“When Do We Stop Making Excuses?”
January 14th, 2013
Ian Beckles
Former Bucs offensive lineman and current sports radio personality Ian Beckles has made a name for himself as something of a player assassin.
If there is a Bucs player who Beckles feels is dogging it or not playing up to the hype, Beckles is not bashful in bringing this subject up, and like a bulldog, not letting go until changes are made.
It was Beckles who famously carried the flag to run linebacker Barrett Ruud out of town. It was Beckles who claimed defensive end Gaines Adams was a wasted draft pick until he was finally traded.
Of late, Beckles is doing his best to see that Bucs Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy is wearing a different color uniform. Beckles and has reached in his attempts to disqualify GMC’s honor bestowed upon him by fellow players, as well as NFL coaches.
Now, it seems that Beckles has another Bucs player in his crosshairs and will likely unload with both barrels if said player doesn’t perform well next year.
That player appears to be quarterback Josh Freeman.
Last week, speaking with former Bucs quarterback Shaun King (who not only is only one of three Bucs quarterbacks to lead the team to an NFC title game, but is one of only three rookie quarterbacks in the history of the NFL to rally a team from a halftime deficit to win a playoff game), Beckles let loose on Freeman, sort of giving listeners a taste of what to expect come this fall.
“When is it going to get to the point that we stop making excuses for Josh Freeman? It is always a new coordinator. It is always a new coach. It’s a new system. [The NFL] has people coming in as rookies that are successful. Brad Johnson rolled up in here and Jon Gruden put a new system on him and he got it right away. When do we stop making excuses? If the Bucs go 1-3 in their first four games next year, do we pull the plug or do we wait this thing out?”
Beckles raises, in Joe’s eyes, fair questions. Probably the worst thing that could have happened to Freeman happened this season. Not only did he meltdown in four games beginning in December when the Bucs were in position to grab a playoff berth, quarterbacks younger than Freeman and many drafted later than Freeman shined in the playoffs.
So while Freeman struggled and got rattled in big, important games down the stretch (yes, Freeman put up wildly successful fantasy football numbers, but in the NFL, wins are what counts), Bucs fans watched Colin Kaepernik, Robert Griffin III, Andy Dalton, Christian Ponder and Russell Wilson perform in big games to qualify their teams for January playoff games.
Bucs fans watched this young crop of talented quarterbacks and said to themselves, “If these guys can do this, why can’t Freeman?”
Lest Joe’s readers believe Joe is anti-Freeman, consider that weeks ago Joe advocated the Bucs sign Freeman now to a team-friendly, incentive-laded pact.
That might be best for both parties, and likely good for Beckles’ job security as well.
After Beckles’ tirade against Freeman, King replied that if Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik hired him as the new Bucs quarterback coach, “I’d be the best thing that ever happened to Josh Freeman.” King added this is unlikely to happen because, in so many words, King is not on Dominik’s Christmas card list.
January 14th, 2013 at 4:07 pm
more like when do we stop complaining.
January 14th, 2013 at 4:10 pm
good job Joe of ringing the dinner bell… here comes the arguing and bickering that leads to nowhere.
January 14th, 2013 at 4:16 pm
speaking of leads to nowhere, that is how i sum up the Bucs seasons since Freeman took over. Sure there are big plays. but nothing else. 4th, 3rd, 4th, and 4th in the division is simple unacceptable. I will not repurchase season tickets untill we get some chance to win a division.
January 14th, 2013 at 4:18 pm
King as our QB coach.. that would probaly be the WORST thing that has ever happend to Freeman. Yes King and Beckles did some good things when they were bucs players, but I really dislike those guys as people..
January 14th, 2013 at 4:18 pm
1st of All….Dave Moore TOLD beckles that he was WRONG about McCoy (live On-Air..and challenged beckles to watch film with him!!!!!! It was AWESOME)……we are making excuses for Freeman b/c we want him to be better.
January 14th, 2013 at 4:20 pm
@ the buc realist
nice job of twisting my words. your not a true bucs fan. a true fan stands by his team no matter what. NO MATTER WHAT.
January 14th, 2013 at 4:26 pm
@Andrew1 “No Matter What.” That’s just silly. Wondering how you felt about bringing Jeremy Stevens into the Tampa Bay community with his long history of ugliness.
January 14th, 2013 at 4:28 pm
These radio guys are so annoying..
January 14th, 2013 at 4:29 pm
All King has to do is put on his game film and tell Freeman to do the opposite.
January 14th, 2013 at 4:30 pm
BTW, Both of them did nothing when they were here.. King did nothing.. after that one year he was crap just like freeman.. and beck? give me a break
January 14th, 2013 at 4:33 pm
Is 620 even still on the air?
