Since he arrived at One Buccaneer Place in May in 2015, Jameis Winston has had just one quarterback coach – Mike Bajakian. Under Bajakian, Winston has reached several milestones, including back-to-back 4,000-yard seasons and a trip to the Pro Bowl.
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As far as Bajakian can see, Winston has no plans to slow down. During a press conference at One Buccaneer Place on Thurday, Bajakian said that he was impressed with Winston's progress and that his quarterback is further along now than he was at this time a year ago.
"I'm very happy with where he is at this point in the offseason," Bajakian said on Thursday. "Compared to last year at this same time he's throwing the ball much more cleanly, much crisper (and) much more accurately. I anticipate that, as we progress through OTAs and into training camp, (his) timing and his accuracy will only get better. In my eyes, he's done a good job this offseason of staying sharp and not missing a beat since the end of the season."
Bajakian has been focusing on several areas with Winston, but he emphasized the importance of throwing "clean" passes. By saying a clean pass, Bajakian is referring to throwing more accurate and precise balls.
"That's what we've emphasized, is making sure ball location is precise," Bajakian said. "But the timing of his release, his drop, mechanics obviously play a big part of that, his release mechanics play a big part of that. He's worked on all of it and continues to work on all of it and improve on all of it."
There is plenty of optimism heading into 2017 for Winston, Bajakian and the Buccaneers' offense. The team added two talented pass-catchers in DeSean Jackson and O.J. Howard, prompting NFL.com to rank them as one of the ten-best offenses in the league. We haven't seen the group on the same field at once, but that's about to change. The Buccaneers begin OTAs next Tuesday, and Winston and his new weapons will finally have the opportunity to get to work together.
