Greg Schiano And Campfires
May 24th, 2013
Interesting chat that Tampa Tribune Bucs beat writer Woody Cummings had with “The Fabulous Sports Babe” on WHFS-FM 98.7 this week.
Cummings was asked why the Josh Freeman-Mike Glennon faux controversy keeps popping up every two weeks or so, and Cummings said he believes the fires are ignited by none other than Bucs coach Greg Schiano.
”This Mike Glennon thing, I don’t now to describe it? It’s a little campfire that every once in a while it looks like it is going to burn out then all of a sudden it comes back. But you know who is stoking the fire? It is Greg Schiano. Look, he has said repeatedly that Josh Freeman is his quarterback. He has said it, that Freeman can take us to where we want to go, and I assume that means the Super Bowl. Every once in a while Schiano goes out and tells someone like Dan Pompei, a darn good reporter, he goes out and tells Pompei (Freeman is quarterback) unless Glennon beats him out.
“I don’t think that happens, not for weeks, but months or a few years. Again, it’s a little flame in the embers again and we have to go out and put out the fire. It is clear they think they have something in Mike Glennon. We are a long way away out to finding out what that is I think. If something happens to Josh, they think they have a pretty good option behind him.”
It was intriguing that Cummings believes that Glennon is possibly “years” away from starting.
Yes, it keeps popping up, Freeman vs. Glennon. Joe suspects this will carry through training camp and only Freeman will be able to put out that campfire with his play.
Joe will write this again: There is no quarterback controversy for the Bucs. Freeman is clearly the best bet to carry to the Bucs to January games. His future with the Bucs rests in his hands. A good season will bring him a handsome reward. A lousy season may have him looking for work in Chicago or Cleveland or Cincinnati, to name a few possible landing spots.
May 24th, 2013 at 10:13 am
IF…a BIG IF…jfro get in the mindset of f*&k them, f*$k the playbook, f*@k the media….and goes out and just plays lights out he will be a star.
He has the knowledge and the tools…….just seems like he over thinks stuff (including “thinking” while being locked on to his primary receiver “waiting” for him to get open.)
I bash him a lot, but the guy has skills….he just needs to man up.
May 24th, 2013 at 10:43 am
I wrote an opinion a couple of weeks ago that basically asserted that Freeman and Schiano cannot co-exist successfully. And I stand by that opinion today. I won’t repeat my rationale as the story itself is becoming a trite and hackneyed discussion with each passing day.
I will add that I don’t believe Schiano holds any personal animus towards Freeman. He simply does not believe that Freeman can win on a consistent basis. And perhaps to his fault, once he’s made up his mind, there is no changing it. Freeman’s only chance is for Schiano to adjust his system to fit Freeman’s natural skills that we all saw in 2010. Schiano is intractable and won’t compromise his concrete belief in his own approach and Josh can’t be re-engineered and falls apart when he tries to follow the script. Perhaps Freeman’s biggest problem is that he lacks the gumption to assert himself and stand up to Schiano and tell him so!
Freeman has lots of problems and most of you are quick to point them out. And I can’t disagree with everything that’s said – mostly consistency. But he has lots of outstanding qualities too and in my opinion can win in this league. I just don’t believe he can do it here.
Where I disagree with some of his detractors is the notion that Glennon is the answer, especially short-term. And if Shiano bets his tenure on Glennon any time soon, he is likely to join the long list of Buc coaches that never developed a franchise QB or lived long enough to get a second chance!
May 24th, 2013 at 10:43 am
The question is not how many years away is Glennon starting, Its how many weeks until JFro is sitting,,,,, The fans are ready for the Playoffs,,,, Are the Bucs ready?????
May 24th, 2013 at 10:44 am
A foolish pretense on Woodrow’s part. Schiano is fanning nothing and is just merely answering questions.
The best QB will start and it’s going to be Freeman. If by some miracle Glennon outplays Freeman early on, no switch would occur to mid season at best.
