Ouch…
The NFL playoffs start next weekend, but it seems like all anybody can talk about today is New Orleans Saints backup QB Jameis Winston going rogue and calling a run play while the team was lined up in victory formation against the Atlanta Falcons.
The move happened late in the game yesterday after the Saints got an interception and returned it to the 1-yard line of the Falcons, while New Orleans was already up 41-17.
Sure, you’d think the move would be to line up in victory formation, kneel the ball, and walk out of the Superdome with a win.
But that’s not what Famous Jameis wanted to do.
The Saints offense decided that they wanted to get their teammate, Jamaal Williams, his first touchdown of the season during their final game. So they came together, led by their backup QB, and decide to overrule head coach Dennis Allen and run the fake victory formation play to try to get Williams the TD.
Well it worked, Williams got his TD, the Saints won 48-17…and now-former Falcons head coach Arthur Smith was PISSED after the game, giving Dennis Allen an earful during a heated exchange after the game.
During his postgame press conference, Allen apologized for the fake TD, and said that it was a decision made by the players to try to get Williams a touchdown:
And Saints players confirmed that it was Jameis who made the decision to run the fake:
Addressing his role in calling the play, Jameis called it a “collective decision.”
A collective decision to override his head coach. That’s legend sh*t from Jameis right there.
So it seemed like everybody in New Orleans loved the call from Jameis, except for Dennis Allen. But apparently at least one ESPN personality wasn’t a fan of the move either.
Shannon Sharpe went off on Jameis, saying that he would cut the quarterback after the move (Jameis is set to become a free agent and it was likely his last game with the Saints anyway) and called it “loser’s mentality.”
“I would cut Jameis Winston today. I would not want him on my team. That’s loser’s mentality…
If you get down, the defense is conceding. If you want to run the ball, let the defense line up. Don’t you fool them, think there’s a victory formation, and then drive off the ball…
I would cut Jameis Winston today. If I would have been on that team, I would have jumped offsides on purpose.
There’s a mentality that you gotta have if you want to play winning football. Jameis Winston has a loser’s mentality.”
But Sharpe also admitted that the move was likely a sign of bigger issues in the locker room:
“Dennis Allen’s gonna probably have to go. Because his players have no respect for him.”
Now I’m obviously biased as a Saints fan myself, but it seems like wanting to run up the score on your most hated rival is a winner’s mentality. Though I agree it’s not very encouraging to not only have your players overrule your head coach, but then have the coach come out and throw his players under the bus.
Either way, opinions on the move by Jameis seem to have divided the football world – but it cemented his status as a legend in New Orleans.