January 14th, 2013 at 4:36 pm
@ Joe
“That’s just silly. Wondering how you felt about bringing Jeremy Stevens into the Tampa Bay community with his long history of ugliness.”
Was I disappointed that we signed that idiot, Jeremy Stevens? yes. but that doesn’t mean I was going to stop supporting my bucs because they made a signing I didn’t agree with. Did you stop supporting the bucs when they signed him? Im guessing no, so how is that silly? you call my unwavering support of the bucs silly, you know what I call it? loyalty.
January 14th, 2013 at 4:47 pm
@ Joe
Im disappointed to have read that you don’t support the bucs “no matter what”. I thought you where a hardcore bucs fan. I guess I was wrong.
January 14th, 2013 at 4:47 pm
As long as we’re comparing…
Colin Kaepernik, Russell Wilson, Andy Dalton – Can we have their defenses?
Robert Griffin III – can we have his knees? (yes, both of them are now suspect)
Christian Ponder – seriously?
January 14th, 2013 at 4:54 pm
…patience grasshopper….
January 14th, 2013 at 4:55 pm
Shaun King played for the Bucs and all together didn’t have as good a year as Freeman did this year. I would bet anything that if Freeman was our QB the year King went to the playoffs we would’ve went the super bowl.
January 14th, 2013 at 4:57 pm
Freeman is so maddening, because you see the bad interceptions, you see the badly missed passes, but then you see team passing records for yardage and touchdowns in a season.
January 14th, 2013 at 4:59 pm
Beckles is right. How long are we supposed to wait? And this isn’t about physical tools. He’s got arm strength. I want to see him learn NOT to force passes. I want to see him LEARN to take a check down. I want to see him take off and RUN more often (was VERY jealous of Seattle and SF seeing how WIlson and Kap were able to exploit breakdowns with their feet).
Seriously, isn’t 4 years enough to get your mechanics worked out? The playbook has NOTHING to do with lobbing up passes in to triple coverage over the middle.
January 14th, 2013 at 5:09 pm
^ Thank you Andrew
if you’re not going to stand by you’re team through the rough times, you definetely dont deserve to be a Buc fan when were winning.. I live in Canada so I can’t come to any games, but I will always be a fan no matter what our record is. Its been frustrating being a fan ever since our SB, but we will come around one day, I promise you that. We made improvments this year, got 3 more wins with a new HC, new coaching staff, new players. I dont think Sully will be getting the bears job either.. Next year, with the right FA signing’s, solid draft. It is possible we can make the playoffs.
January 14th, 2013 at 5:13 pm
lol Thank you Joe.
No point in saying anything else, you just did.
1 more season Free Free.
Prove me wrong.
January 14th, 2013 at 5:15 pm
I agree that Freeman is maddening, but what are you going to do as a fan? I renewed my tickets today and it sounds like a lot of fans still haven’t committed yet. I think the Glazers have turned Dom loose to spend some serious money again.
Schiano should turn the defense loose on Freeman and toughen him up, to get him over the deer in headlights problem. Schaub looked like Freeman the other day choking left and right. Josh needs to relax, have fun and let the game come to him.
I like Jeff Carlson and think Josh could benefit from spending time with him. Carlson knows the mechanics and he trains QB’s for a living. Maybe kids but the principles are the same. I don’t care so much about Jeff’s resume but I think he would be a good candidate. I’ll probably get trashed for this thinking, reminded what an idiot I am, and I’m definitely not a true Buc fan.
January 14th, 2013 at 5:17 pm
Brad Johnson was a veteran that took over a completely different team. We had an ok offense that year, but our defense was down right awesome. Not a fair comparison. I get people are hanging it on Freeman, he is the QB after all, but a mass amount of blame falls on his defensive counterparts. I love the fact that people say you are making excuses by pointing out reasons, what are people supposed to say? “Owe, he just sucks”, well some of you guys do say that. Guess what, most of those rookie QBs have as many play off wins as Freeman.
January 14th, 2013 at 5:18 pm
And to prove I’m not a true Buc fan…… Go lightning!!!
January 14th, 2013 at 5:20 pm
I think Freeman gets another year. We have seen him make plays. It’s not like he just doesn’t have the talent. His problem is consistency. If he can establish any consistency at all in the 2013 season he will be amazing. If he shows only minor improvement or regresses, he should and will be gone.
Even a 20th ranked pass defense gets us in the playoffs this past seaon and we aren’t even talking about Freeman now. While he is at the very least partially to blame, when you have the last ranked anything it is probably a bigger problem.
@BigMacAttack
I like the idea of Carlson. (More so than King anyway).
January 14th, 2013 at 5:22 pm
lol, some people don’t know the difference of being a fan. or like Andrew1 being a cheerleader.
dictionary definition
One who expresses or promotes thoughtless praise,
that answers that!
