“Very Mobile” Athlete At Quarterback
July 29th, 2014
The hell with Cam Newton, Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick, the Bucs have their own do-it-all super athlete at quarterback.
Back in March, Lovie Smith raved about how 35-year-old Josh McCown was going to surprise with his athletic ability and how his legs were very fresh by NFL standards. But now it’s not just Lovie weighing in.
Vincent Jackson was drilled on SiriusXM NFL Radio yesterday to reveal strengths and weaknesses on McCown.
Jackson emphasized the Bucs’ starting quarterback’s athleticism multiple times, calling him “very mobile.”
“Again, man, I couldn’t be more impressed with just how good an athlete he is,” Jackson said of McCown. “He really can make every throw, he’s very athletic. We do some drills in offseason training and, you know, he’s kicking butt in al this stuff and he’s 34, 35 years old.
“He’s a smart guy. He’s a natural leader. He gets in that huddle, you know, he has a great sense of humor and just that natural leader who makes everybody so comfortable and puts everybody at ease. He has that just something special, where he can really make everybody around him better.”
For the stat geeks who love track and field date, aka NFL Scouting Combine numbers, McCown is that guy on paper, a man before his time in the 2002 NFL Draft. McCown, at 6-foot-4, ran a 4.57-second, 40-yard dash, with a 38 1/2-inch vertical leap. Maybe he’s lost a step, but maybe not, given how little NFL wear is on his body.
Joe just hopes McCown doesn’t have to use that mobility this season, which seems likely given the state of the offensive line. A 35-year-old quarterback running for his life and taking hits isn’t a recipe for the postseason.
July 29th, 2014 at 3:19 pm
Who the hell is talking post season in this regimes first year anyway? If they make it, great, but to expect it, is absurd.
July 29th, 2014 at 3:24 pm
Can he throw the football? Read defenses? Score touchdowns? So far that hasn’t happened for McCown. Is he really going be what he has not been since 2002?…
July 29th, 2014 at 3:29 pm
If you had to pick out a single player that holds the success of the upcoming Buccaneer season in his hands, you would have to go with Josh.
He has weapons and a defense so it’s a matter of how he performs and he’ll get a chance to show that mobility if the offensive line is as suspect as some lead us to believe.
July 29th, 2014 at 3:39 pm
Joe
Hopefully we have the right Josh this time.
July 29th, 2014 at 3:42 pm
If the players believe in Josh and regard him as highly as has been reported, then I’ll have to take their words for it. They would know.
July 29th, 2014 at 3:51 pm
And Rich Eisen ran a faster 40 than Mike Glennon.
And how do you listen to an interview audio with all the different ads playing?
And No I don’t want to play Candy Crush.
Really?
WTF?
July 29th, 2014 at 3:52 pm
^^^what are they gonna say? Jackson played all those years with Philip Rivers and McCown is no Rivers. I remember Jackson also saying Freeman was one of the best QBs in the league and I believed him then.
July 29th, 2014 at 4:04 pm
Josh will prove to be the man.
And I don’t want to play candy crush ,either!
That needs to go
July 29th, 2014 at 4:11 pm
That’s right, he ls not going to seat there and talk bad about his qb.
July 29th, 2014 at 4:13 pm
If he breaks out of the pocket and puts up 50/50 balls to Jackson, Evans, or Jenkins we could see some big plays.
July 29th, 2014 at 4:19 pm
Jim Walker Says:
July 29th, 2014 at 4:13 pm
If he breaks out of the pocket and puts up 50/50 balls to Jackson, Evans, or Jenkins we could see some big plays.
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Why would he throw balls to Mike Jenkins?
July 29th, 2014 at 4:25 pm
^^^Austin Sefferian Jenkens, ya know, our new TE.
July 29th, 2014 at 4:32 pm
Ahhhh, yes. I am familiar with him… just wasn’t thinking of Sefarian-Jenkins when he said “Jenkins”.
