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Jones: What Bucs need in final preseason games, more or less

 
Tom Jones wants to see less of Jameis Winston playing hot potato with the football and throwing it up for anyone to catch. [Getty Images]
Tom Jones wants to see less of Jameis Winston playing hot potato with the football and throwing it up for anyone to catch. [Getty Images]
Published Aug. 18, 2017

That's it. Let's start the season. Start it right now.

Skip the final two preseason games. The Bucs don't need to play them.

After watching Tampa Bay's first team kick Jacksonville up and down the field on Thursday, it's clear that all of us, mostly the Bucs, are ready for the regular season.

Tell Cleveland to stay home. Washington, too.

Can't we skip ahead to the season opener against the Dolphins?

Unfortunately, no. The NFL won't allow it. It demands at least four preseason games, so that means we have to sit through two more, including a final game that might be the most useless sporting event in the history of sporting events.

So let's have a plan for these two final preseason games. I guess a few bugs still need to be worked out and a couple of players still need to be rounded into shape.

But here's what I want to see more and less of in the final two preseason games.

I want to see:

Less of: Gerald McCoy. In fact, I don't want to see him again this preseason. No one is more important to the defense than McCoy, and the last thing the Bucs need is him leaving a stadium on crutches after a meaningless game. Wrap him in Bubble Wrap and send him home to look at his life-size Batman for two weeks.

More of: Split screens. Did you notice Thursday night that ESPN had a shot of coach Dirk Koetter while Nick Folk was lining up for a kick? Brilliant. It was the best television of the week. I want a split screen every time Folk lines up for a kick and every time Jameis Winston drops back to pass. Speaking of which …

Less of: Winston playing hot potato with the ball and throwing it up for anyone to catch. I'm not sure that will ever happen. This is who Winston is. You have to take a little of the bad with all the good. Less of Winston overall this preseason would be a good thing. He looks regular-season ready.

More of: ESPN tickers telling me what Roberto Aguayo is doing at the same time Folk is lining up for a kick. Let's face it, this Bucs kicker thing is still a mess. A hot, delicious mess. The only thing more of a dump is the Jaguars' quarterback situation.

Less of: Those jet sweeps with DeSean Jackson. No more slants across the middle where he can get his face mask bent inside out. No more nothing with Jackson. I don't even want the guy running a fly pattern, because he might pull a hamstring. Go home, DeSean, and jump in the pool with your kids. See you in Miami.

Less of: Mike Evans. See everything I wrote for DeSean Jackson.

More of: Joe Dirt. That's the nickname of rookie linebacker Riley Bullough, who is making noise with his late-game splash plays and his appearances on Hard Knocks. He has looked good against other teams' backups. Now let's see how good he is against starters. And that would allow Lavonte David to rest for the regular season.

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Less of: Doug Martin. The running back looks fine and regular-season ready, though his regular season won't start until Week 4 because of his suspension for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy. Meantime, come up with a plan for the first three weeks, and possibly beyond.

More of: Jon Gruden. Did you hear the former Bucs coach on ESPN on Thursday night? He went to Belarus to watch his son, Deuce, win the World Powerlifting Championships. "That's near Russia,'' Gruden said for those who didn't know where Belarus is. Man, I'd rather listen to him talk about that stuff all night than listen to other announcers tell me that Ryan Fitzpatrick went to Harvard. (Did you know that?)

Less of: Fitzpatrick. Then again, the Bucs don't need Winston running around and getting hurt. So that means …

More of: Sefo Liufau. Go have a ball, kid.

More of: Rookie tight end O.J. Howard. This guy looks special. And indestructible. Same for wide receiver Chris Godwin. A few years from now, we might be looking at two Pro Bowlers.

Less of: Any starter who has a bump, bruise, itch, something in his eye, indigestion, paper cut, hangnail, untied shoe, hiccups or gas. If we've learned anything about the NFL, it's that each season is one of attrition. Why risk anyone getting hurt at this point? After all, the Bucs seem ready for the real stuff.

Contact Tom Jones at tjones@tampabay.com. Follow @tomwjones.