Jameis: “We Definitely Got The Pieces”
January 15th, 2019
Yes, America’s Quarterback, Jameis Winston, is eager for a new start with his old team.
That was the sentiment expressed by the 25-year-old veteran during his recent chat with the Tampa Bay Times about his new head coach, Bruce Arians, who Jameis first met at a football camp roughly a dozen years ago.
The franchise QB had nothing enlightening to say, Joe believes, outside of his perspective on Sunday’s NFC playoff game.
“We definitely have the pieces to win,” Jameis said of the Bucs. “You saw that when the two teams we beat (the Saints and Eagles) were playing each other in the playoffs (Sunday) night. We definitely got the pieces to win here and we will win.”
It was an intriguing take from Jameis. First, Joe suspects Arians put that thought in Jameis’ head when they chatted after Arians was hired. Regardless, it’s noteworthy since Jameis didn’t play in those two early-season Bucs games against the Saints and Eagles.
Do the Bucs have the pieces to win? Absolutely not. And everyone knows it. They’ll need a strong offseason to land in the playoff conversation. It’s doable, but it will take more than Arians’ magic wand.
As JoeBucsFan.com columnist Ira Kaufman noted in his column today, when Arians took over a 5-11 Cardinals team to start the 2013 season, only seven starters returned and the Cardinals finished 10-6.
Joe expects only about half the Bucs starters back in their roles next season.
January 15th, 2019 at 12:09 am
Need a RB and at one OL and coaching to see what we have on offense, but I do not think we are far off.
Defense we got Todd Bowles and a complete opposite philosophy to a attacking defense and may have some bumpy games.
In Bucco Bruce I trust
January 15th, 2019 at 12:15 am
Pretty impressive if you can bring in 15 new starters and go from 5-11 to 10-6. Aside from what they will do in the offseason, I’m really wondering what the impact of Arians will be. People are already talking about his successor coming from the current staff. That’s assuming a hell of a lot given how this team has been for over ten years. I wouldn’t say success is a given. You mention a magic wand, Joe. People seem to be thinking Arians does have one. But hopefully it works out well.
January 15th, 2019 at 12:16 am
It’ll be interesting to see what these coaches can do.
NFL is a talent rich league. Gotta develop, coach, and lead, these guys, too!
January 15th, 2019 at 12:17 am
..just look at Belichick.
January 15th, 2019 at 12:24 am
….When we “miss” a guy in the draft that goes somewhere else and does great, who’s to say that same player if drafted here would have been developed/coached into a similar quality player?
There’s a lot more to it than drafting guys, you gotta develop them and put them in positions to succeed.
Hoping and believing we might finally have found a coach and staff that can turn this crap around.
January 15th, 2019 at 12:38 am
This team *doesn’t* have the pieces to win now, according to Joe. So why did we fire Koetter?
And wouldn’t that be an indictment on our GM, who can’t put a roster together in five years?
This organization is a joke run by the marketing department. Can’t polish a turd
January 15th, 2019 at 12:49 am
Joe they have the offensive pieces to win, that’s objective fact. All they need to do is improve the O-line and even with our bad D we’ll be in the playoffs.
January 15th, 2019 at 1:36 am
Totally agree with you one Bucperson!one of the top offenses in the league led the league in lots of categories at least in the top five and most offensive categories. Get the oline stronger with a running back and Todd can get us to at least number 15 defensive rank playoffs here we come.Tampaaaaa!the defense just needs to be opportunistic and that’s what you get with an all-out blitz type team.Tampaaaaa!
January 15th, 2019 at 4:39 am
Thought this was gonna be another piece about our ‘franchise QB’ but you surprised me Joe, in a very good way. Love the way those last 2 paragraphs unfolded … agree 100% that we DON’T have the pieces to win at this point. If we did, it’d be easy to blame Lovie & Dirk our 27-53 record in the past 5 years, but all Bucs fans know that losing is a LOT more complicated than mediocre coaching. You’ve gotta have the horses to win the race. And we don’t; not yet.
I’m convinced that you’re spot on when you wrote that you expect “only about half the Bucs starters back in their roles next season”. I can see THREE new OLinemen (Donovan MIGHT be one of them, but not as a LT), a new lead-dog RB, and a new WR. That’s 5 of the 11 offense positions right there (and that’s before we start adding key backups for depth). Also convinced that Coach Arians & DC Todd Bowles will significantly remake this defense, adding Two new DLinemen, Two new LBs, 1 outside CB and 1 Safety. That’s the potential for 6 new defense players right there. Throw in a new kicker (please please please) and that’s 12 new starters/key rotational players right there … HALF just like you predicted.
Also like you said, “it will take more than Arians’ magic wand”. A LOT of personnel changes on the horizon, and I’m assuming (for now at least) that Coach Arians is driving the personnel train (please please please). But it’s still a HUUUGE ‘challenge’ IMO & lots can go wrong. After all, this is Bucsville & lots always seems to go wrong. Hopefully this time is different.