July 29th, 2014 at 4:33 pm
Drew Brees is 35……and an elite QB who is also very athletic when he needs to be….the point is that 35 is still young enough to compete….its not too late for McCown to shine!!!
July 29th, 2014 at 4:34 pm
Brain fart brandon
July 29th, 2014 at 4:45 pm
TBBucfan- that would all be fine if McCown was an elite QB like Brees and I know you are suggesting that! So if by “shine” you mean he can be as good as he has been the previous 10+ years in the league then I can’t quite get excited about all that…
July 29th, 2014 at 4:57 pm
Didn’t Jackson also mark out to Freeman?
July 29th, 2014 at 5:01 pm
As always, Joe strives for a great reader experience. Thanks for your feedback. –Joe
July 29th, 2014 at 5:03 pm
@ Dallas Buc….
By “shine”…….I mean to be as good as he was last year…..and if he is….we could do well…..No, he won’t be elite….but he can be good for a couple of years.
July 29th, 2014 at 5:08 pm
His brother was often crown “best athlete on the team”… But he stunk. I’m still not sold on McCown. I think he’s way too inconsistent with his accuracy. Leadership, mobility and experience are great things, but gotta be consistently accurate. I have doubts that he can blossom at 35. Glennon, however, has the chance to really put the pressure on with a strong preseason performance.
July 29th, 2014 at 5:33 pm
I am afraid that Old Man McCown is just a “bridge” to Glennon or the next QB. His great 5-6 game run were he went .500 against bottom teams last year. I hope people just don’t get to excited before we actually see real football.
Go Bucs and Go Beer!!!!
July 29th, 2014 at 5:42 pm
All McCown has to be is at or around the level he played last year. Why is that so hard to believe? I would think it would be more likely to get results closer to last year than many years back when he played some on some pretty bad teams. Besides that all you can really compare him to are the choices the Bucs had going into this season, MG8, Freeman, Carr? If you choose Carr you got to subtract Mike Evans or Jenkins and next years #2 draft pk. Or whatever it would have taken to get Carr or whatever rookie you choose.
Have a little faith Bucs fans they went out and got the best FA available and drafted play makers all around him.
July 29th, 2014 at 6:01 pm
you mean or success is in large part dependent on how well our QB plays?
Who woulda thunk it.
July 29th, 2014 at 6:09 pm
JMac is already proving it. Have to do it in practice first, then the games. Is the clear front runner.
MG8 has not gained a pound of muscle in two weight training off seasons. Shawn King offered to train MG8 at lunch everyday, Big Bird didn’t show up. D Linemen toss MG8 to the ground like Paris Hilton’s panties!
July 29th, 2014 at 6:11 pm
I don’t think anyone in here can argue that our offense will be worse or the same as it was last season. Things don’t happen over night. Be happy that the team is finally headed in the right direction. Quit looking at the few negatives and be glad about the things they have added. Besides Glennon who would have been a better option….a rookie? Glennon? Not any options that would put us in a better position to win this year. McCown and Glennon both deserve a shot. Especially Glennon but I am in favor of the McCown signing until he proves me wrong. Go bucs!!!
July 29th, 2014 at 6:11 pm
JMac I like that….
July 29th, 2014 at 6:30 pm
Elite–what the hell is elite? Is Payton Manning elite? He has one ring in what sixteen years–the same number as Brad Johnson. His brother has two, but nobody calls him elite. The only elite quarterback is Brady. The others–well they have good stats and some have good w/l ratios, but they don’t have the rings. I have no idea whether McCown will have a good season and neither does anybody else. Football is the ultimate team sport. Bradshaw got four rings, but nobody ever considered him “elite.” This is a sport about coaching and schemes and the psychology of winning and believing. Yes, you have to have a certain amount of talent but there is a fine line between the top teams and the bottom feeders. KC wins 2 games one year, then 11 the next. Atlanta is a few plays from the Super Bowl one year; then wins four the next year. Teams get injuries; stars decline; new ones come out of nowhere. This time of year everyone is going to the Super Bowl. The only thing of which I’m certain is that our franchise is now under good management with seasoned and competent coaches. The motivation is there; the vibe is generally good. Every team in this league has weaknesses; is vulnerable to injuries; and is beatable. The major networks hype the big market teams and the prognosticators manly edict about the same record this year as each team had last year. What makes the game so interesting and inspiring is we don’t know. There’s uncertainty and hope. Are you a glass half-full kind of person; or a glass half-empty? Stay tuned for an interesting season and admit it, you don’t know what outcome is likely to occur.
