Jameis Winston: Buccaneers need more players with "chip on their shoulder"

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need more players who play with a "chip on their shoulder."

That was what Jameis Winston said in his post-game press conference today, following a 38-10 loss. He didn't specifically point fingers at any players, but he did claim that they have coaches who care more about winning and losing than some players. Clearly, that's an indictment of the talent on the team and an implication that the coaching staff isn't the problem.

Of course, the Bucs need more than just players who care. Most NFL players care, and most of them play hard. Just putting in effort isn't good enough: you need talent. And while the Bucs have a decent amount of that on offense, though you wouldn't necessarily say so looking at results over the past month, they're sorely lacking in that department on defense.

That's no surprise, given that the team has spent all of one draft pick on defense in the past two drafts and almost all of their free agent signings have been massive busts or at least minor disappointments.

That will change this offseason, regardless of what the Bucs decide to do with their coaching staff. They will thoroughly address the defensive talent deficiencies, especially in the secondary and at defensive end. Or at least they'll make a strong effort to do so. Whether they'll succeed remains to be seen.

In addition to a talent influx on defense, they'll also need Jameis Winston to continue to progress. He's struggled the past month, throwing more interceptions than he did in the middle of the season and generally missing too many throws. That makes his calling out other players a little ironic, too. Still, it's been a very promising rookie season for the number one overall pick, but Winston needs to build on that this offseason and not get stuck at the level of his rookie season. Given the work ethic he's consistently displayed, that shouldn't be a problem.