Freeman’s Urgency Questioned?
June 16th, 2013
When Joe hears of football coaches wanting a player to play with more “urgency,” Joe thinks that’s code for coaches believing a player takes plays off.
After all, every snap is critical in the NFL. Every snap can turn a game. Every snap is urgent. And when a quarterback is playing without urgency, that’s a terrible sign.
So Joe is troubled by Rick Stroud writing today that the Bucs want Freeman to up his urgency, so Stroud penned for TampaBay.com.
But coaches would like to see him demonstrate a greater sense of urgency in games from start to finish. What does that mean for the laid-back Freeman? Showing more fire while keeping his cool.
Stroud includes quotes from Bucs QB coach John McNulty praising Freeman’s authoritative demeanor and urgency during spring practices.
Joe’s not sure exactly where Stroud learned the Bucs want Freeman to “demonstrate a greater sense of urgency from start to finish.” That’s unclear in the story. So Joe hopes Stroud is mistaken.
If Freeman does have urgency issues, that would be awful. Frankly, Joe’s never heard anything like that out of One Buc Palace, players or coaches.
In fact, coaches and Freeman himself said pressing and forcing plays that aren’t there — essentially showing too much urgency — have hurt Freeman most.
Joe actually believes that Freeman’s serious but generally calm demeanor isn’t a bad thing. Joe very well remembers that incredible cool helping Freeman to some incredible fourth-quarter wins early in his career.
June 16th, 2013 at 2:59 pm
It sure seems like the lackeys at the fish wrap outfits are throwing up Hail Marys right and left these days. It probably doesn’t help that “The Joes” are putting out a superior digital product. 🙂 Pressure makes diamonds or burst pipes….call a plumber, Times/Tribune….
June 16th, 2013 at 3:48 pm
The excuses for Freeman never end.
June 16th, 2013 at 4:14 pm
Stroud is writing BS ….
Rick Stroud is a drama queen
June 16th, 2013 at 4:26 pm
Stroud is the worst of the Bucs beat writers, and they aren’t exactly known as a prodigious group. Remember, he was the guy who said that Talib was going to be released.
http://www.tampabay.com/sports/football/bucs/troubled-aqib-talib-all-but-gone-from-tampa-bay-buccaneers/1165725
https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=47058
Even if he had not been wrong on this point, he’s still terrible.
Here’s to hoping that he’s assigned to cover the Rays.
June 16th, 2013 at 4:49 pm
Stroud’s a Hack… A few days ago Glennon was a bust, now Freeman isn’t showing urgency… exactly how does one display “urgency”
June 16th, 2013 at 4:56 pm
Mixed smoke signals are coming over the mountain, just days ago Stroud thought the Glennon pick was absurd.
Today Freeman, is being pressured to step up his game. NFL ready or not, wasn’t that the intent of putting a development QB on the roster?
The Bucs are being consistent… amping up the pressure for Freeman to do the same. Stroud, meh, swing and a miss!
June 16th, 2013 at 5:13 pm
I understand what he is trying to say and I agree. It’s like I’ve been saying Free starts games so slow and awful for the most part. He’s done it for the majority of the time he’s been here. He has got to pick it up from opening kick-off and not wait til halftime to start to play.
June 16th, 2013 at 5:24 pm
It’s all about the sensationalism, the exaggerations and conspiracies that create the buzz that these reporters crave for, even if they have to create it themselves, ala Shaun King. The funny thing is, is that it works. Makes them the center of attention, and it satisfies their egos until they need their next fix.
June 16th, 2013 at 5:30 pm
@CouchFan – The Bucs started fast in nearly every game last year,minus Philly and @ New Orleans. Playcalling and coaching was the difference than in previous years, not Freeman.
June 16th, 2013 at 6:00 pm
Freeman has been known to be a 4th quarter guy since he first started for the Bucs. Look at all of his comebacks. He needs to show the same focus for all four quarters. I think that is what the coaching staff wants. That is what Raheem the Dream wanted as well and commented on.
It just has to come with maturity. Hopefully it will happen this year because if it doesn’t the quarterback situation next year will be a whole lot worse.
June 16th, 2013 at 6:05 pm
@Keith
I disagree. He was better this year than in years past but to say they started fast in all games but 2 is inaccurate. At least to me anyways.
