Freeman Playing Looks “Fine” To Schiano
August 28th, 2013_t607.jpg)
Man, Bucs fans are impatient these days. Joe can somewhat understand,given that it’s been over a decade since the Bucs won a playoff game, and that was a Super Bowl.
So when Bucs fans see franchise quarterback Josh Freeman play less than Dan Marino-like, a good number of them want to start bonfires across town.
Bucs commander Greg Schiano doesn’t see it that way. He has seen more tape than fans, more practices than scribes, and believes Freeman is about where offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan wants him to be, reports Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com.
Although Freeman has completed just 46.2 percent of his passes and the first-team offense has yet to get into any sort of rhythm, Schiano said he’s comfortable with what he’s seen out of his quarterback.
“I don’t think you can assume his confidence is shaken,” Schiano said. “I’m not sure it is, to tell you the truth. One of the things I said is he saw things very well. Every time he came to the sideline he could tell me exactly what happened. Sometimes a quarterback comes to the sideline and ‘What happened?’ and ‘I don’t know, they’re hitting me in the back of the head’’ and you don’t know. [Freeman] knew what happened [in Miami]. He knew what he saw down the field. He knew where he wanted to go with the ball.
“Sometimes, he didn’t have time. When you watch it on tape, what you do as a coach is you write those things down and you watch it on tape and sure enough what he thought he saw was what he saw. As long as he’s seeing it, we’ll get better in protection and we’ll get the ball out of his hand and we won’t drop them. I think in his mind he feels more comfortable than he’s ever felt in this offense since he’s been a part of it. I think he’s going to be fine.’’
Look, Joe knows Schiano’s words will do little to quash the cries of the Mike Glennon Mob, who will be fogging up TV screens locally when the Bucs-Redskins preseason game is aired Friday at 7:30 p.m. on a tape-delayed basis on WFLA-TV Channel 8.
But Joe will write once again to express Joe’s confidence that Freeman will improve this season with another year of knowledge under Sullivan’s tutelage.
Now Joe has heard the screams about the offensive line thus far, but remember the offensive line was an unexpected nightmare last year and without two Pro Bowl guards and a right tackle getting benched, the line wasn’t exactly a sieve, was it? And this year the Bucs added Gabe Carimi.
No, there’s no need to panic. Yet. If the Bucs go 1-6 to start the season, then there would be evidence to panic.
August 28th, 2013 at 9:11 am
I think the serious panic will begin after week 1 if we drop that game to the Jets…especially if Bad Josh rears his ugly head and throws nothing but jump balls, staring down his receivers and throwing off his back foot. You know…like he has over 50% of the time over his last 9+ years of playing football.
August 28th, 2013 at 9:23 am
If needed I have my pitch fork, tar and feathers ready to run evil free out of town with the rest of the mob if he shows up.
August 28th, 2013 at 9:25 am
Joe- it’s no use. The majority of posters on here are panic driven with their perceived expert negativity. If Freeman tears it up this season, half the Freeman haters will jump back on the bandwagon like they were there the whole time and the other half sit here in abject denial insisting that he still sucks. I’m just tired of the whining and crying. People need to try and enjoy the fan experience a little more.
August 28th, 2013 at 9:32 am
Well if the Bucs lose to the Jets an 0-4 start seems very likely (seriously, at least 4 SEC teams could beat the Jets), at which point you might as well go with Glennon and see what you have since the season would be a loss at that point. The bonus of playing Glennon is if he’s got the ability, the Bucs may have their QB, and if he’s awful the Bucs get Jadaveon. Simply put the Bucs cannot lose in week 1, and its not overreacting to assume the season is lost. The Jets are an embarassement at the moment, which would make the Bucs worse if they lost.
August 28th, 2013 at 9:49 am
What is this constant reference to the “Glennon Mob”? I believe what you have here are fans that are sick & tired of losing, and wanting something more than TALK to be convinced this team is actually capable of winning in the NFC!
August 28th, 2013 at 9:54 am
I think a lot of people are assuming we’ll just go in and roll all over the Jets. But remember, they had the league’s 2nd-best pass defense last year, even without Revis. They have QB problems and are not a very good team overall, but they’re still an NFL team and we’ll be playing in their house.
August 28th, 2013 at 9:58 am
@DallasBuc
Enjoy the fan experience? How do fans of a team enjoy consistent losing?
The entire fan base should be in a an uproar. This is what I mean when I say most fans accept mediocrity. The blind homers. I love the Bucs but I dam sure dont enjoy it when they lose and I, along with others, are gonna express my feelings and opinions. So while you enjoy your Bucs losing. I’m gonna be pissed about it.
But try to look away so you dont cry and pout and threaten to leave because my opinion is different from yours.
