“Opposite Approach” Better For Freeman
October 6th, 2012
One of only three quarterbacks to lead the Bucs to the NFC Championship game, Shaun King, would handle fourth-year veteran Josh Freeman very differently than the New Schiano Order does.
If fact, King thinks the Bucs should do an about-face with their plan for Freeman in the Bucs offense.
“I’d use the opposite approach to what Tampa’s doing now,” King said on WDAE-AM 620 this week. “You know right now they really have Josh almost being a game manager. You know they’re trying to run the football and pick their spots, which I can understand that. But I’d have to see if Josh can be elite. I can go get a game manager. I can go find Kyle Orton and get a guy and tell him, ‘Just don’t turn the football over. You know, throw the ball away if nothing is there.’
“I gotta see, can Josh Freeman be elite? So I’d give him everything we had. I’d give him the opportunity to change plays. I’d give him the opportunity to go into the two-minute [offense], speed the offense, the pace, the tempo up, if he saw fit. I mean I’d throw everything at him so I can really see what it is that I have.”
King also repeated his assertion that Freeman would benefit from a sports psychologist. King said Freeman isn’t always understanding down and distance or momentum in a game, in addition to poor decision-making with the football.
Interestingly, this week Greg Schiano made it clear that it’s important the Bucs “don’t get too nervous” and “stick to the plan.”
So it seems that King will have to wait a while to see an “opposite approach” with Freeman.
October 6th, 2012 at 4:36 pm
King is an idiot. There is a reason he has failed in the NFL, on television and finally on radio. It’s because he sucks. I was actually a fan at first. But when he came back overweight and lazy after being named the starter, I saw nothing but quit in him.
And clearly…it stuck.
October 6th, 2012 at 4:47 pm
Actually, King didn’t fail. He’s got big gigs calling college games and in NBC Sports studio gigs.
October 6th, 2012 at 4:55 pm
Pete I often agree with you and I also don’t care too much for Kings comments but i agree with him here. Now I don’t know how much freedom Free has but if they are shackling him then I think they need to let him play. He was a first round pick so before we brand him a game manager (aka a bad, inept QB) then we should let him go out and prove that he can’t be a successful starting QB. Now I don think elite is in the cards but I think it’s possible that he could be a good starter.
But it’s not looking good so far this season. A lot of people are saying we need to let Free go out and launch the ball deep because that’s what he is comfortable with. Problem is you can’t be successful in the NFL if all you can do well is throw bombs. He has been pretty inaccurate and hesitant with his short and intermediate game. You have to be able to make short and intermediate throws successfully.
October 6th, 2012 at 4:56 pm
the guy has tiny hands and is hung like a chinese dude….have another donut S. King
October 6th, 2012 at 5:16 pm
This team looks like a team in shackles…not just Freeman.
October 6th, 2012 at 5:25 pm
1976buc I agree. The philosophy has shackled the team in a sense because it works against our personnel. We lost Joeseph so our right side line is weak, our fullback can’t lead block, and our tight ends can block at all yet we came into the season trying to force an up-the-gut power run game. It won’t work. Defensively we are making a solid secondary on paper look like scrubs due to hanging them out to dry with relentless safety and corner blitzes.
The good news is that against the redskins, it was apparent that they are shifting, albeit slowly, toward opening the offense up. Defense on the other hand is still getting torched due to constant, untimely blitzing. I figure either the coaches will get it together or Sully and/or Blitzing Bill wont be returning next season. Chalk this season up to a learning experience for Schiano.
October 6th, 2012 at 5:25 pm
With the exception of the shrink, completely agree.
Turn him loose.
October 6th, 2012 at 5:33 pm
I’m not big King fan either but I also tend to agree with him. The Bucs and Schiano have nothing to lose by taking this approach. The Falcons are doing the same thing with Matty Ice and it is working well. If we still had Davin I might think otherwise, but let the pass open up the run game.
October 6th, 2012 at 5:53 pm
This whole “take the shackles of of Freeman” is absurd.
Raheem Morris let Freeman and the whole 53 man roster run wild and free last year. Did all that free will help the team last year? Did it Free Freeman to a whole nother elite level???
October 6th, 2012 at 6:19 pm
I admire Shaun for his astute football knowledge and courage to speak his mind. I believe he is absolutely correct in his assessment of the Bucs and Freeman.
Why does the Amen Chorus resort to these juvenile personal attacks?
Our next QB just might set the all time NCAA record for TD passes in a season, completion percentage and several other categories. Shall we trade the #1 overall pick or take the plunge?
