My two cents on new Bucs QB Josh Freeman

There is no shortage of opinions on rookie Josh Freeman and how he is or isn't a good choice to quarterback the Buccaneers.

The last thing anyone needs is another know-it-all to proclaim how well or poorly he will play. That's not why I'm here. As beat writers, we're paid to observe -- not opine. So, here goes.

During this time of year, the media is barred from watching all but the first half hour of practice, a portion that consists mostly of stretching and individual drills. But during training camp and the preseason, we were permitted to watch practices in their entirety. I didn't miss a single workout, so that gave me a better sense for Freeman than practically anyone not employed by the team.

Freeman was not given much in the way of first-team snaps, and in some practices he got very little work at all. Why that was is a conversation for another day. But when he was turned loose, it was hard not to notice a few things.

He throws some of the best-looking balls you've ever seen from a Bucs QB. His deep balls, in particular, were mostly impressive, displaying his rare arm strength. He can squeeze passes into tight spaces because of the force he puts on the ball. Of course, this is something that also tends to get him in trouble. He sometimes needs to learn to take a little mustard off his passes -- more touch, less force. But, all in all, his arm strength is a trait that will serve him well.

As for his decision making, he doesn't strike you as a guy who is unsure of himself. That doesn't mean he won't screw up with Green Bay CBs Al Harris and Charles Woodson lurking in the secondary. But he isn't afraid to take some chances and try to make things happen. Whereas Josh Johnson struggles a bit in this regard, Freeman is a passer who presumably will help the Bucs push the ball down the field as they intended to at the start of the season. 

Freeman will have to prove he can make the routine throws that make quarterbacks consistent. He's got to hit the slants, out routes and such throws on a regular basis if he is going to be a good quarterback. It does you no good to make the incredible throws but miss the easy ones. We'll see how much progress he's made in this department.

What I'm most interested in is seeing Freeman play alongside the starters. That's something he never had the chance to do during the preseason, even in practices. And at Kansas State, he had mostly inferior talent around him. While the Bucs are 0-7, the bulk of their best players are on offense, and that will help Freeman raise his level of play.

I'll close by saying that watching Freeman during training camp and preseason workouts was pretty intriguing. There were days he was the best of the four quarterbacks on the field. That includes Freeman, Johnson, Byron Leftwich and Luke McCown. I often wondered how he would look with consistent snaps.

Finally, on Sunday afternoon, we'll find out.

Comments

[Mark]

very good article Stephen, it was really nice to get your perspective especially since you've seen him in practice. I personally think bucs fans should give him a chance instead of being so hard on the kid, I mean besides garbage time against New England, no one knows what hes going to be like, I am a Freeman believer and I hope and think he will lead this team.

[Leo In Canada]

I am really looking forward to seeing what the kid has to offer. I also realize it takes about 3 years to truly assess his abilities. Let the future begin this Sunday. That first elusive win will be nice if it transpires this week. I really think it can.

[BucFandango]

Yes we will. Good luck Kiddo. We're pulling for you, and the first pick in the 2010' Draft.

[Valrico Rick]

Ah for it to be that simple. I fully agree that he deserves a chance, but what of the terrible protection paqckages, and crummy playcalling. The problems with the offense aren't on the field. OMG, Williams, Ward, Graham, Winslow, and this team isn't even competitive. Yes, I am pointing a finger at Greg 'Ls'n. (there isn't an O to be found in that man) In regards to Freeman starting while Olson is still running the offense, As Newt says to Ripley, "It won't make any difference!"

[aaron]

Great analysis and article Holder. You know you have taken a beating here and there over the course of the past couple years by some of the readers. I have been reading your stuff for, maybe 4 years now. I enjoy your writing, your interviews and your candor. Some of the writers in town dont quite measure up. Those writers are at the Tribune though. But i wont rip them, that is not my point here. My point is basically to tell you Holder that you are doing a good job, keep it up.

[John P]

Stephen,

No one is rooting against the kid, least of all us fans. I think most of us assuming he's not going to do well believe it has more to do with what he's got to work with as far as the coaching staff goes.

