Perhaps there are Bucs’ fans who have been getting nervous over reports that Jameis Winston has thrown interceptions during practice.
Tampa Bay coach Lovie Smith, however, says that Winston just has to make his plays.
“We want him to just execute the plays,” Smith said. “Sometimes there is more risk involved to it. You’re not going to play quarterback if you are not willing to let it go. Sometimes you have to let it go into tight pockets, tight windows, but you have to be willing to do that. We just want him to execute our plays and he is doing that.”
Smith said that Winston is good at self-assessment after he has made a mistake.
“No doubt. Most quarterbacks do, though,” Smith said. “Very seldom do you find an NFL quarterback that doesn’t know whether he should have held the ball. Sometimes you try to force balls in there, but for the most part they do know. That is definitely the case with him. It’s hard being perfect at the quarterback position. I like to think if that’s happening – I’m more on the defensive side than congratulating a guy and making a good play.”
For the first time Saturday night, Winston will play against a team in another uniform when the Bucs travel to Minnesota. For the first time, the Bucs will get to see Winston in different situations, against different coverages. Of those, Smith said he would like for Winston to play in a two-minute offense.
“In a perfect world, yes. In a perfect world, some time,” Smith said. “We have other preseason games. It’s not (that) we want to get it all in the first one, but he will hopefully get a two-minute drive in sometime during this preseason. You can’t script it completely, but that’s why you have to put him in situations like this.
“We see when there is a sack or something like that. (It’s about) operation, as much as anything. He did make some good throws. He’s put together a few good days. It seems like he’s taken a step to being a little bit closer to where we want him to be.”
