Josh Freeman Will Struggle This Year
July 4th, 2010
Friday, as Joe listened to “Movin’ the Chains,” heard exclusively on Sirius NFL Radio co-hosted by Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan, Kirwan had an interesting piece that Bucs fans should heed.
Kirwan has gone on record that he likes Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman. But to expect Freeman to light things up this year, well, that may be expecting too much. Kirwan did some research and detailed the struggles most quarterbacks undergo.
Kirwan went on to say how the Matt Ryan’s of the world are far the exception than the norm. Kirwan studied how quarterbacks fared in their first full season as starters, and it isn’t pretty.
“You can expect them to throw more interceptions than touchdowns and complete maybe 40-45 percent of their passes,” Kirwan said.
Aaron Rodgers was another exception to the rule, mostly, Kirwan said, because he sat on the bench for a couple of years and learned. Rodgers was not thrown to the fire.
“Quarterbacks in their first full year as a starting quarterback will struggle, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be the next Peyton Manning,” Kirwan said.
Even Manning, largely thought to be the best quarterback in the NFL, had problems his rookie year, Kirwan noted.
Kirwan mentioned Freeman and Miami’s Chad Henne as quarterbacks who will start for a full season for the first time in their careers barring injuries, who will have problems this season.
But that doesn’t mean they won’t be solid quarterbacks, Kirwin notes, it’s just a growing and learning experience.
July 4th, 2010 at 9:18 am
Fair enuff
July 4th, 2010 at 9:43 am
I’m not saying Freeman won’t struggle, I’m sure he will, but he has started nine games. It’s not the same as a rookie starting his first year, or even a guy that has only started 2 or 3 games previously. I don’t think he’ll struggle so much from shell shock, but because our line won’t do a good job protecting him and once again our run game won’t be there to help him out. I have a feeling it will be all on his shoulders again….so yeah, I’m expecting more Ints than TDs again.
Now if we had a run game like the Panthers, I don’t think Freeman struggles at all this year. Let’s hope in 2011 we manage to get a great DE, RB, and OL thru the draft and FA.
July 4th, 2010 at 9:45 am
Agree that running game would be a big help
July 4th, 2010 at 11:24 am
I wouldn’t expect him to be a Pro Bowl QB this year by any means. I do think he’ll improve over last year. Mainly because he has put in much effort in the offseason, has the same OC as last year, has a QB coach this year, and I believe the WRs (whichever take the field) will be better than an injured AB, an injured and not-able-to-catch Clayton. I don’t care which two you put out there…. Williams/Benn, Brown/Stroughter, Williams/Stroughter, Brown/Benn…. doesn’t matter, I think it’ll be more productive than what we had last year.
July 4th, 2010 at 11:37 am
I think he will by the end of the year be the 2nd best QB behind Brees. Never have been high on Ryan think him and Carlson Palmer are two of the most overhyped QB’s that have not done anyhting when it counts. Dont think he is going to the pro Bowl either but I can see 20 Td’s but the only problem I think Freeman will match his Td’s with his Int’s. Blame AB all you want some of those pass’s in the panters game that was blamed on AB were meant for stroughter and stovall
July 4th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
Pat Kirwan is absolutely right. Freeman will struggle mightily. The receivers are not yet ready, the o-line is okay at best with Penn, the OC is horrible, the QB coach – who knows?
TJ – second best qb behind brees. what? better than manning- you must have really hit it hard last night, last week, last well ever. He isnt better right now than Sanchez or Stafford.
July 4th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
I agree with most of what he’s saying, except…
40-45%??!!? What are you smoking? Hell, he completed almost 55% LAST season.
If Freeman completes only 45% of his passes Josh Johnson will be playing by mid-season.
Maybe he meant 50-55%?
July 4th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
@ Thomas I meant in the NFC south sorry did not make more clear
July 4th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
I still think the “not yet ready” receivers are better than gimpy ones and ClayHands. Heck, I think Reggie Brown is better than either of them last year. That’s not a knock on AB, it’s simply stating that he had a gimpy knee all year last year and was never at his best.
I also think that ANY QB coach is better than not having one. I know, Olsen was the QB coach last year, but he also had to be the OC, so had limited time to work with Freeman.
