Going airborne is something that Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter wants to see Jameis Winston delete from his repertoire.
During last week's 10-6 win over the Dallas Cowboys, the No. 1 overall pick dove at the 2-yard line and fumbled in an attempt to try to get into the end zone. The play was negated due to a defensive holding penalty against safety Jeff Heath. Winston went on to score the winning touchdown with 54 seconds left.
"Great play by Jameis trying to get it in the end zone," Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith said. "Glad we got another opportunity."
Though, his offensive coordinator wants to see Winston more ground bound.
"I feel sick to my stomach," Koetter said, per ESPN. "There's no question he's willing to do anything. You can never question Jameis' heart. So from that standpoint -- shoot, I tell Lovie to talk to him about that because he's not listening to me. You can't question his heart, but that is a very dangerous play.
"It's a dangerous injury (potential) to me, No. 1, which would hurt our football team. And second, as many times as you see guys do that, they fumble it a lot. So I would rather see him go low and try to get it across that way. Again, you can't coach every single thing out of these guys. Their instincts take over and they're playing football."
It was the second consecutive week that Winston dangerously dove for extra yardage. The rookie quarterback completed a 10-yard touchdown run by diving into the end zone in Tampa Bay's 32-18 loss to the New York Giants.
"There are better ways to get in the end zone, but I'm never going to stop trying to compete," Winston said on Wednesday. "I am going to develop some smarter habits. But as of now, it's still a process. I've got to get better every day."
Winston has had success scoring on his feet this season. He's rushed for four touchdowns this year. But if the quarterback wants to stay healthy and in the lineup he might want to use his arm a little bit more and tone down his leaping to pay dirt theatrics.
