Best Deep Ball Thrower In The NFC

December 17th, 2019

“What say you, D-Jax?”

A common knock on Jameis Winston before this season was his struggles throwing deep.

Isn’t it interesting how that same guy now leads the NFL in completions of 20 yards or more, and ranks second in big passing plays of 40 yards or more?

There’s no way to put a finger on one exact reason for Jameis’ deep-ball numbers this season, but here are a handful of thoughts:

*Jameis’ mechanics are improved. Bucco Bruce Arians and QB coach Clyde Christensen, upon arrival in Tampa, didn’t hide the fact they would be targeting mechanical fixes.

*Chris Godwin’s mad yards after the catch boost the numbers.

*Offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, unlike Dirk Koetter, is willing to throw more go-routes to Mike Evans. It always felt like Koetter didn’t believe Evans had the speed.

*Breshad Perriman and Scotty Miller are willing to put in extra work with Jameis and run hard on the field at all times, which means more consistency for the passer (aka DeSean Jackson is gone). Joe’s not calling Perriman and Miller great players, but their work is paying off after a rough start.

*No running game. The Bucs are last in the NFC when it comes to runs of 20 yards or more, and in yards per carry by running backs. That’s more motivation for Leftwich to take the deep shots.

32 Responses to “Best Deep Ball Thrower In The NFC”

  1. LaMarcus Says:

    DJX is on IR. Didn’t like Wentz either.

  2. Gerald McBezos Says:

    James Winston is 4th all time in passing yards per game.

    His career INT percentage of 3.3% is better than 20 hall of fame QBs and identical to Favre.

    Facts.

  3. Runnerdoc Says:

    You said it. Jameis has talent. He won a National Championship and a Heisman trophy as a redshirt freshman. And, he’s locked in. He works. Hard.

  4. Larry Says:

    Call me jaded but I don’t care what the stats are, he should never be paid top dollar/Drew Brees money. What has he won? Nothing!! If he wins a super bowl or makes the playoffs year after year then he would be worth that kind of money. Once you commit top dollar money to Winston, that takes away from building the rest of the team.

  5. Joe in Michigan Says:

    Jameis said that he and Perriman have clicked because of hard work in practice. I imagine D Jax was like Allen Iverson when it comes to practice.

  6. Bucs4821 Says:

    Sometime in the late 80s ESPN put the formula for the QB Ratings on the screen as a complex mathematical puzzle. I happened to have a VCR running at the time. I went back, paused it and wrote down the formula. Soon afterwards I had it down pat. There are aspects of the ratings that didn’t make sense at the time. QBs who threw for 300+ a game had lower ratings than guys who turned around and handed the ball off 40 times a game. I decided to try an experiment with two sets of even numbers. If a QB had the same completion percentage and yards per attempt, then what would the rating be based on the same TD & interception percentage? I realized it was not a ‘power’ number, it was an efficiency number. A QB who throws 10 TDs and 10 picks in a season is going to have a noticeably higher rating than a QB who throws for 40 and 40. This is what we’re seeing with Arians, Leftwich and Winston. They’re going to take those deep shots down the field. If one gets picked, it’s like a punt (Dan Fouts once mentioned Don Coryell told him that but Coryell changed his story after a pick was thrown). Nobody wants to see a QB throw 40 picks but picks can bounce off a receiver’s hands into a nearby DB. But, 40 TDs are 40 TDs. Last I checked the team that scores the most points wins the game.

    I don’t have an answer for how the best in the game throw 40 TDs and only 10 picks in a season other than the rule changes since I started following this team 40+ years ago.

    What @Gerald McBezos said above says it all!

  7. Kord Says:

    Off topic, but I live in Idaho and I’m coming down for the Texans game!! Any favorite bars/restaurants you guys like to recommend??? Been 16 years since I was in ray jay last

  8. July Joe Says:

    TONS OF IDIOTS that still post on this forum, ripped JW for his deep ball last year and said he’d never be a good deep-ball thrower … EVERYONE of them should APOLOGIZE & ADMIT HOW WRONG THEY WERE … but of course, they won’t, they’ll just bounce to the next criticism of Jameis.

