Nailed It
November 15th, 2019
Wise owl.
Joe is getting messages on Twitter that America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, is struggling because the Bucs let Adam Humphries walk away.
Both notions are incorrect.
Jameis is third in the NFL in passing yards with 2,765 yards and is tied for fourth-most touchdowns thrown. That’s not what Joe calls “struggling.”
(Cue the Andy Dalton chatter.)
And while Joe was a fan of Humphries, there is no evidence whatsoever the Bucs or Jameis are missing Humphries. Yeah, Joe wanted Humphries to stay. He had magic with Jameis. But Bucs coach Bucco Bruce Arians wanted speed, specifically at the slot position. So Arians went with Chris Godwin.
As a result, Godwin has totally blown up. Godwin is in the top five in the NFL in both receptions, touchdowns and receiving yards. Hello, Pro Bowl.
Humphries, great guy that he was, never came close to putting up those numbers.
And by the way, the Bucs offense is racking up points, averaging 28.9 points a game, third-best in the NFL.
So Joe doesn’t know why or how someone could drum up this concoction that both Jameis is struggling and the Bucs miss Humphries. Neither is the case at all.
November 15th, 2019 at 3:05 pm
Agree with this take, Joe. Jameis is not struggling. He is merely having Big year and turning it over a lot. The turnovers must improve if we are ever going to have a chance for the playoffs.
November 15th, 2019 at 3:07 pm
The Bucs offense is averaging 27.3 pts per game. The Bucs defense actually scored 2 Td’s. Yeah for the Bucs defense.
November 15th, 2019 at 3:12 pm
Totally agreed Joe, and here’s another take about Hump. It sure looks like Winston made Hump better, something great players do. HaHa I’m sure people are going to have a field day with that comment.
November 15th, 2019 at 3:18 pm
Hhhmmm…
November 15th, 2019 at 3:19 pm
Fitzpatrick sure made DJax look better too!
November 15th, 2019 at 3:27 pm
He isn’t missing Humphries but he is missing a competent 3rd receiver big time. Perriman is all speed zero technique and will. The problem is the guys behind him must be worse. It’ll be so sad if scotty Miller ends up with more yards
November 15th, 2019 at 3:28 pm
Winston also leads the league in turnovers and picks.
Gotta look at both sides of the coin there Joe.
Also proves that Stats Are For Losers.
November 15th, 2019 at 3:45 pm
Consistency get you the playoffs and to the Superbowl. Inconsistency gets you a top ten pick.
November 15th, 2019 at 3:53 pm
Godwin did not replace Humphries. He replaced Jackson.
Scotty Miller replaced Humphries.
And obviously, Hump is better.
November 15th, 2019 at 4:03 pm
I agree that Jameis is not struggling vs last year….
You have to look at the WR corps as a whole…..it’s not just the loss of Humphries but it is the loss of Djax also….
That, coupled with the limited use of TEs (especially Brate)…..and we are having to make up for last year with Evans & Godwin….(and, that’s happening)
November 15th, 2019 at 4:04 pm
BrianBucs Says:
November 15th, 2019 at 3:28 pm
Winston also leads the league in turnovers and picks.
Gotta look at both sides of the coin there Joe.
Also proves that Stats Are For Losers.
BINGO!!!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!!
November 15th, 2019 at 4:07 pm
Winston god’s gift to the bay area haters……
bucfan always love them a mediocre feel good story. hump has stunk in tenseness… hump is stealing in Tampa the same way swaggy stole from glazers NO PRODUCTION!
November 15th, 2019 at 4:17 pm
Agree with Bonzai. Last year Jameis had ME13, Godwin, DJax & Humphries to throw to as his WRs. This year he’s got ME13 & Godwin; the rest (Perriman, Miller, Watson & Wilson) haven’t even produced HALF as many TOGETHER as many catches (18) through game 9 as Humphries had all by himself (37) after 9 games last season.