Is there a mentor on the team, a place to go for sage wisdom and advice for the youngster? I'm not saying we need to drag Steve DeBerg out of retirement, but who is the kid working with to smooth out those rough edges?

I don't think it's going to go well, and not neccessarily because the kid can't play. I think he's got all the athleticism a QB could ever dream of having, but the finer points are the things most of us who don't know him thought he needed the most work with. At K-State, he forced the ball a great deal of the time - he had to. A few years of doing that will ruin any player if the bad habits aren't broken.

I just don't see the current staff having what it takes to mold him into a great one - or even a good one. Nothing against Freeman at all in saying that.

[John P]

And let me add, I liked watching him play in college, there were times when he played like a man among boys. He was completely unafraid of launching a ball across the grain 40 yard to the opposite side of the field - and he could run over a linebacker on the run as well. So, I think he's got some great things going for him, but so have a lot of other QB's who didn't make the cut.

[clark kent]

You don't have to be a know it all to guess how Freeman will do with this current coaching staff, Stephen. You can be a know very little and probably guess right.

It seems to me that basically this article sums up everything we saw from Freeman in the preseason. Some great, difficult throws and a lot of missed routine ones. Disciplined practice and coaching I think might help that. Doubt Freeman is getting any of that but regardless the kid is fun to watch and I'm excited for Sunday.

[Slamdunk]

Good insights Stephen. It certainly would have helped with execution and confidence if Freeman had more time practicing with the first teamers.

[jjbjeff]

I really hope he does well, but history is working against him. Interesting that Stephen thought he looked the best at times in camp. That is something new to chew on.

I was against drafting him, so count me as one of those who isn't really confident in his abilities. And I'm definetly going to give him hell when he flops.

But, that being said I hope he gets us at least one win this year, and I wish him a good and injury free game.

[Robert]

Holder, Have u asked the coaching staff why Freeman didnt get any first team snaps in the reseason. I know Luke and Lefty were batling it out, but even we fans knew that if things went bad Freeman would be playing after the bye week. I know Rah wanted to sit Freeman for a year, but it seemed like from day 1 he would be in this season.

[piglet4you]

I for one am looking forward to see Josh Freeman passing to Dez Bryant next year. The BUCS will be unstoppable.

[Daisy]

Let's hope that Freeman does well and the Bucs win, after all he has had 2 1/2 hours of practice since London!

[ORLBUCFAN]

Hey Daisy--sit on it!

Stephen,
Thanks for the info. I'm completely clueless when it comes to judging college football talent. I'm still a JJ fan, but I sure hope JF turns out to be the real deal. It sure would be nice to see a for-real young, talented QB show up on this team. Especially after all the years of Gruden and his pack of old geezers! Go Bucs!

[BucFandango]

Why did they pull JJ???
Why did they play JJ???
Why did they draft Freeman???
Why did they sign Leftwich???
Why did they release Brooks???
Why did they re-sign Clayton???
Why did they hire Jagz???
WHY DID THEY HIRE BATES???
Why did they go ballistic on Sileo???
Why do they call 30,000 a Sellout???
Why did they promote Raheem???
Why did they promote Raheem again???
Why did they cut Matt Bryant???
Why can't they sell tickets???
Why don't they emulate winning Teams???
Why can't they win???
I really don't have a clue. Do they??? Does Anybody??? Can we all watch Daisy sit on it?

[Crank]

Stephen, looks like you've got all the sled dogs doing you're bidding here, so I'll sidestep evaluation of your skill and ask about Freeman. Is there in fact a qualified QB coach available to JF; NOT including Olie? Didn't think so. Do you see any indication that Mo, Olie & Jim can actually coach this team to significant improvement? Me neither.

[jimmy]

Please Josh go out there and give us a reason to "HOPE" for seasons to come that you are a true 1st rd QB for our beloved Buccaneers, GO BUCS

GO Josh

[Itch]

If they truly want to give this kid a chance, the coaches need to....

