What happened to Tampa Bay this season?
After watching HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” the Buccaneers (4-9) were ready to battle the Falcons (8-5) for supremacy in the NFC South after going 9-7 last season.
The Bucs are set to host the Falcons at 8:30 p.m Monday in what the league thought was going to be an marquee matchup.
But the Bucs have regressed in Jameis Winston’s third season as the starter, and there’s talk of coach Dirk Koetter possibly getting fired.
Things didn’t come together for the Bucs’ defensively and there’s been some bizarre behavior by their once-prized Heisman Trophy winner. Instead of looking like the franchise quarterback, he’s looking more like another Bucs’ flash-in-the-pan quarterback, Josh Freeman.
Freeman, a first-round pick out of Kansas State was the savior from 2009-13. He posted a 24-35 record (.406) as a starter. Winston is on the same trajectory.
He’s posted a 17-25 record as a starter (.404) in his third season.
The Bucs must have doubts whether Winston is the guy to lead their return from the division basement after the sexual-assault allegation involving an Uber driver surfaced. Reportedly, the team was blindsided by this report, and Winston was uncooperative with team officials.
There was the weird eating-a-W pregame speech, and Winston instigated a fight on the sidelines between wide receiver Mike Evans and Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
The Falcons, who faced Ryan Fitzpatrick in their 34-20 win Nov. 26, are pushing all of the bizarre stuff to the side. They still respect Winston’s playmaking ability.
“Jameis adds that element of the unknown because you never know,” Falcons free safety Ricardo Allen said. “He makes some big plays sometimes on plays that are not scheduled. Plays that you can’t really draw up. Plays that you can’t really design.
“We have to always be ready for Jameis. He’s a guy who in crucial moments likes the ball in his hands. So, you have to be ready for that also.”
Winston, who’s gone 2-8 this season, has not been special. He had two interceptions and a fumble in the 24-21 loss to Detroit on Sunday.
He’s completed 206 of 329 passes (62.9 percent) for 2,475 yards, 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He has a subpar passer rating of 89.7. He’s the 14th-ranked quarterback in the league by analytics website Football Outsiders.
He will present the Falcons with a different challenge. Fitzpatrick was happy to just work underneath on short routes.
“When you look at Winston to me, he is a relentless competitor,” Quinn said. “He’ll stay alive in the pocket, wait for it, take the hit, make the throw that goes down the field.”
Winston will launch the ball deep to Evans and DeSean Jackson, who has caught 49 passes for 657 yards and three touchdowns. Winston also is figuring out how to use rookie tight end O.J. Howard.
“He’s not afraid to get outside the pocket and go scramble to do things, so I would say first thing, you can tell his mindset,” Quinn said. “He is a competitor, and so he wants to be the one to take it and go.”
Running back Peyton Barber, who played at Milton High and Auburn, is playing well for the Bucs. He rushed for 102 yards on 23 carries against Green Bay on Dec. 3. He took over for Doug Martin after he fumbled against Detroit. He rushed for 58 yards on 12 carries.
“Really over the last few weeks you felt the intensity of the running from Barber,” Quinn said. “The physicality that he’s played with, you saw that against Green Bay, you saw it against Detroit. Obviously, he’s been playing as well.”
Rookie wide receiver Chris Godwin also is playing well.
“Outside at receiver, like most young guys, they start their way on special teams, earn their way, and then, ‘OK, there’s more here,’” Quinn said. “You can see now why (Godwin) is featured into the offense like he is.”
The Bucs likely will be without their perennial Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, who suffered a biceps injury against Detroit.
“(Robert) Ayers, I would imagine, if (McCoy) wasn’t able to play, would take on a lot of that role, and he’s also another guy who has real pass-rushing versatility to play a number of spots,” Quinn said. “He’s somebody that we regard highly as well.”
The Bucs must come up with a better plan for Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones, who torched them for 12 catches for 253 yards and two touchdowns in the previous meeting.
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