If Bucs quarterback bust-in-waiting Josh Freeman is named the starter, God help us all.

If the following nugget does not get one jacked up nothing will, short of Rachel Watson knocking on your back door:

This will be the last football-free weekend until February.

Bucs training camp gets underway next weekend. With all the new coaches and turnover of players, there’s a lot that needs to be digested by all. But there is one element of the Bucs that will determine if this training camp will propel Tampa Bay to bigger or better things or be a bust:

How will, and who will, develop and succeed at quarterback.

That’s the premise set forth by Vacation Man of BSPN.com. He writes that, since the starting quarterback for the Bucs is anyone’s guess, what happens this summer at that position will have a great impact on the whole team.

Camp will be a downer if … none of the quarterbacks steps forward. The rest of the offense is pretty solid, but this team won’t go anywhere without a quarterback who can make the passing game work. There are reasons why McCown has never been a true starter and why Leftwich has gone from being a franchise quarterback in Jacksonville to being just a guy.

McCown has enough athleticism to make you believe there’s upside, and Leftwich still throws the ball very nicely at times. But nothing is certain with either of these guys. If Freeman plays like a rookie in camp, the Bucs may have to settle on a quarterback by attrition. That’s not a great situation because if McCown or Leftwich starts slowly, fans will be screaming for Freeman before he’s ready.

While Joe agrees the quarterback battle will be critical, Joe believes that piecing together something close to a defense will have a much more significant impact than who wins the starting quarterback job… this year.