Jimbo Fisher says Jameis Winston struggled with NFL linebackers early on

Jameis Winston has shown remarkable growth over his rookie season, but he still struggled with some things early on. Apparently, he confided in his college head coach Jimbo Fisher, who talked to Robert Klemko of The MMQB on Winston's play so far. The interview contained some good nuggets on Winston's play, but this quote stood out to me.

"Jameis was kind of amazed at the speed of the linebackers and how well they could cover," says Jimbo Fisher, the Florida State coach who helped Winston win a Heisman trophy and a national championship in 2013. "With how much more athletic the linebackers are, the underneath windows become really condensed. Throwing the vertical inside seams, you've really got to drive it and be good with your eyes.

"Early on, that's where he really had to concentrate."

That's an interesting note, and it certainly showed up over the first couple of weeks this year. There was a lot more to Winston's week one debacle than just the speed of the linebackers, but he's really cut down on the ill-advised (near-)picks since the start of the season, although he still throws one or two in most games. But the results have been good: he's thrown just two interceptions since week five, and he's gotten far better at seeing and avoiding those underneath defenders.

That's been my main takeaway from Winston's performance so far: he's displayed a lot of positive traits, and has consistently and quickly learned from his mistakes. He continues to look like a future franchise quarterback.