August 28th, 2013 at 9:59 am
The Jets game will come down to special teams play. Dimke will earn his paycheck that week.
August 28th, 2013 at 10:02 am
My concern is the O-line. Hopefully the O-line can pick up where it left off. If the line stinks, expect the QB to stink (whoever is back there).
Joe said: “And this year the Bucs added Gabe Carimi.” (As if Carimi is the answer to the O-line woes.) How is Carimi doing? He has not been very good the past couple of years. Remember, he was cast off a team with a horrible offensive line.
August 28th, 2013 at 10:05 am
@Couch Fan
I don’t think DallasBuc was saying we should accept losing or mediocrity….what his comments meant to me was to at least give this team a chance on the field in the regular season without projecting & predicting gloom & doom.
Enjoy the fan experience to me means having some hope that we are a better team than last year and have done most of what we can to improve.
I think we are better and we should expect to win!!!
August 28th, 2013 at 10:13 am
@TBBFan
Ok but how can you do that before the regular season starts? All we have to go on is the last 5 years and pre-season? Not everyone can have such blind faith after all we’ve seen and not everyone can simply forget about the past. I have hope and I think some (def not all) have hope but thats not gonna get us to stop talking about our feelings and opinions.
But yet this is “crying, and being negative” apparently.
August 28th, 2013 at 10:20 am
There were 4-5 dropped passes last week. Stats say four I rewound the game and counted five…twice! But whatever let’s call it four. They were passes ten yard or more. If the receivers catch those passes, now Freeman was 10 for 16 or 11 for 16 with four more first downs which would have equated to even more passing attempts. Why is everyone worried? It’s preseason. I am worried about our defense. Can we see an article about our corners playing 10 – 15 yards deep allowing countless slant routes every series???
August 28th, 2013 at 10:21 am
@Coach…
Hope is all you need. I think it is natural to be skeptical & can’t blame fans….but its the degree that matters….Its all about unmet expectations….I think everyone was fired up before the preseason and expected better performances.
I think our Bucs will look like & be an entirely different team when Darrelle Revis is on the field. That we haven’t seen yet.
August 28th, 2013 at 10:26 am
I was going to write a long drawn out comment explaining why Freeman will be fine, but I feel like a broken record. Let the first weeks of the season where actual bullets are flying be the deteriming factor. People without sense aren’t going to magically stumble across it anytime soon.
August 28th, 2013 at 10:27 am
@Couch Fan
Maybe not crying, but definitely being pessimistic. I’m sure you’ve got your reasons, I guess most of us don’t see the point of coming into a football season expecting the worst, kinda ruins the point of watching everything unfold.
August 28th, 2013 at 10:33 am
Josh actually looked ok against the fins u think that bad throw to ogletree across the middle drips were a problem and also play calling I saw Alota 5 step drops against the blirz
August 28th, 2013 at 10:36 am
Walter,
I have playoff expectations for this team, and I am concerned, but I have faith.
If we lay an egg at the Jets in week 1, then there will be an uproar. Playoff teams don’t lost to the 2013 Jets, they just don’t.
“The NFC is tougher than it has been in years.” I don’t want to hear that argument, as to why we could miss the playoffs.
We need to take care of business to make the 2013 playoffs, and it starts week 1 at the Jets. You beat who you are supposed to beat.
11-5/10-6, that is what it will take.
Tought to win 10/15, or 11/15 if you drop the 1st game to the lowly Jets… J-E-S-T, JEST JEST JEST!
August 28th, 2013 at 10:37 am
Deminion,
Hitting 6 of 16 throws, 3 and outs, 5 sacks, and fumbling the ball while being untouched is not, “looking good against the fins”.
It may be preseason, but he didn’t look good. “All part of the plan…” We shall see.
August 28th, 2013 at 10:49 am
@stevek
“The NFC is tougher than it has been in years.” I don’t want to hear that argument, as to why we could miss the playoffs.”
Agree 100%. While i think we can make it, that’s not a good enough excuse. We are also tougher than we have been in years. Playoffs or bust is the right mantra for this year. If we don’t make it, something will have to be changed. At the end of the year we should know what the weak link is. IF we don’t make it to the playoffs
August 28th, 2013 at 10:56 am
Joe, you overplay this “Mike Glennon Mob” crapola. Are the dozens of NFL analysts who have come out and said Freeman just doesn’t have it all huge Mike Glennon fans?
August 28th, 2013 at 11:08 am
Stevek, those stats are not good but why ignore that fact that the oline play has been horrible? We should be spreading the blame to Penn or any one else like him who has completely sucked. How about Lennard Johnson and the fact that if he is on the field the opposing QB always has a place to throw the ball. I suspect good Free/bad Free will continue but it’s a mute point if the rest of the team doesn’t step up. Good thing it’s only preseason and so far none of this matters.
August 28th, 2013 at 11:09 am
No, “Mike Glennon Mob”, just “Josh Freeman expectational fans”.
This is a milestone year, will he or won’t he.
Glennon become relevant if, and only if, Freeman screws the pooch.
August 28th, 2013 at 11:11 am
Dream Big,
There are other culprits for the bad “Team” performances, but the bottom line is: No one effects the game the way a QB can, should and will. We need our QB to be good, the position is too important to overlook and compensate for elsewhere.
August 28th, 2013 at 11:13 am
@ tampabaybucfan
That’s exactly the way I took DallasBuc’s comments. There’s too many doom and gloomers on this site. Always crying and pouting about the Bucs past seasons. They look to the past and project failure in 2013.
August 28th, 2013 at 11:18 am
Bucs 24 Jets 10
August 28th, 2013 at 11:21 am
Buc1987,
Looking for failure is not a good outlook, but it is one that has been earned since 2010 with the Bucs.
What have the Bucs done since 2010 to look like a “good team with a good outlook”?
All we hear about is how “stacked the NFC is, and it will be a tough road…”
Andy Dalton has navigate the Bengals to the playoffs for 2 years in a row, through the vaunted AFC North.
The Bucs need to step up, and win some games.
We have been a mediocre team, so don’t be shocked by the mediocre outlook. Everyone wants the Bucs to win again, and people respond to the mediocrity differently.
August 28th, 2013 at 11:29 am
@stevek I said he looked ok the fumble I forgot that but I act like there wasn’t Alota drops the Oline played awful play calling play action against the blitz with our terrible Oline? His looked good in the pocket even when he was under siege… I’m with u tho I’m tired of losin no more excuses the jury is still out til the real games start
August 28th, 2013 at 11:52 am
Deminion,
Amen, may the real football finally arrive.
I can’t wait to see my team compete, and win, in week 1.
There are no excuses, Josh has won us 10 games with less, time to STEP Up or STEP OUT.
August 28th, 2013 at 11:56 am
“There are no excuses, Josh has won us 10 games with less, time to STEP Up or STEP OUT.”
I fully agree as well Steve.
August 28th, 2013 at 12:04 pm
Couch- first off, I didn’t suggest you don’t a right to your opinion. I am saying that it is alarmist, whiny and I don’t like it. Second, you can label my loyalty as homerism if you choose but crying about not winning enough in the past and using as a predictor for this season looks a lot like the panic you see from a fan that’s gonna jump ship and look for a percieved winner to root for. There’s a name for that! To your comments summing up this team as a constant loser, I think we did win some last year too and almost won quite a few more. I know we were competitive in most. So yeah, that is improvement and it makes me happy as a fan. If you want to be a chicken little before the first game of the season is in the books and cry from your couch or crib, go right ahead. Looks like you will have plenty of other panicking cry babies there with you.
August 28th, 2013 at 1:36 pm
DallasBuc ….So well said. We did lose a lot of close games last season, and it was only Schiano’s rookie year. I saw improvement too. That’s why I’m predicting those close losses will turn into wins this season. That’s why I say from 4-12 in 2011 under sloppy Raheem to 7-9 in 2012 under drill sargeant Schiano is improvement. To 4 more wins than last year and 11-5 in 2013. So sit back and fasten your seat belts, it may be a bumpy ride to 11-5.
August 28th, 2013 at 1:46 pm
One thing is for sure…..I’d rather be writing here criticizing a few players or decisions by the team, than playing crybaby thread police nazi and criticizing everyone else’s opinion just because I disagree with it 😉
August 28th, 2013 at 2:23 pm
@Max
Many fans forget what they said back in preseason when you call them on it later on in the regular season. Thus is why the copy and paste is needed by someone. I’ve elected myself to be that someone. Just so no one forgets what things were said. There are actually a few people that like this idea. So I’ll keep doing it. Every time I see a comment made that I think looks ignorant and over-critical, it will be saved.
August 28th, 2013 at 2:44 pm
Max- so no one here is panicking and calling this team a loser?…ok they are just criticizing a few player and org decisions! Please? I often come on here and criticize player and org decisions and sounds nothing like the doomsayers all over this site.
Now…this “crybaby thread police nazi” garbage is a clear sign that there a severe dearth of reading comprehension with some of you. Policing denotes enforcement and once again no one is telling anyone else that they are not allowed to cry and freak out because their team isn’t the BE patriots every year but I am calling it out and expressing my disapproval. Please recognize the difference.
August 28th, 2013 at 2:45 pm
NE, not BE
August 28th, 2013 at 3:27 pm
Have at it….I dont control you guys. But to 1987 whose been very immature, and delusional in doing this, Im going to call that out too. But have at it, its not my site. If it were, it wouldnt be going on.