And I thought Gruden was an offensive genius? Olsen is basically running the same system. Unless it’s purely play calling, I don’t see how he’s “horrible”.
July 4th, 2010 at 2:12 pm
I would say he is at the same level as Sanchez and Stafford at this point. He seemed to play just as well as they did.
July 4th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
Oh well there it is. Kirwan called it, so why bother playing the games? That’s it, he knows everything, so lets call the whole thing off. I doubt the Glazers will give me a refund though. With all the predictions so far about the Bucs being so horrible, they should just forfeit every game and save the Glazers a bunch of money. Technically they would be underfeated.
Thanks Pat, I feel so much better knowing the Crystal Ball says Freeman will have more INT’s than TD’s. Where can I get me one of those balls? and do I have to store it in my @$$ like he does? Hope not? If that’s how Pat describes a QB he likes, I’d hate to hear his take on one he dislikes. I’m sick of these jerk-offs.
July 4th, 2010 at 4:50 pm
I think all Kirwan saying is that the odds don’t favor Freeman having a good season — particularly on a weak team. Freeman really doesn’t have a whole lot of established help around him. I think he can have some success if he has a solid defense and OLine (for protection and a running game).
July 4th, 2010 at 5:10 pm
Kirwan must have meant 50-55% Even JaMarcus completed 49% last season. Maybe Pat was in a time warp and he was back in the 60s.
There is no chance Freeman will be the 2nd best QB in the NFC South. Matt Ryan is and will probably be always better than him. There is a reason why Ryan was drafted so high and Freeman lasted until the 17th pick. Freeman’s accuracy is one of the things I worry about it. Hopefully he gets his percentage up to 60% this season. Then eventually get it up to 65%. Freeman also needs to learn how to hold on to the ball. I swear that he fumbled at least once or twice a game.
A good running game will help Freeman along with improved OL play. The receivers have to be better than last season.
July 4th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
You hit the nail on the head Louie.
July 4th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Average running game
Average O-line
no proven wideouts
Horrific HC
Lousy OC
Idiotic GM
Penny Pinching Owners
A kid with a lot of potential going to waste IMO.
July 4th, 2010 at 6:03 pm
eric
Average run game – Caddy had basically the same numbers Earnest Graham had in his “stellar” year under Gruden. 200+ carries, 800+ yards, approx 4.0 ypc average. Graham had more rushing TDs, but Caddy had 3 receiving (Graham has 0 career rec TDs, yet people continue to say he’s the better pass catcher out of the backfield).
Average O-line – and yet it is still argued that this same line that Gruden put together was the strength of the team (or supposed to be). You’re right, there isn’t any depth to speak of, and we’re missing Sears (not due to anyone’s fault)
No proven wideouts – but they’re healthy. Also, rookie WRs tend to have more success than many other positions. I still haven’t heard anyone say that any of the WRs brought in (Brown/Benn/Williams) wouldn’t be better than Clayton. And I know many loved AB, but he was gimpy all last year and we should be able to get at least equal production there.
Horrific HC – And this is based on a rookie performance. If it were a rookie player, fans would still say give him year 2, it’s too early to tell. Not with a HC though, NO… We won’t even give you 4 games before we start screaming for your head!!!
Lousy OC – that happens to run virtually the same offense we had 2 years ago under Gruden. Why was it good for him, bad for Olsen? Also, Olsen only has to worry about OC duties this year, as they hired a QB coach to take that job from him.
Idiotic GM – I’m not seeing much difference between him and Allen. I think he’s run the drafts better than Allen, but it’s too early to tell. Also, the team isn’t up against a salary cap like they were in the early 2000’s and should be able to resign their players. (I know… what about Penn? Penn has a tender offer. The negotiations will be after he signs the tender for next years contract)
Which brings us to penny pinching owners. Yeah, well they were up against the cap around the Super Bowl years and couldn’t retain their players. Now the tides have turned, they’ve got younger, less expensive talent that they’ll have to resign for more money, and they’ll have the room to do that. Sounds like good money management to me. Save it until you need it, or you’ll lose the guys you can’t afford to pay.
July 4th, 2010 at 7:28 pm
Bam Bam — you’ll have to excuse Eric. He is so ANGRY that Gruden is gone that he cannot help himself.
