StemCell Therapy

New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan (94) sacks Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (3) in the second half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019. The Saints won 31-24.(Photo: Bill Feig, AP)

BATON ROUGE New Saints quarterback Jameis Winston, who signed a one-year contract for $1.1 million last week, was interviewed by area reporters on a Zoom teleconference on Wednesday.

Winston was the first pick of the 2015 draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of Florida State and was their starter for five seasons.

The complete question-and-answer session follows:

JAMEIS WINSTON: Who Dat?

QUESTION: "Could you talkabout suppressing your ego to come to New Orleans to be the backup for Drew Brees?"

WINSTON: No, I dont think I ever said anything about an ego check. I think I mentioned humility, and one thing about humility is everyone needs to be humble. I started from very humble beginnings. Its another chapter in my life that Im going to learn from, and its going to make me better.

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QUESTION: "Was this the best fit for you?"

WINSTON: "We have a Hall of Fame quarterback (Brees) and a future Hall of Fame coach (Sean Payton). Thats very intriguing for a young quarterback like myself. And also Ive been playing against this defense for the past five years, and they continue to get better and be dominant. This is a Super Bowl-contending team, and Im just happy to be a part of that.

QUESTION: "Who did you talk to about your decision to come to the Saints?"

WINSTON: "It was a little bit of everybody. During this time, Ive got married (on March 27 to Breion Allen of the New Orleans area). Ive had numerous conversations. Ive been doing a lot of different things. A lot of people have helped me with this decision. It really was easy in terms of knowing the quarterbackroom that I was going to be in. Understanding that I love this game with all my heart despite a lot of different things that come with this game like money and celebrity status.

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"One thing that Derrick Brooks (Pro Football Hall of Fame member who played at Tampa Bay and Florida State) taught me in mytime at Florida State to now is youve got to respect the game. The game will always be bigger than you, and the game will always win. In my experience as a professional football player, the game has won. I just want to honor that and be a part of this organization and be in the quarterback room thats as prestigious as the one that we have now. And be the best football player, be the best teammate I can possibly be.

QUESTION:"What is your relationship with Drew Brees?"

WINSTON: Theres only a few people in this league that actually follow up with you when you ask them a question, when you reach out to them.The first time I met Drew (laughs) was in 2006. I was one of the the first kids to get his autograph."

Winston, who is from Bessemer, Alabama, in theBirmingham area, met Brees when Brees was in Birmingham concerning his surgery with Dr. James Andrews, who repaired Brees'torn labrum on his right, throwing shoulder in January of2006before his first season with the Saints. Winston was 12at the time.

WINSTON: "And I met Drew again during pre-draft back in San Diego (in 2015) athis home base, and we got a chance to talk at a church. Ever since then, hes always been a guy that I can hit up during the season and ask a question, and hell get back with me. I just love the person he is, and the guy that he is, and Im so excited to learn from him and help serve him in anyway.

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QUESTION: "Do you still have the Brees autograph?"

WINSTON: I lost that Drew Brees autograph. It was a Hoover Bucs football picture that he autographed for me. And I had a wallet one of those big, fat wallets that people dont have anymore. And I lost it. I think I lost it on the bus. It didnt have any money in it. Aint nobody got rich, but they got my picture.

DOUG MILLER (Football communications director and teleconference moderator): Well work on getting you another one.

QUESTION:"What do you feel like you need to get done this season?"

WINSTON: What I need to get done is I need to be a great teammate. I need to serve our team and I need to be competing every day. One thing I do take pride in is being competitive, and Im going to do my best to be the best football player I can be. This sport, even though Im coming to New Orleans (as a backup), I still love this game. And were going to play a lot of football, and were going to win a lot of games.

QUESTION:"What are the specific aspects of the game you need to improve?"

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WINSTON:Yeah, every year I have a different set of goals and set of things I want to get better at. But one thing that Im really excited to learn the most exciting thing is just the way that this quarterback roomfunctions. Whats Coach Paytons approach to every week?Whats Drews approach to this week?What is Taysom (Hill) doing in the room that I can add to my game? Just trying to find different things by serving this team and learning from everybody that I can. Even from Doug (Miller) in the meeting room, just trying to learn as much as I can to be the best I can be.

QUESTION: "You had other offers for more money and with options to start, right?"