January 15th, 2019 at 4:58 am
We can no longer afford to have misses on any of the top picks in the draft.
There have been too many misses in the second round to build this team
properly. There needs to be more consensus with the coaches and front office
on any player added to this team. Jason Licht has not done a good job in vetting players added in free agency. He has to make sure he signs players without injury histories and right skills and mentality to benefit the team.
January 15th, 2019 at 5:21 am
Bob … Coach Arians is in complete control IMO, and Lapdog will get him whatever he asks for. This is an important draft to be sure, but I seriously doubt we’ll get more than 2 starters/key rotational players out of it. What we do in Free Agency will make-or-break this year, and that’s NOT Licht’s strength (understatement?). Here’s hoping that BA has another turnaround in him like what he pulled off in Arizona in 2013.
January 15th, 2019 at 6:07 am
Defense, With all his second round misses, he needs to get better results for
this roster to improve anytime. As for free agency, really hope that he discontinue his practice of signing second tier free agents and expecting them to morph into
first stringers. He has to get much better in adding quality players through free agency. Its puzzles me how he can players like adams and Nassib , but fails in
the all important free agency period so often.
January 15th, 2019 at 6:09 am
edits:
improve anytime soon.
discontinues his practice
January 15th, 2019 at 7:11 am
Jameis didnt mention the 2 wins against Saints and Eagles were when he wasnt on the team…..
January 15th, 2019 at 7:17 am
We do not have all the pieces. When you have a mediocre, inaccurate QB like JW, you need a great running game to win, like Dallas has. We need to be able to run the ball to have a shot.
January 15th, 2019 at 7:22 am
Team is a running back away now that there’s another coach. I think the o line will play better now that someone is not only coaching but teaching the why of it all. Dirk is trash that’s why the run game and o line underachieved. Top ten defenses did nothing in the playoffs all they have to do on defense is be average
January 15th, 2019 at 7:25 am
Rob every team needs a running game to have a shot. Simple philosophy that escapes even your simple mind apparently. The QB ain’t the issue here buddy.
January 15th, 2019 at 7:55 am
He also said the Bucs are MUCH closer (emphasis his) than the Cards when he took over. But don’t let that get in the way of your idea of gutting the roster or anything.
January 15th, 2019 at 7:58 am
JW nailed it when he said “we beat the Eagles and the Saints”!!!! Only because he was not on the field. He is the bad Apple that spoils the bunch. Cut him before the March deadline.
January 15th, 2019 at 8:02 am
Sounds like Arians has that Gruden philosophy of “If I’m gonna cook the stew, I wanna buy the groceries. ”
Licht apparently needs the help
January 15th, 2019 at 8:04 am
The first 2 games last year showed we have “the pieces”….just not The Operator ….
January 15th, 2019 at 8:08 am
The Bucs roster is a good bit more talented than consecutive 5-11 seasons would indicate.
Lets break it down:
QB – Winston – good
WR1 – Evans – good
WR2 – Godwin – good
WR3 – Humphries – good
TE1 – OJ Howard – good
TE2 – Brate – good
Center – Jenkins – good
LG – Marpet – good
DE1 – JPP – good
DE2 – Nassib – good
DT1 – McCoy – good
DT2 – Vea – good
LB1 – LD54 – good
LB2 – Kwon – good
LB3 – Beckwith – good
CB2 – Davis – good
CB3(slot/nickle) – VH3 – good
Safety2 – J. Evans – good
Replace/Upgrade 4 offensive starters (LT, RG, RT, RB) – and 2 Defensive starters (CB1 and a Safety) – add some more depth to account for injuries – along with vastly better decision making/ head coaching and position coaching – and watch this team compete for a SB ring in 2019.
January 15th, 2019 at 8:23 am
Pickgrin you are right we need a running bad Juctice Hill in the 2nd or get L. Bell. I think we can keep Smith on the o-line and get a solid RT get rid of Dotson, I think RG Cappa is going to be great.
Get rid of Jackson, Rodgers, Dotson, Conte, Allen, Gholston, Benenoch, Fitzpatrick
January 15th, 2019 at 8:32 am
Don’t confuse potential with currently being good/great. Too many good grades I’d add another category which would be FAIR/OK.
January 15th, 2019 at 8:33 am
I disagree Joe Bucs have the players to win just need better coaching and a offseason reload
January 15th, 2019 at 8:49 am
A little surprised and dissapointed in Joe. I think we absolutely do have the pieces. It’s evident this offense is good enough. Just need consistency and some tweaks. Vh3, j Evans, Davis, Stewart, vea, beckwith, Kwon, Conte, Allen, unrein were all hurt at some pt of the season and missed quality time. That’s a huge chunk of the players. Strength and conditioning needs help but we’re not far off. RB, tackle, cb, and de. New defensive scheme will work wonders too.
I mean we did beat 2 playoff teams which are wins with the pieces we had so….
January 15th, 2019 at 8:53 am
Don’t have the pieces?
Please. The talent is there. In the NFL, 95% of the difference in teams is COACHING.