January 14th, 2013 at 5:23 pm
I’ll believe those rookies are the real deal when they do it again in their sophomore year. Look at what happened to Cam. Prime Time choked on that big sausage all season. Guy slobbers over Cam left and right. I personally think RG3 will never be the same, Wilson won’t be half the QB next year, and Luck is a couple years away too.
Now Kaepernick, not a rookie, but he has some wheels and looks as poised as Brees. That guy is the real deal and he’s big.
January 14th, 2013 at 5:24 pm
People act like all these young QBs are winning games by themselves and not the team won the game. Josh doesn’t have the benefit of having one of the best defenses in the league like Wilson and Kaepernik. I don’t think we need the entire Sea or SF defenses maybe just ONE of their corners since we don’t have any pro corners on our team. The coaching in some of our games could’ve been better since it took half the season to figure out we can go deep with the ball sometimes.
January 14th, 2013 at 5:27 pm
I really enjoyed seeing Joes retweets of King yesterday. I think its a great Idea to bring in a average qb to help Josh…..heck was Shaun even Average? I think thats just what Josh needs! But anyways Josh needs to step it up this year. This past year had ups and downs for him. I still believe if we had a middle of the road defense this past year we could have made the playoffs. I hope next year the defense can step up. And then we can see where Josh is at.
January 14th, 2013 at 5:29 pm
My wife has coached cheerleading for years and that is a tough sport, especially when you do it in competition. Standing Fulls, Basket Tosses 15 feet on the air, Girls catching elbows in the face. Cheerleading is the hardest sport you’ve never done. They are serious athletes. Ask Rachel Watson, she cheered for my wife and her sister. Badass!!! Lol
January 14th, 2013 at 5:31 pm
You don’t get it McBuc,
We arent talking about the problems on the rest of the team.
What’s being discussed is the problems of the QB position on this team.
What was being compared with Johnson was the job he did at the QB position with a new system. NOT anything else but the QB position.
January 14th, 2013 at 5:38 pm
@PRBucFan
The problem with that is if we are judging them purely on quarterback play then Freeman is a way better quarterback, but we are not.
Brad Johnson is being considered because he won a Super Bowl as our quarterback. Football is a team game and the only reason Brad Johnson could have even a mediocre season was because of the number one ranked defense. It is not really a fair comparison.
January 14th, 2013 at 5:43 pm
The issue isn’t that you should get rid of Freeman it is a question of whom you should replace him with if you do. The free agency market leaves much to be desired in the way or QB’s. Kirk Cousins won’t be traded due to RG3’s injury. Vick may or may not stay
January 14th, 2013 at 5:44 pm
Freeman’s a MORON
January 14th, 2013 at 5:46 pm
Joe, I love how you used “lest” ala the Stern Show/Al Michaels/OJ.
January 14th, 2013 at 5:49 pm
Sorry got cut short. Vick may or may not stay with the Eagles and Alex Smith is a big question mark as far as if you want to trade someone for him. The only thing left is to try to draft a QB. Whom do the BUCS target and are any of them locks to be studs in the NFL and you really cannot waste anything but 3rd round ish draft pick unless Dominik can do some Magic like last year. That said it will be telling to see what happens in the draft. Just remember what we had prior to Freeman before you consider just trading or bringing in someone else.
January 14th, 2013 at 5:51 pm
If Dungy had Freeman he’d probably still be coaching the Bucs! Freeman with a top five defense will be in the playoffs every year! This year only two teams (New England & Atlanta) had defenses below the top 15. In 2011 the four top defenses all made the playoffs! 8 of the 12 playoff teams were in the top 15 defenses. In 2012 three of the top 4 defenses made the playoffs and again 8 of the 12 playoff teams had top 15 defenses.
January 14th, 2013 at 5:53 pm
That is not true lol.
What was being compared was Brad’s ability to adapt and take in a considerably much harder system in have success with it despite the alotted time.
And that was just an explanation of why his name was brought up.
We are still discussing the QB positions problems right now and nothing else, so its irrelevant to bring up or compare problems because we are focusing on this one right now.
And hands down BJ is tremendously better as far as consistency and accuracy which is the reason he lasted so long in this league and coincidentally his lack of these attributes is the very reason why Freeman is failing.
January 14th, 2013 at 5:55 pm
As much as I love my Bucs and Central Florida, sometimes I’m glad I live outside of the market area (way outside). A guy who works for me actually found Beckles’ show on his iPhone one day and after a while I asked him to go ahead and find something else for us to listen to. Last year, I took my wife home and we were cruising I-4 and he ended up on the radio, and she was like, “What’s this guy’s issue? Why’s he such an ***hole?”. LOL I actually don’t disagree with him about Freeman or Ruud, or some other guys, but I’ve yet to make it through an entire show.
