The Facts: HC Bruce Arians has a plan. Mr. Fix It believes he can stop the leaks and plug the holes in the game of Winston. Specifically, he says the turnovers must slow to a trickle. But it will only be accomplished by Arians tightening the screws and demanding more. “I talked to Jameis this morning about it and said, ‘You and I are going to have hard conversations about our football team,’’’ Arians said just days before Super Bowl LIII. “’You’re not a rookie. So when I come to you, I want honest answers.’ We had those conversations earlier today.’’

Diehards Line: Of course, Winston has been coached hard before. It’s not like Lovie Smith or Dirk Koetter turned a blind eye to his 58 interceptions and 18 lost fumbles over the past four seasons, the second-most in the NFL during that span. However, while Arians does not forgive those mistakes, he’s also not holding Winston solely responsible for them. QBs coach Clyde Christensen began the process of watching every throw, every decision Winston made with the football over the past four seasons. In addition to bad decisions, there have been some poor mechanics as well. “I’ve studied a bunch of them,’’ Arians said. “Clyde has watched every throw he’s made since his rookie year and Byron [Leftwich], too. And it’s like you’re trying to look safeties off too long and your feet are crossed. So much of it is mechanical.’’ Then Arians began to pull back on Winston, saying much of the blame for his turnovers were the product of directly a poor football team. “The other thing is they’re down (expletive) 21 points,’’ Arians said after watching the Bucs games over the past four seasons. “Anybody down 21 is going to throw a pick or two and he’s down 21 a bunch." Indeed, the Bucs defense has never ranked higher than 15th in points allowed since Winston's arrival. The other three seasons, they were 22nd, 26th and 31st. Arians, 66, has a long history of success with mentoring some of the game’s best quarterbacks, a list that includes Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck and Carson Palmer. Now we'll see what he can do with Winston.