Originally, I was just going to write a generic story about some scouts saying Jameis Winston reminds them of Peyton Manning.
But then I thought about it and realized this is a good time to give Young Jameis some advice. The way the media works these days is they build these kids (Jameis is 19 years old) to such a mythical level, that it is very easy for them to get caught up in the hype.
Once they do that, the media strategically starts to find ways to bring them down. If for whatever reason their team or play starts to falter they will turn on them quickly and viciously.
We have seen it happen over and over again, especially with quarterbacks. The unfortunate thing is a lot of times the quarterbacks don’t do anything wrong, it is the media that is pushing the narrative.
Take Cam Newton for example. His only “crime” was bad body language and being emotional after losses. But because of that he was hit with all type of stereotypical titles (never forget he has a “fake smile”). Cameron’s problem wasn’t his actions, it was not being aware how the media can manipulate things so easily. Once the Panthers start winning, it died down because it wasn’t a “Good TAKE” anymore, but they are still waiting in the wings.
Mark Sanchez has been to two AFC Championships games and has road wins over Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. The Jets defense was good, but it wasn’t the 85 Bears. They put Sanchez on the highest of Pedestals (they did it to Geno too).
Didn’t take long for him to be known more for the Butt Fumble than his playoff wins. Sanchez deserved to be criticized for his play, but they always conveniently left out the lack of skill positions that Sanchez (and now Geno) had to work with. Why wasn’t the whole story told? Because, that isn’t a GOOD TAKE.
Johnny Manziel is going to do what he is going to do and for some athletes that works, but I don’t think that will for Jameis. Partly because of his sexual assault accusation (doesn’t matter if it was false or not) his image is going to be under scrutiny for a long time, so he can’t make it rain in Cabo like Johnny.
Maybe, more than anyone else, Jameis should look at the plight of Robert Griffin III. For the record, I think RG3 is more or less the same person he has always been, even back at Baylor. I don’t think he was properly prepared how to handle a big media market when things go bad. Tony Romo is a good example of how to handle yourself when you are in a pressure cooker on an hourly basis. I also think from the beginning RG3 had some insecurities about Kirk Cousins being on the roster. If you were paying attention last year, you could see how this was going to play out. The seeds were planted about if he was doing too many commercials, was he a diva, could he succeed outside of read option (go look at some Baylor tapes, RG3 is a very capable passer in the pocket) and maybe Cousins should start (look at tapes of Cousins at MSU, he wasn’t Troy Aikman). Those questions in my mind made RG3 risk his health unnecessarily. It was like RG3 had to prove how tough he was to combat this media image of him that was created. Instead of separating the two, RG3 became more of a caricature than a QB. It is almost like a Boxer who has hyped himself up so much, that the expectations are unrealistic (see: Adrien Broner), but in this case the hype came from the media and fans. RG3 instead of downplaying it, soaked it all in. When you are treated like a GOD, sometimes you start believing you are one.
Once the Redskins starting losing and RG3 struggled to regain form after his ACL surgery, everything the media was holding over him just started to pour out. It doesn’t matter the Redskins defense give up 30+ points a game, this was about RG3 and his selfishness. This is about RGME, Robert’s Dad, Dan Snyder’s love and etc. Those are all a better TAKES., that gets more readers and viewers than the actual reality of the situation, which is he struggled, but it certainly was not all his fault. That is how quick things can turn on an athlete if he isn’t careful and doesn’t pay attention to forces that are around him.
Jameis still has a year before he can become eligible for the NFL Draft, but the seeds are being planted now, so he needs to be aware. When they are saying you are a sure fire #1 pick and putting you in the same breath as Peyton Manning, they are baiting you to start believing your own hype. I’ve watched Jameis all year, he is an outstanding prospect, but this is just his 1st year starting and he has tons of things he needs to work on, so even speaking of him in same breath as Peyton Manning is very unfair.
Jamies has a very exuberant infectious personality, it is why from everything I have heard his teammates would run through wall for him, but it might be prudent at least publicly as he gets closer and closer to being a professional, that he makes sure that the first thing people think about with him is Football. Not Subway, not a catchy nickname, not his IG or Twitter, not About Billions (sorry Adrien) and etc. Keeping football first will stop some of these media vultures whose only job is to see a Young Man’s downfall. I want to write about Jameis on the field, not actions off of it. Hopefully, his brush with almost being incarcerate put that in sharp focus for him.
Right now, Jameis is doing and saying all the right things. There will come a point that they will try to turn on him, but by studying what has happened to players before him, he can protect himself from that onslaught, because trust me it is coming.