Freeman “Making All The Throws”
December 8th, 2011
Tampa Tribune beat writer Woody Cummings headed to Twitter today to bring word from Bucs practice that No. 5 is looking super healthy.
TBO_Buccaneers: Freeman’s back. He’s making all the throws and he just did a Kirk Gibson arm pump after drilling a ball to Arrelious Benn.
Joe must admit that the news didn’t excite him at all initially.
Sure, Joe knows Freeman is the franchise QB and Freeman by all accounts is a great kid, and perhaps Joe’s just numb from this six-game slide into the cellar, but Joe’s not really feeling a vibe that Freeman’s return will help the Bucs get back on track more than Josh Johnson starting again.
Though clearly nothing would give the franchise a bigger shot in the arm than Freeman returning to his 2010 ways for the rest of this season.
As for the “Kirk Gibson arm pump” reference from Cummings, Joe always enjoys a good baseball analogy. A bit of a A’s fan back in ’88, Joe was pumping some weights in a Los Angeles gym watching Gibson barely able to stand properly on two bumb legs and belt his famous game-winning homer. Truly one of the more riveting moments in sports over the last 25 years.
Joe’s glad to hear Freeman is getting that excited over a good practice throw. He’s obviously itching to get back on the field.
December 8th, 2011 at 11:56 pm
Freeman has been very underwhelming this year. I am really intrigued to see how he does next season and if he plays like this….. I would like to see a new franchise qb.
December 9th, 2011 at 12:03 am
wow, the ships sinking jump quick
December 9th, 2011 at 12:03 am
Im just looking forward to next year…
man…what a ride…
December 9th, 2011 at 12:20 am
freeman will be just fine ,he needs an o/c that has enough common since to build a scheme around his strong points and knows how to implant a game plan that changes to take advantage of the opposing defence ,lets see how great he can be with a new coaching staff .tom brady wouldnt be so great in this system. olsen is worse than shula imagine that and no i do realize freeman made some mistakes this season but coaching should have corrected alot of hes woes by week five i think he is the right franchise qb for tampa and as i said he will be just fine.
December 9th, 2011 at 1:01 am
We need some speed at WR.
December 9th, 2011 at 1:11 am
I remember seeing Kirk Gibson hit a line drive into an old lady’s noggin at Spring Training.
December 9th, 2011 at 1:12 am
and I think Freeman might have done that too.
December 9th, 2011 at 1:25 am
Joe pumping iron in LA in 1988…
Im seeing jean shorts cut off way too short, high tops that go way too high and a neon green mesh tanktop cut off just below the nipples with a nasty headband and a nastier mullet.
December 9th, 2011 at 2:06 am
hes probably pumped benn caught one.
December 9th, 2011 at 5:56 am
Freeman > Johnson. There is one thing Freeman has done that Johnson has never done – win a game in the NFL. If Freeman plays like he is capable of playing, we will win this game. If Johnson plays the way he has always played, we probably won’t. I like Johnson, but he has yet to prove he can win a game. He just can’t make the throws Freeman can make, at least not with any consistency.
December 9th, 2011 at 8:08 am
Joe here,
@FearTheGlo — Thanks for the comedy. No spandex or headbands for Joe. Probably more like a moderate mullet and a t-shirt with my bicycle locked outside. Was actually still a teenager and working for the Raiders and Clippers part-time.
December 9th, 2011 at 8:37 am
Who cares? Is rah rah morris still the head coach? Then it really doesnt matter who plays bc even where Sunday when the Yucks should have an advantage over a depleted defense and a horrible qb and consequently offense, rah will coach the Yucks out of that advantage and make it a close game that the Yucks might lose.
This horrible Blaine Gabbert led team/game is equivalent to 7 of 10 wins last year and nobody will say that a narrow win means that the Yucks are any good. That is why last years record is meaningless.
December 9th, 2011 at 9:14 am
I just don’t see Tampa winning this game, though I want them to.
I see MJD running all over us until we overcommit to stop the run, and then Gabbert throws a few TD Passes.
December 9th, 2011 at 9:50 am
@Apple Roof Cleaning
Have you actually ever seen Gabbert throw a TD pass? No one else has either.
MJD is their only weapon, they cut their best WR (god knows why) and their D very well may be highly rated has lost key components over the last 3 weeks. They have trouble stopping the run, our game plan should start with locking Olson in the trainers room just before kick-off and then running LGB 30 times in the 1st half alone.
December 9th, 2011 at 12:37 pm
Really? What are we gonna do when he gets the ball, runs to the line and stops and then gets dropped for a two yard loss? The reason our team starts slow is because it takes guys like Blount till the second half to realize that they have to run hard every play in order to pick up positive yards. Last week he had 11 carries for 19 yards at one point. That’s against the Panthers less than stellar run D. If he ran like he ran at Green Bay every week I’d be a much bigger fan. He is a beast but he’s just lazy too much of the time. He doesn’t have the speed to stop at the line and try to find a hole, he needs to just punish whoever is in front of him by hitting the line at full speed and if there isn’t a hole then get whatever yards you can by momentum and breaking tackles. He wants every play to be a big play and sometimes you just have to get 3 yards the hard way. He’ll learn. Best thing we can do for Blount is draft a RB who will threaten his job for more reps. Competition is a great cure for complacency. I know everybody keeps bitching at Olson for not feeding him the ball more but 11 carries for 19 yards and you’re gonna keep giving him the ball when you’re falling behind? Not unless you see him running harder than that.
December 9th, 2011 at 1:00 pm
@Bobby
“He doesn’t have the speed to stop at the line and try to find a hole”
There’s the issue, he shouldn’t have to find the hole, we don’t run a zone blocking scheme where it’s up to the back to find the sliver of light, cut and go. This is a full bore man on man run blocking scheme, the hole should be there by design. If not, then you are correct just put your head down and slam into the line and take the 3yds.