I heard that he had 20 TD passes to 0 interceptions and an 84% completion rate. Oh my! West Virginia is undefeated.
October 6th, 2012 at 6:20 pm
I agree with King here. I wouldn’t mind seeing some no huddle if the Bucs and Freeman can make it work.
October 6th, 2012 at 6:21 pm
For once I actually agree with King on this one. I don’t see it happening very soon….sadly! Freeman is at his best when he rolls out of the pocket and doesn’t sit in it. Damn….I hope he doesn’t stay handcuffed!
October 6th, 2012 at 6:48 pm
For the first time in like, ever, I actually agree with King. Schiano should let loose a little but we should all realize that there was a LOT OF CHANGE this past offseason and it will take time for the coaches AND players to adjust.
The offensive players and defensive players are still getting comfortable with the (radically) new schemes they’re running. These adjustments take time.
October 6th, 2012 at 7:00 pm
I generally disagree with King and find him an unreliable source for quarterback related advice. But he makes several good points here. The Bucs need Freeman to be himself within the construct of the scheme of the offense. If the coaches are limiting him to a certain set of plays for use in specified situations, they won’t give him or the team the ability to improvise and execute based on their feel and intuition of what they sense on the field. At this point, with a losing record last year and starting out 1-3 in 2012, why not let him demonstrate his decision making process and ride with the guy…we’ll either love it or hate it, but at least we’ll know what we have.
October 6th, 2012 at 7:41 pm
I AGREE!!!!!
October 6th, 2012 at 8:03 pm
I agree with FloidaGirl!
October 6th, 2012 at 8:19 pm
OK. just turn him loose, and that solves all his problems??!! What happened when he had a chance to call a play in Dallas? I”ve never seen a more ignorant bunch of fans.
October 6th, 2012 at 8:23 pm
Yea, guess we dont even need an o-coordiator right…just let Josh call all the plays right…he cant even digest the offense he’s been given…or, I guess he was an offensive genius at K state? WTF with you simple-minded $##$%s!!!
October 6th, 2012 at 8:26 pm
@bucyea
No one is saying he will be successful with it but obviously handcuffing him isn’t working. Just look at our offensive rankings, they are abysmal across the board. Dead last overall. Turning him lose can’t make it any worse than it already is. Use this year to find out if Free has it. If he flops we can move on knowing we gave him all the opportunities we could.
October 6th, 2012 at 8:38 pm
When King is your expert reference you are clearly struggling. It’s actually hard to believe he’s taken seriously. This site is getting strange.
October 6th, 2012 at 8:47 pm
I guess the Jets should turn Sanchez loose, the Chiefs with Cassel, Tannehill with the Dolphins, Weeden with the Browns, Fitzpatrick and Bills….just let all the under performing QBs take over the offenses….jeeeezzzz!!! Is it the coaches holding him back, when he wont throw the ball on 3 step drop, or when he bounces ball in the dirt or airmails his receiver or just stands in the pocket like a doe-eyed rookie. My God, you earn that right, its not just given cuz you cant do what the coaches ask. Freeman has NEVER demonstrated that he SHOULD be “turned loose”. I think he was pretty much turned loose last season and he threw int after int. He NEEDS the coaching, he does NOT have the mental capacity YET to make decisions quickly enough. WOW
October 6th, 2012 at 8:55 pm
He has just been coached too much I think. He is afraid to run because the head coach told him to slide better and Sullivan seems like he wants freeman to be like Eli and not move in the pocket. He was also told he is the franchise qb and everything is on his shoulders. His head has to be swimming. Talking to a shrink may not a bad idea. I hope the kid gets it together. He can sling it and he can run.
October 6th, 2012 at 9:03 pm
Like I said… he was Free as a bird last season. The Bucs were shackless, galloping gazelles last 2 years under Raheem.
October 6th, 2012 at 10:14 pm
This offense makes me wish they had chip kelly instead. Not only would freeman be unleashed but so would blount
October 6th, 2012 at 10:23 pm
I read somewhere that Schiano forces Free to wear a knee brace which restricts his movement and somewhat limits his ability to scramble and move around the pocket. Obviously a knee injury would be horrible but part of what made Free good was his ability to extend plays, scramble, and even throw on the run.
If Free is being coached to stay in the pocket at all costs then it’s like we’re neutering a stud racehorse. Let the kid play his game, build an offense that maximizes his talent and see what we have. Chip Kelly would’ve been awesome, I know it seems that everyone loves Schiano but c’mon. Chip is a far superior strategist imo.
