Following practice Saturday, Jameis Winston spoke with the media and reiterated his expectations for this team, especially the offense.
The moral of the story is simple: Jameis Winston expects greatness and won’t settle for less. After leading a record setting Buccaneers offense in 2015, Winston is seeking bigger and better things in 2016, his second year in Dirk Koetter’s system.
When addressing the media, Winston spoke about the offense moving forward;
"“We’ll never be where we should be because like I said, we’ll never arrive. Our objective is always to get better, but if you look at the box scores, our offense did a good job. It’s just really hard to win games with four turnovers, especially with my fumble being inside the 10 [yard line]. You look at the whole game, the two turnovers that we had on their side of the field, if they don’t get those turnovers inside their own 10-yard line they, don’t score.”Aug 11, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (3) throws a pass during the first quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports"
Never one to shy away from blame, Winston was quick to call out himself for mistakes he made Thursday night;
"“I just dropped the ball. I was actually getting ready to throw it, and he just batted it down. Great play. That guy [defensive tackle Fletcher Cox] is a hundred-million dollar man. Just got to hit my check-down and be a little bit more decisive and get it to [running back] Doug Martin.”"
These are the reasons Bucs fans gravitate towards Winston. These are the reasons the Bucs’ players gravitate towards Winston. He pushes himself to be better, pushes the team to be better, and won’t accept losing anymore. This franchise finally got a key component they’ve desperately needed for over a decade. No, not just a franchise quarterback, but a player that is so focused, so polarizing, he changes the culture of the locker room virtually on his own.
He ended the season last year with a press conference talking about how guys that don’t hate to lose don’t need to be here. He clarified that somewhat Saturday, but the message is still very clear;
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"“No, no, no, no. I’m not talking about individual players, I’m talking about a mentality. I would never call out my teammates and say guys need to start hating to lose. It’s a mentality that you’ve got to have, and it’s an easy choice. It’s a choice; you’ve got to want to win. As a team, we have to make that choice together. I’m not saying just because I want to win doesn’t mean that someone else wants to win, I’m saying all of us have to be together and be on the same page because if we’re on the same page and we have the same common goal, the same focus, we’re going to win a lot of football games.”"
Next: WR Competition Still WIDE Open
Is there any question as to why Jameis Winston is the leader of this team? Any question that, if the Bucs are going to return to playoff contention, Jameis Winston will be the reason they get there? No. There was little question to begin with, but anyone who no longer believes in Jameis is only kidding themselves.