June 16th, 2013 at 6:16 pm
Joe,
I think it’s a well known observation about Josh Freeman that he works with little enthusiasm through many moments in games. It’s a big reason for his inconsistent play from game to game and even quarter to quarter.
Look at how frequently the team has had Delay of Game Penalties over the past few seasons, even more telling, look at how many first quarter timeouts Josh has had to call over the last two seasons. When I watch him in person I sometimes want to run down on the field and hit him with a Eppi Penn!
June 16th, 2013 at 6:35 pm
Stroud eats boogers.
June 16th, 2013 at 7:26 pm
@ couch fan … Your wrong , there is more to it than just Freeman .
June 16th, 2013 at 7:29 pm
One must be blind as a bat to not see how Freeman lacks urgency early in games.
It was very prevalent during the Raheem era including in 2010 when our offense would only get jumpstarted after a score or two by opposition. Last year was much better compared to the past for Freeman, but still he has to show more resolve on every drive right from beginning to score.
June 16th, 2013 at 8:07 pm
@USMC Buc
Great point about the delay of game calls,
For me, sometimes he just looks lost. Like the Atlanta home loss last year. 1st and goal inside the 5, and we have to kick.
June 16th, 2013 at 8:21 pm
Stroud was 100% wrong for calling out Glennon a week into his career, but he is 100% right on this Freeman topic.
It’s not just urgency that Freeman lacks, he hasn’t got the fire that the great ones all have. The only emotions thus far that I have really seen are frustration and whining aimed at his teammates when they supposedly don’t get to the mark that he thinks they shold have been at and sh!t faced grins when he throws a back breaking INT.
I want to see the leader of my team destroy a chair on the sidelines on occasion if things aren’t going right or grab a guy by the facemask if he is screwing up his routes. Freeman is only a “leader” in the fact that he plays the most important position in all of professional sports, not because he leads and others follow. He doen’t have the intestinal fortitude for the job, sadly. That really sucks because we are built to win right now and if we had a capable QB playoffs would almost be a given.
Has he ever gotten us a good lead and but his foot down on the other teams collective neck and buried them? Honest to God franchise QBs will do that when given the chance, Freeman sqweaks out wins even after having good leads or he waits until the 4th quarter to finally turn it on.
I know he’s our best chance to make it far this year, so I hope I am wrong, but a four year sample is plenty for me to see and I’m sure Schiano has seen the same thing, hence the 3rd round QB pick.
June 16th, 2013 at 8:42 pm
@Raphael
Never said it was all Freeman, but whatever the issue is, its affecting Freeman. You do realize that he has flaws right? He isn’t elite, not even close yet. This Urgency or Inconsistency, in my opinion, is his biggest flaw.
June 16th, 2013 at 9:17 pm
You can’t fix stupid.
June 16th, 2013 at 9:38 pm
May be urgency between the plays, and during the huddle. Put him in some no huddle situations a little more. I think he does play better when he is in a situation of speeding up the offense himself.
June 16th, 2013 at 9:50 pm
B.S.
I heard reporters claiming Dan Fouts played with too much passion- and was out of control
I also heard reporters claim that Joe Montana was an iceman- and didn’t show enough emotion.
Both claims were, of course, stupidity by the press corp!
A quarterback just needs to be himself. He wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t a leader. And to be honest- there isn’t much “rah rah” nonsense in a pro huddle. There is barely enough time to call the play.
Freeman won 10 games with a horrible team. Delay penalties are 90% of the time due to the sideline not getting in the right personnel.
Freeman has won in this league. He is a great Qb to have in the last 5 minutes of a game.
What he needs is an effective gameplan( didn’t have one last 7 games last season), enough weapons to attack entire field( nope- still no slot Wr, or pass catching TE) , and the same offensive system co- ordinator 2 or 3 years in a row.
Team still hasn’t addressed the Achilles heel on Offense yet. If John Lynch, Tim Ryan, and I all noticed it- pretty sure all the leagues DC have caught on.
As Einstein said” to repeat the same action, and expect a different result, is the definition of insanity!”
And that’s where the offense is at. We don’t need any superstars. Just a slot Wr and a TE that require the defense to cover them in the middle of the field.
So far- nuthin.
June 16th, 2013 at 9:50 pm
I think because printed media is suffering in sales the reporters are encouraged to stir things up.
I have seen nothing BUT urgency from Freeman. Each off season he spend most of his time either studying at One Buc or running his own camps with teammates. He works hard. Takes little time off.
You watch…Mark Dominick or Greg Schiano will make a statement that shoots down what Stroud said. But unfortunately it will be on PFT amd Stroud will get tv and radio intervoews by then.
June 16th, 2013 at 9:55 pm
Freeman needs to QB this team to the playoffs in 2013.
June 16th, 2013 at 11:10 pm
USMC:
Personally, Joe thinks emotion in football is wwwaaayyy overrated. Some of the best coaches/players are stoic as hell.
Freeman’s problem with accuracy is Freeman. He’s always been that way, even through college. Not sure that will ever change.
June 16th, 2013 at 11:12 pm
Let’s look at slow vs fast starts…
Carolina – Bucs win toss, defer, kick, D makes stop, Bucs score, never relinquish lead.
Giants – Bucs win toss, defer, kick, D gives up FG, Bucs tie, score first TD of game, take 24-13 lead by half, set to receive kick in 2nd half.
Cowboys – Bucs win toss, defer, kick, D forces TO, Bucs score first
Skins – Bucs lose toss, receive, both teams punt first drive, Bucs score first
Chiefs – Bucs defer, kick, Bucs score first
Saints – Bucs defer, kick, D forces TO, Bucs score first
Vikings – Bucs defer, kick, Bucs score first
Raiders – Bucs defer, kick, down 10-7 at half, set to receive kick in 2nd half down 3
Chargers – Bucs defer, kick, down 21-17 at half, set to receive kick in 2nd half down 4
Carolina – Bucs defer, kick, score first
Falcons – Bucs defer, kick, tied at half with us receiving in 2nd half
Broncos – Bucs receive, lead by 3 at half
Eagles – Bucs kick, down 10 at half, set to receive in 2nd half
Saints – Bucs kick, never lead
Rams – Bucs receive, score first
Falcons – Bucs kick, Bucs score first, receive 2nd half kick.
What you’ll see, is how often we kicked to open the game, how often we either scored first, lead at the half or were at least within 4 points (all but one game down 10 and the 2nd Saints game), and how often we were in position to receive the 2nd half kick and expand upon or overtake the lead. I get tired of hearing how we got off to slow starts last year, yet when you really look at it, we were typically in good position going into the 2nd half of almost all the games except the Saints and Eagles games (and we took the lead by 2 scores in the second half of the Eagles game). These are facts. Like it or not. This team was in position to win 15 of 16 games last year in the 2nd half. All we need is to either stop the opponent or score one more time. Pass defense? Freeman? Does it matter, we were in that position to win 15 of 16 times. Josh had 2 really bad games last year, one was the Saints game where we had no chance to win. The other was the Rams game where there were coaching/playcall mistakes as well as WR drops/falling down and OL protection issues. Explain the other 7 losses?
June 16th, 2013 at 11:20 pm
Great post bam bam …
Btw a lot of times those delay of game penalties happen when Free gets the play call late from the OC
June 16th, 2013 at 11:22 pm
@ couchfan ….Free is close to being elite …he is top ten right now and will be top 5 this year.
June 16th, 2013 at 11:22 pm
I’m tired of the Einstein quote from the morons that make this analogy to sports. In physics, when particles react the same way, it makes sense, except in quantum physics which….never mind nobody will get it here… In sports, every movement is new, the pitch is different, the weather is different, the fumble is random. Its like the sports talk idiot that talks about the home run that would have tied the game if only the guy on first base wouldn’t have been picked off. Of course failing to take into account that everything would be different if the guy were still on first, pitching from the stretch, different call from his catcher, etc….morons!….This article was a filler.
June 17th, 2013 at 12:19 am
@J A — Joe’s not sure what your take is, but to say this post is “filler,” well there’s no such thing around here.
@gotbbucs – By you definition, I guess you’re stunned that Dungy was a good football coach
June 17th, 2013 at 12:30 am
You rock, BamBam!
