There are no guarantees for Jameis Winston after the 2021 season. The one year deal he signed worth up to $12 million dollars gives Winston an opportunity to compete for the New Orleans Saints starting quarterback position with Taysom Hill. Both have earned the right to lead the New Orleans Saints after Drew Brees’ retirement.
Jameis Winston Goes back to School to Learn
Winston talked to the media on Tuesday about everything from being in the Harvard University of Quarterback School to buying into the teachings of both Brees and Sean Payton. No doubt, Who Dat Nation will be watching Winston closely and Hill for that matter. But Winston’s success or failure could very well lie between the ears, and the ability to regurgitate the encyclopedia of information from the year of studying.
First of all, Winston deserves credit for at least being a good teammate in his first year. Now 2020 was unlike any other year. The ability to be able to learn with few distractions may be the unexpected gift Winston didn’t bank on. His personality is as fiery and intense as anyone in the NFL. Taking a step back to watch and learn had to be a challenge in itself, pandemic or not. But he did it willingly.
Drew Brees Creates the Syllabus for Winston
Everyone has their own way of being able to inhale knowledge. Being in the Drew Brees class of quarterbacking only comes once in a lifetime. And Winston seems to fully understand the chance of a lifetime to get high end tutoring in person. Those opportunities are few and far between. Usually, the only way to find these exclusive teachings is through an Ivy League education. Winston spoke to the media on Tuesday and expressed his gratitude. “If I took a journal and jotted down everything that he did everyday, you know I probably would win a New York Times bestselling book,” said Winston. “I got a chance to witness one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. I got to experience what it looked like. I’ve been chasing the same dream he’s chased — that he’s grasped — the Lombardi Trophy.”
Make no mistake, the doubters still exist. Regardless, of what Winston says, there will be plenty of chatter questioning everything from decision making and maturity. The stack of past regressions are still on his resume, like it or not. However, he’s never had a Sean Payton to work with on a daily basis. In addition, the luxury of sitting back and studying defenses for one year is not something to take lightly.
Being Automatic versus Reactive Provides Clarity
The process of becoming a great quarterback comes from constant work of learning to make decisions automatically to process the best chance of success. All of these automatic instinctual movements come from learning from the best. It’s not something one can find in a book. “One of the greatest things I learned from Drew is — we are making decisions based on making the right decision. We aren’t concerned about the result. The right decision will get us where we want to be. And I bought into it. I had to hear it and I had to see it. We saw it over and over and over again.”
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Two things jump out from this mindset. First, the process of executing is trusting the process. The result is making the best decision on every single play. In other words, making the correct read designated on each separate situation. Being automatic in the face of pressure, too. More importantly, Jameis Winston buys into this. A teacher can pound something to the pupil hour after hour, but if there is no belief — all is for not. Winston is ready to take over. Of course, he’ll have to win the quarterback competition first. Also, never underestimate what the Saints are up to. There’s always a chance a third quarterback unknown to all of us may arrive. But for right now, this is Winston’s job to lose.
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