January 14th, 2013 at 6:01 pm
Who even listens to the most negative guys in sports . Beckles used to get called out all the time for his negative attitude. He never says anything good. King says he’s a long time fan. BS., he’s a bitter fat man now that should clean up his own crap before shi!!ing on someone else. Both guys need run out of town. Who even admits to listening to 620 from 9-12? It’s a gay variety show with birthday challenges and 2 old creepy men talking about running batches and what girls they can’t get.
January 14th, 2013 at 6:13 pm
I credit Gruden more with Johnson’s “ability to adapt” than I do Johnson himself. The truth is, Johnson was very rarily (if at all) asked to carry his team yet that is exactly what Freeman is being asked to do on a per game basis. The defense is so lacking that Freeman needs to perform well. Brad had no such pressure. Oh and by the way, Brad went on to be the back up for the Cowboys. He came in when Romo went down to play absolutely horribly. He was cut soon after, replaced by Kitna.
The fact is the current quarterbacks “problems” could very well be attributed to a defense that forced him to win games on his own. The other positions on the team are very much a factor when discussing the problems or successes of a quarterback or any position on any given team.
January 14th, 2013 at 6:22 pm
lol wow just wow
January 14th, 2013 at 6:24 pm
Another classic Joe page grab.
January 14th, 2013 at 6:25 pm
Just listened to Mark D. and Freeman is still the guy, so far. But the one thing he said that stood out most to me was at 5:16 est while talking about the draft: “bring in the best players we can regardless of position”.
Im really liking that. He also talked about “new guys” that may be brought into the offense. Im thinking we’re def going after a TE now…..if not the 1st, then the 2nd.
January 14th, 2013 at 6:26 pm
If:
a) The Bucs had a pass defense that was only, say, 20th in the league, the Bucs would have made the playoffs
b) Freeman had his two terrible games early in the season instead of late
The Bucs would be praising Freeman and talking about a long-term contract extension.
Yes, the season was disappointing the way it played out.
But, man, Freeman plays one of the best QB seasons in Bucs history, is still younger than 80% of the starting QBs in the league and people want to run the guy out of town.
How about you guys come up with a replacement first, eh?
January 14th, 2013 at 6:26 pm
If:
a) The Bucs had a pass defense that was only, say, 20th in the league, the Bucs would have made the playoffs
b) Freeman had his two terrible games early in the season instead of late
The Bucs would be praising Freeman and talking about a long-term contract extension.
Yes, the season was disappointing the way it played out.
But, man, Freeman plays one of the best QB seasons in Bucs history, is still younger than 80% of the starting QBs in the league and people want to run the guy out of town.
How about you guys come up with a replacement first, eh?
January 14th, 2013 at 6:28 pm
Honestly it’s not even worth going any further because your going to continue to “credit” things as you desire to see them regardless as to how they may be with absolutely no accountability held on the QB position at all.
It’s a wonder the QB position is even played with how little impact they seem to have on the field according to some of you. Why not just remove them completely, since what they do really doesn’t make a difference?
lol Right…
I’m not gonna get sucked in any further haha. Adios amigos
January 14th, 2013 at 6:38 pm
@PRBucFan
You just can’t seem to grasp that they were put in completely different scenarios. BJ had many more years of experience and one of the best defenses in NFL history. How could you even think of comparing the two?
The quarterback is certainly held accountable but only to a degree. Freeman may not be elite but he is far and away better than ANY option we had this past season. People think because he doesn’t put up Brady, Manning, or Brees numbers that we need to look for a replacement.
When we get even an average defense this team will go far. Then maybe you can compare the two…
January 14th, 2013 at 6:40 pm
@ the bucs realist
and some people, like you, are just fair weather fans or posers who get easily discouraged and spew their negativity at the first sign of trouble. you got one foot in the door and one foot out of the door. As for me, Im all in. short of the bucs picking up and moving the team to L.A., they will have my full support no matter what.
January 14th, 2013 at 6:50 pm
@FLBoy84 — Bucs fans are interested in how mainstream media perceives their team. The “page grab” you reference as some sort of insult to Joe is nonsense.
Exactly how does Joe writing this post bring in readers more than any other? What makes you think people want to read this more than anything else?
One day someone will have to explain that to Joe. …The mere fact that delivering this information annoys some people probably actually costs Joe some readers who get wound up by such things.
January 14th, 2013 at 6:54 pm
@ the bucs realist
o wow, good job buddy. you are intelligent enough to find the meaning of words. now Im impressed. you want to have a dictionary battle, alright I can play that game
The definition of a Fan- A person who has a strong interest in or admiration for a particular sport, art or entertainment form, or famous person.