WINSTON: "Yes. I did. But Im a New Orleans Saint, and thats what my focus is. I think this was definitely one of the best opportunities for me to grow as a quarterback and as a professional in this league. So, Im going to do my best to take full advantage of this opportunity that was presented to me.

QUESTION: "Were you ever not the guy?"

WINSTON: Every day Im learning from someone else. This isnt going to be relatively new. The only thing thats going to be new is that Im not the guy. But to myself, Im still the guy. Im going to approach every day like Im the guy, and I think thats what that quarterback room brings up. When you see what happened last year with the amount of playing time that Taysom and Teddy (Bridgewater) got. Im not saying that Im going to expect that this year, but those guys were prepared.

"And thats what Im going to be. Im going to be prepared for whatever. Being a quarterback, you have to be a student of the game. So, now I actually get a chance to dive into that more. And I actually have a Hall of Fame quarterback that Im learning from, opposed to trying to learn by myself or use Google."

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QUESTION: "Did you talk to Teddy Bridgewater?"

WINSTON: Yeah, I talked to Teddy, and Im really just talking to him because Im so happy for the opportunity he has in Carolina and the chance to compete against him twice a year. I talked to him, and he really loved the quarterback room. That was one of the big things. How they work and the things he was able to learn and apply to his game to make him a better leader and a better quarterback.

QUESTION: "Will you be setting yourself up for a future outside the Saints or here?"

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WINSTON: "Yeah. Im focused on the primary opportunity to get to work with Drew Brees, Sean Payton, Taysom Hilland Tommy Stevens (7th-round quarterback choice in the draft) and Coach Joe Lombardi (quarterbacks coach) and Coach PeteCarmichael (offensive coordinator), and Coach D.J. Williams (offensive assistant) that is my opportunity. Thats the biggest and most important opportunity that I have right now, and Im definitely not looking forward or looking ahead, right? Im focused on this, what I got right now. Well have that conversation next year or years down the road. Who knows? I didnt think I was going to be in this position at this time last year. But God had a different plan, and Im excited for the plan that he has for me now moving forward.

QUESTION: "Did you pursue a starting job with other teams?"

WINSTON: "I think anybody thats been a starting quarterback in this league, they want to have an opportunity to compete and be the starting quarterback inthis league. But when you really think about the progression of a football player, when you have an opportunity to be in the same division, to work with a coach who is as successful and as smart as Sean Payton, and work with a quarterback who will be whenever he decides to retire, hes going to probably get escorted to the Hall of Fame.

I dont think really you can beat that, regardless of what it is, especially if you believe in yourself. If you believe in the ability that you have and you believe, and really if you have faith that you will become a starting quarterback again, you take this opportunity in a heartbeat to work with these amazing group of men.

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QUESTION: "Do you look at the second careerof a quarterback like Ryan Tannehill (who left Miami and became the starter at Tennessee)?"

WINSTON: Yes I do. I do draw inspiration from that. It shows his resilience. It shows the other quarterbacks' ability to put things behind and press forward. I was watching the movie 'Onward'with my son the other day. And thats just an amazing word, Onward. And thats what Im doing. Im pressing onward, and like I said Im going to do my best to be the best quarterback I can be for this organization and help serve my teammates.

QUESTION: "Is improving on turnovers (interceptions), is that No. 1? Or are you unapologetic in that you're willing to take some risks?"

WINSTON: Yeah. Ball security is the primary part of our position, but also getting the ball to ourguys and getting the ball in their hands so they can make some plays. Its the most important piece. Im going to address every part of my game. Not just one part, because my goal is to be a perfectionist. My goal is to work and actually apply work so we can get results. And thats what Im working for.

QUESTION: "How has the recent laser surgery on your vision helped?"

WINSTON: Listen, no blurriness, and I think thats huge. Depth perception has increased tremendously. And those are the big things. I didnt have bad eyes. I just had those. I had astigmatism. I had certain things that they had to fix to increase the precision and the sharpness of my vision. And thats the biggest thing. I can say this. When youre riding in a car, lets say you get into an accident, but you cant read the license plate of the person who you just hit, and they just ran off because they didnt have insurance, right? Stuff like that. Like I can read license plates. I can read street signs. I think the precision in the vision is the biggest difference.

QUESTION: "And how are you after the knee surgery (for a torn miniscus)?"