June 17th, 2013 at 12:49 am
@ bam bam …ok I will explain , 29 th ranked pass defense
June 17th, 2013 at 2:02 am
I call BS. If anything, Freeman tries TOO hard. Forcing passes and such. And it leads to interceptions. I think Stroud was trying to talk about Scram Newton.
June 17th, 2013 at 5:06 am
I don’t know how this is “surprising” to anyone,
Free has always struggled to show up for an “entire” game..
Any Bucs fan knows throughout the years that many times “Good Free” doesn’t show up till the fourth quarter when we need a dramatic comeback. There is an obvious sense of urgency he plays with toward the end of game that would be nice to see throughout an entire game more often.
Than again, that’s all part of “consistency”
I’m rooting that we see great things from him this season though as hopefully he moves past that “characteristic” of his game.
June 17th, 2013 at 5:26 am
Disagree with halftime scores and whatever you may say, I don’t care honestly lol..
We all watch the games, and we all know deep down to an extent that to which many people refer to when they mention these kind of things about Free.
Last year he did progress in that area greatly IMO, but wasn’t quite able to completely leave that behind him. Hopefully this is the season, that he can take that next step and elevate his game some more. I’ll be the first to admit i’ve seen glimpses of “Elite” Josh, yes I said “elite” lol… I believe he’s there, I just don’t know if believe he can permanently take that next step…
June 17th, 2013 at 5:51 am
Stroud is a chump. The other day Joe linked Strouds radio take on Glennon. All he did was rip on the kid calling him Napoleon Dynamite. How can you take him seriously as a writer when he’s ripping on a kid half his age. If he has kids, I hope they grow up looking like carrot top. Seriously though, I wanna break his pasty face.
June 17th, 2013 at 6:11 am
I think a better clarification of just exactly what McNulty is inferring is due. I know some call reasons excuses if it suits them; but Freeman sure seemed to play with a sense of urgency throwing deep to our wide receiver duo to rack up the most yards in Bucs history. I do think there were times when Freeman needed to put a little more pep in his step and operate with a faster pace. But that speaks to the OC getting the plays in and having the correct personnel groupings in the huddle. I want a QB who knows the scheme and operates it efficiently. Not some wild man in constant state of chaos. There are a lot of personalities who play the position successfully who are calm by nature. How do you think King got the name “Smoothie”? Then there’s “Matty Ice”. I wonder what that name suggests?
I’d like to have seen our defense play with a better sense of urgency at the end of the games when they allowed three opponents to score after the offense secured the lead with only one final stop to make.
June 17th, 2013 at 7:28 am
J A,
Your inability to grasp the context of the Einstein quote doesn’t surprise me. As I’ve said before, I prefer the less literate posters to avoid my comments- and stick to the post they can understand- I.E, post with small, simple words,that don’t require any ability to comprehend what they are reading.
Einstein’s quotes are a bit above our abilities. Your frustration is understandable. Having to actually think about a post was most likely quite painful for you.
There are plenty of post by people you can relate to. I suggest you stick to reading post by people at your level.
Because I hate wasting time having to respond to you
June 17th, 2013 at 7:33 am
Or,
Football is an incredibly complicated game of Strategy, skill and co-ordinated schemes and plans
That is often watched by people who’s IQ points are in the same range as the ounces on the their beer can
June 17th, 2013 at 8:56 am
Because I hate wasting time having to respond to you
——————————————————————————
Yes you hate it so much that you often waste your time “having” to respond to people by pathetically attempting to belittle them because they refue to ride Freeman’s jock as good as you do and offer nothing relevant or substantial to the conversation.
Keep riding pony boy.
June 17th, 2013 at 9:31 am
[…] Josh Freeman is not playing with enough urgency? [JoeBucsFan] […]
June 17th, 2013 at 9:47 am
Couch- and quickly, on of the 12oz/12 IQ point morons leaps where he’s not invited.
I didn’t insult anyone. I made a comment about football. J a the called me a moron for quoting Einstein- because it was hard to understand, and made his head hurt.
You apparently commented, just so you once again could talk about Freeman’s jock- which you mention on almost every post you write!!!
Must be a subject close to your heart, you seem so obsessed with it!
