Josh Freeman Can Be A “Top-10” QB
July 15th, 2013
There is no subject — not even close — that makes Bucs fans pound on a keyboard or turn their car radios up as if they are cranking Van Halen quite like the subject of Josh Freeman.
Joe knows people in local sports radio, and virtually each guy has told Joe he could do a Josh Freeman topic each day of the week and the phone lines would constantly be full.
No subject is more polarizing than Freeman (except for perhaps, Shaun King).
Ron Jaworski, “Jaws,” the former Rams and Eagles quarterback who works for NFL Films and BSPN, recently ranked Freeman the No. 21 quarterback in the NFL — down four spots from last year — which worked up Bucs fans more than the Darrelle Revis signing.
Recently, “Jaws” called in to the “Booger and Rich Show,” heard on WHFS-FM 98.7 to discuss his Freeman findings.
“I think what I’d like for people to understand is that when I do this quarterback big board, I do study every quarterback. I go through all the throws each quarterback makes. I have an independent reel that has all of their touchdown passes, all their interceptions, all the times they have been sacked, to see if maybe it is the offensive line’s fault or the running back’s fault, a hot read or the quarterback not holding onto the ball. So I get a pretty good template on their skills set,” Jaworski said.
“I think Josh Freeman has a tremendous skill set. What is absolutely baffling to me is his inconsistency. He had a stretch of games last year where he was the best quarterback in the NFL. The Buccaneers were a red hot football team. For whatever reason, his play began to diminish down the stretch. In the NFL, all of these quarterbacks have the talent. It’s the guy who plays the most consistent week in and week out which is able to get his team to the playoffs.
“Josh has the ability to take this team to the playoffs. He must become more consistent. He must have better ball control. He has to anticipate a little bit better. When he has guys open he has to hit them. These are things he can correct to become a top 10 quarterback.”
Well now. That’s not exactly a crucifixion of Freeman, is it?
It really is quite simple: If Freeman has another up-and-down year, so too will the Bucs, and playing in the postseason will be a stretch.
July 15th, 2013 at 10:20 am
Any of them can become a top 10 QB. The fact is he is #21. Bring on the JFro six pack apologists.
July 15th, 2013 at 10:27 am
Well, I’m at least going to give him a second year in this system to show improvement.
God forbid a quarterback (and his wr’s, Mike Williams admitted he wasn’t as familiar with the playbook as Freeman) struggle in year one of a complicated offense.
July 15th, 2013 at 10:28 am
So much for the “Jaworski is a hack” and “He doesn’t do any film study and is just piling on” garbage excuses. Wake up Freeman Lovers. Nobody is hating on Freeman, we all know he has the talent to be great but up until this point he has just been way to inconsistent, enough so that it IS a problem for us a lot of times. NOT AS MUCH AS THE DEFENSE OBVIOUSLY but enough to warrant lots of skepticism.
July 15th, 2013 at 10:34 am
Singing: Go Josh, go Josh… it’s your birthday.
July 15th, 2013 at 10:38 am
Mean D…I only have one thing to say to you regarding Freeman.
Here it goes. I apologize for him breaking Buc records last year.
July 15th, 2013 at 10:41 am
1 he needs more time to learn the offense
2 he broke records last year
keep em coming…
July 15th, 2013 at 10:43 am
@Couch
I wouldn’t say LOTS of skepticism, definitely a bit though.
Freeman has been Jekyll/Hyde in his career so far, but its been more good than bad, and this is truly his first competent OC in Sully, so I feel like people should be just a tad bit more optimistic, the team is on the rise. It’s not unreasonable to expect improvement from Freeman this year.
July 15th, 2013 at 10:50 am
#3 Greg Olson
July 15th, 2013 at 10:51 am
I’d really like to hear from Shaun King on this. I would like to know what sort of research Shaun does when he makes his evaluations.
Shaun’s input is crucial because…..
“Shaun King, one of two Buc Quarterbacks that lost a NFC Championship Game when his defense gave up 11 or fewer points.”
July 15th, 2013 at 10:51 am
Hey Olson’s the new OC in Oakland. That should be fun for the Raiders fans to endure.
