Jaws: Josh Freeman = Peyton Manning
April 12th, 2011
Joe is split when it comes to the BSPN Monday Night Football crew.
Joe thinks Mike “Moving Forward” Tirico is OK, nothing more. For some reason Joe loved it when he called college games. NFL? He’s OK.
Chucky? Pppfffttt. The guy is so full of it his eyes are brown. Everybody’s great. Everybody’s an All Pro. Just stop it Chucky, stop it. Chucky’s slobbering over everyone and everything actually forces Joe to find a watering hole that is noisy thus, he can’t hear the audio.
Now Jaws is a whole different story. Ron Jaworski is damned good and the only one who comes close to Jaws in Joe’s eyes as an NFL game analyst is Mike Mayock. Jaws is a true student of the game. He speaks to football fans, not some Long Island yenta or Nebraska hausfrau. Football fans crave inside information and X’s and O’s and Jaws delivers time and again.
So when Jaws says something, Joe takes notice. In speaking with eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune, Jaws says that Josh Freeman reminds him of a veteran Peyton Manning.
“I see all the great throws, but the job I have working out of NFL Films allows me to hear when these players are miked for a game,” said former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski. “I listen. You can’t get that on a broadcast. You can’t be in the huddle with the guy and see how he commands the offense. The beautiful thing is that when Freeman’s in the huddle in crunch time with the Bucs trailing, you would have thought his team was ahead by 10 points. There’s a calm demeanor, which really shows his teammates that he was confident they would get the job done together.
“When you hear Freeman make the changes in protection, direct receivers on what routes to run … those are things Peyton Manning was doing in Years 6 and 7. He’s doing it in Year 2. He does a really good job of looking his teammates in the eye. That might sound like minutiae, but I’ve watched Drew Brees very closely over the years and he likes to get down on one knee and look up at his guys eye-to-eye. It’s all in the little things that separate average quarterbacks from great ones and I think Josh Freeman is clearly on the track to being a great one.”
Wow, that’s high praise. Virtually anyone who would compare Freeman to Manning as an established quarterback Joe would dismiss almost right away. Not from Jaws.
Joe has to wonder if one reason Jaws is waxing poetic because there is a chance the Bucs will be on Monday Night Football? The schedules will be out shortly, likely before the NFL draft.
April 12th, 2011 at 8:11 am
eye-RAH! Kaufman
April 12th, 2011 at 8:16 am
I have a mancrush on freeman!
April 12th, 2011 at 8:21 am
But Joe, you gotta give Gru some credit. When he isnt praising everyone under the sun he actually goes give some good football insight.
There have been a few times where he has predicted the the next play. He is very familiar with certain coaches tendencies in certain situations.
It always made me wonder why he wasn’t more successful with us after this first year.
April 12th, 2011 at 8:38 am
Great praise! SHould not be a complete surprise though. Even without the mic, we all saw how composed he was and the command he had of the team. Every offensive player to a man has been saying it for a year: “It is Josh’s team, we follow him”
I wish this lockout would end SOON!! I am so psyched for this coming season.
Psyched to see how they address DE.
Psyched to see how the DTs come along.
Psyched to see Williams, Benn, Briscoe, Stroughter, K2, Blount develop. Psyched to see what Freeman does next.
My guess is 4000+ yards passing and 30 TDs, although his INTs would have to go up some… don’t they. I mean 6?!?!?
As long as he keeps it in single digits
We are going to see a handful of probowlers this year:
MY prediction – Freeman, Williams, Blount, Penn, Joseph from the offense.
Defense…… not so sure. It would have been Talib definately but we all know what is happening there.
GET A PASS RUSH and let’s get this season rolling!!
April 12th, 2011 at 8:42 am
Freeman is BETTER than Peyton Manning. In fact, the Gkazers need to tear up his contract and resign him to a Peyton Manning type contract… no to a better contract since he is better and will one day in the future win more Super Bowls than both Peyton AND Eli.
April 12th, 2011 at 8:46 am
Love it! I have a man crush on Freeman too! This kid is the real deal! And I do mean KID… He’s only just getting started! Right now as we speak JF is not only getting ready for this season he’s also playing the role of coach since they cant all meet at the team facilitly. I’m so happy to have a leader like him durring this crazy lockout! He will surely be the leader of men when all this is said and done! As far as Gruden goes I like to hear him do comentary better than I liked having him as a coach… I think he was a good (not great) coach, but he really didnt do a great job of drafting and evaluating talent. He liked to collect old vets. I like the Dungy/Morris way of bringing along new talent. Its the NFL… the NotForLong league. You have to know when a guy is done and let him go. Any way enough about the past…. Lets Go Bucs! In #5 we trust!!!!!!
