History-making Josh McCown
June 29th, 2014
Can Bucs QB Josh McCown continue to make NFL history in Tampa Bay?
There is still a number of Bucs fans who simply cannot accept that Tampa Bay went out and signed journeyman Josh McCown to lead the Bucs to (hopefully) an end of their 11-year drought. Damn, 11 friggin’ years since the Bucs won a playoff game.
Joe classifies these people as “Josh McCown Deniers.” Many are also radical members of the the Mike Glennon Mob. In some ways, Joe can understand their angst.
Aside from five games last year with the Bears, to quote the “Custodian of Canton,” eye-RAH! Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune, McCown is the epitome of a journeyman. S
o all of a sudden, like a butterfly fleeing the cocoon, McCown is now a franchise quarterback at the ripe age of 35 when training camps begins next month? History might suggest, yes. Per the words of Michael David Smith, of ProFootballTalk.com, McCown is a member of an exclusive QB club.
Three QBs in NFL history have had 1,500+ yards and two or fewer INTs in a season: Nick Foles and Josh McCown in ’13, Damon Huard in ’06
— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) June 28, 2014
Now Joe can just hear his readers wondering, “Is McCown the next Foles or the next Huard?” Fair question.
Perhaps, those stats are one reason Lovie Smith put so much faith in McCown. He sees a quarterback who finally got it and is poised to do great things late in his career.
Joe sure hopes McCown is not the second coming of Huard. Just ask Lovie’s good friend Herm Edwards how Huard helped torpedo his coaching career.
June 29th, 2014 at 8:09 am
And who were these Great teams that “Old Man McCown” put up these monster numbers? No one seems to like to speak about that. But if “Old Man McCown” is the starter all year this year. I will hope that he will have something that he has never had before, SUCCESS!
June 29th, 2014 at 8:35 am
And there are just as many Bucs fans who simply cannot accept that the team didn’t draft a QB this past draft because they believe they already have both a present and a future franchise QB on the roster.
June 29th, 2014 at 8:40 am
I’ve been saying since the day we signed him, Rich Gannon 2.0.
June 29th, 2014 at 8:41 am
I’ve been rooting for Josh for 5 years now…..GO JOSH!!!
June 29th, 2014 at 8:43 am
Interesting blurb on Yahoo sports listing the 7 worst starting QB’s poised to start this season…even though teammates may think McCown is playing on another level the (often useless) experts at Yahoo have him at #4, ahead of Alex Smith and behind Chad Henne. My point is perhaps it’s easy to see why the MGM (or any Buc fan with a sober mind) isn’t completely sold that MCCown will be the next Rich Gannon or that Glennon doesn’t win the starter job.
June 29th, 2014 at 8:49 am
If it goes well for him, it will be like Gannon.
And, if it doesn’t, we all get to see who’s on the winning side of the Glennon argument.
Behind curtain 3 is shiny new QB in the draft.
I like Glennon’s middle finger attitude and skill set, plus ribbing Joe about another QB opinion would be funny. But, I’m not beholden to anyone. Just produce and win and I’ll cheer.
June 29th, 2014 at 8:49 am
I think McCown is gonna be just fine. The only team that really has a defense in our division is Carolina. Th O-line is gonna decide this season
June 29th, 2014 at 9:10 am
I think it’s safe to say the Bucs QB situation is still lacking from most perspectives, thinking logically this morning slurping my 32 ounce coffee. It has to be better though naturally we fans are optimistic for an improved performance. Only thing I am sure of is that will happen. And 35 is not a old man by any stretch of the imagination.
June 29th, 2014 at 9:15 am
Toes has a valid point. History and reality favor the probability of mediocrity at best.
But, McCown did thrive in the Trestman system last year, albeit for a short time, and the recent personnel moves does emulate the Bears roster.
What he does bring to the table is leadership and confidence. He may not play like a franchise QB, but he does act the like one. If the players believe, we have half the battle won.
A far cry from what Schiano had to deal with last year… a franchise turd.
June 29th, 2014 at 9:16 am
Agree on the just produce and win statement ODB. I like Glennon probably more because he catches so much sh!t on here from some (plus I think history will show Schiano was correct about talent evaluation more often than not…meaning Glennon has the tools to be a franchise QB). It’s the NFL though, can’t get too attached to any player since they could end up on another team. Bucs fan first
June 29th, 2014 at 9:17 am
@ Ryan – New Orleans had the 4th best defense in the league.
