Winston’s Football IQ continues to impress 
Jameis Winston is only a little more than a week into his first training camp, but the rookie already has a “real firm grasp” of the offense, according to center Evan Smith. JASON BEHNKEN/STAFF Published: August 8, 2015 TAMPA — One of the things you’ll find in just about every scouting report ever written up on Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston is a high grade for what coaches and scouts refer to as “Football IQ.”Defined roughly as a player’s ability to understand offensive and defensive concepts and make sound adjustments under pressure, Winston’s Football IQ was said prior to the draft to be “off the charts.”That, at least, is what former Lions head coach and current NFL Network analyst Steve Mariucci said after he spent a couple hours testing Winston’s football smarts during a break at the scouting combine.Four months later, Winston’s Football IQ is being tested daily during training camp and he’s still wowing with his ability to diagnose defenses and adjust the offense accordingly.“I’ve been really impressed with his knowledge,’’ Bucs center Evan Smith said. “He’s obviously done a lot of hard work since we left here in June for the (summer) break, because he’s really on top of his game.“He still turns to me for stuff, just to make sure he’s seeing the defense the way I see it and making sure we get the protections right. But he’s got a real firm grasp of what we want to do. I don’t have to correct him too much.”Leadership conferenceLeadership usually starts at the top. In the case of the Bucs, it starts up front with left guard Logan Mankins and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, the most-decorated players on the offensive and defensive lines.“It starts with them and it trickles down from there,” Bucs coach Lovie Smith said.“As coaches, we’re in a leadership role, too, but it’s about the players in that (locker) room.”Mankins, a first-round pick of the Patriots (32nd overall) in 2005, is a six-time Pro Bowler and two-time AFC champion. McCoy, the Bucs’ first pick in 2010, is a three-time Pro Bowler.Smith says they have combined to alter the attitude in the locker room, not just because of the plaudits they’ve earned, but because of the way they work both on and off the field.“That’s why we have such a good locker room,” Smith said.Blame gameMcCoy is on record saying the Bucs will go as far as he can take them.Many believe, however, that the Bucs will go only as far as Winston can take them. Mankins says they’re all wrong. Entering his 10th NFL season, Mankins says the Bucs will go only as far as the offensive line takes them, but he doesn’t expect the unit to be recognized for that if the team goes far.“Every team goes (where the O-line takes it),’’ Mankins said. “If you have a bad line, you can’t win, because you can’t run the ball and you can’t throw it.“But whenever you see a team lose, (people) usually blame the O-line. And when they win of course they usually give all the credit to the quarterback. That’s just the way it is.’’WaterworldAdjusting to the oppressive heat at Bucs training camp is tough for everybody. Rookie right guard Ali Marpet says he’s adjusting well, but he admits the adjustment hasn’t been easy.“I’m trying to drink as much as I can, but then I’m getting water-logged,” Marpet said with a laugh.“I’m getting used to it, but it’s something else.”[email protected] (813) 259-7893 Twitter: @RCummingsTBO