April 12th, 2011 at 9:25 am
Totally disagree about Gruden on Monday night football. He knows his stuff and brings some color to the game. You don’t think Madden was full of himself? Jaws is boring on MNF. Now when I watch him on other shows breaking down plays no one is better. And as far as Freeman goes, these things we all know in Tampa. The national media is finally just catching up.
April 12th, 2011 at 9:35 am
Brad:
Don’t care about a guy’s ego, Joe cares how he delivers information.
April 12th, 2011 at 9:57 am
I HATED Madden on MNF for the last decade he was on. Hated him.
Love Gruden there though. The only reason I would want him back coaching somewhere would be to get him off the Glazers books so they could have more money to spend (don’t laugh).
On the topic of Freeman…I really, really hope he does well this year, because that kid is having tons of expectations placed on him…perhaps a year or so too early.
We Tampa fans have seen our share of one year wonders, haven’t we? I don’t think Freeman will be such…but there is a small part of me that fears it.
April 12th, 2011 at 10:01 am
Josh has better hair than Payton Manning!
Other than that – well let’s let his playing do the talking shall we?
April 12th, 2011 at 10:29 am
Dominick just signed a 4 year contract.Smart move Glazer’s.
April 12th, 2011 at 10:40 am
@lakeland bob
I agree with you.
In other news, since this is something Joe won’t talk about, the judge has forced the players and owners to the table.
She also DID NOT end the Lockout, something that the players were hoping for because it would put THEM into a position of power. Could this mean the owners have some chance of winning out if it goes to the point of the judge handling it?
Personally, I think both sides would have their regrets in that case.
April 12th, 2011 at 11:23 am
I agree: GRUDEN IS GOOD. He is a little to upbeat about everyone but that is because he is holding back in case it turns out to be someone he coaches.
The day he knows he will never coach again he will become outstanding in the broadcast booth.
Jaws is excellent at breaking things down, but not great on MNF.
Mayock going to the booth to break things down for the NFL network is going to be outstanding.
April 12th, 2011 at 12:03 pm
Dumb. I love Freeman, but to say he is now ahead of where Manning was in years 6-7 is silly. I’m pretty sure Manning was making those calls by year two as well.
April 12th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
Dave:
Then he shouldn’t be in the booth because, to put it mildly, he is less than truthful. He’s pulling a con job.
When Chucky said on a broadcast that (current Jets offensive line coach) Bill Callahan was the best players coach he ever had, Joe nearly fell off his coach. Hell, the Raiders players damned near had a mutiny to get rid of the guy he was so hated. That Chucky comment was the last straw for Joe.
April 12th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
Joe wote: “Then he shouldn’t be in the booth because, to put it mildly, he is less than truthful. He’s pulling a con job.”
By THAT standard most of the people on TV shouldn’t be in the booth. It’s something called ENTERTAINMENT.
Let’s face it Joe diehard fans are gonna tune it to watch the game – PERIOD regardless of who is in the booth. ESPN wants to get the casual views tuned in, especially the women who aren’t into X’s and O’s and to THEM Chuck’s not too vulger and irritating.
April 12th, 2011 at 12:15 pm
Hey Joe why do you have to be such a Gruden HATER man! 😉
April 12th, 2011 at 12:22 pm
Don’t you mean Gruden “disliker” Derf?
April 12th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
Derf:
Joe doesn’t hate Chucky. Joe does hate Chucky’s BS every Monday night. It’s an insult to Joe.
April 12th, 2011 at 12:46 pm
Derf:
Two points:
Joe considers it information which falls under the umbrella of journalism, the pillar of which is credibility. Chucky has none as an announcer.
Second, if BSPN truly were going for the casual viewers, which it tried in the past, they would have strippers in the booth and cut to Van Halen playing outside the stadium between after each play. BSPN tried to go for the casual viewer with Joey Sunshine and people in the booth that never watched football. It was a disaster.
April 12th, 2011 at 12:58 pm
ESPN is paying millions for Gruden to be in the national spot light on MNF, sending him first class to each and every game.
Joe, does ESPN even know who you are? Why arent they paying you? Why isn’t the St. Pete Times or the Trib paying you Joe to write in their sports sections?