Tell the O-Line that they will pay a price for every sack and every QB pressure they let happen. They need to light a fire under the O-Line's puddy b@tts.

They need to run on the first play from scrimage a max-protect with a deep ball to Stroughter or Winslow. They need to make the Packers D respect his arm, and they will not be expecting it. Then they need to run it up the gut, and then burn them long again.

Dink and dunk will not win this game.

I hope Freemen does good.

My hopes are not high.

[jjbjeff]

I hope Josh Freeman completes zero passes. I hope he hands it off on every play.

Rah has told us that the O-line is the strength of the football team, but he has not yet asked them to step-up and show what they can do. That requires a committment to the running game. How many carries does EG have this year? One?

This is a critical time for Raheem and his future here IMO. If you're going to tell everyone you are a running football team, you need to at least attempt to run the ball. Especially with a rookie "gunslinger" QB.

I understand we need to evaluate FREE, but the coach's job is to win games. If this kid goes out there and loses the game with his rookie arm then it will be obvious that Raheem is just not smart enough to use the little talent he does have on the team, the O-line.

I'm looking for a 70% run/30% pass ratio. Lets evaluate our O-line and running game more than the "rookie gunslinger".

[Bucs101]

I am a fan of Tampa no matter what, And I try not to be a huge critic of the team but I can't help it this year. Besides Detroit, Tampa is the worst team in the league. And everything from poor decisions, to horrible team management, to bad coaching, to no consistency happened to this team. Now I'm glad people are trying to stay positive about Freeman. I personally did not to have drafted Freeman because I believe in building a really strong defense and then build offense. And personally I liked Luke McCown alot and because of lack of experience he lost his job to Lefty. What is done is done, can't go back now. I hope Freeman can be a good QB for the Bucs, I don't see it but, we are surely going to find out Sunday at 1:00 pm. I don't think Freeman can do much better then JJ. How can you with all the pressure coming at you that Tampa gets and no one can seem to pick up the blitzes. But I will say good Luck to Freeman. Prove me wrong, I really want you to. But Morris should not be the HC next year even if Freeman turns out okay, the league is too big for him.

[TriplePlay]

This kid is gonna get whacked. I have tickets too. Bye Bye Josh - you're dead.

[Kurt]

I hope he does well, but I doubt he will. I noticed that Denver has 5 players in it's defensive backfield and are one of the elite defenses...hmmm. Oh well, we'll go with the supposed experts and age while we watch our beloved franchise get flushed down the drain. I was barely able to give my tickets away. No chance of selling them...

[Kurt]

...5 players that are over 30 years old that is...

[DR]

Daisy, c'mon, don't you know we have hard working men and women of the fire department who don't want to deal with unneccessary house fires because some woman left her kitchen appliances to go blog. So please, get back to cooking brownies and doing the dishes and quit wasting our time here with stupid comments.
BTW, good article Stephen. This game won't mean anything right now. It will be the entire season before we can judge Freeman. He doesn't have the weapons Matt Ryan had and has and he doesn't have the defense Joe Flacco and Mark Sanchez has. Everybody annoited Sanchez too soon so let's not be quick to judge Freeman win or lose, good or bad.

[Zalamut]

It's not that the line sucks, it's that every NFL defensive coordinator knows (except possibly Bates) that when you have an inexperienced QB; just throw everyone at them until they beat you in the air. There's not enough linemen to pick up the blitzes thrown at us the past few games. An attempt at a running game would help. Unfortunately, we've got Dom Capers coming into town, who is known as DC genius, and things are not going to be easy for Freeman. The fact that he is known to be inadequate at reading defenses (even in college) will not bode well for him against a 3-4 Capers defense. They should have left JJ in. Better yet, they should have gone with the "winner" of the farce of a QB competition they supposedly had in the preseason; McCown. This coaching staff is a mere cloak for what is really going on at 1 Buc Place: the dismantling of a franchise. Let's hope it is for sale soon as this has been going on for six years. I agree with Kurt in that we were fortunate having had a coaching staff previously that could make a turd smell like roses; now it just smells like a turd. Kinda like DR's comments; hmmm, go figure...

