Former Bucs QB Jeff Carlson

By JEFF CARLSON
JoeBucsFan.com analyst

Former Bucs quarterback Jeff Carlson writes the weekly QB Blast column here at JoeBucsFan.com. Joe is ecstatic to have him firing away. Carlson has TV gigs in the Bay area and trains quarterbacks of all ages via his company, America’s Best Quarterback.

A hearty congratulations to all involved in getting the “W” Sunday for the Bucs, no doubt.

Some things of note that point to good things ahead: Raheem Morris is maturing. He did not dare the media to write a story about why the Bucs drafted Josh Freeman, unlike earlier in the year when he got worked up over a good game from Michael Clayton, only to see Clayton fade back once again.

Morris also kept the win in perspective, knowing his Bucs must go back out there Sunday and they might not get quite as much help from the defense or special teams in the scoring column.

Did you see Freeman rolling out and making positive plays — by design?

Josh Johnson is slightly more mobile than No. 5, but couldn’t get movement from the pocket unless he was chased out. Good to know that Greg Olson is evolving as a play designer.

And speaking of evolving this offense, the Bucs need to bring Josh Johnson back into it on a regular basis and develop the most dynamic form of the “Wildcat” that the NFL has seen thus far.

The Philadelphia Eagles are losing games by leaving Michael Vick out of their offense and Johnson could bring a dimension to the Bucs that could help everyone.

ESPN The Magazine’s current issue has a long story about the amazing New Orleans Saints offense, but suffice it to say the entire point of the article is to show that if you get the other team’s linebackers to take one step in the wrong direction, you have a chance at success.

When teams have equal talent, which is what the draft and salary cap are supposed to create, deception and personnel mismatches become the biggest determinants for success.

If the Bucs put Johnson in motion from a receiver position (i.e. Ricky Williams), Freeman then has the option to give it to him or fake it to him. Either way it makes the linebackers take a step that way because of Johnson’s running ability, but what he has that no other player has (except Vick) is real passing ability. This piece of the puzzle unleashes mayhem on the defense, not to mention if Freeman takes off in the opposite direction of the motion with the run/pass option as well.

I don’t know how long it will take Olson to read this blog for the idea, but look for it somewhere down the road as other teams get a feel for Freeman’s assets and liabilities and start to take advantage.