Again- would like to request the really stupid posters- like the ones who only talk about Freeman’s Jock!- to ignore my post. You won’t understand them- and I don’t want to have to talk to jock loving clueless people.
I prefer to discuss football- not couch’s mancrushes!
June 17th, 2013 at 9:50 am
PRBucFan Says:
“Disagree with halftime scores and whatever you may say, I don’t care honestly lol..
We all watch the games, and we all know deep down to an extent that to which many people refer to when they mention these kind of things about Free.”
I don’t get this. Never mind all the factual data…opinion is what matters more? While I understand opinion has a place, but when facts prove opinion wrong, opinion is invalidated.
If I do not like that 2+2=4 for example, it does regardless. My opinion doesn’t change that.
If I am presented with the facts and still remain resistant, not only would it invalidate my opinion on the matter, but it should invalidate my credibility on future matters until I acknowledge the facts prove me wrong.
June 17th, 2013 at 9:56 am
Capt. Tim Says:
“Again- would like to request the really stupid posters- like the ones who only talk about Freeman’s Jock!- to ignore my post.”
An ignore commenter option would so rock on this website. Or a thumbs up/thumbs down voting option.
I try not to stress out if anyone disagrees with me, and I realize some people are going to stick with their opinions no matter what the facts are.
I realize this isn’t even my conversation, but as an old fart and Bucs homer (proud of it!), I see a lot of commenters stressing out simply because of the comments of anonymous people who disagree with them. My thinking is that commenting on blogs increases heart disease (that was a joke).
June 17th, 2013 at 10:24 am
I still think this is a pointless conversation. The offense scored plenty of points. Our Super Bowl defense would have loved to have had our 2012 offense as far as scoring offense. Our problem is on the other side of the ball. That has been addressed and I believe if our offense has the same production as last year we will be a playoff team. If our offense progresses, as I believe it will, we could very well go deep into the playoffs. Whether or not we are Super Bowl contenders yet remains to be seen but we certainly have the personnel.
June 17th, 2013 at 10:42 am
@BamBam……good post about the Bucs scoring first so many times. It reminds me of the global warming crowd….a report comes out that says there has been no warming in the last 15 years and still the global warming crowd says “Good! We still have a chance to stop it now before it’s too late!” Huh???
You can present all the facts you want to the ones who are convinced Freeman is the problem and they will not be swayed.
June 17th, 2013 at 12:01 pm
Fantastic comments Capt. Tim! This article by Stroud is rubbish1
June 17th, 2013 at 12:55 pm
Buccaneer Bonzai
Facts haven’t proven anything wrong lol.
If you really wanna go there.. FACTS prove that so far Free is a loser, REGARDLESS of “opinion”. To be frank… People throw around stats like somehow they are “absolute” and dismiss the other realities of situations. So I don’t care for them, that’s all I was saying..
And that was supposed to say “despite the halftime scores and whatever you may say.” NOT “disagree”
and AGAIN I don’t know how this is “surprising” to anyone,
Free has always struggled to show up for an “entire” game..
Any Bucs fan knows throughout the years that many times “Good Free” doesn’t show up till the fourth quarter when we need a dramatic comeback. There is an obvious sense of urgency he plays with toward the end of game that would be nice to see throughout an entire game more often.
Than again, that’s all part of “consistency”
I’m rooting that we see great things from him this season though as hopefully he moves past that “characteristic” of his game.
We all watch the games, and we all know deep down to an extent that to which many people refer to when they mention these kind of things about Free.
Last year he did progress in that area greatly IMO, but wasn’t quite able to completely leave that behind him. Hopefully this is the season, that he can take that next step and elevate his game some more. I’ll be the first to admit i’ve seen glimpses of “Elite” Josh, yes I said “elite” lol… I believe he’s there, I just don’t know if believe he can permanently take that next step…
Lay off BB, your starting to post like a Freeman troll, don’t turn into the Raphael.
June 17th, 2013 at 1:31 pm
@PRBucFan: These losers love to live in their delusions where 2010 is happening again and again. Its like arguing with a bunch of women that cannot take the slightest bit of criticism about their hair or dress.