[TrueBucFan]

Well said Zalamut.

[ref813]

I didn't want the 1st pick because of the salary we'll have to pay. Then, I thought about it a bit and realized that is one way to force our cheap owners to spend money. I'm not as hard on them as some given their attempts to sign Haynesworth, Cassel, and Cutler this offseason, but they have been cheap over the years.
It would be a good year to take a QB, but I think we'll have to start with the D line. They need to re-sign Penn. He is an underrated LT. We need DT, DE, RT, WR, CB, LB, and maybe LG. That's a lot. This Freeman kid better show some good signs or QB can be added to that list, too. As it stands, we'll need a nearly perfect draft and FA to get this team back into winning form, not to mention a new coach.

[TheBucStop.Net]

Thats about what the kid is worth 2 cents

[TheBucStop.Net]

Birds of the same feather all flock together

[clark kent]

I agree with most of what you said ref813.

I constantly see clues that show that the Glazers are trying to be wise spenders rather than cheap. I also think that might be because I'm hoping for the best.

The Bucs name usually comes up when a so called "lock" free agent/trade comes up that would logically look like a good fit for the team. According to Favre, he thought he was traded to Tampa Bay.

One thing I will say about the owner's of the Bucs is that they seem to not care much about the game of football, at least North American Football.

It's seems totally idiotic when I hear fans saying sell the team. Who's to say the team will stay in Tampa if the team is sold.

It would be great if the team was sold to a better owner, but what businessman would want to buy a team in this present state?

[ref813]

I warned all of you that daisy contributes nothing and will annoy you more than you could've thought possible. Like me, many of you seem to find yourselves reading his/her drivel anyway. It's kind of like looking at the aftermath of a car wreck. You know nothing good can come from it, but you just have to do it.
daisy, keep up the good work. You have shown time and time again that you know nothing and your only desire is to aggravate fans with some sense. What a waste of life. If that's not your motivation, then you really are as dumb as you seem. I'm off to watch football. I suggest you do the same. Please listen closely to the announcers so you can at least learn the most basic things about football.

[TheBucStop.Net]

Hey Daisy the truth hurts most. So as long as you get the negitive responses you know you are on target. Keep it up girl Theese Fans with the blind eyes may see some day Thank you so much From a real Buc Fan. We need all the help we can get.

[TheBucStop.Net]

Yes I know These is the way its spelled my keyboard sticks I need a new one but cant afford it.

[Dick Weed]

Spoken like a true SPT beat writer who values his sources more than his readers.

[galloway84]

About time!!! Freeman did not look too bad for a guy that started his 1st game. He look like a season veteran and he had alot of help too from special teams and defense. Let's see him do it again and make progress from here on out. Today, he proved me wrong. I was critical of him since he got drafted. As a fan, he better convince me that he is a legitimate QB in the NFL. It is only one game but he better continue his style of play at the QB position. Same goes for the defense and have a real kicker. Beef up the defense for the NFL draft. They need to draft LB from Florida Brandon Spikes. Even though that little incident that happen vs South Carolina, he is a football player. They need a lot of guys that can play defense.

[John P]

Give the kid props - he started and HELPED win the game. I don't care if he looked like a rookie, they WON A GAME and he was part of the reason why.

One game does not make a career, but when you have won in almost a full calendar year, you take anything.

[DR]

LOL, still crying about Gruden! Too funny, you guys are retarded. Gruden benefited from a weak schedule. The 30 year olds on his team are no longer playing football. As much as I hate to say it, Derrick Brooks had nothing left. Dawkins, on the other hand, does. There is a very good reason Brooks hasn't been picked up in the NFL. He's done. Get over it. Good win for Morris and the Bucs. Yeah, Dom Capers looked like a genius! LOL! You're an idiot who knows nothing about football zalapoop.

[ref813]

Bucstop.net, that was a real contribution. Let me tell you. They had a lot more than 2 1/2 hours of practice. I guess you consider false information that is negative to be better than true information that is positive.