Matching Josh Freeman’s Sophomore Sensation
December 5th, 2016
Jameis Winston is closing fast on Josh Freeman’s historic 2010 season
Once upon a time at 22 years old, a Bucs quarterback named Josh Freeman had a sophomore season for the ages and led Tampa Bay to a 10-6 record.
Joe never fathomed that America’s Quarterback, Jameis Winston, would match that dramatic 2010 season this year.
But that’s what’s happening.
Freeman stunned the NFL tossing 25 touchdowns versus six interceptions. And he ran wild. Only Mike Vick had more yards on the ground at the QB position in 2010, and Freeman shook defensive linemen with force and grit, absorbing just 28 sacks on the season.
And like Jameis, Freeman didn’t have a deep corps of receivers around him.
There are plenty of parallels on the field. And now Jameis appears to matching Freeman’s standout second year toe-to-toe.
Jameis has tossed 23 touchdows to 12 picks. And the Bucs are cruising to a 10-win season like Freeman had. (Yes, there’s work to be done.) Jameis has a 61.7 percent completion rate. Freeman’s was at 61.4 in 2010.
Freeman’s team played its best ball late in 2010, winning three out of four games to close the campaign. The only loss was one stolen by officials: the famous pass interference call on Kellen Winslow that the league apologized for. It was a call that changed Bucs history — and still pisses off Joe — and let the Packers sneak into the playoffs in a year they won the Super Bowl.
Joe’s not trying to say Jameis is Freeman. Thankfully, he’s so much more.
This is a happy comparison — a comparison to the aggressive, confident Freeman of 2010. You remember him, the guy who had the football tenacity coached out of him by a Raheem regime that wanted him to stop running for fear he’d get hurt, and by a Schiano cabal that added Freeman to the list of mental patients it crafted.
As Joe wrote yesterday, one reason Dirk Koetter is a current Coach of the Year candidate is because he’s managed to get the most out of Jameis without coaching the football player out of him.
Of course, a lot of that credit goes to Jameis, for managing the head coach when he gets pissed.
December 5th, 2016 at 10:08 am
And Jameis needs to take note where JFro is nowadays. As quick as it comes, it can go even quicker.
December 5th, 2016 at 10:10 am
Winston >Freeman
December 5th, 2016 at 10:14 am
I’d take Jameis over cry the Franchise Wrecking loser Freewee all day, every day and especially on SUNDAYS!!
December 5th, 2016 at 10:21 am
The biggest difference between the two: Freeman tried to become a leader for the team and failed no matter what the organization did to try to make him one. Winston can’t be held back from being the leader no matter what the team or organization does to ease his development.
December 5th, 2016 at 10:29 am
I agree with tnew. Freeman was not a vocal leader, but was thrust into that role by virtue of his position. Nobody can stop Winston from being the heart and soul of the locker room.
December 5th, 2016 at 10:32 am
SMH you’re trolling your own readers now.
December 5th, 2016 at 10:40 am
I couldn’t finish this article. Almost lost my breakfast. Please let this be the last time you write Freeman and Winston on the same article.
December 5th, 2016 at 10:41 am
LMAO!!!!!! Joe is still trying to validate when he bought in to the fools gold that was 2010!!!! Joe still does not understand that the bucs did not beat a team over 500 that was pulling their starters on the last game because the other team was walking in to the playoffs!!!!!
Next maybe Joe will try to tell us that the overtime victory over Jacksonville in 2015 was as big of a win as the Seattle game of 2016!!!!!!
Nice try Joe!!!!!!!
December 5th, 2016 at 10:45 am
Winston dosent deserve to be humiliated being mentioned in the same sentence as that quitter clown Freewee.
December 5th, 2016 at 10:50 am
I like Josh Freeman…….it was absolutely mind blowing watching him fall from grace.
Jameis is and no doubt light years better than Freeman……
…….so I wouldn’t even compare the two together
December 5th, 2016 at 10:55 am
I’m sorry, but I get scared every time Jameis gets compared to Sleepy-Weepy Josh Freeman.
I am find if/when they announce Jameis set a team record that Josh might have owned, as long as its a good record 😛
But Jameis’ command of the team as a leader, Freeman was never anywhere in the ballpark that Winston is in.
I am still pinching myself, the Buccaneers finally have a franchise QB who wasn’t a retread old free agent. Even in our SB year we never once put a game on Brad’s back, he was asked just to score once or twice and not lose the game and let the defense do their thing.
December 5th, 2016 at 11:03 am
I said it once I will say it again. Winston is something special. I was saying before the Chargers that Winston’s ceiling is higher than Rivers and if Winston only had the career (which has been pretty damn good) that Rivers has had it would be disappointing.
Look how many times we ran the ball for no gain on 1st and 2nd down yesterday. Winston routinely makes perfect throws (Freeman relied on great catches quite often) on 3rd and long for 1st downs. He is only 22 years old. The future is so bright here in Tampa. It feels good to be a Bucs fan again.
I’m going to choose to be cautiously optimistic still. Saints could be a trap game looking forward to the Cowboys. Brees is still a phenomenal QB and should not be overlooked. One thing I know is for the 1st time in years Raymond James is going to be extremely loud by a vast majority of Bucs fans against the Saints for the 1st time in years.
Let’s go Bucs!
December 5th, 2016 at 11:08 am
The play that sums up the difference between the 2 is a play where the headphones when out on Freeman and he had to call a timeout. Same thing happens to Jameis and he just looks at the personnel and situation and knew what the call should have been. He was right too. No other comparison needed.
December 5th, 2016 at 11:31 am
Comparing Jameis to Freeman in anyway gives me anxiety…
December 5th, 2016 at 11:33 am
One has the heart of a lion, the other doesn’t.