But I’m with you. I also think McCown will do fine. Our defense will be decent enough to compete with any team. I’m hoping our new offense will keep defenses guessing for a while. I know Tedford will plan accordingly to assist the o-line and McCown to win us games similar to Chicago last year.
June 29th, 2014 at 9:21 am
Per NFL.com 2013 D Rank
Carolina 2nd
Saints 4th
Bucs 17th
ATL 27th
June 29th, 2014 at 9:56 am
can you really have too many good qb’s
June 29th, 2014 at 10:03 am
The Aints improving their usual lacking defense ranking to 4th overall in 2013 is surprising to this Buc fan. The Bucs need to take that spot away from them and secure it for themselves. Same goes for the stinking Panthers ranking. Our team needs to be the top ranked defensive unit in the NFC south, and Buc fans deserve the distinction.
June 29th, 2014 at 10:10 am
Joe- for someone who claims not to be a stats guy you sure are relying on these silly stat pieces to pump out articles these days. I get it that there isn’t much actual bucs news at this time of year and it is fun to watch these delusional fans of tweedle dee and tweedle dum argue about the stats! People see what they want to see and that couldn’t be more true than with stats as evidenced by this article.
June 29th, 2014 at 10:20 am
All we need to do is average two field goals in the second half and he’s surpassed the cannon’s firepower.
Or have one 300 yard passing day.
Hard to get below the worst, 90 yards of passing offense in an NFL game not played in a blizzard.
June 29th, 2014 at 10:27 am
Eric Says:
June 29th, 2014 at 10:20 am
All we need to do is average two field goals in the second half and he’s surpassed the cannon’s firepower.
Or have one 300 yard passing day.
Hard to get below the worst, 90 yards of passing offense in an NFL game not played in a blizzard.
———————————–
Cannon’s got much better surroundings this year. Look at the turnover on offense and understand we passed on Manziel and Bridgewater.
June 29th, 2014 at 11:02 am
It’s kind of funny. Just about any Buc fan who has realistic expectations believes the Bucs will probably have a .500 record or less considering our brutal schedule. OK, there should be no argument there, plus it’s all we actually should expect. The reality is, the first game we lose, those same fans who didn’t expect a lot will be all up in arms over it. They will be calling for McCown’s head, and JOE will probably be the ring leader.
Even as JOE has gone on the record with his own prediction, and it’s not a winning record. I don’t get how people can get so angry when they never expected it in the first place. Just like last year. Most predictions had us winning 5-7 games. That’s it. We won 4 but should have won 3 more that we lost in the last 2 minutes. The media went bonkers, and got Schiano fired even though he was pretty much on par with what the media was predicting and expecting.
June 29th, 2014 at 11:13 am
Can we get a story how Talib continues to be an idiot? I just heard he was arrested in Denver last night for being intoxicated and throwing bottles in a club.
June 29th, 2014 at 11:14 am
Looks like the Patriots benefited from that one
June 29th, 2014 at 11:14 am
It’s all up to the O line!!
June 29th, 2014 at 11:23 am
Shoulda traded for Mallett number one. But let’s hope McCown or glennon rises. I’m skeptical as I’ve explained myself several times, but for the franchise sake lets end the drought
June 29th, 2014 at 11:27 am
@DallasBus – You’re right, Joe isn”t a big stats guy. However, Joe isn’t down on all stats, and many of them are at least thought-provoking and noteworthy. This one was worth sharing.
June 29th, 2014 at 12:15 pm
@rch
Then Denver police have already stated it Aqib’s brother, not Aqib.
On topic, I think Josh will do just fine. He is putting in the necessary time with the entire offense to get that continuity. I’d be curious to know how much participation he is getting these remaining weeks leading up to camp. If he is getting 80-90% then I project those 10-20% don’t make the team and this offense will be running on all cylinders come opening day.
Go BUCS!