July 4th, 2010 at 8:18 pm
good points bam bam
July 4th, 2010 at 8:20 pm
Thomas-“Freeman will struggle mightily, the recievers just aren’t ready. . . .” . What, having your head in your rectum grants psychic powers? Freeman”Isn’t better than Sanchez or Stafford right now” based on what? As has been so well documented that news had to make it even on “rectum TV’, Freeman was better than both last year statistacally. Yes Thomas, we know, both you and your “friend” Eric hate all things Buccaneer!! Yes we know. I believe you two do it as a cry for help, as your relationship has lost it’s “Lustre”. Guess that makes everything else seem terrible to you two! NOONE knows what Josh Freeman will do this year, As There has never been another Josh Freeman in the NFL before. These so called experts can only make estimated guesses based on what other players have done. I they could really predict, they wouldn’t be wrong so damn often on draft picks. They are guessing, just like us. The only advantage they have over you is that aren’t using “rectum vision” ta do it
July 4th, 2010 at 9:06 pm
Even an angry man can be right…………………………………:)
Happy Fourth to All…………………………and recall the courage of the signers of one of the greatest documents ever created by man, our beloved Declaration.
Let Freedom reign.
July 4th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
It’s one thing to be realistic, and know what you are talking about, but this site is so loaded up with negative crybabies anymore, that have no clue. I can understand when they start playing and you can get a feel for how they perform on the field. But to just dog them out on every single post about everything is unbelievable to me. It takes a miserable person to live in that world. I would rather start with hope and confidence, but now set my sights to high. Then adjust your sights and windage as the season progresses. I’m not saying the doom-sayers are wrong, but you can tell a lot about a person by how and what they write. This site has been infested with rodents and Joe needs to call the Orkin Man.
Raheem isn’t the best public speaker, but those last 4 games said a lot about him, and he is not a terrible coach. He was rookie and made rookie mistakes but he has improved every step of the way. Dominick’s made mistakes too, but he is also learning. I’m a fan and just can’t dog my team unnecessarily.
July 4th, 2010 at 10:09 pm
Where was this upbeat attitude when they were running Gruden out of town?
July 5th, 2010 at 12:33 am
Right on BigMac. Couldn’t have said it better myself. Why would someone subject themselves to this kind of torture? If you think this team sucks that bad, then just become a saints fan! I have never once seen Eric or Thomas post something like “I truly hope we do better… but i think we win only 4(5, 6, 7) wins”. NEVER! Always some negative BS. Hope is what drives every fan when your team didnt win the SB last year, and there is no hope in some posters, just hate.
July 5th, 2010 at 12:38 am
Eric,
give it a rest man. Gruden had his chance, got us what we wanted but did absolutely nothing after. And yes, division championship dont mean sh*t when our D was primed to take us to the top. He had 1 simple job, make our O into something and he failed miserably. Morris’ job is to rebuild this team, and that takes time. Give him the same slack you showed to your god chucky.
July 5th, 2010 at 2:05 am
I’d like to shed some light on this “horrible” Head Coach issue as has been determined after 1 season. Taking a look at HCs that have coached in the past decade, and their first 2 years coaching, there are some interesting results.
I’ll start with Gruden, as he’s the most prominently mentioned here. He spent 3 years as OC before becoming HC, which should give him an advantage over Morris. His first two seasons as HC of the Raiders he was 8-8 both season, no playoffs. It took him 3 years to get the Raiders to the playoffs.
Other Notables:
Tony Dungy: 4 years as DC before HC. First year 6-10, second year 10-6 and a playoff appearance. He’s also gone on to win a Super Bowl with the Colts, has a .668 lifetime win % that is 11th all-time amongst qualifying coaches. Good thing he wasn’t written off his first year!!!
Bill Bellichek: 6 years DC before HC. Yr1 6-10, Yr2 7-9, Yr3 7-9…. Yr 4 11-5 and playoff appearance. He’s gone on to 3 Super Bowl wins, a .617 career win % at 24th overall
Andy Reid: Jumped straight from QB coach to HC. This sounds more like Morris situation. Year 1: 5-11, Year 2: 11-5 and the beginning of 5 consecutive playoff appearances and a Super Bowl appearance. Hmmm, I hope this is more like Morris situation, but I think it’s expecting a bit much.