Millions to Chucky and zero to Joe.
Looks to me like Jon Gruden is #winning!
LMAO @ the jealous Joe!!!
April 12th, 2011 at 1:10 pm
Wife and I each at separate times saw Gruden at the Tampa airport flying Southwest to cover games, so no first class. (wifey spoke to him for a few minutes, now she’s a Chucky fan)
April 12th, 2011 at 1:15 pm
Weneeddefense:
Get a grip. So Joe should shut this place down because he has higher standards than BSPN? A circus has higher standards than BSPN. An insurance claims adjuster has higher standards than BSPN. If you enjoy that sort of feces and warm yourself wallowing in that muck, then stay away from this site.
And if you want to check Joe’s free archives, yes, BSPN hates Joe. Good!
If you must know, yes, the Tampa Tribune does pay Joe to write sports stories for them.
Feel better now?
My, isn’t it nice to do a modicum of research?
April 12th, 2011 at 1:26 pm
Hey Weneedd…Maybe you should go read the trib or the times, that way we do not have to hear your off the wall comments. No reason to attack Joe, he did not say he hates Gruden, and we all know you love Chucky…he is just saying he is full of BS how he gushes all over every player and coach. I think it is clear he does not want to pull a move like Tiki and rip on a bunch of guys, and we all know how that made Tiki look. I for one want Joe to stay here and make a successful run at this site. I would like this site to become a fuull time job for both Joe’s. That would benefit them and us.
April 12th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
Wow, Joe beat me to it…Nicely put Joe.
April 12th, 2011 at 1:30 pm
Thanks for having Joe’s back McBuc! 🙂
April 12th, 2011 at 1:33 pm
Waaaaahhhhh
April 12th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
Any time Joe. If this site went away, my boss may realise how much free time I have! Just kidding, this is a great site that I visit multiple times a day. Keep up the great work.
April 12th, 2011 at 1:35 pm
LOL Joe hears that from a lot of readers. 🙂
Thanks man!
April 12th, 2011 at 2:26 pm
Sorry guys, I agree with Joe on Gruden in the booth. I do not enjoy listening to him, because he does nothing but praise every player. When it is warranted, I want to hear criticism as well, but I’ve yet to hear Gruden criticize anyone. I understand he may not want to burn any bridges, but his job is not to set himself up for his next job. I still believe he is a very good coach (in particular x’s and o’s), but he does a very poor job on MNF in my opinion. And WeNeedDefense, MNF also had Dennis Miller and Tony Kornheiser, so it’s not like they hire the best of the best.
Joe, if this site didn’t exist, I might actually be able to run my business effectively! I visit the site more than I care to admit, but I love everything about it so that is not going to change. Keep up the good work.
April 12th, 2011 at 2:43 pm
Gruden does a hell of a lot more than praise players. He makes watching MNF enjoyable and most of the time he knows the play before the qb does. And tell me who when broadcasting a game criticizes anyone unless your announcing for a home team.
April 12th, 2011 at 2:46 pm
“Then he shouldn’t be in the booth because, to put it mildly, he is less than truthful. He’s pulling a con job.”
Completely get it, but half the analysts who were ex-coaches are in the same boat there and on the NFL network.
Gruden is just a hotter commodity (for some reason) and will probably be coaching after this season when his contract with BSPN is over.
I get it, and it is annoying, I just think he is very good as an analyst and could be great if he decided not to coach again because then he would let fly how he truly feels.
Kind of like an ex-player doing braodcasts. Many are timid at first because they feel that loyalty to the players but after awhile they let loose.
April 12th, 2011 at 2:56 pm
Okay, maybe it’s not even criticizing I want him to do. But please stop telling us how great or fantastic every player on the field is. He throws around the word great about as much as he throws f-bombs while coaching. Okay, maybe not that much.
April 12th, 2011 at 4:20 pm
Too bad he isn’t living up to the ‘jerk’ status that the local sports writers tried to make him out to be.
We all know who ended up being wrong about that one.
He sure is a nice guy on TV. 🙂
April 12th, 2011 at 4:38 pm
For those not entertained, thank goodness for valium con….er volume control!
April 12th, 2011 at 4:40 pm
Maybe the lockout will cure those MNF Gruden blues?
April 12th, 2011 at 4:52 pm
What I want to know, is are the Bucs going to get a Monday Night Football game during the regular season? Sunday too.