QB Jameis Winston (12.5.24)
So, Jameis, you kind of went viral a little bit for, “Deliver Me from the pick-sixes.” So, was it kind of fun to see how that sort of took off out there?
“No. I mean, it’s not fun. I take it very personally. But, I do believe in prayer, and I know prayer works, but I still focus on the decisions. I can work technique stuff, I can work fundamentals, and I’m going to continue to work fundamentals and understanding that when those moments come up, focusing on the fundamentals and technique more than the moment.”
How are you able to balance being a player that truly cares about his responsibility, his contribution on the field, but at the same time, you play fearless? And obviously this was all Monday night, the results aren’t always positive. How do you balance that as a player where you can still be aggressive, you’re not afraid to be aggressive even when you’re coming off a game where you got burned being aggressive?
“Yeah, I think one of our models as a team is that we’re smart, not conservative. And my approach to the game is to attack the defense. But the beautiful thing about the quarterback is we touch the ball every single play and it’s more important to take care of the ball than sometimes make that huge play. But when the play presents itself, we make the play. And I think in Monday night’s case, plays presented themselves, particularly the last two-minute drives. The plays were there, I just didn’t make the play. So, analyzing that is I’m going to make the play when it’s time to make the play.”
How do you kind of work through cutting down the interceptions? They’re always part of a quarterback’s career. They’re always going to happen. But, like, even as you get later in your career, just how is that something that you kind of continue to work through and you can talk about being better as a player?
“Yeah, like literally prayer and I’m snapping clear, man. You can’t go into a game thinking about turnovers. Only thing you can do is go into the game focusing on protecting the football. Like there are certain things that we focus on as an offense. Like, hey, zero giveaways, making sure that we’re winning the turnover margin, and that’s our focus. I don’t focus on little things about myself, you know what I’m saying? I focus on my technique, I focus one play at a time, I focus on being the best teammate that I can be and leading these guys to a win. Ultimately, I have to put them in the best position to win and when it’s time for me to make the player for the team as a great quarterback, I have to make that play and I am.”
You’ve taken ownership of those pick sixes and the plays that you would like to have back. How much do you value accountability and holding yourself accountable in front of your team, the media and everybody?
“Man, accountability, dependability, credibility are three things that – those abilities are very important to me, right? Because if you are able to take the good, you should be able to address the not so good. If you’re able to want the best from one of your teammates, you should be able to take the criticism from media or from coaches as well. And I think it’s a balance between both. Obviously, I don’t want to get criticized and I don’t want to have to talk about bad football. But when it does arise, you be accountable for it and you get better.”
This is a football team that not only can intercept the ball, but they’re really great at forcing turnovers. So, what is your mindset heading in just in terms of ball protection?
“Just having a heightened awareness. This is a great team; this is a great defense. Just having a high heightened awareness when I’m in the pocket and just going out there and just playing. Man, I love this game and it’s more about the game and just snapping and clearing and having fun and going out there and doing what God has blessed me to do. Not worrying about the opponent. It’s a faceless opponent. It’s the Pittsburgh Steelers and they’re a good defense, but every week it’s a faceless opponent. Like, how can I be the best version of myself for this team?”
What does it mean to you, Jameis, that your teammates are solidly behind you after you said you apologize to them? What does it mean that they’re solidly behind you?
“It means that they know I got their back, so they got my back, you know? And again, it’s that dependability? They know they can depend on me when the time is there, right. And I have to continue to prove that to them and not just say it.”
Since 2021, the last time they kind of had extended period of starting, I think it was 14 touchdowns and three picks. What did you do so well in that stint to have that great ratio?
“Yeah, well, I mean, we stayed ahead of the change, we were efficient in the running game, and things just went well. I believe that my whole process of playing the quarterback position is to focus on those decisions. when you’re making great decisions, the outcome doesn’t necessarily matter until it does, right? And I know we can get, even in our lives, we can get so outcome oriented instead of the true integrity and the values that we possess. And I continue to focus on that. When I’m making great decisions, I’m playing good football and the outcome, what happens, is in my favor.”
So, on those last two picks, did you feel like it looked like those guys were open? So, were the decisions right?
“The decisions were right. The technique, outbreaking route, you can’t leave the ball inside. I have seen that. I have seen that a lot. That’s not my only pick six to the left that I saw that I had to go and chase down. When you lead the ball inside on throws to the left and the receiver’s outbreak, that happens in the NFL. When you’re in the red zone and the ball is low you get picks. And that like honestly, the one that Nick (Benito) … the one that he made, like that was a great thing. He hid behind Jordan (Akins). Like I threw it and he just snuck in there, he took it to the house. They make good plays, too. He’s having a great year. But as a quarterback, man, I had my read to the right, when I come back, I can’t be patting the ball, I got to let that ball fly or scramble and do something, you know what I’m saying? Like those are the split-second decisions that the quarterbacks have to make. And sometimes when those decisions, when you’re not making the decision at the right time, when you’re patting the ball or something, that’s how sack fumbles come. You just have to learn from that and try to avoid those situations.”