And one more. Jeff Fisher: DB coach for SF, hired as DC for Houston but was moved to Interim HC before seasons end. He went 1-5 as IHC. Year 2 was 7-9, Yr3 8-8, Yr4 8-8, Yr5 8-8. Has gone on to appear in a Super Bowl, have 6 playoff appearances and is the longest tenured HC currently in the NFL.
Obviously, those are to make my point, as with all stats, there are other coaches that had success their first year. Sean Payton came to NO from DAL where he was the Assist HC/Passing Game Coord to being HC. He went 10-6 his first year.
This is just to show that not all HC’s should be judged by their first year in the NFL, nor by whether they had coordinator jobs prior to becoming HC. Another coach that was never a coordinator in the NFL before becoming HC was Tom Coughlin. He was HC at Boston College, but never a coordinator in the NFL. He had a bad first year at 4-12 before going on to 4 consecutive playoff appearances with Jacksonville and later 4 more with the Giants and a Super Bowl win.
July 5th, 2010 at 5:16 am
@BamBamBuc
Morris is not like all these coaches you mentioned (Sean Payton, Jeff Fisher, etc..). Nor is Dominick like any of the other GM’s. It’s not just the 3-13 we’re all talking about here. It’s the horrible, idiotic, foolish decisions the group of Morris and Dominick have made. Wasting money on bums like Clayton, refusing to sign their key players, not having a plan, sounding clueless in the PC’s, etc. The way they run their team and the decision making is the thing that separates them from the others. I hate how they’re setting Freeman up for failure by not locking up a LT who will surely protect him. That’s one example. Also, they haven’t demonstrated any class or professionalism.
I realize that Morris and Dominick are the people in charge and that we’re stuck with them no matter what for who knows how long, but they’ve never done anything noteworthy during their careers to even have deserved a head job in the first place. These two guys have not earned one bit of my confidence, along with probably 85% of the other Bucs fans out there. Yeah they had a good draft……. I agree. But that doesn’t mean anything just yet. The real test is weather Raheem can coach these players, set them up for success, and of course make sure they’re not busts.
Look I’m a big Gruden fan, but I didn’t agree with every single thing he did. He made his share of mistakes. Same goes with Allen. But with Raheem and Dominick it’s different. I know they’re always on the verge of another costly f*** up that’s going to hurt this team big.
As for this negativity and “hater” thing, I agree with Eric. You all criticize people for bashing Raheem, but yet you guys that say we’re negative whiners did the same exact thing when Gruden was here.
July 5th, 2010 at 8:37 am
Everything you need to know about Eric can be found in this one simple sentence:
“Where was this upbeat attitude when they were running Gruden out of town?”
Hell hath no fury . . .
July 5th, 2010 at 9:25 am
I miss Coach Gruden. He was my F@@@ing Idol. Whatever team he ends up coaching for, I will pull for them when they aren’t playing the Bucs. I pray he doesn’t prey in the NFC South. I think he’ll end up in Dallas or Philadelphia. I don’t see other of those coaches lasting much longer as neither could deliver them to the Promised Land. Duemig was the Number 1 Chucky basher, and that is why I quit listening to his loud mouth long ago. Now thar’s a guy with a big ego.
“Also, they haven’t demonstrated any class or professionalism.”
If the Joes were giving away awards for class and professionalism on this site, we’d all be screwed. Even the legendary JimBuc has ventured into the dark annals of the sewer occasionally. My vote would go to Radio Mushmouth with Eric as runner up, but I think Louie is the Teacher’s pet.
July 5th, 2010 at 10:02 am
Damn, second place again!
July 5th, 2010 at 10:04 am
Patrick…You should go back and read about those coach’s rookie year, they made plenty of mistakes that outraged fans. Maybe you are too young to remember, or you choose to remember the good times, but do some google searches, and you will find all sorts of crazy decisions made by great HC and GM.
July 5th, 2010 at 11:13 am
BamBam,
So by those examples we should expect significant improvement this year, in terms of wins and losses?
Looks like just about everyone you mentioned had a big jump from year one to year two.
July 5th, 2010 at 11:18 am
BTW, the horrible Mr. Gruden took over a 4-12 raider team……….
8-8 first year.
Dream takes over a 9-7 team, goes 3-13……………….
Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 5th, 2010 at 11:20 am
Patrick
My issues with Gruden weren’t after one season. Heck, his first season with the Bucs was one of the highlights of my life.
I didn’t have issues with Gruden until the 2006 season. The offensive guru was supposed to turn the Bucs offense into what the Raiders had when he was there, the #1 offense in the NFL. That combined with a perennial top 10 defense would have been a dynasty. However, in 2004 the offense was ranked 22nd, in 2005 ranked 23rd, and in 2006 ranked 29th. All the while, the defense was losing talent and not going to be able to maintain for long. That’s 3 years of horrible offenses before I started to wonder if Gruden was the answer or the problem.
I’m gonna give Raheem the same chance I gave Gruden, or even Dungy. That’s time… time to turn things around. With Dungy, turn things around meant take a losing team and turn them into winners (he did), with Gruden, that was taking a horrible offense and making it good while keeping a good defense on the field (he didn’t).
Were mistakes made by Morris and Dominik last year? Sure, but expecting a mistake free year from a rookie HC is like expecting McCoy to come in and be a Pro Bowl DT this year, making no mistakes. It’s like expecting Freeman to have been as good as Manning or Brees last year. Heck, even Dungy made the mistake of hiring Mike Shula as OC. Gruden was expected to win games, which he did inconsistently. He was 57-55 as a head coach in Tampa and didn’t win a playoff game in the 6 years after his first. 6 years…. yeah, I think I gave him a chance to prove he was good enough to get us back and he failed. That’s not saying I’ll be happy with Morris for 6 years if we aren’t winning and making and winning playoff games, but I’d say 3 should show if he’s gonna be decent or not.
Many teams have made mistakes hiring assistants. Last year 3 teams (including us) fired coordinators before the season began. The Chiefs were in the same boat (new HC, new GM). The Bills, however, had a 4th year HC. Mistakes are made by everyone, rookie or not. Jauron was fired as head coach before the season ended, maybe they were saying it’s not ok for an experienced coach to make those mistakes.
July 5th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
So, I suppose the answer to my question is, we are giving three seasons to Morris no matter what.
Thats what I figured.
July 5th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
I’ll be critical of Morris after this season if they’re 3-13 again. If they improve, and are competitive (even if they don’t make the playoffs), I’m willing to see what happens in season 3, yes.
July 5th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
Where was the outrage when Gruden led us to 4-12 and 5-11? He won the superbowl with the #1 rated defense and #26th offense his first year, then never won a post season game again. I must have missed the greatness. Apparently the Glazers did too. I mean for cheap owners that don’t care about the team to eat $12 million in losses in order to cut him, well that says alot. He had this team going nowhere but down. Atleast we have nowhere to go but up now.
July 5th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
Outside01- that said it all, and should close the Gruden chapter! Eric! Thomas ! Stop staring at that Gruden poster and pay attention! Did you two hear what Outside01 said? Are you even listening!! Wait a minute, ARE YOU TWO TOUCHING YOURSELVES?!?? THATS DISGUSTING!! Now throw that poster away, and no more Gruden nonsense!
July 5th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
at least I aint sucking no Glazer titty……………………………
July 5th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
Oh, yer sucking alright!!
July 5th, 2010 at 4:39 pm
Capt Tim,
I’m just glad we have elevated the discussion to such a high level!
🙂
July 5th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
Joe here,
Beaming with pride over here at the JoeBucsFan.com world headquarters. 😉
July 5th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
BamBam, why do you guys always bash Gruden and forget that every team since the Superbowl was absolutely decimated with injuries. Key injuries, early and often. I don’t know how you blame the HC for losing moany of his key players to IR, but I’m sure someone will find away. It’s easy to sway an argument in any direction when you leave out many of the facts. Gruden was and will remain the best coach the Bucs ever had.
July 5th, 2010 at 6:19 pm
@Outside01
During the 2002 Super Bowl season, Gruden’s first year here, we actually had the 10th ranked offense. On that side of the ball, we were actually pretty decent that year. Brad Johnson, Keyshawn, Pittman, Jurevicious, McCardell, Christy, all those guys helped us get to the promised land. Oh, and don’t forget Alstott!
