McCown: "I'm not letting anybody take it from me"

Luke McCown says the Bucs' starting quarterback job is his to lose.

"Absolutely,'' McCown said. "This has been a long time coming for me and I'm not letting anybody take it from me. And it's the first legitimate opportunity. Say what you want about getting three starts at the end of a season.

"But this is my first real opportunity to be the starter, to be the guy. And I look at it as mine and you're going to have to shoot me.''

McCown is among five quarterbacks under contract for the Bucs, a list that now includes first-round pick Josh Freeman and veteran Byron Leftwich.

Neither player was on board when McCown signed a two-year deal. But McCown said coach Raheem Morris made it clear from the start there was a possibility the Bucs could draft a quarterback in the first round.

"I wasn't surprised by it at all,'' McCown said. "What I love about Raheem is he shoots you straight. He's going to tell you what's going on. When I re-signed, that was the first thing he said to me. He brought me up into his office, showed me the board and said, "this is what the depth chart looks like. Here's the competition you're going to be in. We've got the 19th pick. Who knows? All the experts say we're going to draft one (quarterback). Maybe we do. All you can do is go out, compete, and worst case scenario, you perform well and we have to make a decision whether to keep you or trade you.

"You can't do anything but respect him for that.  So I anticipated that pick and we'll go from there.''

On Tuesday, McCown split reps with Leftwich and Josh Johnson. Veteran Brian Griese is not expected to attend OTA's and expects to be traded or released. Freeman is unable to participate in off-season workouts until the semester ends at Kansas State later this month."

McCown is 1-6 as a starter, but four of those came as a rookie with the Cleveland Browns. 

"Nobody knew what New England had in Matt Cassel,'' McCown said. "You just don't know until you get out there and play, and not three games. You've got to play eight, 10, 12 games in a row to get that experience, to get that confidence, to get that respect, to be able to be vocal and be a leader. You have to earn things in this league and you don't earn them with just two or three good games. That just doesn't happen. You get a little bit of credit, but you've got to do it for a whole year.''

McCown said this year's offense has the most weapons of any team he has played on in Tampa Bay.

"No question about it,'' McCown said. "You just look across the board. Not only that, but the depth that we have as well. We've got a chance to compete, we've got guys that are going to be able to step in and fill in when somebody has got a sprained toe and perform at a high level. When you look across the board as an offense and we can be very explosive.''

Comments

[OAR]

Good luck men and let the best qb win/play. I just hope Raheem sticks to that, but not so sure, especially the way he divinely talks about "his project qb".

[Kurt]

He's clearly the best QB on the roster. I believe he is finally ready to start in the NFL. Thank you Gruden for preparing him properly.

[Rube]

I have said all along, McCown should start week 1. Have Freeman be backup and get rid of Leftwich. Leftwich can stay only if Josh Johnson can. If it is a choice between the two, then keep JJ. McCown gives the Bucs a chance to win this year. He is not the answer nor the future. But we can win with him under center. With a stud offensive line, RB's galore and Bryant as the number one target, McCown could manage much like the Saints game a couple of years ago. I like his mentality already. Too bad Winslow doesn't have McCown's attitude.

[Robert]

What I want to know is what classes is JF taking in NEBRASKA? I know you are a busy guy Rick so I wont blast you for a typo as some would.. Anyway, I think the guy who performs the best this offseason should start week 1. I dont care who it is. If Josh Johnson goes out and performs the best this offseason then he should start. The same goes for Freeman. I dont care if Luke has been waiting his turn or not. Who ever goes out and performs the best should and will get the job. Quite frankly, Im not sure Luke is going to be able to do that. I know he has that drive, but i don't know if he really has what it takes. There is a reason he has been number 3 to Garcia and Griese.. I just know that who ever does win the job has a great offense waiting for them and the QB right now is the weakest link on that side of the ball. So to who ever wins the job, you better go out and get it done this year because you have about as much fire power as you are ever going to get in this league and if you cant get it done with these guys, you never will!

[Krutch]

"Freeman is unable to participate in off-season workouts until the semester ends at Nebraska later this month."

Do ya mean Kansas State or is there a something special about Nebraska?

I love McCown's attitude about all this, but what else would he say? I think we're all hoping this turns out to be a Drew Brees/Phillip Rivers situation where while Rivers could start, Brees was too good not to play.

[Rick Stroud]

Duh. Kansas State. Kansas State. Freeman, of course, Josh Freeman is attending Kansas State. Knew that. 400 stories and 2,000 blogs a year, guys, it happens. But Barrett Ruud is here to tell you Nebraska is a special place.

[OAR]

Rick, no prob. We all have brain farts.

[Mr.Fabulous]

ANYBODYBUTLEFTWICHPLEASE

[Leo In Canada]

Gotta' love this classy guy's attitude. Give it your best shot Luke & may the best man win.

[G. Michael Reynolds]

I already support the culture change that has come with the Morris/Dominik hirings. Moving in the right direction, you can pick up the difference from what the players say and how they say it. Good future.