Jameis Winston is a special leader, and the Buccaneers are lucky to have him.
Being a franchise quarterback is more than about playing on the field. It’s about being a role model off of the field, and it is also about having the ability to lead a group of men towards one goal. Jameis Winston fills that role with the Bucs, and we are getting more and more indications that he fills the role admirably.
If he leads the Bucs at all like he did when he spoke to his college team, we are in good shape in Tampa.
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You may have heard about this by now, but here goes. In their opener on September 5th, Florida State was down at halftime to Ole Miss by the score of 28-13. Well that wasn’t acceptable to Jameis, so he went to the locker room and delivered a speech, and here it is:
It doesn’t always take eloquent words to lead. It doesn’t take a talk about the journey, or the fight, or whatever other platitudes that some come up with. It takes passion. That’s all.
Listen to Winston’s words. Look at his eyes. He fired up. When I watch that speech, you can’t take your eyes off of him, because he is fired up. He’s telling guys to wake up. He talks about being “brothers”. He says it’s “your team”, and they are “dogs, not puppies”. Football players relate to that kind of talk. They want to play like angry dogs, and those words fire players up.
It clearly worked, as the Seminoles won the game going away, outscoring Ole Miss 32-6 in the second half. If Winston can fire up his former college team that way, imagine what he is like in the Bucs’ locker room. I think they will be just fine with him at the helm.
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