Still, it’s irrelevant. We couldn’t afford Adam after bumping Jameis up from $8 mil to $21 mil, Donovan from $1.9 mil to $12.5 mil and Ali from $1.6 mil to $11 mil. Simple economics.
November 15th, 2019 at 4:22 pm
Loved humphries, but you gotta spend your money wisely… the real problem has been the dramatic fall between the 2nd and 3rd option… if OJ gets his act together that will make you think less about Humphries.
November 15th, 2019 at 4:26 pm
May be true, but Humphries is much, much better than any #3 on the Bucs roster, and he’d make Winston even more dangerous as a passer.
And contrary to popular belief, it’s not Winston’s completion, yards or scoring Buc fans object to.
Fans reject his continuous bone-headed fumbles and INT’s that kills this team in the win column.
November 15th, 2019 at 4:29 pm
Where Jameis is struggling is mistakes and most are mental. My question is, would it be better to have a QB throw for 5000 yards, makes mental mistakes, fumble a lot and has +25 interceptions or a QB who plays smart, throws for 3500 yards, hangs on to the football and has 6-10 interceptions?
In Jameis defense, our O-line couldn’t pass block my dead grandmother.
November 15th, 2019 at 4:33 pm
JW could be the leader in yards and TD’s and the leader of the most productive offense but with his abysmal winning percentage it’s meaningless. It’s not his fault all the time every time but holy smokes I don’t know of any modern day QB whose success is not directly correlated to a positive winning percentage. Lots of factors go into winning but man his fingerprints are all over this failure.
November 15th, 2019 at 4:37 pm
Still miss Humphries
November 15th, 2019 at 4:43 pm
In all honesty, Jameis imo had 2 really bad games this year, against the 9er’s at home and vs. the Panthers in London; 8 total int’s in 2 games really make his TD to Turnover ratio look a lot worst than it really is…
Other than that, I think he’s been solid for the most part, especially considering he’s in a new offense; the passing yards and TD’s show he can be really good…He just has to find a way to eliminate the bonehead plays/meltdowns and simply get out of his own way.
November 15th, 2019 at 4:52 pm
Nobody misses Humphries and they Titans paid all that $$$$$
November 15th, 2019 at 4:53 pm
Long Season – so you asked the question and it should be obvious. Our secondary is horrible and gives up TDs at an alarming rate. You need the QB who will throw for 5k yards and leads the team to a top 5 ranking in scoring. Some game manager will just lose in a more boring fashion along the lines of 35-13 vs 35-31 with Jameis.
November 15th, 2019 at 5:02 pm
Perhaps not Humphries but to not have a decent 3rd receiver option and rarely using the tight end position is a miss by our GM and Leftwich. Someone who can get open AND catch should have a field day with Godwin and Evans getting all of the attention. So yes maybe Humphries isnt missed but having a player of his caliber is being missed.
November 15th, 2019 at 5:08 pm
Turn over an offense without an effective running game and that by design drives the ball down the field to two all star caliber wideouts to produce points to a game manage? . Good idea.
Arians thinks so, too, as does Leftwich. That’s why Arians is pointedly letting the world know Jameis is doing a great job, so he can bring in a game manager.
Now, QB’s are going to have tough games, as it’s a tough league. Jameis does needs to continue to improve his decision making and not have any more of the self inflicted Carolina type games. Arians won’t (can’t) tolerate that and will change his tune
November 15th, 2019 at 5:08 pm
“Jameis is third in the NFL in passing yards with 2,765 yards and is tied for fourth-most touchdowns thrown. That’s not what Joe calls “struggling.”
Jameis is also #1 in interceptions (14), #1 in being sacked (34), #1 in pick sixes (3), #4 in fumbles (10) and lost 4 of the fumbles, ranks #32 in completion percentage among QB’s
(https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2019/leaders.htm)
Personally I call this stuggling. We would all agree the buccaneer defense is struggling as they are ranked #1/#2 against the run, yet last in passing defense.