July 29th, 2014 at 6:51 pm
preseason. everyone thinks they have the potential to be 16-0. good for them, but Josh McCown has the right idea. every team will be put through some adversity and that’s when you figure out what kind of players and what kind of team you have. right now, we the fans are just mainlining video and quotes because we have been jonesing for a fresh whiff of anything remotely fresh from the buccaneer world
July 29th, 2014 at 7:13 pm
AMEN FRITZ50!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 29th, 2014 at 7:14 pm
Not intented to crush HOPE, but:
1) Josh McCown (i think) is not good enough to lead this team to a SuperBowl
2) By time, (some) Bucs-Fans will put all their hope on Glennon
3) All fans will realize: oh, McGlennon could be a good burger, but not a SuperBowl QB – simply not good enough
Hopefully we get a chance on Mariota or sth. in next draft or an good QB in FA
Regardless, great season underway and exciting watching them play and how many games they will win
GoBucs!
July 29th, 2014 at 7:37 pm
I’m LMFAO since some of same twits dogging McCown wanted to extend Freeman.
Look, we are going into the season with mostly what we have. Maybe on the O-Line too. Time to be optimistic about the changes we have made.
July 29th, 2014 at 8:25 pm
also a follower of fritz50 AMEN! perfect described
July 29th, 2014 at 8:35 pm
McCown is going to surprise some people this season, and by the looks of it its going to be mostly bucs fans.
July 29th, 2014 at 8:40 pm
Sometimes the game evovles to fit your skill-set – which, for me, is why comparisons to Rich Gannon are approriate. Gannon didn’t just figure it all out under Gruden – Minnesota and Kansas City BOTH misused/mis-cast Gannon. Because he was a back-up – the team wasn’t built around him. Because he was a mobile QB in an era and for teams that didn’t really value that, Gannon didn’t have the right type of talent until his final season in KC, where he played in 12 games of a 7-9 season…
In Minny Gannon played for Denny Green and went 8-4 in 12 starts if his final year, the same year Minny drafted Daunte Culpepper. In KC he played for coach Marty Schottenheimer, he of the drop-back QB school.
One of those games was against a Jon Gruden led Oakland Raider team who fielded a QB stable of Donald Hollas, Jeff George, and Wade Wilson…Gruden targeted the free agent Gannon the very next year and plugged him in his West Coast offense.
Not trying to denegrate Rich Gannon whom I always admired – just seeing there are more than a few similarities.
Sometimes the right system finds a player with just the right skill-set at just the right time…
I’m deciding – that until otherwise proven – all the stars are aligning for the Bucs and McCown…
July 29th, 2014 at 8:48 pm
Sorry, I saw the right player in my mind…but typed the wrong Culpper (long day). The Vikes drafted Brad Culpepper not Daunte…
The point is, Gannon didn’t fit what Denny Green wanted in a QB. He buried him behind Wade Wilson and Sean Salisbury…
July 29th, 2014 at 8:48 pm
Tiger says…
“Sometimes the right system finds a player with just the right skill-set at just the right time…
I’m deciding – that until otherwise proven – all the stars are aligning for the Bucs and McCown…”
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Vwey nicely said Tiger. I might add that Lovie wanted him back.. twice. It’s better to be wanted as opposed to inherited.
July 29th, 2014 at 9:00 pm
Is so obvious….
MGMers! 🙂
McCown will start on September….2016
Be patient. The Cannon is going to school now. Mr. McCown is teaching.
