Support Your Quarterback!

People the time has come to back your quarterback. As we enter the month of June it appears that a certain part of this fanbase is struggling to grasp this concept. Buccaneer fans spent nearly every second of every day this past offseason either defending or bashing the idea that the Bucs would select Jameis Winston. Since Winston's arrival at One Buc Place, all he's done is be one of the first guys to show up to the practice facility and one of the last to leave. He's attended several charity events as well. What gets the message boards and media hacks attention? Winston opening a door for a reality tv star. Winston practicing with the 2nd team. Winston throwing an interception in practice. Seems legit, right? Let's take a look at what some of the people who's opinions actually matter. Vincent Jackson on Jameis Winston,“Yeah, he’s very dynamic,” Jackson said of Jameis. “He puts touch on it when he needs to, but he will sling it, he will fire it across you there when he knows it’s a tight window. We’ve seen that both, where he knows how to put his foot in the ground but he does throw a great deep ball as well, soft, and puts it away from the defensive guys.“(He’s) a very sound quarterback and he’s only going to continue to get better because you see his competitiveness. He doesn’t want to miss a throw. He comes out here each and every day and he works on his craft.” Seems as though Vincent Jackson is impressed so far. What about fellow rookie Kenny Bell? Here’s what Bell had to say:"He’s the best roommate I’ve ever had. One of the best teammates I’ve ever had. It’s been phenomenal. We’ve been going from about 6 o’clock in the morning to 8 o’clock at night. And then, we get back to the hotel and he wants to study more. He’s an extremely intelligent individual. So, I’m definitely thankful that I got him as a roommate because he’s not only one heck of a football player, but he’s one heck of a leader…he’s dedicated to his job." That’s for sure. That seems to say not only can he throw the rock like Jackson stated, but he's also a playbook geek.

Wait, I bet we can get Mike Glennon to say something negative about the guy who was drafted to play in front of him. Mike, what say you? "he is a sharp kid, he is intelligent, he throws the ball well." That 3 for 3 in favor of Winston, if you're keeping score. Maybe we can find a coach to cast some shade on this kid. Let's start with Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter. "Back in the quarterback meeting room after lunch, Bajakian put tape of the plays they'd be installing on the big screen. What's your formation here, Jameis? The protection? Your route progression? Who's your hot receiver? Play after play, for 45 minutes, they went through it. Winston remembered it all. I'm going to compare every guy I test like that the rest of my career to Jameis," Hmmm I'm no genius but that seems to be a pretty good endorsement. Coach Lovie Smith had a few things to say as well."Jameis and everybody else, you've got to earn your position. Jameis is right on schedule. We're not disappointed or anything like that." Well, Lovie didnt exactly gush over him, but when does Lovie ever gush? So right about now you negative nancy's are thinking, " great all this praise is going straight to Winston's head" Let's take a look at some quotes from Winston."I was never given anything in my life, so the way I was brought up, I have to earn everything," Winston said. "The main thing is to earn the respect of all these players out here." "Just watching Mike (Glennon) and seeing the things he does, I'm trying to peek at everything that he has because he's been doing great" Winston said. "I look up to him, and the things he does are magnificent. It's always good to have a great guy in front of you, and it just helps you push yourself." So it seems like the people who actually spend time with Winston, the ones whos opinions actually matter, aren't only happy with but impressed by Winston. You have to wonder why so many people are struggling to put their preconcieved notions behind them? Why now, after so much time has passed since this guy has been in any actual trouble, do people still snarl at him? Why do they continue to twist any positive actions into something bad? Why can't they just embrace this guy the way he has embraced the community? I can't explain it, but I have my theories. What I do know is, like him or loathe him, it's time to back your quarterback.