That’s why there’s so many turnarounds every year.
This isn’t the 1980’s where rebuilding takes 5 years.
January 15th, 2019 at 8:58 am
Couldn’t get past the “Franchise QB” sentence ha ha
Joe you are consistently unintentionally hilarious when it comes to Jameis
January 15th, 2019 at 9:47 am
Did Winston mention his privileges as well? The first QB to start a career by getting 3 head coaches fired and keep their job. If Joe even suggests this QB isn’t privileged he’s lost his marbles. Winston is perhaps the most (undeserving) privileged QB in the history of the game.
January 15th, 2019 at 9:49 am
PS. Don’t kid yourselves…. Arians is toast, he’s just waiting for someone to engage the toaster with some bread.
January 15th, 2019 at 10:17 am
I think we do have the players on the team to be on top, just need to add some key players like a top runningback, cornerback, and RT. Greedy in the 1st
January 15th, 2019 at 10:27 am
Good point in noting Jameis didn’t play in those two games he referred to. Biggest piece we’re missing: consistency at QB
January 15th, 2019 at 11:12 am
I think Jameis was trying to hard to satisfy Jackson. Jameis is a top 10 QB in the NFL he needs a top runningback.
January 15th, 2019 at 12:19 pm
We need 1 game wrecker on defense. One piece. That’s all we need to become a contender.
We still can without that one guy but it will be very very difficult. That one guy is the one thing we need & must be the direction with the #5 pick. That pick literally makes itself.
January 15th, 2019 at 12:28 pm
Arians doesn’t have a magic wand. What he does have is a winning coaching philosophy.
He boils all aspects and all details down into concise concepts. He can articulate these things in football terms to his guys, his staff and his players. He expresses these ideas to the public in neat sound bites, catch phrases and the like.
Sometimes these things look like magic when they produce results.
_____________
Go Bucs!!!!
January 15th, 2019 at 1:10 pm
Pickgrin
Whitehead-S can play
Kwon and Beckwith are ? because of injuries
McCoy will be gone if doesn’t renegotiate
RJ will surprise many this year, garbage coaches are gone
January 15th, 2019 at 1:17 pm
foles
January 15th, 2019 at 1:40 pm
We need to keep GM find another DE to play on the other side of JPP. We need a top runningback and corner
January 15th, 2019 at 4:50 pm
Pickgrin as usual makes some good observations.
I think we keep talking about our established players, draft picks, and FA’s but neglect the rising pool of talent on our team.
If some guys can just improve they can make a real impact. Some already have.
I’m talking about guys like Nassib, Whitehead, Vea, Davis. These guys all improved over the course of last season. If they continue to improve at the same pace they could be very good players for us in ’19.
And there are good young players where we are already stacked…Bobo and Watson come to mind…perhaps trade bait…perhaps trade up in the draft…I like both of these guys and they may yet get to contribute to the Bucs…they’re just stuck in the logjam at WR. But if we lose Hump one of them may become very valuable.
There IS talent on this team. We’ve just identified at least four pieces of this team who mailed it in and just collected paychecks.
Imagine if Bowles is still fired up and we have an energized DC.
Imagine if he finds a way to get the talent our of Spence.
Grimes gone…Swaggy long gone…hopefully DJAX joins them.
We have lost sooooo many games the last two years due to lack of discipline…stupid penalties…stupid choices…and it’s not just JW although he did his share. Just getting our heads out of our rectums could produce at least three more wins.!!!!
January 15th, 2019 at 5:55 pm
The Bucs do have the parts to win right now. Clearly on offense they’re set. People can whine about the run game all they want, but just do more with your running game than running up the middle against stacked defenses on 1st down when everyone knows it’s coming, and watch as the run game magically improves. On defense, IF, they get everyone back healthy and keep Kwon and he magically comes back early (or Beckwith is back and healthy and moves inside), then they have just barely enough to get it done. The defensive backfield is a mess, but if VH3 is back at nickle, Davis is starting at another corner, you have Evans and Whitehead – you’re really down to just needing another starting corner. Now it’s not a good defense, but I think you can get maybe to like #22 defense, which would be a huge improvement. On offense there is no reason they can’t continue to be a top 5 offense and put more points on the board.
The team isn’t that far away from winning. They lost close game after close game, or the defense would have them down by 21 in the 2nd quarter when the offense had had the ball once – but that wasn’t happening later in the year once Smith was gone and some of the rookies on defense were playing better.
A quick turnaround could happen – and I assume Arians didn’t take the job for it to be a 5-year rebuild. The biggest issue with this team is playing in the NFC South and the God awful defense, address that and manage to get another point or two out of the offense and you got a team that could go 9-7 or perhaps even 10-6.
January 15th, 2019 at 6:40 pm
One or two malcontents can go a long way toward killing the competitive drive and spirit of any team. We certainly had that last year. Combine that with a HC that was playing the PR game and positioning himself for his next job and a DC that had already checked out, and we had no chance. In 2017 we were done before Halloween. In 2018, we were done before Labor Day.