When did you really kind of mature and grow in the way that you handle yourself? Was there a moment where you went from dwelling on it to kind of moving on?
“2019 was one of the most up and down years I’ve – probably in NFL history, but for me, I mean I was having some stuff going on and that year is where I felt like I just, I thought about it too much. You know what I’m saying? Obviously, I love the game, but I thought about negatives too much. And you can’t think positive and negative at the same time, there’s no way that your brain can do that. Like, you’re either going to think positive or you’re going to think negative. It’s one or the other. And I believe that just weighed on me because I wanted to do so good. And I think after that year, I had to understand, like, again, being around Drew (Brees), talking to Byron (Leftwich) and Clyde Christensen and BA (Bruce Arians) after that season, because we did great on offense, I just had some unfortunate turnovers. And turnovers that can change the outcome of a football game. So, I was talking to them, like, just, ‘Man, Jameis, keep focusing on your decisions’, right? ‘Keep on playing, Jameis’, like, ‘Don’t let that define you’. And that’s what I’m doing right now in my career. I’m not going to let a narrative of turnovers define who I am. I’m going to continue to step back up to the plate – that’s a baseball reference, I was a great baseball player, too. Keep on stepping back up to the plate and swinging for the fences. But, man, I’m swinging to hit line drives. Sometimes when that home run, when it’s right down the middle, it was high inside for me, you hit it out the park. But when you got a good picture, that’s staying low in the way, man, you hit a line drive in the right center and you live to fight or live to have another at bat.”
I know you’ve only been part of the rivalry for the one game here, but this organization hasn’t beaten the (Pittsburgh) Steelers twice in a season since 1988. In a year where some of your bigger goals obviously have kind of gone away here, how important or how beneficial and how much of a motivating thing is it for you guys to kind of get that done this year and beat this team?
“You know, it’s beautiful. Just the history, when you think about the history of any organization and definitely this organization with beating the Steelers. Man, getting a win in general is going to be important to the organization. The fact that we have an opportunity to do it against the Pittsburgh Steelers is going to be even better. I love statistics, I love history, and hopefully, Lord willing, man, we can get that for this city, for the organization.”
What did you think on the hit on Trevor Lawrence and then the discussion about quarterback slides and do you have to slide earlier and all that?
“Personally as a quarterback, man, we have to be able to protect ourselves. When we’re sliding in the middle of defenders, feet first, that’s tough. They’re taught to hunt and I think in terms of the defender, man, I do believe that sometimes you can let up and you can let them go, but man, that’s tough. This is football that we play. And the NFL has done so much to protect the quarterback position, especially within the pocket. When we’re outside the pocket…I had a play where I knew it was helmet to helmet, but I was getting sacked and I asked John (Hussey), I said, ‘John, help me’. He said, ‘Jameis, you’re getting sacked and you’re getting thrown around, I didn’t know the guy was going to hit you in the head’. You know what I’m saying? And he didn’t say that, but that’s what I heard. I know I got hit in the head. But I believe, man, it’s an unfortunate situation and I hope Trevor is healing well. But I think as quarterbacks, when you slide feet first into a crowd of defenders, man, they’re taught to hunt. We have to find a better way to protect ourselves. And I just, I think the three game suspension, it’s out of my control but I just, I think everyone has a role in protecting the quarterback, defenders and ourselves.”
Jameis, you got a taste of the Cleveland-Pittsburgh rivalry in Cleveland. Now you guys are taking it over to Pittsburgh, all the terrible towels, you’ve got, Alex Highsmith coming back, all the usual suspects, TJ (Watts). What kind of intensity and just…
“Man, I know it’s going to be an amazing game. One, because they have great players and two, they have an excellent head coach who’s been here before and knows about protecting their house. So, we’re going to have to go in there with our excellent head coach and be ready and be more prepared than that Pittsburgh Steelers team.”
Jameis, so I know you said that you’re not a Brown until you beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. You know, with history saying that we haven’t beat them twice in one year, how important is that to you?
“Man, you know it’s important to me because you’re my brother. So, we got to go out there and fight for each other and we got to go out there and find a way. And I do believe that we can find a way. Do you (Mike Ford Jr.) believe?
Mike Ford Jr.: “Yes sir.”
“Alright.”