Please do not disturb….
July 29th, 2014 at 9:42 pm
Response to first comment. True 9ers fan were calling for playoffs first year of the Harbaugh regime. Wow people are delusional
July 29th, 2014 at 10:26 pm
Hah! Mediocre QB. Mediocre oline. But how dare anyone complain about it. We are Bucs fans and we like our mediocrity, damnit!
July 29th, 2014 at 11:31 pm
We just need him for a couple of years, and we got him for a couple of years. Im hoping Glennon will be ready when his time comes. We won’t see him running too much, but shouldn’t have to with the Dunkaneers.
July 30th, 2014 at 12:27 am
Yea I don’t know why the Buccaneers didn’t do anything this last off season to better there team. It’s definitely time to complain. I wish we could gone out and got a proven winner head coach, great staff and signed the top (highest QB rating in the NFL in ’13, not too mediocre) FA QB and been the most aggressive team overall in FA and had a great draft adding a bunch of play makers.
Do I want Andrew Luck and 5 pro bowlers protecting him? Yes! Did I agree with every move this off season? No, I think we should have kept Zuttah and Dekota Watson until we had a better guard and special team/LB who was clearly better.
Just because you complain it doesn’t mean you have higher standard than the rest of the Buccaneers fans. It just means you are a complainer. I’m grateful and believe the Buccaneers are going in the right direction because they did a hell of a lot work this off season to get better.
July 30th, 2014 at 3:08 am
…it is because the line is weak that the Bucs felt a mobile QB would better fit the “gaps” along the line. It would be brutal for MG8 – kid would get killed – not entirely due to his slowness of foot, but that would be a big contributing factor.
The ONLY hope the Biucs have is in a mobile QB like McCown – but even THAT scenario requires something from Collins, Dietrich-Smith, Dotson, Cousins/Omameh/Edwards.
Buying McCown just a little time – and that means more protection than just an occasional “lookout” block – is critical to having more success than last year.
July 30th, 2014 at 3:25 am
White Tiger, good points.
I eps like what you had to say about the NFL game evolving into JM12’s wheel house re: talents. I watched all five of his Bear games last year and couldn’t believe they let Cutler back on the field. I liked Carr in the draft and thought he would be the guy to develop behind McCown but can’t complain about Evans. Nothing against MG8 but I just don’t see him running a Tedford offense. I thought Belichet would trade for MG and the Bucs might grab Garoppolo but the opposite happened.
July 30th, 2014 at 10:28 am
Looks like Gruden was right… unless you have Andrew Luck, then a veteran QB trumps a uncertain rookie QB any week in the NFL.
The NFL is so complex for a QB, that a veteran is truly needed to be consistent.
Imagine hiring a 22 year old straight from college and making him your program manager? Exactly.
July 30th, 2014 at 12:33 pm
I feel better about the Bucs this year but I don’t believe a thing JACKSON says about qbs. I’m super worried about the o-line. I’m also concerned about Glennon. Its just a matter of time until he plays.
July 30th, 2014 at 12:56 pm
I think it’s admirable that some of you put do much faith in McCown based on training camp rhetoric and a few solid games last season when his number was called to get off the pine and sub for an injured Cutler. Sorry to say that while I will have no issue rooting for McCown if he actually does hold on to the starting QB spot after camp and preseason wrap up, I do not feel confident in the Cinderella story of him going from what he has been his entire career to suddenly blossoming into the next Rich Gannon. Could it happen, of course it could, but it’s a fool’s bet to put all your chips on it too. I still think Glennon will be the starter either opening day or near the bye week. He will not win many foot races, but I believe his arm and brain will progress and surpass McCowns this season. We shall see how it plays out.
July 30th, 2014 at 2:10 pm
All of us here are sipping the Kool Aid, but are still aware that McCown really never did much, until Marc Trestman came along.
July 30th, 2014 at 4:49 pm
He was the best off season option available.
Johnny Manziel would have been the worst move on the planet.