Think Kapernick and Wilson.
May 24th, 2013 at 10:54 am
@macabee
so, you agree with me that jfro should just “close his mind to all the voice”, assert himself, say f*&k it and go out and ball?
mine’s a bit more dumbed down than your though. 🙂
May 24th, 2013 at 11:18 am
Interesting opinion their Macabee. Do you think if Freeman is even slightly more consistent and this team makes the playoffs that Schiano still has his doubts? What do you think it would take to change Schiano’s mind about Freeman? (Not sarcasm by the way, I would genuinely like to know.)
I personally think that if Freeman doesn’t get it done this year that he walks and the Bucs draft a quarterback in the first in 2014. I feel like they drafted Glennon to be a decent backup and in the event that Freeman is injured they have someone that can manage a few games for them, possibly more. If Glennon comes in and does better than being a game manager then I imagine they look to trade him ala Matt Cassel in New England.
I just don’t see them ditching Freeman after a bad season and then handing the team over to a third round pick. I’m not saying he doesn’t have potential but it just sounds a bit reckless. At the very least they would have to bring in viable competition for Glennon. Either a vet or similar draft pick.
What do you think?
May 24th, 2013 at 11:30 am
No.. it’s not the coach,… it is some of the media PRETENDING that they don’t know what Shiano is saying! I never felt confused by his statements,..
May 24th, 2013 at 11:35 am
Westcoast,
I wish I could answer your question, but I honestly don’t know. I can only hope that Freeman has a good year because I think he’s capable.
I don’t mean to paint Schiano as some kind of ogre here. I just believe he is a man of firm convictions and believes in his methods. However, he’s relaxed the menu, so maybe he can put long-term faith in Freeman too! lol
Like you, I’m a Freeman supporter, but I’m not married to him either. He got to see what is going on and seize the moment and make the best of it! I can only hope that he does!
May 24th, 2013 at 11:36 am
Joe’s right, there is no controversy. It’s all a media creation. At One Buc Place it’s clear as crystal: Freeman is the QB now and in the future. Simple as that. The only thing that’s changed is now they have a capable backup who can come in and do much of what Freeman does if necessary. They’ve never had that before now.
Glennon is to Freeman what Rodgers was to Favre. A talented guy who’s gonna have to sit on the bench likely for years before he gets his chance to be the guy on a permanent basis. Anyone who thinks Glennon is starting over Freeman anytime soon, short of a Freeman injury, is a total idiot and deserves a hard slap in the face to wake them up to reality.
May 24th, 2013 at 11:47 am
Well said Macabee.
I just feel that the drafting of Glennon was simply the Buc’s way of hoping for the best and planning for the worst.
May 24th, 2013 at 11:47 am
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire!
May 24th, 2013 at 11:57 am
Guys,
Freeman is a mile ahead of half the quarterbacks in this league. Look at the Carolina comeback game for an example. His problem comes when he is trying to do too much, or he isn’t prepared well enough(which are both big issues). However, I think he will surprise a lot of people this year. He seems more confident and settled now.
Glennon was picked up because he is very serviceable, and could become a really good QB. Worst case scenario is Free tanks and we have a replacement, but best case is that they both look good, and we trade Glennon in a couple years. Look at what NE got for Cassel, or what GB got for Flynn. Schiano and Dom could be overplaying Glennon to get everyone worked up. Besides, in the interview after practice Glennon didn’t seem like a guy that was about to take Tampa by storm. He seemed real young and unsure about the offense.
May 24th, 2013 at 12:00 pm
The Future of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rests in the checkbook of the Glazers and some good backtracking from their Head Coach.