WINSTON:Yeah, it was a scope, man. Youve got to check out my Instagramand see me working out, bro. You got to follow me. Follow me on IG.

QUESTION: "You've lost some weight in the off-season?"

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WINSTON: Well, Im going to tell you a funny story, OK. Dont get too comfortable with this because you're new to me, so Im going to share a story with you all.The place that I had my surgery was in Birmingham, Alabama, and I got a chance to work with a physical therapist that Drew is very familiar with Kevin Wilk. This is actually the same place that I met Drew and got his autograph for the first time. Working with him, Kevin, really inspired me to just focus on being as healthy as I possibly can.

"And Dr. (Jeffrey) Dugas, who performed the surgery on me, Ive known him since I was 12 years old. He said, Hey man, we want you to get as healthy as possible, and this is a great time to work on your body, work on getting everything else up underneath you because you had this tear for three years. And now its time to just heal up your whole body. Eat great food.' So, I decided to go Vegan (vegetable diet). Ive been Vegan for the past three months, four months. And its just changed my body drastically. I do cheat every Saturday. Ill eat some chicken or something. I cant be Superman. Id be like 210 pounds. But I think those two individuals really inspired me to just use this time recovering from my knee and focus on my body, focus on how I can be the best athlete, best quarterback I possibly can be.

QUESTION: "What do you think about having the Superdome crowd now pulling for you instead of against you?"

WINSTON: "Man, Im so happy. Because the Superdome gets rocking, and just being from Alabama, being a Southern kid, you know football is really, really important. If you dont like football in Alabama, they'd probably send you back with the stork that dropped you off. But we love football. And New Orleans fans, they love football. And the funny thing is, my wife, her entire family is from Louisiana the New Orleans area. So, shes just so happy. And if you have a happy wife, you have a happy life. So, thats pretty big.

QUESTION: "What about being teammates with your former division rivals?"

WINSTON: Ive seen Demario Davis. Ive seen Cam Jordan. Ive seen numerous New Orleans Saints players at the Christian athletic conference that the NFL hosts every year. And Im great friends with those guys, but its different when youre competing.

QUESTION: "Do you feel like fans know who you really are?'

WINSTON: I dont know. I cant really answer that question. But thats one thing that Ive just been trying to do is try to let the fans know who I am via social media, and let them see me.

QUESTION: "Do you feel like you've matured?"

WINSTON:It all starts with my faith. And I know Ive grown closer to my lord and savior, Jesus Christ, tremendously. And thats what really just leads the pack, just living for Gods glory, and not for the approval of the Man, or the approval of anyone else. My main focus is to serve my lord and savior to the best of my ability. I know Ive grown and matured. And Im also a father. Being a father to a 1-year-old son that looks just like you, and you have to make an imprint on his life, teaching him and showing him how to have character and how to act when no one is looking. And I have a wife who I have to love and cherish, and I plan on doing that.

"One thing my trainer always talks about is, 'Being a better man can make you a better football player, but being a better football player would not make you a better man.' I think I really am learning and mastering. Thats an every day thing. No one is perfect. I do believe that being a better man has made me a better football player.

The Saints are reloading to give Drew Brees another shot at reaching the Super Bowl.(Photo: Derick Hingle, USA TODAY Sports)

QUESTION: "How do you feel about Brees as someone who helps teammates?"

WINSTON: Its who he is. Its his essence. When youre who you are, you cant really avoid that. And thats just the person that he is. A God-fearing, courageous, high-character, elite quarterback, Super Bowl-winning quarterback, Super Bowl MVP, future Hall of Famer, father, husband, great teammate Drew Brees. Thats him.

QUESTION: "What jersey will you wear?"

WINSTON: I want No. 2, honestly. Thats the number I want. Hopefully. Thats my favorite number. I couldnt get No. 2 at Florida State because of Deion Sanders. And couldnt get No. 2 in high school, one of my receivers had it. And now I can, if its available.

MILLER: "That's going to do it."

WINSTON: "Thank you guys. Thank you for being available. Thank you for accepting me. I look forward to our relationships together, and appreciate you.

Originally posted here:
New Saints QB Jameis Winston lost his Brees autograph from 2006, but now he's his teammate - Daily Advertiser

This entry was posted on May 2, 2020 at 7:50 pm and is filed under Eye Sight & Vision. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |