Josh Freeman Helping Tom Crabtree
August 4th, 2013
Training camp is all about opportunities. When given a chance, make the most of it.
With Mike Williams and Tiquan Underwood out with minor injuries, reserve wide receiver Chris Owusu has blown up and is making a serious run to secure the No. 3 wide receiver position.
Same with undrafted free agent corner Rashaan Melvin. With Darrelle Revis still in a very limited role as he rehabs his knee and Johnthan Banks with a very minor hamstring issue, a lot of corners have been getting more snaps than usual. Melvin has made the most of those snaps, reinforcing to Bucs coaches and front office types what they thought about Melvin: a hidden gem.
Now comes tight end Tom Crabtree. It was a toss-up whether he would start. A career backup at Green Bay in a log jam at tight end, the Bucs held Crabtree in high regard both for his receiving skills and his good blocking.
It appears Crabtree is going to be a hard man to keep out of the starting lineup. With fellow tight end Luke Stocker out with calf trouble, Crabtree has done just about everything Bucs coaches have wanted.
“They are leaning on me to do whatever they ask,” Crabtree said after practice Saturday.
Crabtree is still a novice in Mike Sullivan’s offense; he freely admits this. But Crabtree gave Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman a shoutout for doing whatever he can to help Crabtree master Sullivan’s playbook.
“With me learning the offense, he has done a good job of talking to me after a play or if I have a question after the play, he will talk to me about it,” Crabtree said of Freeman. “I am still learning and he is helping me along the way.”
This is just another example to the anti-Josh Freeman faction that their psychotic dreams of backup Mike Glennon starting over Freeman in the New Jersey Swamplands on opening day against the Jets are ludicrous.
It would be a helluva trick for Glennon to help Crabtree learn the offense when Glennon has stated publicly, three times by Joe’s count, that he is not ready to start.
August 4th, 2013 at 6:24 pm
Where did the Glennon helping Crabtree come from? Or,even the mention that he should?
Sounds like it just came out of thin air.
The good thing is it looks like there is a great deal of comradery here with all the old & new players working well with eachother…..this is a sign of picking the right players and very good coaching.
August 4th, 2013 at 6:32 pm
Lol Joe’s just trying to keep the comments coming as it is the only thing to do until we see live games.
Nobody I know of thinks Glennon will be starting against the Jets.
August 4th, 2013 at 7:50 pm
TKras thinks Glennon is ready to start since by his account he is clearly out playing JF5 in training camp
August 4th, 2013 at 7:52 pm
Outperforming Josh so far through training camp is much different than saying “Glennon should start”
August 4th, 2013 at 7:57 pm
lol it’s a joke, TKras was on the radio earlier and admitted to reading the commemts on JBF about him loving Glennon
August 4th, 2013 at 8:00 pm
Lol oh ok
August 4th, 2013 at 8:10 pm
Poke him Ian, the only reason why TKras is high on Glennon is because he’s a JETS fan. He may deny it’s the reason, but how else do you explain him being the only one to say that Glennon is out performing Freeman. Seriously, when everyone else sees it differently. Secretly, TKras would love for the Bucs to play our rookie against his dreadful team.
August 4th, 2013 at 8:24 pm
But seriously, how ugly are those new dolphins jerseys? As if that teal couldnt get more obnoxious.
August 4th, 2013 at 8:33 pm
Crabtree could very well be one of the most underrated signing of the entire offseason. My packer friends were mad as hell to see him go and the dude looks to be tearing shit up.
August 4th, 2013 at 8:53 pm
^^^^^^ you’re right! It looks more like seafoam green. Their socks are closer to Dolphin teal.
August 4th, 2013 at 9:22 pm
I alway find Dolphins games boring for some reason. Watching this game tonight already has me tired of preseason games. I have’t even seen Monte yet.
August 4th, 2013 at 9:31 pm
You clearly don’t read many of the comments on this site, do you? 🙂
August 4th, 2013 at 10:03 pm
anybody else get flashbacks of the old bucs defense watching the cowboys defense? its really weird lol
August 4th, 2013 at 10:07 pm
^^^ Tampa 2 will do that to you.
August 4th, 2013 at 10:28 pm
@ Ian
Heard TKras tonight. He made his thoughts pretty clear Glennon is just a rook.
@ Joe,
Seems like you went out of your way to take a shot at Glennon. It would be fair to pitch your battle with the Free haters who want him gone and not the new kid.
August 4th, 2013 at 10:30 pm
jeez man, George Selvie is just tearing it up. it looks like hes a PERFECT fit for the Tampa 2. if only he could have worked out in our defense.
August 4th, 2013 at 10:32 pm
Couch Fan says
Nobody I know of thinks Glennon will be starting against the Jets.
Joe says
You clearly don’t read many of the comments on this site, do you?
Yeah there are some that would like it to happen, but name them.
Who the_fake_realist?
Who Frees A Boob …does he really count?
Who Tampa 2…again really count?
Mean D…again really really count?
robert..well now if I lived in Madden-Land maybe so?
Who here thinks Glennon should start vs the Jets?
and remember be LOUD ON SUNDAY!!!
August 4th, 2013 at 10:46 pm
Lol exactly, most of them dont even count. But again there is a difference between wanting Glennon to start week 1 and thinking he actually will.
I dont think its out of the realm of possibility, but he would have to pick up the offense incredibly fast AND clearly show he is better than Freeman in such a short time. Unlikely, not impossible
August 4th, 2013 at 10:50 pm
I think the Jets are so bad we can beat them with the rookie, but NO, I don’t think he should start.
August 4th, 2013 at 11:32 pm
@Buc1987 I began cheering for the BUCS in 1995 at the age of 12, I wanted a team that wasn’t a perineal power house, and grow with them as a new fan to the NFL. I live and breath this football team, 100% pure true fan. Just because I dont live in Tampa, doesnt mean im not as big as a fan as you are. As far as liking a team for a “ship”, what kind of a non-football, idiotic person do you take me for? I can also assure that I cheer the loudest when the D is on the field, as much as i like watching Freeman and the offense shred teams, I love true BUC BALL, DEFENSE!!! I didn’t win any trip or anything like that, not sure why I waited till now to finally go to a game in Tampa. It’s over 4500km from Saskatchewan to Tampa Florida, guess I’m not a “real” fan as you say. If you have that big of a problem with fans like me ill be in section 110 row L, I would gladly sort it out with you, the easy way or the hard way.
August 4th, 2013 at 11:41 pm
Right On Junkie!
August 4th, 2013 at 11:55 pm
Andrew 1,
I watched the Hall of Fame induction ceremony last night and I listened to Tony Dungy talk about the way he went about putting together one of the best pass rushing defenses ever. I saw how Sapp, Brooks, and Lynch dominated in it.
There are those who believe you build your defense from the front to the back. Out of necessity, we had to rebuild the secondary first. Dungy talked about the patience required to play solid defense and not be too quick to blitz or lose containment – the essence of the Tampa 2.
Should we be concerned about our dependency on nickel and dime defenses that depend so heavily on the blitz and man coverage? I’m beginning to wonder!
August 5th, 2013 at 12:02 am
Saskbuco…you cheer loudest on D…where exactly was that from your house?
August 5th, 2013 at 12:06 am
Saskbuco…If you cheer loudest on D…then I encourage you to do so and tell the fans around you to do so as well. Did I insult you or something? I asked a few questions is all. I think I’m going to pick a Canadien NHL team now and root for them.
August 5th, 2013 at 12:07 am
and remember their MY Bucs. ha ha ha ha HA!
August 5th, 2013 at 12:16 am
@Buc1987: You’re being a schmuck, AND a coward, since Saskbuco has readily agreed to meet you face to face, and you (predictably) ignored it. Lame. Grow up.
August 5th, 2013 at 12:18 am
Mac I just don’t think Schiano has that bend don’t break philosophy.
August 5th, 2013 at 12:26 am
Piratic…I’m so glad to hear your point view. I saw no threat from Saskbuco in his comments, nor did he make one to me. Maybe you read his comments like that. It was an invitation to settle it the easy way or the hard way. I choose the easy way. Easy as that. Now go fuk yourself.
August 5th, 2013 at 12:34 am
BTW he is a true fan as far as I’m concerned. If he wants to travel all the way from Canada to see his favorite NFL team. His post clearly states what makes him a true fan. It was a joke about the NHL thing. Not questioning his fandom. It was also a joke about cheering loudest from his house. oooooh sorry if it does not look like that. I don’t really care. Did I get an answer back from him right away? No but I did hear from Piratic and that was helpful, thanks a lot.
August 5th, 2013 at 12:45 am
Saskbuco…if you like you, your wife and me and my wife can go out to dinner before the game. We can talk Bucs football.
