6 Projections to believe and 6 projections to ignore from week 1 of NFL action

#5 Believe: Jameis Winston is the same guy under Bruce Arians

This might have been the most disappointing showing from week one to me. I really thought coming into the year that having a coach like Bruce Arians, who encourages his quarterback to take shots down the field while avoiding stupid mistakes would benefit the Bucs QB and lead to big numbers.

However, looking at Winston in just one game, he didn’t show me anything that would make me think he will be a different guy. He is still the big-bodied passer with a strong arm, who can shake off rushers like a Big Ben and make crazy throws when things break down, but he also doesn’t take care of it the way you need in order to win games.

Jameis threw three interceptions against the 49ers and while one came off the hands of one of his receivers, he should have been picked twice more, where defenders flat-out dropped the ball. The most heart-breaking one came with a little more than two minutes left in the game with the score being 23-17. On first down, the Bucs had a running back screen set up and the defense was all over it, but instead of simply throwing it in the dirt, Winston tried to somehow lob it over the top only to have Ahkello Witherspoon take it back for six and basically end the game. I’m sorry, but you can’t do that kind of stuff in the NFL.

#5 Ignore: The Steelers offense will struggle without Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown

The Steelers had a terrible outing against Tom Brady and Co.

I don’t think we have ever seen a team lose almost 20,000 career yards of production by their top two weapons in one offseason and while you could argue that the organization should be happy without all the distraction that came with them, there is no doubt that Pittsburgh lost two amazing players on the field. Neither JuJu Smith-Schuster nor James Conner are as good as their previous WR1 and RB1, but taking the season-opener at Foxborough as your only proof would be wrong.

Bill Belichick and that Patriots coaching staff is simply next level, knowing when to force those number two and three receivers to win their one-on-ones with Stephon Gilmore on JuJu, but then bracketing #19 once the Steelers got into the red-zone because of how much they like to go to him in that part of the field. And their D-line is full of grown men, who will hold their ground in the run game and did not allow Conner to ever get going throughout the night.

Obviously, they would be better on the field with those two superstars, but Smith-Schuster and Conner with Big Ben are still a trio a lot of teams would love to have. The O-line lost some pieces, especially their position coach Mike Munchak, one of the best at his job in the league, but with a retooled defense this still is a Steelers squad you don’t want to face, especially at Heinz Field.