Happy 35th Birthday, Josh McCown!
July 4th, 2014
How could Joe get through this glorious day honoring the independence of the United States of America without also acknowledging that today is the 35th birthday of Tampa Bay’s leading man, starting quarterback Josh McCown.
Happy birthday, Josh!
Lovie Smith says McCown absolutely is the athletic quarterback a team needs, claiming McCown’s body and legs are young and fresh because he doesn’t have a lot of NFL miles on him. That is so true. McCown has just 38 starts since being selected in the third round of the 2002 draft.
And remember, Lovie said he likes the models that have been set by Seattle, Carolina and San Francisco. Those teams have special athletic quarterbacks.
McCown ran a 4.59 seconds 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine 12 years ago. Cam Newton ran the same time. Kaepernick and Wilson were also in the 4.5 range. McCown owned the best vertical leap.
One could say that goes to show combine data is meaningless, given McCown’s low level of NFL achievement. But the optimist could claim McCown’s athleticism, plus the intelligence developed from being student of the game for so many years, is finally coming together. And his strong five starts last season were just a warmup for 2014 greatness in pewter.
It’s McCown’s birthday, so Joe’s going to go with the latter.
July 4th, 2014 at 9:21 am
Just crank up The Beatles hit “Birthday” for Josh. Play it real loud, the best birthday song ever, imo.
July 4th, 2014 at 9:28 am
Happy B’day Josh….I wish you the absolute very best….
July 4th, 2014 at 9:36 am
Happy Birthday, Josh…. I’m glad our leading man has the mind of a 35-year old vet & the wear & tear/body of a 25-year old in his prime… Great situation for the Bucs!!
July 4th, 2014 at 9:51 am
How could Lovie NOT love McCown? I mean, McCown’s so good Lovie once cut him so he could keep Jason Campbell.
July 4th, 2014 at 10:00 am
McCown is better currently than he’s ever been throughout his career. Shouldn’t ‘the same guy praising & vouching for a guy he cut a few years earlier’ be proof enough that McCown is a different player now?!? LightningBuc is going to feel silly when McCown leads us on a deep playoff run.
July 4th, 2014 at 10:13 am
Let’s get ready to ball Josh – we are so glad you’re a Buc!
July 4th, 2014 at 10:16 am
I think there are 3 important things that could be the key to McCown being more than just another journeyman QB for the Bucs
1) His year spent out of football, coaching. A new perspective can sometimes make a world of a difference
2) Marc Trestman’s ability to get the most out of his QBs rubbed off on JC12 in the best way possible
3) Tedford’s offense caters to McCown’s strengths and hides potential weaknesses on the OLine
I’m not sure as to the veracity of these three things, but if they are true, McCown might be able to channel the success he had last year into the full season
July 4th, 2014 at 10:34 am
@ Tom
Great take. I agree… And when u combine those aspects with his physical gifts & attributes, I think he can be very successful here.
July 4th, 2014 at 11:22 am
Tom,
3) Tedford’s offense caters to McCown’s strengths and hides potential weaknesses on the OLine
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Which is why we added ASJ, Evans, Sims and maybe Herron as the dark horse. Spreading the ball around keeps the D off balance gets them running too.
I am beginning to look at the O line situation a bit differently. Meredith should be serviceable as he has before and Patrick O. was sitting behind some pretty good players in SF.
July 4th, 2014 at 11:28 am
I’ve got socks that are 35 years old.
Go Josh.
July 4th, 2014 at 12:33 pm
Happy 35th!
I happen to be 35… and I seriously wonder what parts would break if I was hit by a 300+ lineman…
July 4th, 2014 at 4:14 pm
So are football years similar to dog years (except for kickers and punters)? Hopefully all those physical attributes and stats from 2002 still pertain 12 years later.
July 6th, 2014 at 8:45 am
your disdain for our QB’s is unreal joe…..you take it too far even while trying to disguise it as a nice “happy birthday” article….guess you’ll be forever butthurt over not drafting johnnyboy….smh.