November 15th, 2019 at 5:22 pm
A running game is a quarterback best friend go ask Rogers , Brees, Brady , big Ben, Dak , Cousins, Jimmy G, Russell Wilson, and even Derrick Carr is doing well because now the raiders can run the ball. Now go look at all the teams that can’t run the ball and play defense we are one of them and we will not be going to the playoffs just like the rest of the team that can’t run or play defense… We have a 4th ranked offense with no running game but all you guys see is Jamies. If I was the GM I wouldn’t waste my time even listening to you fantasy football type of people who don’t know nothing about football lol lol lol …. Go Bucs
November 15th, 2019 at 5:22 pm
Here’s the thing on our offensive point totals that should be considered. We are getting improved point totals because of improvement in two areas. The kicking
game is averaging almost nine points a game. Add to that, almost 5 points average from our running backs . We have 8 TD’s already this year from RB’s
compared to four last year. We now have the ability to add points when drives stall and require kicks of longer range.
November 15th, 2019 at 5:28 pm
Cobraboy … Haven’t seen your comments on JBF.com in awhile. Always appreciate your solid analyses & comments. Agree with you about Jameis’ turnovers being a driving factor, but I tend to think that a large part of that is our OLine not protecting him well enough (34 sacks in 9 games is abysmal IMO) & the quality of WRs NOT named Evans & Godwin.
But even with those 2 factors, it’s the play-calling that drives me nuts admittedly. ‘Bombs Away’ is a great strategy, but more in war than in football. Our deep passes that are completed rack up the yards, but those that don’t kill drives … and we’ve had a LOT more of the latter. The only reason IMO that BA won in Arizona in years 2013-2015 is because he had the #7, #5 and #7 defenses in the NFL in POINTS ALLOWED those years. If those teams had had this 2019 Bucs defense, they would’ve had losing records. Cards’ defense fell to #14 & #19 in 2016 & 2017, and both seasons he essentially broke even.
IOW, BA’s Bombs Away, deep ball passing offense can rack up a lot of yards and a lot of points, but it can also rack up a lot of turnovers. And because of that, it requires a strong defense to be successful. That’s why almost all other teams seem to have moved away from it IMO in favor of a more balanced attack.
November 15th, 2019 at 5:36 pm
Those fans are probably confused, b/c Hump was a better #3 WR compared to the crap we’ve had this season.
But as you alluded to, Godwin is playing the slot much more, which is were Hump played. Hump is not an outside receiver, even in the #3 position.
That said, we can definitely still upgrade from Perriman and/or Miller.
Where tf is Justin Watson?
November 15th, 2019 at 5:37 pm
OneBuc55 … Good point about when the Bucs’ offensive’ turnovers occurred, but I think it’s a tad bigger numbers. We had 4 TOs in the 49ers game (lost 31-17), 7 TOs in the Panthers London game (lost 37-26), and 4 TOs in the Titans game (lost 27-23). So in 3 games… ALL LOSSES … that was 15 of our 21 turnovers on the year. The historic odds of winning 4-turnover games BTW are VERY low.
November 15th, 2019 at 5:45 pm
Hump wasn’t big enough to play the slot for BA. The slot has to take on DEs and LBs in the run game. Also, without Jaboo passing to him Hump isn’t nearly as effective in Tenn.