July 5th, 2010 at 7:26 pm
Actually, Patrick, the #10 offense was in 2003. The Super Bowl year they were 24th overall, but they really picked it up in the playoffs (which you won’t see on overall offense rankings). It was one of the reasons I really thought Gruden had us moving in the right direction. A #10 offense? Wow. That quickly faded over the next 3 years.
Of course, those numbers are based on total yards of offense. Some would rather go with points scored, as that would be more indicative of winning games. In that respect, the team never got above #18 in the points rankings in the entire 7 years, and actually dipped to #31 in 2006.
July 5th, 2010 at 8:02 pm
BigMac:
Do your research, don’t just guess or attempt to recall from your obviously poor memory. Let me fill you in on the injury status during the years.
2003: First IR of the season is week 5, Alstott goes down. Brian Kelly follows in Wk 7. Jerevicious goes down Wk 13 (he only played 5 games, started 2. McCardell and Key were the starters. He was inactive for games from week 3 through 9). The only other starters to hit IR were Kenyatta Walker in week 17 and Greg Spires in week 17. A total of 9 players actually on IR during the season
2004: Also had 9 players on IR, but 2 started the season injured (PUP list considered IR until player returns). One of those was Jerevicious. Next were week 4: Charlie Garner (replaced by Pittman back from suspension) and backup TE Ricky Dudley (Dilger was the starter). Lost C John Wade in week 9, and McFarland in week 11. The rest were backups.
2005: Only 2 players hit IR. The never activated all season Matt Stinchcomb and in week 7 Brian Griese.
2006: 9 players again. Kenyatta went down again in week 4, when Trueblood got his first start. Brian Kelly week 7. Simms week 8, Simeon week 11, Buenning week 12, Clayton week 13. All others backups.
2007: 10 on IR, 2 never played a down (preseason injury). Sabby week 4, Caddy and Pettigout week 5, Simms week 6, Stovall (non-starter) week 16. All others backups.
2008: 7 on IR, but 5 started off the season injured. Only Caddy is of note, and returned week 10. Players of note were Graham in week 10, Phillips week 16, and Stovall week 10.
2009: 13 players on IR. Phillips went down week 3. Clifton Smith and Sammie Stroughter both went down late in the season (14 and 16). Otherwise, mostly depth and late season (Leftwich, Wilkerson, Dirk Johnson, BJ Askew, etc)
All in all, last year had more injuries, although not top players for the most part. The other years was usually only a few starters at most, and not early in the season. 2007 seemed the toughest for injuries. Otherwise, fairly normal years in the NFL
July 5th, 2010 at 10:41 pm
Very good BamBam. What about all of the games lost to injuries of playerss that made it back and not on IR. Davin Joseph comes to mind. Askew is another. Graham, Pittmann. High Ankle Sprains anyone. I did say IR, but that it is only a fraction. Garcia, Griese, Simms. Since you are so good at research, look at all the individual games lost injuries. We all know how Graham got his big break. We even had Kenneth Darby playing. Even Cadi missed games in his rookie year. I’ll give you 2003 for sure that was a bad year and Superbowl Hungover. We have had injuries on the O line every year that games were missed. Let’s see the real stats.
July 5th, 2010 at 10:42 pm
BTW, I haven’t missed a home game since 96′, even if memory isn’t the best. Now, what was I saying.
July 6th, 2010 at 1:03 am
Ok, so I looked at the year I thought was the worst for major injury… 2007. Of course there were some injuries not placing the player on IR. In this instance, the biggest was Pittman after Caddy went down. Graham came in for the remainder of the season to start. So, I took a look at each starting position in 2007 and this was the result:
QB Jeff Garcia – started all but 3 games near the end of the season. Those went to Luke McCown
RB Carnell Williams – IR, Pittman injured the following week, Graham took over.
FB BJ Askew – had all FB starts, played all but final 3 games, played the playoff game.
WR1 – Joey Galloway – started all but the final game, played the playoff game.
WR2 Ike Hilliard – played every game but final game, played in playoff game. Did not start much at end of season, Clayton started instead (could have been injury, data I have just shows start/play/inactive/IR/etc)
TE Alex Smith – started all but two games in the middle of season, was inactive for those two (probable injury)
LT Luke Petitgout – IR after week 4, replaced by Penn who started every game after.
