Jameis Winston Flashes Talent, Inconsistency Against Cincinnati Bengals
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston was looking for a big display against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The rookie quarterback made his Monday Night Football debut during the second week of the preseason in a 25-11 win after a lackluster display against the Minnesota Vikings in his first outing. It was his home debut as well as his prime-time debut, so Winston had outside pressure to perform.
He also had some minor pressure from inside of the franchise, as head coach Lovie Smith only gave his starter a lukewarm endorsement for his debut display, per ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas:
TOP NEWS
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Colts Release Kenny Moore
Projecting Every NFL Team's Starting Lineup 🔮
Rookie WRs Who Will Outplay Their Draft Value 📈
"I thought it was a typical Jameis Winston day. ... He threw some good balls at the end. Pretty good decisions. We'd like to have that one interception back, but I thought he threw some pretty good balls. That's what you judge your quarterback on, decision making. For the most part, I think it was pretty good.
"
All rookies should be given time to develop. That should go without saying, but it often doesn't. It takes most quarterbacks years to figure out the nuances of professional football, and the majority who take on the task never do—even those who carve out a 15-year career as a spot starter or backup never quite get there.
Being the first overall pick of the draft obviously sets a higher standard, but talk of Winston's intelligence and his expected comfort transitioning to the NFL over his peer Marcus Mariota heightened expectations to a greater degree.
Therefore, even though it was only the second preseason game of the year, Winston was under pressure to provide more optimism for his fanbase.
Unsurprisingly, he was immediately better in this game than he had been in his first. He needed time to settle into the new offensive scheme while playing at a completely different speed than college football.
One of the most important things he learned during the first game was to get rid of the ball quicker. Winston plays behind a limited offensive line, so he's going to be under pressure to do this with regularity throughout the whole season.
At Florida State, he was inconsistent in his own skill set, one that also showed off a broad range of abilities to elevate his teammates.
Despite his somewhat elongated release and unconventional footwork, Winston maneuvered collapsing pockets and released the ball early to negate poor blocking up front against the Bengals. During the first drive of the game, Winston reminded everyone of the traits that made him a more advanced quarterback than most.
In his debut vs. the Minnesota Vikings, Winston didn't play controlled football and was behind an offensive line that was often overwhelmed. Therefore, his first drive vs. Cincinnati was telling even though it didn't provide one highlight play.
Winston methodically moved the offense downfield with quick, accurate passes underneath to complement an effective running game.
Pictured above is Winston's most impressive play on the first drive—a 1st-and-10 from the Tampa 36 in the first quarter—and it encapsulated what he initially did well. He turned to run a play fake, taking his eyes away from the coverage and his pass protection. While Winston was executing the fake, the offensive line was failing him.
By the time the quarterback got to the top of his drop, there was a free edge defender arriving into the pocket from the top of the screen.
Winston was looking to the left seam, so he couldn't see this incoming defender. As such, he had to sense his opponent's presence and hasten his process in the pocket to safely get rid of the ball. The play fake he initially had to execute made this tougher.
Instead of rushing to get rid of the ball, Winston hastened his process. This is important because rushing the attempt would have simply led him to throwing without discipline. By hastening his process, Winston could turn his feet and shoulders to his target.
This allowed him to better control his accuracy and perfectly place the pass for his checkdown in the flat. That checkdown allowed the receiver, Jorvorskie Lane, to turn upfield for a seven-yard gain on 1st-and-10.
Winston took what the defense gave him on his first drive. The Bengals weren't calling blitzes or disguising their coverages, so it was easy for him to find open receivers as long as he worked with a quick process in the pocket.
The Buccaneers offensive line was a point of contention entering the game, but it largely held up well early, giving Winston enough time to work in the pocket.
On the second drive of the game, Winston looked to push the ball downfield more. On a similar play to one he hit last week, he attempted to go downfield to an outside receiver breaking inside a boundary cornerback.
Winston's intelligence could be isolated for the first time on this specific play, a first-quarter 1st-and-10 from the Tampa 31.
Before the ball was snapped, he established himself under center and surveyed the defense. While doing so, he called a hard count to test the defense's temptations. All but one defender passed Winston's test—safety Reggie Nelson, who jumped forward when he heard the quarterback's hard count before quickly retreating.
This gave Winston a hint as to what kind of coverage the safeties would be playing.
A deep drop with play action once again forced Winston to take his eyes away from the secondary at the snap. Having already seen Nelson bite forward, Winston expected the play fake to draw the safety forward.
Therefore, he immediately looked to that area of the field when he turned around. Tampa receiver Mike Evans was running down the seam to that side of the field, and he gained inside position against the boundary cornerback.
Winston's skill set in college showed off his ability to anticipate coverages and break down defenses after the snap with ease. It also highlighted his erratic accuracy, though. On this play, Winston found where he wanted to go with the ball, but he couldn't put it there.
Evans gained separation behind Adam Jones and was unlikely to be caught if hit in stride. Not only could Winston not do so, but he also badly overthrew him to the point that his pass was uncatchable.
