Typically, quarterbacks take most of the heat for their teams for all the wins and losses that occur. This is no different for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, Jameis Winston. The man-under-center is often criticized for his final line in box scores having turnovers, and as it sits right now, Winston has 18 interceptions – tied for the most of any season in his career.
As Bucs offensive coordinator, Byron Leftwich met with the media on Thursday (video below), he was asked about his thoughts on if Winston is still their guy.
“I love working with Jameis and I think Jameis is getting better.” Leftwich said of Winston. “Yes, we’ve got to fix the turnover thing, I know that and I understand that. Regardless, if they are on him or not, as an offense we’ve got to fix the turnover thing. It’s not really all Jameis, when we talk as a group, anybody that touches the football is in control as you can see the past couple games.” The point being made in reference to O.J. Howard’s crazy catch that turned into an interception during the Buccaneers’ loss to the New Orleans Saints.
The conundrum surrounding Winston continues, as the quarterback is currently third in the league in passing yards with 3,078, tied for fifth in touchdowns with 19, and, of course, has his league-leading 18 interceptions to add to his totals. Winston also has another blemish on his resume this season as he’s been sacked a total of 36 times thus far. While the Bucs only allowed two sacks on the day in Week 11, Winston was hurried on 12 of his 51 dropbacks.
As a former quarterback himself, Leftwich noted how hard it is to live to play another down in reference to just throwing the ball away. “One of the hardest things to do, is to throw the ball away. It’s hard when you’re trying to do what you can, every single play. You never know the play that’s going to win the game. You never know when that big play is going to happen.”
The Buccaneers travel to meet their division rival, the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, and protecting Winston from this suddenly red-hot Falcons defense has to be a priority.
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