consistant short high percentage passing attack weapons so he can beat defensive coordinators…
He will never develop without this threat
The formula to beat koetters offense is black and white. They have enough tape…..etc…..lets enjoy the draft…..i can hear thebucrealist puking
April 19th, 2017 at 7:29 pm
Keep this in mind: If Jameis had used up all of his college eligibility he would be in this draft class. Instead he’s the Bucs quarterback and entering year 3
April 19th, 2017 at 8:08 pm
There is a CHANCE that we really put together a stud OL. I realize the questions.
But if Sweezy is healthy and returns to being the mauler…with Marpet..and Pamphile is an aggressive dude. This means we have the CHANCE to have three really mean road graders right in the center of our line. Marpet is not going to get tossed around like a rag doll and will stiffen our interior. Now if D Smith continues to improve and we find the right RT…maybe Benenoch..we might have something to really rock and roll on our OL.
April 19th, 2017 at 8:38 pm
The weapons for Winston has consisted of signing one aging injury prone WR whose entire game relies on speed – when speed is the first thing you lose with age. Also you’re exchanging this years new start in D Jackson, you’re replacing last year starter V Jackson, and aging injury prone WR…
Also counting on a rookie WR to come in and have an impact right away is silly, outside of the 2014 class exception, most WRs do not do much as rookies.
For runningback they could come in and play right away, but whoever you pick isn’t going to be as good as Martin was in 2015.
To me the big thing with Winston is to have a coach who isn’t afraid to use him. Last year Dirk threw a hissy fit when Winston had 2 turnovers versus the Broncos, nevermind in the prior weeks they had played Luck, Cam and Dalton and each had had 2 turnovers, you know because the Broncos have a good defense and that happens. Simple fact is Dirk has to do a dramatically better job calling plays and get back to his pre-HC performance level. Dirk was terrible at calling games last year, he called the same plays over and over and over again in the same situations, he was ultra conservative and ultra predictable. If Winston is to take a big step up he needs to have a coach that understands Winston is more of a young Brett Favre (turnover prone) than a young Mike Glennon (not turnover prone).
April 19th, 2017 at 8:50 pm
StPete…follow the “con” my man. I was up in here a few days ago, stating that I’m not as worried about the o-line as much as most fans. Yes I saw the heat Winston took last season and RT NEEDS to be addressed one way or another. I’m fine with the rest of the youngsters on the o-line. For now anyways. Good to see us both on the same page.
Bottom line as far as the draft is, that so far I kind of trust in Licht about 75%. This draft needs to be right. About 90% to 100% right in the first 3 rounds.
Can Licht get it right? I hope so.
April 19th, 2017 at 8:59 pm
Rod Munch….of course I concur 1000%.
April 19th, 2017 at 9:39 pm
ROD MUNCH
You are the best
That analysis was impeccable
Last year jameis regressed
His rookie year he had a hc/off cood….last year koetter was juggling 2 jobs and jameis development stalled
Imo, it will be jameis arm that will win us championships. This smashmouth running attack with jameis to convert 3rd and long into the waiting defense is not highly probable and this type of offense cant win in the new NFL normal. This offense limits jameis and doesnt develop him to achieve his full potential/arsenal of his skills
I believe in history and patterns repeat. The type of player and skillset that jameis has , has and is playing right now
Ben Roethisberger is jameis winston exact clone. Ben also was bogged down with a run first offense and untill they went to no huddle pass first offense, pittsburg offense became great
Koetters offense sucks.
April 19th, 2017 at 10:23 pm
We see how much Jameis works and how passionate he is about getting better. Thatbis why it isn’t needed to spoken about. With winston it is automatic that he will get better. He puts in the time and he has the natural talent to be great. I wont say he will get there this uear or the next. He is still the youngest starting qb in the league. I know, it is amazing he can be the youngest QB even with 2 years of experience. We are expecting winston to be a polished vet in his third year, while Aaron Rodgers was still holding a clipboard his third year. Im not making excuses for winston. But the reality is he has a lot of work to do to be the great QB we expect him to eventually be.
I do wxpect a big step forward for winston with the addition of a few weapons. I would also like to see the far right side of the o line get an upgrade… also the sweezy experiment will be another position to keep a close eye on. I fear for winstons health because of that side of the line. Hopefully another year in the same offense will make it a stronger unit. But they did regress some last season. So hopefully they turn it around and can keep winston on his feet this year.
April 19th, 2017 at 10:32 pm
Rod, i think koetter did what he could with the players he had. He couldnt really open up the playbook when he has 4th and 5th string WRs and RBs filling in for injured starters and back ups.
I hated the playcalling as much as you did/do. But looking back at the season it was a tough season offensively with injuries and the lack of a solid run game for 14/16 games.
And part could also be blamed on the dual duty of being HC and OC. Eitherway you slice it, im not going to criticize koetter too much for last season. Im excited for the potential the team has going forward and will hope that the bucs as a whole progresses all the way to the playoffs this year.
Great things take time. Year one of the koetter era was sure to have some growing pains. Year 2 will probably have some too. As long as we keep improving i’ll be happy.
April 19th, 2017 at 10:46 pm
Nice pts tru, but…
I dont believe in – its his 3rd year that means he will improve. There is a why, what and how to everything
Our coaching staff and lack of offensive coordinator is flawed. 31 other teams has a hc and offensive coordinator. There is a reason why. Mott is a wrs coach and we didnt have a OC in 2016. Jameis regressed because of that
Thats enough from me. Lets enjoy the draft
April 20th, 2017 at 1:59 am
Bucs certainly seem like they’re going to get a WR in the 2nd or 3rd.
carlos henderson, josh reynolds, chris godwin, curtis sameul, zay jones (not in this particular order), could all be sickening #3 WR. One of em has got to be around if they do go WR in the 2nd or 3rd, right?
April 20th, 2017 at 11:47 am
I’d be all for Curtis Samuel in round 2…. maybe some Bucky Hodges action in round 3. Talk about making an offense dynamic. You get one of the fastest players in the NFL in Samuel in round 2 and then a Jimmy Graham clone in round 3…. that offense would be ridiculous. Marlon Mack would be a steal in round 4.