Josh Johnson To Revive Receiver Role?
June 3rd, 2010
If the Bucs hadn’t used Josh Johnson as a receiver in practice last year and trotted him out on the field against Buffalo in the flat, Raheem The Dream’s words today might sound like a coach just having fun with reporters or giving opponents something to think about.
Per the Buccaneers’ official Twitter feed, Raheem The Dream said Thursday he envisions Josh Johnson and Josh Freeman scaring defenses at the same time.
Speaking about QBs Josh Freeman and Josh Johnson, Coach just said, “Don’t be surprised if you see them out there playing together” in games.
Joe suspects Raheem The Dream is quite serious. JoeBucsFan.com analyst and former Bucs quarterback Jeff Carlson wrote about ways to use Johnson and Freeman together months ago.
Joe would love to see it in the preseason. Fun to watch, if nothing else. And if the new receivers aren’t up to breakout rookie seasons, the Bucs surely will need all the help they can get.
But offensively, Joe would rather see the Bucs focus more on running the ball effectively, creatively getting everything out of their running backs and grooming their young receivers.
That should be enough to keep Greg Olson very challenged — maybe too challenged.
June 3rd, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Raheem wants to confuse offenses with his unorthodox looks on defense. I’m sure he’s telling Olsen to do the same. Give them something they haven’t seen and see how they react.
June 3rd, 2010 at 1:32 pm
Yeah, cause that wildcat formation has never been done in the NFL.
June 3rd, 2010 at 1:34 pm
oar:
Remember: Wildcat offense has no quarterback. Too many NFL types confuse a shotgun with two quarterbacks in the backfield as a Wildcat.
June 3rd, 2010 at 2:05 pm
Joe,
Didn’t the Dolphins draft QB Pat White for that reason? For the wildcat??
June 3rd, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Patrick:
To be a running back in a Wildcat. Pat White sucks as a passer, both in college and the NFL. He ran a spread in college and his bread-and-butter was running the ball. Old man Bowden used to call the Wildcat a wishbone. It’s a variation, sort of, from a wishbone but that was a perfect description of Pat White.
Joe actually heard some clown on Sirius NFL Radio claim Peyton Manning ran a Wildcat at Indianapolis because he was in a shotgun. PPPPFFFTTT!!!
June 3rd, 2010 at 2:25 pm
Wildcat in the NFL sure seems like a mix of a couple QBs and/or RBs and/or WRs, with any taking the snap. No specific QB, yes, but there seems to be one out there. I remember one burning Ronde Barber for a td. Maybe “wildcat” isn’t the term I was looking for, maybe trick plays or odd formations. You know the Wildcat or a variation thereof.
BTW “Too many NFL types confuse a shotgun with two quarterbacks in the backfield as a Wildcat.” Then what exactly is this said formation called?
June 3rd, 2010 at 2:29 pm
Yeah hopefully they can find a way to get Josh Johnson involved in the offense. He’s very talented and is an exciting player to watch.
I’m reading that he ran a 4.6 forty at the combine. He’s pretty fast.
June 3rd, 2010 at 2:38 pm
oar:
Remember what Arkansas ran with running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones? There was no quarterback, though McFadden from time to time did throw the ball but that was mainly to keep the defense honest. David Lee was an assistant at Arkansas and when he went to Miami he ran the same formation with Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. That’s a true Wildcat.
If your starting quarterback is in the shotgun or pistol formation, that’s not a Wildcat. Maybe a variation but not the true Wildcat. A Wildcat formation is a running offense where the guy taking the snap (often in a split backfield) has a threat of throwing but that is not the primary objective. Sadly, too many NFL types see a backup quarterback in the game they begin screaming “Wildcat, Wildcat!”
Anyone who suggests Peyton Manning lines up in a Wildcat needs to resign and go back to calling Little League baseball games.
June 3rd, 2010 at 2:46 pm
Patrick:
Doing a bit of research, I found that Pat White was drafted by the Dolphins because they wanted to develop a spread-option offense for specific series or plays.
Here’s a good breakdown on the differences between a Wildcat and spread offense.
June 3rd, 2010 at 3:06 pm
Good article Joe
June 3rd, 2010 at 3:12 pm
Patrick:
You are welcome!
June 3rd, 2010 at 3:14 pm
After reading what Gruden had to say of the spread offense in that article, I kind of wonder why he drafted Josh Johnson. Was it to develop him into a future starting QB or to use him as a special weapon in the wildcat or spread?
June 3rd, 2010 at 3:29 pm
Joe, Thank the football gods above, that I do understand the difference between a shotgun to QB(not the wildcat) and shotgun to RB/WR/TE(is the wildcat). My point was I have seen QB’s used in the wildcat formation and some teams pursuit of players(QBs/RBs) for it.
BTW that is a good article.
June 3rd, 2010 at 3:37 pm
Patrick, I have wondered that and would like to have seen what changes Gruden would have made to the offense and what Raheem could have done just over seeing the defense, but we’ll never know.
BTW I think the defense would have been much better and farther ahead had they stuck with the Tampa-2(or Raheem-hybrid or whatever you want to call it) ALL OF LAST YEAR! That Bates 2-gap experiment(scheme, weight gain, etc) was more damaging to their potential developmnet for the scheme we drafted players for than anything.
June 3rd, 2010 at 5:22 pm
Before we get fancy, pick up a first down before halftime.
June 3rd, 2010 at 5:26 pm
Joe here,
…That’s not fair. They do that almost every game. 😉
June 3rd, 2010 at 6:41 pm
Bravo Eric!!
June 3rd, 2010 at 8:06 pm
@oar
Same here. Sticking with the Tampa 2 from the beginning would’ve gotten us an extra 2-3 wins alone maybe. Starting Josh Freeman at the beginning of the year would’ve also helped us get more wins. Take last year’s team, along with those two things, and you’ve got yourself a 6-10 record probably. Remember all the close games we lost last year (Miami by 2, Washington by 3, Atlanta by 3, Add in the improvements to the roster (Sean Jones, Benn, Williams, McCoy, Price, etc). Then subtract all the dumb*** coaching decisions Raheem made last year (hopefully he learned from them) and you’ve got yourself maybe an 8-8 or 9-7 record.
Look at our schedule, we’ve got the Lions, Rams, Seahawks, Browns, and the Steelers without Big Ben on it. If we only go 6-10, like many people are saying, then Raheem should be fired. When you’ve got those teams on your schedule, plus with all the other things I mentioned, then that’s completely inexcusable. If I were you, I’d be real concerned with only 6 wins. That to me isn’t progress considering all the adjustments we’ve made since last year. All the ones i mentioned above.