A 25yr old QB with all the tools Freeman has and his penchant to perform well in 4th Qtrs and toss over 25 TDs & 4,000 yrds is an overwhelming Flame to other teams in need of a Signal Caller. Freeman’s glitches are easily corrected by “Good Coachimg”. A level headed player with great talent can be taught and learn from mistakes. When he does and puts it all together will he want to resign with an organization that has “Their Own Guy” sitting in the wings
May 24th, 2013 at 12:39 pm
It seems Schiano is not permitted to say good things about or encourage Glennon because the media immediately twists it into controversy.
Cummings is pointing his finger…refusing to accept responsibility for contributing to the controversy.
The thing that bothers me is that fans for whatever reason seem to think these media guys know things. The truth is, most of them just have theories that they express as facts.
May 24th, 2013 at 1:07 pm
While a great many things have been greatly improved- the problem with the offense has gone unaddressed to this point.
Still no TE or slot reciever. That means we still have no one in the passing game to attack the center of the field.
The modern passing game is pretty easily defined. Though every offensive scheme has different variations and terms, they are all based on basically the same concepts.
The 2 WRs line up on the edges of the formation. They attack the sidelines, and run the deep, or “go” routes.
The TE is an inline blocker, who often releases and runs routes in the 5-15 yard range behind the defensive line.
The slot Reciever lines up between the WR and the TE/ tackle. He runs the crossing patterns 10-20 yards behind the D-line.
The fullback and RB are both able to run patterns in “the flats”
The area between the DE and the CB on each side of the line.
If you have a TE, but not a slot- or visa versa- you can still effectively attack the largest part of the field- the middle!
We had neither. So no possible attack to the middle.
And we compounded that, by not using any backs in the passing game. Even though Martin and Lorig both showed good ability to catch.
Sooo- that led defenses to double both sidelines. Effectively double teaming Jackson and Williams.
Underwood and stocker both proved they couldnt catch.
The problems with the offense were easy to see. Only the most uninformed layman would blame the QB.
Of course- this post not only has uninformed posters. It has some slaphappy stupid SOBs.
My concern is that we haven’t addressed these problems.
If Steve Smith returns to form( suure!), he once showed he had talent. Just not in the last 3 years
Not putting much faith in Green bays 4 th string TE, either
May 24th, 2013 at 1:11 pm
Sorry so long, but trying to be helpful to the receptive- who didn’t play college or pro ball.
May 24th, 2013 at 1:15 pm
Controversy is, by definition, nothing more than public debate or dispute. Simply claiming that there’s “no controversy” doesn’t make the controversy go away.
As long as fans and the media debate whether Glennon could or should unseat Freeman as the starter, there is controversy.
I think Schiano’s position is clear: Freeman is our starter until there’s some concrete reason to believe it would be in the team’s best interest for him not to be.
Public controversy does not necessarily mean there’s controversy within the organization. But there will be public controversy until Freeman demonstrates he can be consistently solid, or until Glennon demonstrates that he is nowhere near ready. Of course, if they both look really good, really bad, or nearly even, there will still be controversy.
May 24th, 2013 at 1:41 pm
“But you know who is stoking the fire? It is Greg Schiano.”
BS!!!!!! if your going to say something that outlandish you better have proof otherwise its BS. you know who’s stocking the the fire? its the media, people like Cummings who need to draw up fake drama so that it will get people interested in what they have to say.
after hearing this I will never read another Cummings article ever again.
May 24th, 2013 at 1:43 pm
@Capt. Tim
I like your post. Very informative and I believe that it applies, in general, to the NFL. BUT, every team utilizes their tight ends and slot WRs differently. For the Bucs, I did not see much use of a slot WR last season. (Whether for lack of talent or otherwise.) This is mostly due to the physical running style of offense that Schiano wants. In this scheme it is equally important for tight ends to be able to block as it is to run routes and catch. If not less important to run routes and catch. (Hence the signing of a blocking tight end from Green Bay but with an unknown ability as a receiver.)
The idea behind the Bucs offensive philosophy is to dominate with the run so much that literally anybody could go over the middle and run a route or catch a pass. But this ONLY works if you can consistently line up and run the ball at will. (Which is why good, blocking tight ends are a must.)