Let me clue you in on the important, or key word, in that definition that separates me, the fan, between you, the spineless person posing as a bucs fan. my ADMIRATION for the bucs. you tool.
January 14th, 2013 at 6:58 pm
Help me please, I don’t live in the TB area any more. Does Ian’s radio show ever have a positive message about the team or its players? From what I read, its just trashing and tearing down others. It must get ratings, otherwise he would not be on the air. The negativity just gets you down after a while.
January 14th, 2013 at 7:06 pm
Beckles constant bashing of GMC then getting voted to the pro bowl by his peers says it all about his ability to judge talent.
January 14th, 2013 at 7:15 pm
@Joe,
“Bucs fans are interested in how mainstream media perceives their team.”
Some more than others, but most fans are on this site to hear YOUR opinion and those of the other frequenters of this site. The majority of the commentators tend to dismiss Beckles/King as idiots, yet you still post their comments, obviously for a reason. If I want to hear what some has-been radio personalities have to say about the team, I’ll listen to their show. Just like I wouldn’t turn on the radio to hear King/Beckles tell me what JoeBucsFan has to say either.
January 14th, 2013 at 7:17 pm
Does being wrong about one talent dismiss someone talent evaluation altogether?
January 14th, 2013 at 7:18 pm
Btw, “page grab” wasn’t meant to be an insult, merely an observation of a non-story that tends to create hits much like a Maury Povich show.
January 14th, 2013 at 7:28 pm
Brad:
Apparently thousands of people. Beckles’ show gets quite a few listeners, one of the highest rated shows in the market.
January 14th, 2013 at 7:36 pm
P.S.
I’m not looking at the past QBs we’ve had or the other talent in the league right now.
Freeman is accountable for what he does, his performance, his position.
That is the only thing I’m looking at when I reference his performance.
He’s shown us flashes of greatness but mixed it in with flashes of something that quite terrible and that will never equate to success for our team.
Consistency is not too much to ask for by any means, that is all I desire.
And no, not consistently elite. That would be nice but that’s not realistic.
January 14th, 2013 at 7:38 pm
Yes ladies, through mutual agreement, I am back. Wasn’t sure I wanted to be but let’s give it another shot.
Freeman was not awful in 2012, but he wasn’t good enough either. He will never win consistently with his gross inconsistency. I once thought that it was a product of inexperience, I no longer believe that.
Freeman is awful pre-snap at identifying coverages so he ends up guessing where to go with the football. If he guesses correct = completion, if he guesses wrong= disaster.
This gives us a very talented thrower/athlete with a high school understanding of reading defenses – this was on display for 3 years at K State.
The solution: do NOT extend him. Bring in real competition well before training camp, and winner takes all. If Free is the winner, franchise him once, maybe twice, but do not pay him franchise qb money until all other options are exhausted.
January 14th, 2013 at 7:39 pm
The reason Beckles gets so many listeners and Joe gets so many clicks when he mentions him (and King) is the same reason people like Miguel and Eric get so many responses. They offer the craziest, outlandish takes that make no sense and drive people mad. They know that even though they are probably wrong it generates attention and because of this Beckles will have a job, Joe will keep writing about it, and Miguel will keep getting a load of responses. It doesn’t necessarily mean that is what people want to hear. They just don’t want others to think that is how the majority thinks.
January 14th, 2013 at 7:41 pm
I am getting sick and tired of this Beckless guy. After all , who appointed him as Bucs GM, (to be saying who stays an who goes) and why people have to listen to him , he’s a nobody. Let’s turn the page and get into some more interesting reading, please
January 14th, 2013 at 7:48 pm
@PRBucFan
My only problem was with the BJ comparisons. You make some good points in your post though, especially regarding consistency. If he gets a pinch of consistency he can be great and this team can go far.
January 14th, 2013 at 7:49 pm
On Gerald, he improved vs the run.Basically the same vs the pass.
Gerald’s being elected to the pro bowl was largely a protest against Suh’s history of on and off field issues.
I am not saying that Suh doesn’t have his flaws, he does, but Gerald has more.
Suh’s productivity is on another level from Gerald, but the players and coaches view him as dirty and over the line. Many believe that Nick Fairley had a better year than Gerald also.
But Gerald is a nice, friendly, jovial player who doesn’t ruffle feathers, and nobody really stood out as a DT in the NfC after Melton, Smith, Suh and to some extent Fairley this year.
January 14th, 2013 at 8:42 pm
Just another reason that I stopped listening to WDAE as soon as 98.7 the Fan started broadcasting. Beckles take on the Bucs while entertaining at times, is becoming harder to take seriously.