October 6th, 2012 at 11:58 pm
@sullivan lost play book
Please don’t talk about chip Kelly it gets Miguel all excited and then he will be forced to post and give his expert opinion on how we lost the second we didn’t hire chip Kelly.
October 7th, 2012 at 12:22 am
Florida Girl, you are spot on.
October 7th, 2012 at 1:02 am
Unleash,josh freeman,let him play
October 7th, 2012 at 2:25 am
Freeman has allway’s (dinked and dunked)the ball down the field.Even last year, the guy barely throw’s deep.Actually he has thrown more deep ball’s these last two games than ever before.
October 7th, 2012 at 3:47 am
How do you unleash inaccuraccy, poor habits, and bad mechanics?
October 7th, 2012 at 10:12 am
Whether they want to admit it or not the Bucs are rebuilding. Is it really a surprise that the players, coaches and scheme are not yet 100%? The wins will come as the pieces come together more consistently. As much as we want to see the offense open up the only thing worse than this would be a string of interceptions shattering whatever confidence Freeman still has. We need more patience and they need better adjustments.
October 7th, 2012 at 10:20 am
“You know they’re trying to run the football and pick their spots…”
That’s the exact problem with the Schiano offense, his “take your shots downfield” mentality. When offenses aren’t expected to win games, they don’t. Didn’t work for Dungy, won’t work now.
October 7th, 2012 at 10:27 am
@Shaun King
Shut the F up!! Want to see if Freeman can be Elite, He’s better than you and doesn’t have the bad ass defense that carried your ass. Freeman threw 1 TD short of your whole careers worth in 1 year. You only have a superbowl ring because for some reason Jon Gruden felt the need to have a 3rd string QB.
I think we’ll be better after the bye week. Schiano says it all the time “attention to detail” If he really does that then he will see what worked and what didn’t.
The offense needs to let Freeman do Freeman. Let him be the leader of the offense. I feel like he has no authority to change plays at the line. The need to look at the tape from 2010 and look at the tape from this year, see what he did well, what he was comfortable in and go from there. We have way too much talent and money invested in the offense to not be able to put points up. That offense I expect to put up at least 24 points a game. anything else in unacceptable.
Sullivan I understand it’s his first time as a offensive coordinator and like some of what he has done, but he needs to change it up more.
They need to use Blount more. If he can’t block then don’t put him in on blocking plays, but you can change it up and put him in on PA and Screens in addition to the run to keep defenses on there toes. I mean if they think your running it when Blount is in, why not throw it deep on a PA or just toss him a little screen.
The Defense is good and only will get better when we have both Clayborne and Bowers back, but we really need a a true pass rusher for our front line to get more pressure. I feel like we give up the big play because we always seem to have to Blitz to get to the QB because we don’t have a good enough front 4 or they just can’t be healthy at the same time.Talib and Wright would be fine if the QB didn’t have all day to throw.Drafting Bjoern Werner ,Carrington Byndom,Sharrif Floyd, and/or C.J. Mosley would make our Defense Great next year. I don’t see us doing much offense in the first 3 rounds unless theres just too good of a TE or RT out there they just can’t pass up.
October 7th, 2012 at 10:46 am
Wow, for once I agree with something S. King says. You have to turn Josh loose and let him play to his strengths and not hold him back. As the old saying goes, “you dont drive a corvette with the car cover on.” While its true that in the NFL the team that wins the turnover battle usually wins the game, the team that scores the fewest amount of points usually loses. So let’em rip, Josh!
October 7th, 2012 at 10:46 am
Architek Says:
October 7th, 2012 at 3:47 am
How do you unleash inaccuraccy, poor habits, and bad mechanics?
Just look to the Whitehouse.
Obama has issued 923 Executive Orders in 40 months. WTF? Talk about unleashing the Power. W had 12 and Clinton 60. No one else ever hit double digits.
October 7th, 2012 at 10:47 am
Oops, forgot FDR
October 7th, 2012 at 10:50 am
I agree. Let Freeman soar to new heights or fail. It is miserable watching our offense. What is it about Buc Ball. No matter who the coach is, no matter who the QB is and no matter who the OC is we never go DOWN THE FIELD! Never.
October 7th, 2012 at 3:09 pm
I agree with King on this one as many do. For people to say they did last year is laughable, they were down almost double digits points right away in their last 10 games. Josh and the Bucs haven’t had a true number 1 since Gallaway and he’s not in Vjack’s class.
I really think Freeman will shine if and when given the chance. If he doesn’t this year and next then move on.