The QB Blast: Finally A Misdirection Screen
December 23rd, 2009
Former Bucs QB Jeff Carlson
By JEFF CARLSON
JoeBucsFan.com analyst
Former Bucs quarterback Jeff Carlson writes the weekly QB Blast column here at JoeBucsFan.com. Joe is ecstatic to have him firing away. Carlson has TV gigs in the Bay area and trains quarterbacks of all ages via his company,America’s Best Quarterback.
Coming off Josh Freeman’s five interception game against the Panthers, an obvious reaction was to simplify things for your rookie QB, especially going against a Rex Ryan coached defense.
Instead, Greg Olson opened against the Jets with a 5-step drop and a pass over the middle, resulting in an interception on the first offensive play of the game!
Now, Olson didn’t make Freeman throw the ball, but just the dropback in the pocket told me he made a big mistake in the call itself.
I couldn’t bear to watch much more of that poor performance and especially didn’t like Freeman’s comments about how the Jets came up with more unique blitzes that caught the Bucs off-guard. It was Olson’s job to create and call plays that could be successful regardless of what the Jets brought. Not an easy job, but better than saying we were caught off-guard.
I didn’t give my beloved Bucs much of a shot at all this past Sunday, traveling three time zones to play a lackluster Seahawks team, and when Josh Freeman’s first pass once again was a late, over-the-middle interception, I feared the worst.
But credit must be given to Raheem Morris and the other coaches for getting their players to play inspired football in the second half — to win going away.
I will not get giddy about their second win in any sense, but I will say that Olson incorporated a misdirection screen to score a touchdown to Derrick Ward late in the game, something I have been begging to see for years.
Maybe with its success, he will go deep into Gruden’s playbook and find a couple more to take on the Saints.
December 23rd, 2009 at 9:34 am
Jeff, what’s your opinion on Freeman thus far, especially the mental part of the game?
December 23rd, 2009 at 10:08 am
Jeff,
Forget his mental state, he is confused and that is why the broken play is usually our best play. More to the point, me and many Buc fans would like your opinion on why Freeman throws are inaccurate? is he confused on the routes? foot work not setting up right?
December 23rd, 2009 at 2:47 pm
I was really happy to see the screens as well. When you know your rookie QB is going to get his ass blitzed off, I can’t see why you wouldn’t call at least 3-4 a game.
December 24th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Right now, like many a rookie QB before him, Freeman is a combination of everything. He is confused at times, poor alignment with his feet means missed targets with the throws and some awesome throws which give us all hope.
He is like an amateur golfer right now. He is somewhat erratic off the tee and in the rough, but occasionally hits the ball so perfectly that even though you are frustrated most of the round it is just enough to get excited about to bring you back to the course one more time.
I did some stop-action analysis on the Seahawks game, both the warm-up throws that John Lynch said he had never seen a QB throw so much before the game and also in-game throws. I was surprised at how side-armed and off-balance he was in his warm-up throws and misaligned on his in-game throws.
Also, I understand his apprehension in the red-zone with his recent turnover binge, but he had a sure touchdown pass to Sammy Stroughter in the flat, but decided to overthrow Antonio Bryant out of the side of the endzone. Will he work hard enough to take his game from amateur duffer to PGA pro? Does he have the coaching to improve the technical fundamentals of his stroke? Yes and no. I like his mental game and think he will improve that part of his game. I don’t think there is anyone around One Buc to tighten up his mechanics (which is just like most other NFL teams).