    Even if Jameis goes 18-1, wins the MVP and Super Bowl MVP all in the same season … there will STILL be IDIOTS saying, “so what Bob Griese went undefeated in a season and he wasn’t all that great of as QB … we could have went undefeated with a better QB than Jameis” … SERIOUSLY!

    THE IDIOCY & HATRED Jameis faces has been around him since he was a little kid, people calling him racial slurs when he was in Pop Warner, sending him death threats when he was a teenager, and now the TAMPA IDIOTS hating on him while he’s breaking records.

    If he was one of these IDIOTS children being treated this way by some other IDIOT adult, that person would want to pulverize the adult … but no … with Jameis it’s different … SO RIDICULOUS AND PATHETIC!

  9. eric Says:

    Larry Says:
    December 17th, 2019 at 12:36 am
    Call me jaded but I don’t care what the stats are, he should never be paid top dollar/Drew Brees money. What has he won? Nothing!! If he wins a super bowl or makes the playoffs year after year then he would be worth that kind of money. Once you commit top dollar money to Winston, that takes away from building the rest of the team.

    Never understood a man who worries about another man bank account, he should get what the market will pay!

  10. I Just Got To Get Better Says:

    How does Jameis erases the reoccurring FITZMAGIC nightmare and land a 100 million dollar contract?

    Put up 450 yards against a good Texan team but make sure his interception(s) does not makes us to lose.

    Go Jameis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Where is The Realist???????????????????????????????????????????

  11. ClodHopper Says:

    The criticism for Jameis’ deep ball was valid his first four years. This year he’s improved. Being good at this year doesn’t change history and suddenly make him good at it last year.

  12. Scott Says:

    He was very accurate with the long ball Sunday.

    That’s Sunday, singular.

    Nuthuggers jumping the gun…..

  13. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    Larry Says
    Call me jaded but I don’t care what the stats are, he should never be paid top dollar/Drew Brees money. What has he won? Nothing!! If he wins a super bowl or makes the playoffs year after year then he would be worth that kind of money. Once you commit top dollar money to Winston, that takes away from building the rest of the team.

    Having a franchise QB will always put stress on the cap.

    If Licht can keep most of this team together, we’re looking at a bright future. A top offense and a top 10 defense in a year or so.

    That’s a Superbowl contender.

    If we have to draft a rookie starting QB, that’s more than likely out the window. Our talent will age-out before he is ready to complete.

    The evaluation of Jameis has to be objective. Compare this year to previous years.

    • Last year, the offense was a top yardage offense. This year it is top yardage and scoring.
    • Jameis has gotten better in yards. He will likely hit 5,000 yards for the first time.
    • Jameis has gotten better at scoring
    • Jameis has gotten better at deep throws
    • Jameis has gotten better at winning this year.

    While this picks are higher, the QB hits allowed by the offensive line are higher than any year of Jameis’ career.

    He is trending up so far as improvement. This tells us that Arians really is a QB Whisperer. If the trend continues, then next year, Jameis will be even more improved…and worth a LOT more money.

  14. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    ClodHopper,

    No, but it does change this year and going forward.

    Nearly identical numbers to Manning and Favre in multiple areas during their first 5 years.

    The question is whether we gamble to improvements continue, or gamble on rebooting the Quarterback Curse.

  15. DoooshLaRue Says:

    Fools gold.

  16. Licht Headed Says:

    DJax a cancer wherever he goes…..

  17. #1bucfan Says:

    Only liked DJAX on madden. He acts more like a baby wen things don’t go his way. Glad he is out of our locker room. We need team first players like Godwin. Not me first players like DJAX. Not saying he isn’t a good players he’s done some amazing things but he’s a selfish cry baby sorry DJAX you’ll prob never play in a super bowl

  18. Razor Ramone Says:

    Kord, grab a Cuban sandwich and go to the Davidoff of Geneva, now that’s a pre game!

  19. bucsince79 aka bumaneer Says:

    you what the difference between DJAX and a canoe is? The canoe sometimes TIPS!!! DJAX is a TURD!!!!

  20. Ed Says:

    Jameis was on the money with the deep ball this year. The throws to Perriman on Sunday were perfect. Mike Evans has caught some well throw deep balls. Frankly if you watch Jameis’ interceptions its mostly on shorter throws where he lacks accuracy or isn’t reading the defense and throwing into coverage.