June 29th, 2014 at 1:01 pm
I hope for the teams sake that josh tears it up this year and leads us to the promised land.however , to label a journeyman qb (and no amount of spin can change that fact ) as our FRANCHISE qb before he has even thrown a pass for us is absurd. and I appreciate the attempt to pump up josh’s resume,but that 1500/2 stat is ridiculousness( is that a word?) at it’s highest level( it amounts to 5 or 6 games worth). I would hope that josh does a heck of a lot more than that this year. I will accept nothing less than 4000 yds and 30 td’s to label him as FRANCHISE.that would make him slightly above average in our division and today’s nfl. go bucs!!
June 29th, 2014 at 1:03 pm
This might as well be the same post every day. The argument is fruitless until we play some F-ing football games in the fall. He could be good, bad, great, terrible, his teammates think he’ll be great and the media thinks he’s awful.
Nobody knows till the fall and anyone who pretends to is a fraud at best.
June 29th, 2014 at 1:09 pm
Have to admit that MG8 and crew lost all five games against the top four defenses in the league last year (Sea, SF, NO, and Car x 2). As a ROOKIE, his record was 4-4 against the rest. And those included much better defensive opponents than Josh McCown faced, and didn’t include Dallas and Minn, the two worst defenses in the league last year.
Against the 49’ers, the Bucs ran a partial no-huddle offense late in the third quarter, and drove 92 yards for a TD, making the score 20-14, early in the 4th qtr. Of course, I will admit that Glennon did benefit from the 3 yard run by Rainey during that drive. SF responded with a 17 play drive for a field goal that lasted 10:17! But we should expect the offense to score when they don’t have the ball?
Week 17 vs NO, down 28-14 at the half. Bucs start at 20 after a touchback.
Rainey for 1, then MG to VJ for 18, but nullified by holding on Carimi. 2nd and 19, so Rainey for 4, then MG to Wright for 24, and a new set. BR x 2 for 9 yds, but then penalty on Wright for false start. Now 3rd and 6, with two short completions for 8 yds, and new set at NO 49. BR loses 2, but then MG to Underwood for 19, and 1st down. Pass to Lorig for 3, but BR loses 4 on 2nd. Facemask penalty on 3rd down by Larsen, so now it’s 3rd and 26! MG to Hill for 12, and the kick a 54 yd FG. By my count, MG8 was 7 of 8 on the drive for 84 yds, on a drive that started on the 20!!!, but ended with a 54 yd FG! Rainey did contribute 14yds on 6 carries as well. Three offensive penalties for -25yds. But MG8 should have carried the whole team??? Should have been 28-21 early in the 3rd qtr.
Only two examples but typical of many drives last season. Please explain again why for the first time in history, ALL of the 2014 draft picks were used on offensive players, but not a QB?
Tickrdr
June 29th, 2014 at 1:24 pm
Quick question.
Why does my post from my IPad at 1:09 show up on JBF there, but not on my desktop despite multiple refreshes to the JBF site?
tickrdr
June 29th, 2014 at 1:24 pm
Never mind????
tickrdr
June 29th, 2014 at 1:38 pm
Joe, not a member of the MGM or any other Mob (JFM like Joe) or Donald In Shape going to prove you wrong again LMAO Mob like Joe) but I just love seeing everyone get the same opportunity and let the cream rise to the top and the crap sink to the bottom I don’t think you have given Glennon a fair shot however I do see you are starting to CYA with some articles should you end up being wrong!
June 29th, 2014 at 8:54 pm
“He sees a quarterback who finally got it and is poised to do great things late in his career.”
Bingo.
I may be the sole member of the McCownanites, but I am confident indeed lol.
June 30th, 2014 at 1:43 am
Count me as a true believer in McCown as well. He has as much chance as Johnson did the year Johnson won a SB. Johnson had no great prior accomplishments for most of his Career, just like Josh. Josh will be a star this year!
July 1st, 2014 at 7:23 am
I’d like to know more about what kind of team McCown had around him in his previous starting oppurtunities. Football is the ultimate team sport. Even savvy, talented QB’s can post losing records and put up mediocre stats if they are weighed down by poor play at other positions. Even by poor coaching or bad team chemistry. Everybody says he has great leadership skills, but these only help when a team wants to be led. The guys need to be on the same page. In my opinion it was the selfishness of just a few players on the Bucs in 2003 and 2004 that led to our underwhelming performances in the seasons immediately following SB XXXVII. I hope that Lovie has his men committed to not only winning, but winning as a team, regardless of who is at QB.