Buccaneer Bonzai says:
Godwin did not replace Humphries. He replaced Jackson. (wrong…DJax wasn’t a slot)
Scotty Miller replaced Humphries. (wrong…Scotty is trying to replace DJax. Just because Scotty is short and white doesn’t mean he’s replacing Hump)
November 15th, 2019 at 5:51 pm
I hope the Scotty Miller experiment is over after this year. Devin Duvernay out of Texas is bigger (5’11” 210), faster (4.38 laser time high school), stronger (Ask Grant Delpit) and has better hands than scotty miller. Top 2 in receptions in the NCAA w/ 0 drops. He played outside his entire college career and got moved to slot this year. He can step in next year and contribute day 1. Evans, Goodwin and Duvernay could moved all over the field. I dont think Scotty will ever really contribute in Tampa
November 15th, 2019 at 5:58 pm
“Lol
Godwin plays outside wr. He runs outside deep vertical routes
Hump is a slot reciever and runs 5-10 yard short pattern routes
BA never signed Hump because his scheme doesn’t use the slot receiver and it’s short routes but 3 vertical receivers
BA ancient offensive scheme causes the QB to hold the ball waiting for wrs to get open downfield
His scheme doesnt have a efficent short passing game utilizing the slot receiver and Tight end.
We are the only team in the NFL using this ancient offense”
Kobe Faker
November 15th, 2019 at 6:10 pm
IMO, Jameis’s fumbles and sacks can be improved on. There are times that
he holds the ball too long and gets sacked or has a fumble.
The other thing that defenses take advantage of ,is he still locks in on his receiver, giving the defense a chance to jump the route or get in the best position to make the play.
Agree with DR, that playcalling is sometimes suspect. On a third and three,get the first down.I don’t know if that was supposed to be a wheel route to T J Logan
but it was badly thrown and it stalled the drive.
November 15th, 2019 at 6:12 pm
Who is Humphries?
November 15th, 2019 at 6:16 pm
It isn’t about the turnovers. It’s about the secondary!
November 15th, 2019 at 6:19 pm
once again faker shows how football ignorant he is.
November 15th, 2019 at 6:22 pm
If you’re a masochist and enjoy watching Jameis try to beat himself almost every game, then yeah, he’s your guy.
November 15th, 2019 at 6:43 pm
DR, thanks for the hat tip.
Dittos.
I think the Arians offense lends itself to sacks with longer developing plays and deep routes. I’d also say the last Saints game was particularly poor for the OL giving up 6 sacks.
Will the Bucs repeat that poor OL play this Sunday? Is this team improving? Will Evans get shutout? Will Leftwich call more quick-hitters, slants and screens?
That said, within the context of this thread, nobody replaced Humphries and the team could use a sure-handed guy who can get open 8-10 yds. downfield with the rest of the field spread with deep verticals.
November 15th, 2019 at 7:11 pm
Cobraboy … Totally agree about the OL play in Nrw Orleans. But yes, I do think the Bucs are improving. ME13 should have a good game, especially with Lattimore out. BL still concerns me, but I think his play-calling has improved somewhat lately. As far as someone replacing Humphries, you’re spot on. RoJo, Barber & Dare have been targeted 60 times though in 9 games (caught 45 for 75% rate), which is somewhat more than our RBs were used as receivers through 9 games last year … 50 targets with 38 catches for 76%.
I love the deep ball, but wish we were more selective in its use. Jameis is hitting well below 50% on the bombs, but still racking up a ton of yards by those that are completed. Yardage & TDs is a numbers thing when you throw as many as we do, but they also have killed too many drives. Just need to be more selective.
November 15th, 2019 at 7:12 pm
“Jameis is third in the NFL in passing yards with 2,765 yards and is tied for fourth-most touchdowns thrown. That’s not what Joe calls “struggling.”
Jameis is also leading the league in INTs, total turnovers and is completing less than 60% of his passes. In fact, Winston doesn’t even register in the TOP 50 in NFL Completion % for QB’s. That IS what I call “struggling”.
November 15th, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Titans are also making Hump return punts. Talk about stupid BS! I wish he was back, too. Lined up with ME13 and Ungodly on the sides and him in the middle…oh well. BA is full of BS so far. He better equal his rep on Sunday against NOLA. Brees might be HOF, but he’s 40 and getting a bit long in the tooth! Go Bucs Please!!
November 16th, 2019 at 6:32 am
He is struggling because he lacks the skills to compete at this level.