Josh is one of the best if not the best QB the Bucs has ever had. He still has a lot of room to grow, and the rest of the team has even more room to grow. Freeman’s biggest problem is he doesnt have the ability to throw a team on his back…yet. I think if he didnt have to be afraid to turn the ball over to the defense, we would see a different, more consistent player.
January 14th, 2013 at 8:56 pm
Whelp, he has one more year to grow into a consistent QB…
January 14th, 2013 at 8:59 pm
1) Freeman vs Brad Johnson. Johnson could throw short to intermediate passes consistently. That’s the biggest glaring difference.
2) The b.s. excuse that if Freeman had Seattle, S.F. or Washington’s defense he would be great. Those defenses are good because those QB’s make touchdown drives not picks, 3 and outs for the entire first half of every game. Real fans aren’t sheep.
January 14th, 2013 at 9:02 pm
@ Thomas 2.2
your back through mutual agreement? I didn’t realize this site was a democracy.
January 14th, 2013 at 9:54 pm
Lest Joe’s readers believe Joe is anti-Freeman, consider that weeks ago Joe advocated the Bucs sign Freeman now to a team-friendly, incentive-laded pact.
Wow.
Nobody covers their ass as well as Joe.
Must be nice to never be wrong………….
or, really right.
January 14th, 2013 at 9:55 pm
So the question is when do we stop makin excuses. Next season. Simple as that. If he doesn’t perform for the entire season next year I’m done with Freeman. This year was the first time he had an offseason with very good talent around him. This is his last season of excuses.
January 14th, 2013 at 10:07 pm
well said Gus
January 14th, 2013 at 10:39 pm
Thomas 2.2
Glad to see your back. I feel like I just got a Vodkaoscopy.
How was Joe prison? Did you have a decent cell mate?
GMC Probowl???
January 14th, 2013 at 10:41 pm
I wish the Lions woul trade Suh to the Bucs. A-hole or not, that woul pretty much see it up for the D line.
January 14th, 2013 at 10:49 pm
Cut Orlovsky, bring in Matt Moore for some competetion.
January 14th, 2013 at 11:02 pm
Freeman had a miserable meltdown the last 5 weeks of the season. There’s no excuse at all. We were 6-4, had a great opportunity for the playoffs, Freeman was playing great at the time, then after that……..he SUCKS ass!! He chokes, fails, throws picks, and we finish 7-9. That’s a failure of a season; no other way to put it. Josh was NOT THERE and did not step up when we needed him too. Real franchise quarterbacks are. A real franchise quarterback bounces back after a bad game or two, not have a lousy long stretch like little Joshua did.
January 14th, 2013 at 11:27 pm
@Patrick
The immortal Nick Foles almost dropped 400 yards on the Bucs during that streak. NICK FOLES! Freeman didn’t play great down the stretch but the D was even worse. This is a TEAM SPORT, as in, the collection of players make up the score. This isn’t basketball where one player can take over a game by himself.
Give him time, the talent is there. He just needs consistency. One more season, that’s all he needs/should get. More importantly though, who exactly is going to replace Freeman at this point? Vick? Who?
January 14th, 2013 at 11:30 pm
I really miss Jeff Garcia. That guy had a fire and a competitiveness that was unmatched.
January 14th, 2013 at 11:39 pm
I agree, I really enjoyed watching Garcia. He didn’t put up huge numbers, but he always played smart football and didn’t throw interceptions. That’s why we went to the playoffs under him. Really, he had a very solid career in the NFL overall.
January 14th, 2013 at 11:54 pm
Freeman will be gone soon, no worries.
January 14th, 2013 at 11:59 pm
This site just went down 2.2 notches. All gains have been lost. The clones must be thrilled to have their adolescent-minded leader back.
The ever-more-prevalent ads don’t bother me, but the typo-infested ignorance of so many “fans” makes it more and more difficult to enjoy JBF. And now, the worst of the worst has returned.
What gives, Joe?
January 15th, 2013 at 12:21 am
Offseason blues.
January 15th, 2013 at 12:38 am
Ian Beckles, huh what exactly did he do as pro football player? I’m sure he ate a lot of pineapples …. from the local save a lot ,but that’s about it. Now IB(sounds like a strange medical condition,IRRITATED BOWELS,ouch )gets to hide behind a mike and tells stories of his gr8 exploits as bucs,eagles and who else, oh yeah the funko’s ,oops sorry broncos while falling to mention that he was a mediocre player on an average OL,that never accomplished nut’n. I guess it’s easier to a critic than a player,huh playa ? Let me hear it,his friend and family will argue he played 10 years so did Steve (D)Iceberg,what ur point? Can you say pedestrian?
January 15th, 2013 at 12:39 am
Piratical, I’m sure T2.2 is on Joebation, at least for a while.