LG Aaron Sears – started every game
C John Wade – started every game
RG Davin Joseph – started every game
RT Jeremy Trueblood – started every game
LDE Greg Spires – started first half of season, replaced by RDE Kevin Carter last half of season
RDE Kevin Carter – Started all but 2 games, played in all games, replaced by Gaines Adams when he moved to LDE
DT Jovan Haye – started every game
NT Chris Hovan – started every game
WLB Derrick Brooks – started every game
MLB Barrett Ruud – started every game but week 17 (as with most that sat out this week, playoff spot locked up, resting players)
SLB Cato June – started every game (only 14 starts at SLB, 2 weeks started in nickel package)
CB1 Ronde Barber – started every game
CB2 Phillip Buchanon – Started every game after beating out Brian Kelly in week 3
FS Tanard Jackson – started every game
SS Jermaine Phillips – started every game (exc. week 17, see above)
Looking at this, other than IR, there were only a couple things. Spires lost his spot (probably injury), and Graham took over at RB after Pittman injury. Other than that, the team was healthy the whole year. Garcia and Askew had some nagging injuries at the end of the year, had a couple weeks to rest because the rest of the NFC South was handing us the division. We almost threw that season away as well, losing 3 of the last 4 letting players rest up. Good thing the other teams were horrible in our division.
Still, doesn’t seem like a lot to me. And it’s not like there weren’t players with injuries last year that didn’t go on IR. Both starting WRs were inactive for games last year, we had to resign Sean Mahan during the season to fill in for an injured Faine, and Aaron Sears was AWOL the entire season. Tanard was suspended for 4 games, even Geno Hayes was banged up at seasons end.
I’m still not sure I’m seeing how Gruden’s years were more frought with injury than Morris rookie HC year last season?
July 6th, 2010 at 8:29 am
Patrick:
We were both wrong actually. In 2002 the Bucs offense wasn’t ranked 10th or 26th, it was ranked 15th. 26th is what our offense averaged over Gruden’s tenure here. My mistake.
http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tabSeq=2&offensiveStatisticCategory=TEAM_PASSING&conference=ALL&role=TM&season=2002&seasonType=REG
July 6th, 2010 at 8:31 am
….actually that was wrong too. That link was for passing. We were ranked 15th in offensive passing. As a whole, our defense was ranked 24th in 2002.
http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?archive=false&conference=null&role=TM&offensiveStatisticCategory=GAME_STATS&defensiveStatisticCategory=null&season=2002&seasonType=REG&tabSeq=2&qualified=true&Submit=Go
July 6th, 2010 at 8:36 am
We were #1 in turn over differential that year at +17 due to Brad Johnson’s dink and dunk style and our #1 defense causing many turn overs themselves. I think more than anything else, +17 turnover differential tells the story of our 2002 SB run.
July 6th, 2010 at 9:42 am
Outside…… That and the defense scoring 9 TDs that year. Even Gruden said that before the season started. Score 9 TDs on defense, and we’ll win a championship.
July 6th, 2010 at 11:16 am
Goodness knows Gruden had nothing to do with it……………….
July 6th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
Lol, yes Eric, we accomplished nothing else, but at least we taken “JoeBuc” where no argument has gone before! I feel we should be congratulated! 🙂
July 6th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
eric, if you watched the NFL Network video Joe was talking about before, you would see what I was talking about with Gruden telling the D that if they score 9 TDs, they’ll win a championship. The D scored exactly 9. How is that saying Gruden had nothing to do with it???
July 6th, 2010 at 10:11 pm
BamBam, nice job bro. I wouldn’t say Gruden had more than Morris, but that Gruden had a lot from 04 to 08. It seemed like they could never stay healthy. Gruden was not one to make excuses, but I do remember a couple post game press conferences where he would make mention. Timing of injuries was often terrible, but He and the Golden Sperm Club probably all made a pact with the Devil to get that Lombardi trophy. I do think part of the famous 4 game collapse could have been partial injury related and not just Monte’s announcement. Hovan was hurt bad and played, and so Brooks had that nagging hamstring problem that couldn’t have helped. Still Chucky made a bonehead move IMO, playing Griese against Atlanta instead of McCown. OH well, I think Morris will have a good year. Just a hunch, and I sure like Mike Williams and GMC. i think those 2 will go a long way.