July 15th, 2013 at 10:51 am
Why, of course, Freeman could become a Top 10 QB. If you believe Jaws’ ranking of Freeman at 21, why would you not believe him if he says he could be a Top 10 QB too? And get this, drumroll please – he could even win a Super Bowl too!
BleacherReport isn’t the most dependable source for NFL info but this article makes some points that are worthy of consideration.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1701070-why-nfl-teams-dont-really-need-elite-qbs-to-win-championships
July 15th, 2013 at 10:52 am
This is easy enough to address. Evaluate the offensive line play on its own merits. Evaluate the TE play on its own merits. And so forth.
There is no question the Josh Freeman has room for improvement. No one denies that. Some of us are just intelligent enough to evaluate the various reasons for each weakness. Some of us understand that there are things that can be done to help him overcome those weaknesses.
Using the term “JFro six pack apologists” may seem like a smart thing for you to say, but that is because you lack the intellectual process to overcome your own short sightedness. No one actually apologizes for Josh Freeman. You just lack the mental capacity to see pass the surface. And worse, you are resistant to being shown.
The truth about Josh Freeman is this. He does need to be more consistant. He does need to develop more touch and read defenses better. And he does need to learn and trust the system more.
But you must also consider the other players on the field and how they can improve. How can their improvement help Josh Freeman improve?
There is no doubt that, just as Freeman made mistakes last year, so too did all the other players. Vincent Jackson wasn’t perfect. Doug Martin did not get a first down on every run. Luke Stocker did not catch every block or catch every pass. There is a reason Dallas Clark is not resigned. Carl Nicks and Daven Joseph were injured.
These are all things that could be improved and would result in a more effective Josh Freeman.
You focus on a single limited view of Josh Freeman. We “apologists” focus on the big picture. We understand that a strong team makes a strong quarterback, and that once the quartback becomes strong the roles reverse.
July 15th, 2013 at 11:01 am
@BuccaneerBonzai
No, it’s all Freeman’s fault we suck, he’ll never play good football, he can’t read a defense or call an audible, Glennon would lead this team to the playoffs with his eyes closed!
All jokes aside, things are looking good this off season.
Here come the big bad BUCS!
July 15th, 2013 at 11:04 am
Remember, it’s talking time only, until they play, they all have 0/0 records.
Power ranking and opinions changes week to week. Win or loss they will write or talk about it week to week.
When is the last time you seen a writer or sports reporter post his incorrect predictions at the end of the year. What about their stats.
July 15th, 2013 at 11:14 am
4…this is a doozy…. “you lack the intellectual process to overcome your own short sightedness”
it’s our fault jfro 6 pack sux…..and then he rants on to blame every other player on the team.
LOL
July 15th, 2013 at 11:17 am
No duh? I think everyone understands that our success hinges on Freeman being consistent. That’s a given considering how he faded last year. But what all you people (fans?) who keep whining about Freeman still need to get is that he is going to be our starting QB, regardless of his past and what you may want. We all get it! I get it, WCBF gets it.
So instead of assassinating Josh on a daily basis (cause we all get it by now), it’s time to drop your indifferences and rally behind him. At this point if you still expect him to fail then you don’t expect us to win. What kind of fan would really want that?
July 15th, 2013 at 11:25 am
@Buc’n Junkie
The kind that cares more about being right than they do about their teams success. Either that, or the most depressing fan ever.
July 15th, 2013 at 11:31 am
Tell the truth, robert, you had to copy and paste that because you couldn’t spell “intellectual”.
July 15th, 2013 at 11:36 am
“Some mock because they do not understand, others analyze so that they do understand.”
“A strong team makes a strong quarterback, and that once the quarterback becomes strong the roles reverse.”
Dang…I sould write football fortune cookies….
July 15th, 2013 at 11:36 am
But with proper spelling….
July 15th, 2013 at 11:39 am
Woman!
I TOLD you not to go given’ that Loch-Ness-Monster no tree-fitty!
Now every time he want tree-fitty he gonna come around here!
July 15th, 2013 at 11:48 am
lol @ Shaun King being “polarizing.” you cant be polarizing when the majority of people hate you.
July 15th, 2013 at 11:51 am
@robert
stop lying ….
Freeman has never directly called out one of his teammates.
Quit making crap up..