August 5th, 2013 at 1:00 am
Shhhhh….secret weapon….damnedit! 😉
August 5th, 2013 at 2:00 am
@Buc1987 yes unfortantley all of my cheering has been at my house or away from RJS. But I can guarantee you that I cheer loud and proud. I would love to talk BUCS football with you and any other fan for that matter. I may surprise you what a Canadian knows about the buccaneers. I appreciate your honesty and loyalty to the BUCS, just hope that one day you can accept all BUCS fans, no matter where there from. After all we all bleed……PEWTER!!!!
August 5th, 2013 at 4:21 am
I have been following the bucs rather the NFL since the last 5 years.. I m a bucs fan since I lived in Tampa am I have never been excited for this season than any of the previous seasons… I attended Usf and have seen schiano coach for Rutgers and I have seen his its not over till the final whistle mentality.. So we can expect this team to fight hard till the end.. As far as the defensive line concerns.. I think we will surprise a lot of offensive lines this season… JF5 is going to cross 4500 yards and we might have 2 1000 yards receivers in vjax and mike Williams and then we have Doug Martin… I can’t wait to for the season to start and though I have moved back to India.. I will be watching all the games live on my laptop… Go bucs and fire those cannons
August 5th, 2013 at 6:00 am
Here we have a fan from afar looking forward to coming to a game with his family and we actually have people taking shots at him.
Saskbuco: 1987 is proud that he finally has tickets. He probably didn’t mean to insult you.
Ignore Raphael’s attempt at humor Saskbuco. Some posters here haven’t yet matured past their middle school mentality. They probably still think armpit farts are hysterical.
August 5th, 2013 at 7:45 am
Scubog…exactly man. I meant no insult to Saskbuco when I asked those questions at all. When I first found this site I signed on originally just to ask 1 question. I had no intention of being in and out of here constantly. The question I wanted to know was this. Does anyone know how well ticket sales are doing? Because I’ve finally got season tickets and I am curious to see how much the stadium is going to fill up this year. I just wanted to know if fans are as pumped up about this current team as I am.
Joe quickly answered my question with this answer.
There is no place where they actually post how well ticket sales are doing. Told me not to worry about it, because I was in now and that’s all that matters.
The only thing I personally want to see is MY Bucs win and the fans to be loud again. I’ve been to many single games and got lucky to watch a few non blacked out games on TV. From what I’ve noticed especially from the TV perspective is that the stadium is quiet nowadays (even when sold out) compared to when I watch other teams play at their home. Hard to describe the sound from a keyboard, but I described it to my wife last night and she got it. I know some of you know where I’m coming from.
If you go to the games do you not see entire rows of Buc fans just sitting there with there hands in their laps when MY Bucs are on D? Regardless of the score it seems to be the norm. I can assure you that does not happen in places like Philly even when their team is 5-9 at the time. It’s loud.
Saskbuco..passion man. I am very passionate about MY Bucs. I don’t mean to discount anyone elses fandom when I type the words MY Bucs. It’s just the way I see them. As if they are mine. I root for no other sports team. No NBA, no hockey, no baseball. Just MY Bucs. I’m sorry if I offended you on a previous thread peppering you with all those questions. I blame it on the passion man.
August 5th, 2013 at 8:20 am
Look at my last post time before the one above this one. I last posted around 12:45 AM. Next post time 7:45 AM. I can’t sleep for crap lately. I was up at 5:30 A.M. I work from home so I don’t have a set schedule.I can sleep to whenever. I blame it on the Bucs, they were all I could think about at 5:30 this morning, and it’s only pre-season. I could NOT get back to sleep. Passion baby passion.
August 5th, 2013 at 10:36 am
“If you go to the games do you not see entire rows of Buc fans”
LOL waaaaay back, during the 1st season in the Ray Jay, a Bank was pulling people out of the nosebleed seats & seating them in the Club Section. Long story short, my wife & I were picked one week. Nice seats, 30 Yd line, 3/4 way up , in the section. The fans there were treating it like a cocktail party. To the point that they remarked that I was shouting too loud!! I guess everybody cheers their own way, but I was very glad to get back up in the nosebleeds, where they don’t mind a fan yelling their head off for their team. And yes, I was saving the real noise for the ‘D’.
August 5th, 2013 at 12:01 pm
@ scubog. Nope only punks want to challenge fans to a fight…just be careful you don’t know who will show up…
Lol @ my post being deleted . Guess you can ask somebody to fight but you can’t say they are gay.?? What a world huh ?
August 5th, 2013 at 12:26 pm
I for one am a bucs fan from Texas where if your not a cowboy fan life is tough but i stick with the Bucs year in and year out…. We will rock this season