Keep this in mind. Once, another quarterback took the field for the first time, and once, his team thought he was going to be lights-out. Once, he looked smart and poised, and everyone would have thought he was a coming star.
He was Ryan Leaf, and his career went downhill from there.
Perhaps that is why it is not wise to rely too heavily on whatever good or whatever bad you might see from rookie Jameis Winston of the Tampa Bay Bucs in his preseason debut against the Minnesota Vikings tonight. He could throw an interception with his first pass, the way Andy Dalton did long before Dalton became a playoff quarterback. He could throw for a touchdown with his first pass, the way Andrew Luck did on his way to stardom.
Or, he could sizzle like Leaf, who hit nine of 15 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown. Later that first preseason, Leaf also outplayed Peyton Manning, the man taken ahead of him in the draft. But soon, Leaf fell upon hard times and went on to be among the most celebrated of the NFL’s busts.
So watch, but realize there will be other weeks, other more important weeks, to come. Instead, you would be advised to pay attention to the way Winston reads his progressions, to the way he runs his huddle, to the way he might perform in a two-minute offense. How tight are his spirals? How soft are his touch passes? How much life does the huddle seem to have when he is in charge?
For the Bucs, those will be the important lessons.
Oh, there will be other questions for Tampa Bay. Of course there will. The team was 2-14 last year. You want to see how the offensive line looks with rookies Donovan Smith and Ali Marpet. You want watch to the pass rush with George Johnson. You want to see if Doug Martin looks different now that he is healthy. Is defensive tackle as good as advertised? Has the middle linebacker been found in Bruce Carter? Will the secondary hold up? And how about offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter?
For the Bucs, however, it is bound to go back to the quarterback. That is where the Bucs put most of their emphasis in the off-season, and if the team is better, it will largely be because of Winston.
Tonight, his journey begins.