I wonder if he will have any Joemunity Service too.
January 15th, 2013 at 12:40 am
Piratic, oops autocorrect
January 15th, 2013 at 2:29 am
Welcome back Thomas.
January 15th, 2013 at 3:07 am
I don’t recall ever seeing Piratic, seems like your enemies are already coming out Thomas lol
January 15th, 2013 at 3:24 am
@Bucnjim
“If Dungy had Freeman he’d probably still be coaching the Bucs! Freeman with a top five defense will be in the playoffs every year! This year only two teams (New England & Atlanta) had defenses below the top 15.”
What NFL were you watching?
#16 Vikings with Ponder
#17 Ravens with Flacco
#24 Falcons
#25 Pats
#26 Colts with a rookie QB
#28 Redskins with a rookie QB
By my count that’s half the playoff teams with defenses below the top 15 and 2 thirds of those either had rookies or question marks at QB.
To judge Freeman you can’t look at team results because they are TEAM results, you also can’t use stats because too often they are messed up with balls tipped by a wideout on a good pass getting intercepted or a bad pass getting tipped by a defender and going for a big gain when a wideout catches it (think Underwood 60+ yarder in the KC game). It’s all down to the eye test, you have to watch him in the game and factor in so much, personally when I watch him the saying “million dollar body but a 10 cent brain” springs to mind. He’s as physically gifted as anyone playing the position and that allows him to go on streaks at times. The problem is we all hear about how much work he puts in watching film and how he’s the first guy in/last guy out but that doesn’t translate to the field, he simply doesn’t get it mentally which a lot of “experts” say is 90% of the game. Sometimes that happens, no matter how much you study you never grasp the subject.
Now in terms of getting rid of the guy, I’m all for it BUT doing it right. There is no point in moving on if you don’t have the chance to move on to something better.
If we learned anything from the Gruden release/Morris hiring it should have been that while it may be the time to move on from a guy it’s more important to make sure it’s the right time to hire the next guy.
January 15th, 2013 at 3:39 am
Nice post Greig
Agree 100%
January 15th, 2013 at 7:04 am
Josh had two horrible games, and a few average ones where he managed a great gameplan. Lets look at losses STL (on him) 2nd NO (on him and horrible secondary)PHI (bad comp% but no TO and 2 TDs)–push, 1st ATL game…no running game and pedestrian play calling especially in red zone, still almost one, DEN he was rattled, but 1 pick six with 2 late TDs…now NYG video game number, Cowgirls…below average. 1st NO threw game tying score after driving us downfield (overturned by bizarre rule) & Washington, led team to TD and go ahead FG in 4th Qtr before defense let RGBadKnee walk in for last second win. After watching, Ben, Eli and even Peyton this weekend, all have grown and matured over their time, yet still have atrocious games, yet consitency remains. He has had two sub par OCs and just got into a good system for him this year, plus he is 24 and in his 3rd year, chill. This is how we ran Doug Williams and Steve Young out of town and suffered for 20 years to find another QB while Doug and Steve Young won Super Bowls. Kapernick, RGBadKnee, Cam, Mike Vick all don’t hold up long term as the league figures them out. Be patient and chill y’all
January 15th, 2013 at 7:13 am
Beckles and King…two jackwagons that make listening to 620 UNBEARABLE!!!
Beckles was a scrub player and now he’s a scrub radio donk
King was just blessed with one of the best Defenses in the NFL…he was and is garbage too. He didn’t lead the Bucs to damn thing…the Defense did all leading when he was QB!!!!!
When you rail against players that actually make the Pro Bowl…you sound like a bitter old man. Give it rest Ian…it’s better to have people think you are an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
January 15th, 2013 at 7:14 am
If want to listen to sports talk radio in Tampa…hit 98.7 The Fan on the FM dial…your life will be so much better.
January 15th, 2013 at 10:27 am
O.K. so I squeezed the Ravens & Vikings into the top 15. If the Patriots and the Falcons go to the Super Bowl over the Ravens & 49er’s then we’ll know that defense doesn’t win championships any more. You neglected to mention though that the top 4 defenses in 2011 went to the playoffs and the top 3 out of 4 went to the playoffs this year. A good defense at least gives you a chance!
January 15th, 2013 at 10:31 am
The only rookie still in the playoffs has the what? number 2 D! The rest are sitting watching the games on TV.
January 15th, 2013 at 11:08 am
@Bucnjim
“O.K. so I squeezed the Ravens & Vikings into the top 15. If the Patriots and the Falcons go to the Super Bowl over the Ravens & 49er’s then we’ll know that defense doesn’t win championships any more. You neglected to mention though that the top 4 defenses in 2011 went to the playoffs and the top 3 out of 4 went to the playoffs this year.”
