Why Wait With Josh Freeman?
October 20th, 2009
Count former Bucs beat writer and current SI.com columnist Don Banks among the many impatient Bucs fans who want to see Josh Freeman crumble into a fetal position worse than Artie Lange on a heroine binge.
Banks too wants Freeman thrown to the wolves (for what reason, Joe isn’t sure), damned the results on the multi-million dollar investment.
I know the Bucs are hesitant to throw rookie first-round quarterback Josh Freeman into the deep end of the pool before he can swim, but why wait much longer? You’re going to lose this season with or without Freeman under center, so why not get his learning curve started? All you’re doing with Josh Johnson is delaying the timing of Freeman’s first few NFL quarterbacking lessons.
Once again, Joe will write, he has two words as to why it’s best to wait on Freeman.
“David Carr.”
Nothing — nothing! — will be gained by rushing Freeman. Nothing. Just because the Bucs made a mistake in trading up in the first round to get a project that made Raheem the Dream drool all over his pillow at night means the Bucs should compound the (eight-figure) mistake by pushing him too quickly.
What, like the Bucs will miss the playoffs this season without Freeman?
October 20th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
I have to disagree if he’s going to fail lets get it over with this year do you really want to go 0-16 and then start him next year?Dont get me wrong we go 0-16 with or without him this year may as well let him play.
October 20th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
fyi Joe — We would have the 3rd pick of the draft if it were held today. Tenn and St. Louis would go 1 and 2
October 20th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Joe with the 2009 season in the trash I for one wouldn’t mind seeing Freeman scrambling around back there. I mean holding a clipboard isn’t learning much. There really isnt much that Letwich can teach him either.
Put the kid in against the Packers so he gets some real world experience.
What they SHOULD do is script out 20 plays for Freeman. Two running plays and 1 passing play – 2 running plays and 1 passing play. With the passing play use 3 receivers but tell Freeman that he only has 2 options:
Option 1 is the 35-yard pass down the field to Bryant
Option 2 is the back on that same side as a checkdown.
don’t have his try and checkdown on 4 receivers limit it to 1/2 the field.
Use the KISS principle
October 20th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
I hate non-football know gable fans! What I mean by this is fans who really know nothing about the game and player development. A QB can learn many valuable lessons without ever being in a game and taking a snap. He, Freeman, needs to see the way other teams will attack him next year by just watching how they are attacking Johnson, essentially a rookie and inexperienced too. Then, Freeman can analyze the films and be even more prepared for what he will face next season. Also he can communicate with Johnson and coaches on what he could be done different. I can go on for a long time about the benefits of “holding a clipboard.” On the sidelines he gets to hear the play calls & process them in his head, see them on the field, see coverages, etc… without ever taking a snap, all the while taking at least 1/3 of the reps in practice. Freeman needs to be handled carefully & that cannot be done by being in a hurry to get him “baptized.”
October 20th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
Marlow Says:
I hate non-football know gable fans!
Nonsense and gable? What ever gable is? Freeman should have started from the get go.
Joe needs to get over his infatuation with anybody but Freeman. If the kid comes out and does great will Joe retract the 120 articles saying the SAME thing over and over again?
Of course if he sucks Joe can print another 100 articles saying why they should have waited. A win-win for Joe as he will have lots to write.
David Carr might never have been a good starting QB in this league. Taking 701 sacks your rookie year will do that. Freeman, with his mobility, would likely only be sacked 200 times…so Geez Joe get over it.
October 20th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
Troy Aikman, Peyton Manning, Joe Flacco, Matt Ryan- if your an NFL QB you will take the 1st year lumps and succeed, maybe not right away but eventually. Maybe David Carr, Joey Arrington, Vince Young, et al, just weren’t tough enough mentally to be starting QB’s in the NFL, whether they sat the 1st year or not. Put Freeman to the test and see- didn’t Ra say he would have taken him over Sanchez and Stafford? Sanchez had a horrible game last week- maybe he learns from it, maybe he doesn’t. At least he has the opportunity to prove his mental toughness. If Freeman is the future why are we wasting our time with a career # 2 (Ra’s words). Ra and Dominick staked their careers on this guy. Time to prep him for next year.
October 20th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
knowledgeable?
October 20th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Hey Marlow how much did JJ learn from last year? He said himself that being IN the game is much different than looking at film.
As for looking at film and analyzing tape – what the hell is the OTA for if not that? For goodness sake this kid is making first round money for what?
What you wrote is acceptable for a 6th or 7th round pick but come on Freeman should be up to speed on this stuff.
October 20th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Pete, To grab Joe’s back, Joe doesn’t strike me as someone who carefully plans what to write. He just say what he thinks..
October 21st, 2009 at 12:00 am
Pete:
Of course Joe wants Freeman to succeed. Let’s just say in this case Joe’s a burning bush kinda guy. That’s one (of many) reasons why Joe is content to wait until next year on Freeman. If he meltsdown because he is thrown to the wolves too early, the consequences for the Bucs are dire. As in a six-year setback for the franchise.
Joe has also repeatedly stated if Freeman ever makes a Pro Bowl, Joe will happily buy his jersey.
October 21st, 2009 at 8:56 am
Did it ever dawn on anyone the reason Freeman hasn’t seen the filed is because he stinks the place up at practice? Don’t you think Radio Rasheed would LOVE to show off his big-risk draft pick (you know-the one he was in love with from that one semester he spent with him) if he was worth a crap?
Not like Morris is ever quick to make a snap, risky decision—oh well except firing the OC he hired a week before the season began, deciding Kaw-Liga would be the starter, then trading away his legitimate #2 (or 1A if you will) QB , leaving him with only two greenhorns to back his old crippled ass up, firing his 2.5 million off season acquisition kicker -after cutting the guy who had the job and a good record in doing it the previous few seasons….no not like him to make risky decisions……
You had better bet your sweet rosy red ass that if this kid Freeman could manage to pour piss out of a boot if you put the instructions on the heel he’d have been in there by week 3 or 4.
But maybe he just plain sucks. Ever see a big strong college kid who could shake off the pass rush, could run fast enough to make plays with his feet if the coverage was good, and had a big arm and good receivers who could get up and out-muscle the corners for the ball??
Ladies and Gentlemen–let me present!!! —-Jamarcus Russell…err…Josh Freeman!!!!!
October 21st, 2009 at 9:21 am
Joe says “David Carr”. David Carr was ruined in LARGE part do to a high school offensive line as he was sacked an unimaginable amount of times. That broke David Carr. That ruined his mental part of the game, everything he learned, and he’s sucked ever since. We don’t have that problem. If Freeman fails, it’s because he doesn’t have “it”. Give a shot – he might just impress.
October 21st, 2009 at 12:10 pm
“For goodness sake this kid is making first round money for what?”
Sorry for the spelling error earlier! WTF! What does money have to do with success at QB? Besides we are 30 something million under the cap, we have plenty of money to throw around. OTA’s were about McCown and Leftwich this year, so the whole OTA idea is bogus in terms of sufficiently preparing either JJ or JF to play this season. Sorry, Freeman will be better served if he just fills in here and there and then goes full throttle after this season is over. Also…DUH on film being different than being on the field. Film is for mental preparation! let’s don’t confuse apples and oranges.