Jameis Winston already improving under 'QB whisperer' Bruce Arians
TAMPA, Fla. -- Four games into the 2019 season and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians, the "quarterback whisperer" brought in to elevate Jameis Winston's play, has begun to make an impact on the fifth-year quarterback in the most pivotal year of his young career. After a dismal, three-interception performance in Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers, Winston threw for 385 yards and four touchdowns in a 55-40 road upset of the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
It was Winston’s third career game with both 300 yards and four passing touchdowns -- the most in Bucs history -- and it was the first time in his career that he threw for three-plus touchdowns in back-to-back games.
"He’s just growing in the offense,” Arians said Monday. “I think Byron [Leftwich] and Clyde [Christensen] are doing a great job with him, fundamentally and mentally. I don’t know if anybody’s played better the last three weeks than he has, and the numbers should bear it -- we put a lot of points up.”
The numbers do bear it in three key categories:
Making better throws into tight windows
Winston is throwing a much better ball into tight windows than he did during his previous four seasons, particularly in the last two weeks, where he leads the NFL in touchdown passes (3), passing yards (186) and completion percentage on tight-window throws (65%; minimum five attempts), according to NFL Next Gen Stats. (NFL Next Gen Stats defines tight-window throws as those with less than one yard of separation between receiver and defender.)
https://www.espn.com/blog/tampa-bay-buccaneers/post/_/id/22925/jameis-winston-already-improving-under-qb-whisperer-bruce-arians
I think Arians is proof that good coaching makes all the difference.
