4 impressive moments from Bucs' Week 1 preseason game by Jose Martinez 1h ago 
We’ve already established that Saturday’s preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings wasn’t a great showing by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Still, the game wasn’t all bad. There were some positive moments worth looking at and building on.For every couple of instances where Jameis Winston looked like a rookie, he also exhibited flashes of the player who warranted comparisons to some of the league’s best quarterbacks in the league today. After showing signs of a return to his rookie form in OTAs and mini-camp, Doug Martin proved to be as advertised, running with quickness and finishing his runs strong.Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson have already cemented themselves as the team’s No. 1 and 2 receivers, but everything after that was up for grabs. Louis Murphy appeared to have some good chemistry with Winston, who found his potential No. 3 wideout on a clean slant route on one play and near the sideline after scrambling out the pocket to his right.The defensive line wasn’t able to apply much pressure on any of the Vikings’ three quarterbacks, but they did force three turnovers. These are small victories, but victories nonetheless.Now, it is up to the Buccaneers to get back to the drawing board, prepare for their home opener against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday, look for ways to improve on both sides of the ball and build off of the successes they did have two days ago. Contrary to popular belief, there were some and we’ll put them on display in 4 impressive moments from Bucs’ Week 1 preseason game.
Winston’s first NFL touchdownFor all the jokes made about Winston’s speed, or lack thereof, at the Combine, he showed some decent quickness, most of the time, when he was forced to stretch a play outside the pocket. For all the talk about what Jameis can do with his arm, it probably came as a surprise that his first NFL touchdown would be with his feet.After making his three-step drop out of the shotgun, Winston quickly spotted running room up the middle. With the Bucs in a 3rd and 7 situation late in the second quarter, the former Seminole quarterback made a quick decision, showing faith in his ability to get the necessary yards on a pivotal red zone possession.Seeing Winston dive into the endzone on his eight-yard touchdown scramble was a bittersweet feeling. While you like to see him go that extra mile, er, yard, this is the preseason and after seeing what happened to Vikings tackle Phil Loadholt earlier in the contest, you realize that injuries can happen at any moment.Say what you want about Winston pulling off this drive against the Vikings’ second or third team defense, the Buccaneers franchise quarterback needed this confidence boost heading into his next preseason game at the Ray Jay against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday. The numbers weren’t great, but he was able to get his team into the endzone. It was one time this week, let’s go for two TDs next week.
Martin shows some nice vision and explosivenessThe Buccaneers’ first series was a weird one. With everyone eagerly anticipating Winston’s first throw, offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter kept feeding Doug Martin the ball. In his first three carries, the Muscle Hamster rushed the ball for five, eight and seven yards, respectively.That second carry was especially impressive.After making the wrong initial read at the line of scrimmage, Martin was able to cut back to the left side of the field, make another jump cut past a lunging defensive lineman before bursting past the Vikings’ first line of defense for a seven-yard gain.For weeks, we have been told that Martin is in “the best shape of his life.” It’s an overused statement in mini-camp, but the Muscle Hamster showed the positive effects of a lighter frame early in Saturday’s contest. The fourth-year running back was able to navigate his way around the field and explode to the next level with ease.Martin’s final stat line of 19 yards on five carries doesn’t tell the entire story. Doug was effective early before Koetter decided to dip in the well a little too much. I can’t wait to see what he can do in the team’s first home preseason game against a middle-of-the-pack rushing defense. Who knows if can sustain this level of play for the remainder of the preseason, but so far, Martin is looking like the Week 1 starter in the backfield.
Winston’s first NFL completionWinston’s first NFL completion was more than just a monumental accomplishment in his hopefully illustrious career, it showed us what he is capable of doing under center for the Buccaneers for years to come. Aside from the praise he receives for his arm, Jameis is also known for his poise in the pocket. If Winston is going to get hit for the sake of a completion, then so be it.The Buccaneers got off to an atrocious start in their third series after rookie left tackle Donovan Smith got schooled by Everson Griffen en route to a quick sack and a nine-yard loss. Following a five-yard scramble by Winston, the Bucs set themselves up for another third-and-long. Then, Jameis worked his magic.Even with the pressure collapsing in on him, Winston stayed in the pocket and found Vincent Jackson over the top for a 40-yard catch. Jameis paid for his persistence, getting hit in the midsection and in the back by accident. Still, he shook off the contact, quickly got up and sprinted to the line of scrimmage to run a quick play.With so many questions surrounding the effectiveness of the offensive line, it’s important for the Buccaneers to have a quarterback who can not only handle the heat in the pocket, but can still get the job done in those situations. On this play, Winston rose to the occasion. The greedy Bucs fan wants to see Jameis put more air under that ball and find V-Jax in stride, but after what we witnessed last season, this was still a beautiful thing to see.
Winston-to-Murphy connection works out to perfectionLouis Murphy didn’t get as much time as the rest of the receiving corps to build a rapport with Winston, but you couldn’t tell in the preseason opener. In a drive which led to Jameis diving into the endzone for six points, Jameis looked in Murphy’s direction on two separates occasions, totaling 30 receiving yards.While the second throw showed off Winston’s ability to fit the ball into the Vikings’ zone defense, their first completion is the one that really caught my eye. It was a simple slant pattern that every team runs, but the Seminoles quarterback’s ability to fit it a small window and catch Murphy in stride so he can extend the play was superb.Another throw from Jameis that impressed me. Perfect ball placement to thread throw to Louis Murphy past coverage— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) August 16, 2015There are passes that Winston would obviously want back, but there are also moments like this where he showed every Buccaneers fan why he was worth the first overall pick. With more time at the NFL level, throws like this will become more of a norm for him.link
