Was Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston calling out Mike Evans?

Another Bucs season has ended and again we are left riding a merry-go-round to nowhere.

Jameis Winston tried to give the franchise a sense of direction, but might have overstepped his boundaries. The Bucs rookie quarterback called out some of his teammates for lack of commitment after Sunday's season finale.

Winston picked the wrong forum for telling the media about his beliefs. And in not naming names, he fueled speculation that could get nasty. Everyone is left to guess who Jameis is talking about on a team that melted into oblivion in losing four straight games to end the season at 6-10.

The media loved it and the frustrated fans had to like it, but you have to wonder how it resonates in the locker room. Airing your dirty laundry is rarely a popular mode of communication. Winston should've addressed those players in private or in a closed locker room.

Now, all of his teammates are up for scrutiny and second guessing.

A logical assumption is that he was calling out Mike Evans, the Bucs' top receiver and NFL's Crybaby of The Year whose whining has infected the team (see tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins).

In Evans, Seferian-Jenkins and William Ghol

ston, the Bucs have their very own Temper Tantrum Trio.

There are whispers that the talented Evans does not work at his craft the way he should, and Winston gave those rumors new life.

Evans led the NFL in dropped passes with 12 and was the poster boy for the Bucs being an undisciplined team that tied for the league lead in penalties. Evans led all wide receivers with 10 penalties for 110 yards and was tied for the league lead in offensive pass interference calls with five, despite missing what amounted to two games. Maybe he caught the Johnny Manziel disease when they played together at Texas A&M.

Gholston led the Bucs with four unnecessary roughness and one roughing the passer penalties, but top honors go to Gosder Cherilus. The offensive tackle led the Bucs with 11 penalties (15 if you count four that were declined). His resume includes five holding penalties, four false starts and three illegal formations.

Despite a strong candidate for offensive rookie of the year honors, Winston had his struggles this season. Some of those teammates he might have castigated covered his back when he had that awful opening day against Tennessee and didn't call him out for throwing a combined six interceptions in two losses to Carolina.

It's hard not to admire Winston's passion and work ethic, which had him at the facility usually before anyone in the morning, according to Bucs head coach Lovie Smith. But criticizing your teammates in public is not wise. Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady had a lot to complain about this season and did not take that route.

When asked about whether his comments might have rubbed some of his teammates the wrong way, you get the feeling Winston missed the point or maybe passion over ruled caution -- which is the way of a good quarterback, isn't it?

"The first person I called out was myself. I made that very clear," said Winston, who turns 22 on Wednesday.

Winston needs to get FSU out of his rearview mirror. This is the NFL, not the ACC, where the Seminoles are better than 90 percent of the teams they face and will usually win if they play with intensity.

"I guarantee you there are some of our coaches that want it more than some of our players and that is the bad part," Winston said. "We need to get our guys to put in the work like our coaches put in and that's how you are going to be successful."

Ouch!

What goes into winning in the NFL involves more than intensity and a strong work ethic. It encompasses coaching, the general manager and how a franchise evaluates and accumulates talent. Those types of things have been in short supply over at One Buc Place for about a decade, so making some players scapegoats could be stretching reality.

In the NFL you are dealing with players who have families and, in most cases, have a short window to earn the biggest paychecks of their lives. They surely don't appreciate Winston's statement that the coaches work harder and want to win more than some players.

Winston says he is trying to change the culture of the franchise and get everyone on the same page. It's a noble gesture, but in the NFL it's not so easy.

It's a job that should go to Lovie Smith.

This story was originally published January 5, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Was Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston calling out Mike Evans? ."