The key to this offense is running the ball and play action passing. That is the core concept of this offense. I am not saying a decent tight end or slot WR wouldn’t help. Just that they are undervalued in this offensive scheme.
(By the way, I am not stating the above as fact. Just my observations from the watching the games last season and statements from Schiano.)
May 24th, 2013 at 1:45 pm
yea cause Schiano has nothing better to do than to sit around and come up with ways of manipulating the media and bucs fan. give me a break.
May 24th, 2013 at 1:54 pm
With the above stated, I actually think The Dougernaut going down with an injury could be equally as devastating as losing Freeman. If not more so. This offense depends on the runningback a lot more than most teams.
May 24th, 2013 at 1:58 pm
^^^^^ I think you may be right on that one. losing Doug would be devastating. but maybe, just maybe, this beast of an O line can make an average replacement look pretty good.
May 24th, 2013 at 2:01 pm
That would be the only saving grace. If our offensive line is healthy then Smith or James should be able to come in and be serviceable. If we get into the playoffs without Martin though, I think it will be really tough to advance.
May 24th, 2013 at 2:25 pm
Westcoast- true, we didn’t use those positions much last year. Because we didn’t have anyone to play them.
And I agree that Shiano is trying to be a run first guy.
But you have to have players that can attack the middle of the field. Otherwise, like last year, the defense can double up the outside- and josh is stuck with no where to throw.
If you don’t attack the middle of the field- then you’ve given it to the defense.
That’s what we did at the end of last year, and what caused our lengthy losing streak.
We need to address those positions,
May 24th, 2013 at 2:49 pm
I agree, I wouldn’t mind some improvement but I am not so sure about the opposing defense doubling up on both our WRs. The run game was good enough that it kept the defense honest. If the ground game continues to be successful they will have to keep a safety in the box (or near it). Essentially eliminating the ability to double both WRs or really either of them because if you have a safety in the box then you can’t double either receiver; they have to have one deep, center field safety that essentially covers the entire back end while the other safety defends against the run.
A tight end that is an excellent blocker and an above average pass catcher would be ideal. If one was available I would be surprised if they did not try to snatch him up. The only problem is a good blocker AND a good receiver is a rare combo in a tight end. The only ones that come to mind are Witten in Dallas and possibly Gonzales in San Diego? There may be other examples but they are difficult to find.
As for a slot WR? I think what we have is about all we will ever get with this regime. I don’t see them ever looking for a dominant slot WR like Welker, Tavon, or Amendola. I do see them continuing to look for that perfect niche TE though. A really good blocking/receiving tight end would have a nice effect on our offense as a whole.
May 24th, 2013 at 11:23 pm
Capt. – One flaw in your description of the passing game and options regarding the TE/slot positions and RB routes.
In our offense that we ran last year, we mostly ran 2 WR sets (as you say, outside or go routes, attacking the outside, not the middle). This left a TE, RB and FB inside. With the serious threat of a run game in Doug Martin, many teams had to pull a Safety into the box (8 men in the box to help stop the run formation of blocking TE and blocking FB with Martin). With one Safety in run support, the opposing defense now only has one deep Safety to help over the top. Either in the middle of the field (to cover TE release or crossing route) or to one outside position (Jackson OR Williams). Teams were NOT able to double cover the outside routes regularly because of the run threat. Not only that, the offense ran many option routes, which allow the WR to turn the “go” route into a “post” route or “in” route if they see the Safety cheat outside, exposing the middle of the field. The success of those “option” routes is realized when the WRs and the QB get on the same page, have been in the same system for a couple years and know where the WR is going to be. Some of the “over-throws” last year were WRs running an “in” route when Free saw “post” route in the coverage. Free threw it to the deeper option than the WR ran. It happens, until they get familiar with each other, with the reads, with the offense.