    His game has dramatically improved and he has proven he can fight back out of holes he sometimes digs for himself.

    All that being said his weakness is his consistancy. But this season you cannot say he hasn’t been throwing beautiful post and go routes, perfect timing too.

  21. 813bucboi Says:

    djax ask, “what else does he lead the league in?”(cough cough INTs)….lol….

    GO BUCS!!!!!!

  22. SammyRebel Says:

    DeSean Jackson is the biggest cancer in the locker room the previous two seasons, he’s just a big name because he had a couple big games his first run in philly and he’s fast other than that he is over rated and a sore loser he’ll never win a super bowl, couldn’t of happened to a nicer guy

  23. Go Bucs 72 Says:

    DeSean Jackson is a punk ass bitch.

  24. Kobe Faker Says:

    “Look at those eyes

    The eyes are the window to the soul

    Those eyes are saying

    They named a Cancer called DJAXitis?”

    Kobe Faker

  25. SirClicksAlot Says:

    @Kord I like Cigar City Brewery for pregame action. Great beer and very close to Ray Jay. Also, West Tampa is the place for cubans. Make sure to get some extras for after the game! Also the media noche there is pretty awesome.

    I think the offensive scheme change and coaching quality is the major difference we are seeing in Winston’s deep balls. It take 11 to make it work, and the staff has this team on point.

  26. unbelievable Says:

    The deep ball concerns were largely overblown. It was mostly just with D-Jax for whatever reason. And it didn’t help that Desean has put almost no effort into making adjustments either.

    Never had issues with Evans or even V-Jax when he was here.

  27. Dapostman Says:

    MeSean has only played 2 full years out of 12 seasons. He catches about 5 Td’s a year and a couple of long Td’s and idiot NFL fans think this guy is the bomb. He’s a hit or miss home run player with a bad attitude. Licht should have traded him at the deadline last season. Could have probably gotten more.

  28. stpetebucsfan Says:

    AGAIN…how many homes on Harbour Island..or some trendy Tampa suburb..how many jets…Bentley’s…whatever the answer I can guarantee you that JW’s money from this season alone…forget signing bonus and previous four years mean he is beyond fabulously wealthy and I would maintain beyond the comprehension of virtually every poster here including ME!

    So here is the best advice JW can receive…

    I get you want as much protection as you can get in terms of the next five years of your life! The annual salary will have minimal impact on that!!! It’s true!

    Playing for a winner will be far more important. Force the Glazers to commit to spending the entire cap money each year on player salaries in return for taking a smaller share so the team can become perennial winners.

    And here is something that has been overlooked. If JW “appears” to have given the Bucs a great hometown discount per BA…Licht and the other powers that be…it would give him a chance to erase any residual bad taste left from his FSU and AZ adventures and suspension.

    IF JW gives the Bucs a cap friendly deal and takes one for the “team”..not the franchise…he can truly become the face of the franchise at long last.

    OTOH…if as a rumor I just read indicates JW is trying to break the bank…I don’t care squat about “America” “Capitalism” “Free Enterprise” and everybody’s inalienable right to earn the maximum $$$…I say I agree that’s his right…let him hit the highway and earn those maximum $$ somewhere else.

  29. Buczilla Says:

    I’m still on the fence with Jameis (buffoonery at it’s finest sometimes), but Jackson was a punk. Joe keeps intimating that behind the scenes, Jackson was doing Jameis wrong. Any teammate that knew this and didn’t stick up for (maybe they did, not enough details) Jameis should be gone. As Joe stated several times last year, Jameis didn’t have issues hitting anyone deep last year other than Jackson. Good riddance.

  30. OneBuc55 Says:

    DJax=Team Obliterator

  31. BucAllNight Says:

    @Larry: What did Cousins win when he got 96M
    GUARENTEED? (I’ll wait)

    Also what did Sam Bradford ever win? ( He stole an insane amount of money from NFL)

    Knock it off we can see right thru you…

  32. Rob In Land O Lakes Says:

    Kord, hit me up on Twitter and I’ll give you details on my tailgate for Saturday. Really good stuff. @DRobLewis