Freeman embarrassed over silly mistake

When QB Josh Freeman scrambled and dslid a yard shy of a first down on the fourth play from scrimmage on Sunday, he probably walked away a little red-faced.

That's according to offensive coordinator Greg Olson who is still ribbing his young quarterback about his gaffe. And Freeman is hearing it from someone else, too: Former Bucs QB Jeff Garcia. He called Olson and left a message that he asked the coach to play for Freeman.

"That was not what you expect to see from him," Olson said. "I said, 'I don't know where you learned that or practiced that.' Coming out of college, I'd never seen that from him. In the preseason, he never slid, so that was kind of shock to everybody.

"I got a phone message from Jeff Garcia who broke his nose last year trying to get a first down. He said, 'Let him listen to what I have to say about that.' We talked in the quarterback (meeting) room about that. 'What do you want your reputation in the league to be? You want to be a tough guy. You're 6-5 and 260 pounds.' We looked back on the replay and the two defenders who were coming up to tackle him weren't really aggressively coming at him. I think they were kind of backing up as he was going toward them. It was a good lesson for him."

Embarrassment will do that to you.

"He was embarrassed about it on Sunday, Olson said. "As part of playing that position, you have to have a short-term memory and you have to go out and play. But certainly, when it happened, he was hurt. He thought he was beyond (the marker). But it's where you give yourself up. It's not where (the defenders) touch you. So, we just cleaned up his thought process on the rules. . . I think he wants to be a tough guy and he is a big guy. Those guys should fear him a little bit."

Comments

[Tom]

I don't that play was as bad as when he took a sack near our own goal line.

Green Bay's defense is a perfect example of a team trying to force a system like the Bucs. There is no justification for dropping Aaron Kampman, who is a premier pass rusher, back in coverage. They have no pass rush now.

Miami and Joey Porter is going to give Freeman a much bigger challenge this week. I think we need to play a lot of max protect and give Freeman just two receiver routes to read. And use screens, like the Ward play last week, to neutralize Porter.

[ProzacJM]

Yeah, it was pathetic to see a guy of that size sliding in that way before getting the first down, hope was just a mental error and not being afraid of contact, that's the last thing this team needs with all the lack of protection from the line.

[Jay]

I know the Bucs are gameplanning on ways to shut down Joey Porter as we speak. I mean, the guy had a ridiculously amazing game last week...

oh, wait.

[Valrico Rick]

There once was a man named Raheem, who found himself head coach of a team. He bet all he had on the kid called Freeman, in hopes that when it was over he wouldn't be called Leeman!

[jimmy]

Ta Huh Ta Huh Ta Huh

[willem]

am I the only one whe misses graham in the running game, yes I know he plays FB but last year he had some great game breaking long rushes, I mean I like caddy and ward but when was the last time they rushed over 70-80 yards let alone 100. Give graham his shot again and morris dont even consider peanut as RB let him focus on special team where he is an ace

[GTSkyrider]

Yeah....Freeman is too big to be sliding all over the field and not getting that first down...I was like WTH???? This big dude should be popping cats off him like he was the incredible Hulk!!! Jo Free ...ya gotta pump up the volume and be the aggressive big man we all think you are.

[Tom]

willem,
I agree with you 100%. Everyone has forgotten how good Graham was for us. I've said before that the way he is being phased out reminds me of Alstott's career. No one ever knew how to use Alstott appropriately and was relegated to obscurity.

[Tom]

Surprisingly, the Packers have the fourth ranked defense in the league. But only 13 total sacks as team. That's pathetic. I guess stats are deceiving.

As for Miami, Jason Taylor is still is a force. Porter is not having the big year like last year, but is still someone to keep your eye on. And Randy Starks is having a good year.

[Aaron Shaw]

This is a tough one here as Freeman is expected to finish the season as the starting QB for Tampa. As his potential and on field playing ability are expressed he will need to start making better decisions than what he has been making. For crying out loud he is a good quarterback that needs to be brought up to professional caliber. As he continues to start expect him to start making better decisions on the field and become a better passer.

[willem]

nice stat 4th ranked defence in the nfl didnt show last sunday.
I am pretty optimistic about the dolphins I think our spirits are high and miami has a up and down year.
Hope our running game commes to life a little it was good to see our O-line working better last week.
If we get our running game up to our potential it will open up the field for freeman.
And somebody has to start it so let it be me.

HAND THE BALL TO GRAHAM

what happend to this 3 headed monster??

[clark kent]

If anybody should be embarrassed, it should be the offensive coordinatoor who is 1-7 and has one of the worst offenses in the league statisticly right now. One other thing I should add, most people don't buy that tough guy crap. It is smart to slide, your career might last a little longer. Garcia, who is unemployed, called him for what reason? I would have asked Garcia what team he plays for. Or what team didn't he play for?

[TriplePlay]

Hey if that was Garcia the training staff would have walked him off the field - the rookie was close and I'm sure he won't let it happen again.

Like Willem said hand the ball to Graham - Graham did a great job blocking Sunday let him run it. He would be awesome catching dump outs to the flat.

[OAR]

I too was unimpressed with his slide, but hopefully he will learn(we will actually get the chance to see if he does). Anyways, some interesting stats of Freeman's first game:

Taking a snap from a shotgun formation, Freeman’s numbers were solid. He was 13 of 21 for 188 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.