I didn’t neglect to mention anything, I’m not a parrot.
I don’t go around repeating things that have already been said just to see myself say them, you already said that and actually got that part right.
Why do we need to wait for this year to see if defense still wins championships?
2011 – Giants (27th) (8th) Pats (31st) (2nd)
2010 – Pack (5th) (9th) Steelers (2nd) (14th)
2009 – Saints (25th) (1st) Colts (18th) (9th)
2008 – Steelers (1st) (22nd) Cards (19th) (4th)
2007 – Giants (7th) (16th) Pats (4th) (1st)
first ranking is for D the second for O
So basically in the past 5 years the Super Bowl teams have had an even split of 5 good Ds and 5 below average to awful Ds BUT every single one of them not named the 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers has had an O in the top half of the league, 7 off them being top 9. I think it’s clear to see that offense is the way to go in todays NFL, moreso when you look at the 2011 season with 2 of teams with bottom 6 ranked Ds being in the big game thanks to top 8 ranked Os.
You even mention the Ravens & Niners for this year as “defensive teams,” the Ravens offensive ranking was 16th, their defensive ranking 17th while the Niners O was 11th ranked. BTW you might want to look at the 2 teams that have the best per game average for yardage in these playoffs, they would be the Ravens and Niners.
January 15th, 2013 at 11:17 am
@Bucnjim
The only rookie still in the playoffs has the what? number 2 D! The rest are sitting watching the games on TV.
Which rookie would that be?
None of the remaining teams have rookie starters, Kaepernick is not a rookie if that’s who you were trying to make the point about and if it were they also have the 11th ranked offense to help that 3rd ranked D.
#2 ranked D would have been the Broncos who are sitting home watching the game on TV along with 15 other teams ranked in the top 16.
Don’t you find it strange that the very same Niner team that is in the NFC Championship game for the second straight year couldn’t previously manage a winning season despite having a good D until the offense found it’s feet and suddenly… SUCCESS. Weird huh?
January 15th, 2013 at 12:43 pm
Don’t you fools believe that if we have even a decent defense that Josh Freeman will quit trying to put the team on his back and just play the game of football. I agree that he is not the smartest quarterback in the league however according to the IQ test at each quarterback has taken he had a 27 which is 1 point lower than Peyton Manning and higher than the average player which is 20 so he can’t be that dumb. Also once he has all the starters back intact on the offensive line he will be much more consistant I am sure. If we have a decent defense (top15-20) and the offensive line stays healthy we will win 11 games or more with Josh Freeman at qb. If you ask me he is similar to Joe Flacco but with a defense that is much worse.
January 15th, 2013 at 12:53 pm
I would just like to see the OC use ALL of Freeman’s weapons. If you have a QB that can run then by all means…let him run. I see RG3, Wilson and Kaepernik etc. and the OC uses them completely. Now, you can make the argument that it cost RG3 a knee injury but I believe that if you are smart about it and the QB hits the ground before being taken to the ground then it keeps the defense off balance. Last year I saw numerous times when a lane was open but Freeman chose not to run. It was as though he had been told not to. That needs to change. It is too big of a weapon not to use. The defense can’t afford to leave those lanes open if the QB runs and it is something we need to use with Freeman’s ability to scramble.
January 15th, 2013 at 1:24 pm
So Greig you’re point is that the Manning Brothers, Brees, Brady and Rodgers can carry a team without a good defense. That basically leaves the rest of the NFL in need of at least an average D. Kaepernick has done well, but the defense all season has set him up with a short field. And Greig try not to be a D!ck when making your point. #2 D or #3D; first year player or first year starter these are just examples to make points not a fact finding mission. Yes elite QB’s can carry a team all the way to the Super Bowl, but there are only 5 or 6 in the entire league. I really don’t see any of these scrambling QB’s lasting long enough to be the next elite.
January 15th, 2013 at 1:30 pm
For everyone shi-ing on JOE,dont shoot the mesenger.Freeman will be a Great QB next year just wait and see.If some of you remember I predicted alot of stuff this year and most of the time I was right.I promise all you real and fake BUC fans that Freeman will not be good next year but great.I think he will have a year like BIGBEN did during his super bowl winning year.
January 15th, 2013 at 1:33 pm
ERIC, I just read your post and I love it,right on man.
January 15th, 2013 at 2:29 pm
-Absolutely.
-Know what we gotta do?
Toga party.
Toga! Toga!! Toga!!!
January 15th, 2013 at 4:04 pm
The sooner the Bucs move on to the next QB the sooner they will find a TRUE “Franchise QB”!
JF is holding this team back and keeping them from becoming something special.
January 15th, 2013 at 10:06 pm
The wonderlic is a joke and has nothing do with football IQ
Just sayin