This was a huge missed opportunity that would prove crucial for the success of the drive as a whole. Winston made another impressive play outside of the pocket immediately after this missed throw, but the pass was negated for an offensive pass interference penalty against Vincent Jackson.
Multiple penalties and a quick screen pass set up a 3rd-and-16.
Third-and-16 is generally a down that teams with defensive head coaches are more likely to call a running play or a screen pass. They submit to the defense, settling for a punt without pushing the ball downfield in search of a first down.
As Winston repeatedly proved at Florida State, that's not the kind of quarterback he is.
Offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter matched Winston's mentality with his play call, letting the quarterback drop back in the pocket with vertical routes downfield. One of those options was a seam route from the slot that Leon Hall had relatively well covered.
One of the main criticisms of Winston coming out of college was that he trusts his arm talent too much. It was particularly a problem when he had to throw through underneath coverage.
It wasn't a problem on this occasion, however, as he fit the ball into a tiny window to give his intended target a chance at making a first-down reception. The tight end, Tim Wright, couldn't pull the ball in on a diving attempt, but the throw from Winston was nonetheless impressive.
That drop forced the Buccaneers to punt the ball away.
Winston didn't wait long to get back on the field as the Buccaneers defensive line draped over Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, forcing a quick three-and-out. Once again, Winston looked to push the ball down the field, this time featuring a deep ball to a covered Evans and 2nd-and-12 from the Tampa 27.
Throwing the ball up for Evans to go and get isn't necessarily a bad idea because the receiver has the ability to win at the catch point. Winston's throw didn't give him that opportunity, though.
His pass was too far to the inside with an arrow-like trajectory. Bengal Dre Kirkpatrick was in great position just inside of Evans, meaning Winston's pass offered Kirkpatrick as much of an opportunity at an interception as it did Evans a chance at a reception.
An inability to find Evans on that play set up a 3rd-and-12, when Winston unleashed a wild pass that sailed over the sideline instead of locating his intended receiver, Louis Murphy.
The Buccaneers offensive line was putting Winston under pressure as the first quarter closed. Carlos Dunlap sacked him—although a penalty negated the play—before an illegal-hands-to-the-face flag put the offense in another long down-and-distance situation to start the second quarter.
On this occasion, Winston faced 1st-and-20.
Unsurprisingly, the Bengals came out with both safeties deep and no second-level defenders threatening to blitz at the snap. Their play calls remained simple, so Winston's eyes naturally went to his uncovered slot receiver before the snap.
This uncovered receiver was going to run down the seam, which would make the depth of the middle linebacker an important aspect of the play for Winston to read.
Koetter had called one of his four vertical plays, staying aggressive in long down-and-distance situations. The defense was playing Tampa 2, so the middle linebacker was dropping deep down the seam. With two aggressive vertical routes working the seam, Winston was given a pocket of space to throw into.
He was able to manipulate the trajectory of the ball to drop it over the underneath coverage and into his receiver's hands before the deep safeties could advance forward.
This throw created an unlikely first down for the offense, but another offensive line penalty and some sloppy footwork from Winston in the pocket led to a sack soon after. A quick throw to the flat on 2nd-and-25 set up a 3rd-and-22.
Having played softer coverages throughout the game, the Bengals took this opportunity to be aggressive.
On Winston's first throw against the Vikings last week, former Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer threatened a double A-gap blitz at the snap. Winston never recognized the blitz was a false threat, and both linebackers dropped into coverage at the snap.
Winston forced the ball high to a covered receiver because of that. Zimmer's former team put him in the same situation for this play.
Instead of simply dropping both A-gap threats or sending both on blitzes, the Bengals tested Winston's ability by dropping one and rushing one. They also dropped a defensive end into space, meaning they had just four initial pass-rushers of the seven in position at the snap.
What Winston never recognized is that the dropping A-gap linebacker was running to the left side of the offense, covering for a wider blitz from the slot cornerback.
Instead of finding his hot route based on that dropping defender, Winston never took his eyes away from the middle of the field and kept dropping deeper in the pocket to buy himself time. Unfortunately, that only served to take away his ability to release the ball downfield when the pressure inevitably closed on him.
Winston flung the ball into the ground in front of him while falling backward against two pass-rushers and picked up a penalty for intentional grounding.
That decision was important and a bad mistake from the young quarterback. Not only did he miss the hot route, but his panicked reaction pushed his team out of field goal range and forced a punt.
Having seemingly sustained a minor foot injury during that drive, Winston came out of the game earlier than expected. There was no cause for concern, and it appeared to be a precautionary move.
If you were looking for reasons to be excited about Winston while watching this contest, you were offered plenty. If you were looking for reasons to be concerned, you also had more than just a few with which to entertain yourself.
As with most (all) rookies, Winston has been inconsistent through his first two preseason games. How that inconsistency erodes or grows over the rest of the year will determine how successful he and the Buccaneers can be.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