Taking a snap from center, Freeman was Dilferesque, completing just 1 of 10 passes for 17 yards and an interception.

With three wideouts, Freeman was 7 of 12 for 121 yards. With just two wideouts, Freeman completed just 1 of 9 passes.

[Steven]

Porter, Taylor, Starks, the Dolphins even have reserves like Cameron Wake (Porter's understudy - this guy destroyed the Canadian league and gets sacks every time he subs for Porter) who can get to the QB. This will be a good learning situation for Freeman, pulling the trigger on passes, tucking and running, throwing the ball out of bounds, etc. Hopefully the good decisions outweigh the bad and we'll be competitive with the Dolphins.

[clark kent]

I'm not saying it's good sliding a yard short but he definitely needs to learn how to use the slide effectively, knowing where the first down marker is.

The quarterback shouldn't fear contact but just needs to learn in what situations it is appropriate.

With an arm like that, and with the great mobility he has, he needs to learn when and when not to protect himself. I don't care how much pain you can take, if you can't bend your arm or your legs fluidly, you can't play quarterback.

[Tom]

I really don't think this is such a big issue. Yeah, it was a bad mistake sliding short of the first down marker. But, this was the first series of the first start of his NFL career. If it happenened at the end of the game for the winning drive, it would be much worse.

I think he had some nervousness and forgot where he was on the field. I don't think he's afraid of contact.

[mynewsviews]

Rookie mistake ni big deal!!!!

[mynewsviews]

Err, no big deal I meant to say.

[Revan]

It's no big deal.He'll learn from it.Everything out there is going to be "for the first time" for a while.Freeman seems like a sharp guy and every mistake will just make him better down the line.It's kind of amusing how critical some fans can be simply because they don't make the same mistakes on their XBOX or PS3.

[ORLBUCFAN]

Aren't all 3 of our RBs healthy? I know they (including Cadillac) can catch balls out of the backfield. I hope Olson uses some imagination in game-planning cos we'll need it against Miami. I have been a Stovall fan since we drafted him. He's a smart young man of good character as well as being a good football player. Please let him stay as a WR. Stroughter is turning out to be simply terrific!

Yeow(!), I didn't realize how physically big Freeman is. He's definitely going to be challenged by the Dolphin D. Bill Parcells doesn't have his fearsome rep for nothing! I'll have my lucky charm and fingers x'ed Sunday. Go Bucs!

[clark kent]

Looking at the big picture, Tom, your right, it's not a big issue. But apparently Holder, or the SPTimes, or whoever, thought that it was worth writing about. But I feel ya, it's a little sad that it's even brought up because Freeman didn't look afraid of contact to me either. I can see why it is brought up though. This team's success is pretty much in his hand's right now. But we can debate that if we want to, I guess. Our defense is pretty much unreliable in every phase so it doesn't seem like much to talk about.

[clark kent]

One of the three phases of the game, is pretty fun to watch. You might even call it special. Talk amongst ya selves, I gotta go for now.

[Steven]

This is a case of a slow news day as the Bucs prep for the Dolphins. I was at the game and groaned as he slid short, but of course chalked it up to nerves, lack of experience, etc, especially in light of his performance the rest of the way out. I don't think there's an issue here at all. That said, Sunday's game will clearly come down to the performance of the Bucs defense, not only against the wildcat, but also Miami's base offense. They have a solid offensive line and a smart and talented young QB.

[Tom]

Steven,
I think you're absolutely right. The Wildcat will really expose one of the biggest weaknesses of this team, gap discipline. The Wildcat hits you in so many different directions that it is critical that the front seven stay within their assignments. I've been very critical of our LBS, most notably, Geno Hayes, for getting out of their positions and over pursuing.

[Tom]

Steven,
As for Henne, that's the guy I was hoping they draft. But they got Dexter Jackson instead.

[westcoastbuc]

I can't help but think the key to this game is going to be how the defense controls the wildcat. If we can't stop the run it will not matter how Freeman plays.

The good news is that Miami eats so much clock it should be low scoring and we could be in it at the end without lighting up the scoreboard.

Sounds like old Buc ball to me, I like the sound of that.

[OAR]

Garcia and Olsen have been friends and co-workers since Garcia was at San Fran(2001) and then in Detriot and finally in Tampa. So yeah, I don't understand why friends would call one another?

[Adam]

Why the BLAHeem is calling complicated play-actions on 3rd and 1 when your QB is 6-5 260lbs is still blowing my mind. Someone get BLAHeem an XBOX so he and the Sub-OC can learn to call plays.

[jjbjeff]

I think he thought he had the first down, and that's why he slid short.

I think everyone at One Buc is delusional. So, Jeff Garcia says don't slide.

Is this the same Jeff Garcia that couldn't finish a full season since 2002 because he was always getting injured?

The same idiot that used to run head first into linebackers and get crushed?

I would personally rather have my QB's reputation be that he is smart. I would rather punt the ball than have my QB on injured reserve every year.

Hey Olson, next time you get a call from a washed up QB who couldn't stay healthy who tells you to play a message telling your QB to be stupid and reckless......just delete it.

[OAR]

jjbjeff, While I was not a Garcia fan, he was all heart on the football field. Besides you do realize Freeman has 6 inches and 55 pounds on Garcia, right? With his size, can you imagine if Freeman had Garcia's heart? Had he went for that first down(which I hope he does learn), like his size should dictate, then little Al Harris(same size as Garcia) would have been rolled.