June 17th, 2013 at 1:37 pm
Lol @ the haterz
June 17th, 2013 at 2:27 pm
Lol @ Freeman’s nutsack riders
June 17th, 2013 at 4:05 pm
@Jonny2.3…..Nobody wants to go back to 2010. Freeman was much better last year than 2010. Better points per game, more yards, more TD’s (yeah..more interceptions but 8 were in 2 games). It was the pass defense that regressed last year. They cost us four games. No one can logically argue that the defense wasn’t at fault for us losing the Giants, Redskins, Falcons, and Eagles games. Certainly Freeman wasn’t the most consistent QB last year but he did enough that we should have won 11 games. Now, if you want to argue that it’s always Freeman’s fault if we lose, regardless of whether the defense allows the opposing team to score in the closing minute of the game and blow a lead….feel free to make that case.
June 17th, 2013 at 4:36 pm
John lynch was the color analyst for Buccaneer games. Preseason thru Atlanta. He is one of the greatest Bucs of all time, and a student of the game. He also has ” family” type access to the team, coaches, trainers, ball boys, and owners. He is welcomed with open arms to all things Buccaneer- and he should be!!!
In other words- he knows more about the Bucs than just about anyone alive.
He repeatly mentioned two reasons for the Buccaneers losing streak. His opinion has also been echoed by other great NFL minds- like the incredibly wise Tim Ryan!
1) the team was exhausted. Flat out of gas by week 7. I am absolutely ok with this. If Coach Shiano overworked them last year- it was to flush out the losers who quit on Raheem Morris the year before.
2) defenses had figured out our offense- and were shutting down our WRs. He even diagrammed this during one game.
Jackson and Williams were both spred out wide, to opposite sidelines, on most plays. 95% of the time, they ran “tree” patterns. Excuse me if you are already familiar with this, but a tree patern is the base go of all side line routes. You can run side line “outs”, “Curls”, “stops”, and go patterns from the tree base- diagrammed at 5,10, 15 yards- or endZone” go” routes, the basic form looks like a tree with branches
The problem is- these are sideline routes. Once the CBs saw this tendency- they stopped worrying about the center of the field. We didn’t have a TE or slot Reciever who could attack the middle. On several occasions- Lynch pointed out CBs breaking to the outside BEFORE our WR!
Note that none of his critiques were” Freeman sucks” or ” josh can’t play”
Sooo, who’s opinion to Trust? John Lynch and Tim Ryan? Or jonny 2.3 and couch fan?
Lol- you’re joking, right?
June 17th, 2013 at 7:09 pm
@Captain Pony Boy
Where Have I ever said Freeman sucks or cant play? Apparently you are the one who said that because I know I didn’t. LMAO
Perhaps instead of clinging to someone else’s opinion, you should use that extrodinarily smart brain you think you have to form your own opinion? Thats IF you can wipe Josh’s man cream from your eyes to make that well informed opinion.
It’s almost comical that with every Freeman post, the jock riders are out in full force blameing Free’s flaws on Leonard Johnson, coaches, playing calling… anything and anyone that isnt Freeman himself. You would think Free is a multiple time MVP with all the leg humping these people do.
June 17th, 2013 at 9:47 pm
@Couch Fan….IF the defense holds those leads and we win those 4 games we lost in the final minute…are we having this conversation? We would have been
11-5 and in the playoffs. The way we beat Atlanta in the final game who knows…we may have gone deep in the playoffs. So…because you can’t tell offense from defense and blame it all on Freeman, we who realize where the true blame lies all have a ‘man crush’ on Freeman? We all realize that Freeman has flaws, plenty of them…but he is not the reason we went 7-9 last year. If you can’t see that then apparently you have something in YOUR eyes.
June 18th, 2013 at 5:43 am
Opinions that differ from our own would be far more respected by me if they weren’t offered with the name calling and junior high style retorts. The QB conversation is basically debating if the one we have is either totally to blame for the team’s losses for the past 4 years or that his lack of elite status is merely a contributing factor. None of us are handing the key to the Elite QB Club to # 5. But neither are we ready to cast aside our best chance until all opportunities have been exhausted and most importantly, we have a “can’t miss” prospect waiting in the wings. It’s sad that after following this team since 1976 there is always a contingent of fans who want to scream “He sucks!” with reference to our culprit taking the snaps and disregard every other facet of the team.