December 5th, 2016 at 11:34 am
Okay, this just ticks me off. PFT has a poll about who if the best QB in NFC south. Winston was winning so a bunch of Saints fans went there and voted.
Right now, it is 32 percent Winston, 35 percent Brees.
I have three browsers on my laptop and each allowed me to vote once.
How about we rally and show New Orleans fans why they should fear the next game????
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/12/05/whos-the-best-quarterback-right-now-in-the-nfc-south/
December 5th, 2016 at 11:35 am
Joe, please let my linked post clear…kind of important.
December 5th, 2016 at 11:36 am
Love and Warrick Dunn Says:
December 5th, 2016 at 11:33 am
One has the heart of a lion, the other doesn’t.
————–
One is a lion and the other has a lion tattooed on the small of his back.
PS. Jameis doesn’t have any tattoos.
December 5th, 2016 at 11:37 am
As to Freeman…I hold no ill feelings toward him.
He and Winston are completely different. I prefer Winston, of course…who wouldn’t?
But I view the whole Freeman thing more as a sad story of mental illness gone wrong.
December 5th, 2016 at 11:41 am
Thanks, Joe 🙂
December 5th, 2016 at 11:58 am
Just goes to show nothing is written in stone. The term franchise QB has been overused. Remember Foles great season or RG3 etc. 3 10 win seasons and playoff wins. Is what i need to see to dub my QB a franchise. That being said #3 has been great. He’s learning that you don’t have to force the issue. If the defence is playing lights out. He has had lots of downfield throws. But not as much in the last 3 games. Lots of taking what the defence gives. I swear some people would prefer we go 3-13 as long as #3 throws for 4000 yards. So he can be dubbed a gunslinger. The term “game manager” needs to change to “smart QB”. Alex Smith has won 18 of the Chiefs last 21 games. Do you think anyone in Dallas cares that Dak threw for just over 100 yards in a win. Heck no. #3 wants to air it out. But learning that sometimes you just need to play safe. Is where Winston is maturing the most.
December 5th, 2016 at 12:37 pm
I’m gonna vomit. Please don’t relate America’s QB with Josh Freeman
December 5th, 2016 at 12:52 pm
Freewee and the 2010 Pretenders was a total Smoke and Mirrors show. That team got a decades worth of lucky bounces and calls go their way in one year – so to say they were denied the playoffs because of 1 bad call that went against them is ridiculous. They won more than half their games via favorable calls and lucky bounces…
Comparisons of 2016 Bucs to 2010 are just silly….
December 5th, 2016 at 12:56 pm
I love Winston….happy he’s our qb…he is special….but yesterday I heard that he has at least 1 turnover in each game this year….I did some digging and found that he has lost 4 fumbles and thrown 12 ints…..
the turnovers have to decrease in these next 4 games especially with each game basically being a playoff game….the int yesterday looked to be a miscommunication which luckily didn’t hurt us….I hope he focuses on not turning the ball over during these last 4 games….GO BUCS!!!!
December 5th, 2016 at 12:57 pm
@DB55 you almost made me spit my coffee out. That is so funny…and correct
December 5th, 2016 at 1:01 pm
I aim to please.
December 5th, 2016 at 1:06 pm
Some of these posts are hilarious! So, none of you in 2010 were geeked that JFro was having that type of season?! None of you thought that, at that time of course, we had finally landed our franchise QB?!
It’s easy to be critical in hindsight but I’d bet the farm that most people claiming they KNEW that Freeman was NOT a franchise QB in 2010 were the same ones cheering for the arrival of our “franchise guy”.
Now, in retrospect, it’s a ridiculous comparison but lets not diminish what that team accomplished in 2010, lucky bounces or not.
December 5th, 2016 at 1:07 pm
Yes, Winston>Freeman. No comparison!
December 5th, 2016 at 2:16 pm
Sure we were all “geeked” at the time Bucsfanman. And sure – its with hindsight that we can say what was happening at the time WAS smoke and mirrors.
I’m not really dissing the players or the coaches who won 10 games that year – I’m probably just saying comparisons are stupid because we have a real GM now who is building a hell of a talented base and that young base of talent is already competing quite well. We have our franchise QB – and if Licht can continue over the next few years to add young talent like he has done in his first 3 years, then we are looking at competing for Super Bowls year in and year out for at least the next decade.
December 5th, 2016 at 2:56 pm
I knew Joe would write this article today just like all the Michael Clayton/Mike Williams articles that floated around after Evans breakout rookie campaign – this is the problem with Tampa sports media – they revel in and perpetuate the tragic and losing history of Tampa sports.
Let me flip over to the Orlando Sentinel now so I can read about what caused Shaq to leave for the 5000th time.
December 5th, 2016 at 3:17 pm
Fat Freeman was great, right up until Schiano was hired and Fat Freeman had his miracle weight loss. Schiano basically ruined Freeman – but in fairness Freeman wasn’t a very strong guy when it came to the mental side and leadership side. But those that bash Freeman, they’re doing so from what he became, because at the time Freeman was the next big thing – he’s bigger than Winston, has a stronger arm, is faster, etc – but he completely lacked leadership ability.
BTW Freeman is still…. still, only 28 years old. If he packed on about 60 pounds I think he’d get another job, but no one wants skinny in-shape Freeman.
December 5th, 2016 at 3:46 pm
Fat Josh Freeman>In shape Josh Freeman
December 5th, 2016 at 4:26 pm
Chasing freeman not Glennon records. He is still in the books of buc history. One sensational season is better than all of Glennon seasons with the bucs combined. Yes he’s a head case but everyone was a fan during that one season with no receivers.
December 5th, 2016 at 9:05 pm
lets be realistic here…freeman was becoming a franchise qb for us…then he developed substance abuse issues and partying became more important to him than football…sad way to go out..but it happened