The Pewter Plank
FanSided

3 ways Buccaneers can cater offense to quarterback Jameis Winston

By Cory Kinnan

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - OCTOBER 06: Jameis Winston #3 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers reacts after being sacked by Cameron Jordan #94 of the New Orleans Saints during the second half of a game at the Mercedes Benz Superdome on October 06, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - OCTOBER 06: Jameis Winston #3 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers reacts after being sacked by Cameron Jordan #94 of the New Orleans Saints during the second half of a game at the Mercedes Benz Superdome on October 06, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – OCTOBER 06: Jameis Winston #3 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looks to pass during the first half of a NFL game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes Benz Superdome on October 06, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – OCTOBER 06: Jameis Winston #3 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looks to pass during the first half of a NFL game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes Benz Superdome on October 06, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

Get Winston in rhythm early

Two weeks ago against the Los Angeles Rams, a game where the offense piled on 48 points, Winston threw for nearly 400 yards and four touchdowns. This week he threw for barely over 200 yards, thanks to a drive in garbage time, and two touchdowns as the play calling looked much different, hence different results.

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The key to the success of Winston is to get him in a rhythm early on; against the Rams, the Bucs picked up big chunks of yardage on screen plays and quick hitters. This week, for whatever reason, Leftwich dialed up long developing plays and deep out routes to start the game against the Saints.

Almost predictably, Winston struggled early on as he was asked to make tough throws before he had worked himself into a rhythm. On the Bucs’ first scoring drive of the game, the offense was able to piece together a drive that ended in a Chris Godwin touchdown where Jameis was able to step up in the pocket and let it rip across the middle of the field.

Moving forward, the Bucs should get back into the flow of hitting receivers early in drives on quick slants, drags, and outs rather than trying to force the ball downfield right away without drawing the defense in first. Hitting these shorter throws would then allow Winston to get into rhythm and gain some confidence.

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