Jameis Winston has spent most of this season trying to make something out of nothing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Injuries have hit the offensive side of the roster. The Buccaneers continue to lose people leaving Winston with Mike Evans and not much else. Will that change in Week 11 as the team prepares to face off against the Philadelphia Eagles with the statuses of both Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Vincent Jackson in doubt?
Winston sparked a comeback against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday and he did so without two of his top targets on the field. The Buccaneers continue to await the returns of Seferian-Jenkins and Jackson which would allow them to open up the playbook more in the coming weeks. Jackson has been out with a knee injury while Seferian-Jenkins deals with a shoulder injury. Every time the two players are rumored to be coming back, they end up being late scratches. Head coach Lovie Smith would make no predictions on a time table for either star.
"We're going to be better when we get those players," Smith said, via ESPN.com. "When a guy is out, it's a process. It takes a little bit of time to heal."
In their places, Evans has been a threat with 662 yards on the season. He had a game-high 126 yards against the Cowboys and could repeat the success against the Eagles. The issue is that the Eagles' secondary is talented and could bottle Evans up in Week 11. That is where the returns of Jackson and Seferian-Jenkins would really come in handy. Brandon Myers and Adam Humphries have been doing their best to help Winston out, but they might not be enough to get past Philadelphia.
The Buccaneers would be wise to try and duplicate the success the Panthers had against the Eagles. Cam Newton found a lot of success rushing and that is something Winston could also do. The Buccaneers have not fully unleashed that side of the quarterback yet, but would be wise to do so in Week 11. That would pair well with the tandem of Doug Martin and Charles Sims. The Buccaneers are not getting "pretty wins" but they are getting wins. According to Smith, the team has all the confidence in the world to go out and beat any team, including the Eagles.
"We believe in what we do," Smith said, via ESPN.com. "We haven't been Pro Bowl-ready as quick as everyone would like, but it takes time. The moves we made at the cornerback position, those have helped us a lot. We have guys down still. Guys just continue to play hard, and that's how it's supposed to happen. You keep doing things the right way, [and] eventually you see some results."