July 15th, 2013 at 11:53 am
^^This^^ is who you guys are arguing with. I don’t even need to say anything. His comments tell you everything you need to know.
July 15th, 2013 at 12:02 pm
@WestCoastBucsFan
Lol that’s an awesome collection of stupid quotes from Robert, he truly is an idiot. The Madden comment kills me every time xD
July 15th, 2013 at 12:28 pm
When someone takes the time to collect a litany of posts from certain individuals to use later can mean only one thing:
That person lives in his mom’s basement!
July 15th, 2013 at 12:32 pm
I can’t wait until the season starts and we have something to actual read/write about. Crying about what others say/think is getting old. I don’t care that PFT ranked the Bucs 24th; I don’t care what Jaws says about Freemen. When the ball gets kicked off all of the answers to all of the questions will begin to sort themselves out. I will watch and root for the Bucs every week and at the end of 16 games I hope I get to see more Bucs games.
July 15th, 2013 at 12:34 pm
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
July 15th, 2013 at 12:35 pm
@lightningbuc
Oh yes, because Copy/Paste just takes sooooooo much time and dedication.
I think you just don’t enjoy one of your fellow members of the Pro-Glennon committee being embarrassed.
July 15th, 2013 at 12:36 pm
Just copy and paste into a Google Drive document actually. Takes about five seconds, if that. Nothing wrong with holding people accountable. Every time I think about engaging robert I try to just stop and remember that yes, he actually said these things.
For the record, I post from work, usually. (Which is why I usually don’t post as often during the weekends.) Besides that, my wife and son wouldn’t like living in my mom’s basement.
July 15th, 2013 at 12:38 pm
Wow, I knew Robert was a moron before, but after seeing that, holy crap. I now know to skip over every post he makes because he NEVER has anything intelligent to say.
July 15th, 2013 at 12:43 pm
It’s funny how robert gets so much attention. He’s an attention whore who knows how to get people to talk to his pathetic ass. In fact he has mastered it.
I liken it to 2 babies sitting in the middle of the room. Each one with that ball that has many different little shapes that you match to the shape on the ball. The baby on the left has no clue and keeps trying to fit the wrong shapes into the wrong holes, but the baby on the right is almost finished in record time. All of a sudden before the baby on the right matches his last piece, the baby on the left says, sh?t, F?ck, damn. Everybody turns their attention to the baby on the left because they can’t belieive what they just heard while the baby on the right just finished and no-one noticed.
July 15th, 2013 at 12:47 pm
I blame Robert’s lack of intelligence on the Bucs Defense…
July 15th, 2013 at 12:53 pm
@Couch Fan
I blame the Madden video games. His success on Franchise mode obviously went to his head. Haha
July 15th, 2013 at 12:56 pm
dang, all you girls with your panties in a wad because I don’t believe in jfro 6 pack Jackson…………
you don’t see me chasing anyone else’s posts *cough* WCB
you don’t see me bashing others (insert 3-5 posters whom I would thrash verbally or physical- your choice)]
All you see is someone who truly believes, based on 4 years of observation, that jfro 6 pack Jackson does not have the inner strength to live up to his capabilities.
you girls pat each other on the back and pile one. I won’t waiver.
July 15th, 2013 at 12:58 pm
and who the hell says we can’t be juvenile on a BLOG!!!!
LOL
“MOM!!!, bring me some meatloaf”
July 15th, 2013 at 1:01 pm
@robert
Lol you’ve earned this criticism with your ignorant posts more than “jfro 6 pack Jackson” has earned with his inconsistent play.
I mean, c’mon, I’ve met kids that understand football (NOT Madden) better than you. You’re just begging to be insulted.
July 15th, 2013 at 1:04 pm
@Buc’n Junkie
The sad thing is, I don’t think that is the case at all. I really don’t believe robert is here for attention. I think he actually believes the things he says and believes he makes valid points.
The problem is that he is not open to discussion in the slightest. Glennon is starting week five and there is no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Freeman is guaranteed to fail and if Glennon is not starting then we will not be in the playoffs. These are things he actually believes. He claims to be the owner/CEO/ or president of some company yet spends all this time here and makes very uneducated posts. He doesn’t even capitalize his own name.
Another sad thing is that all these people are responding to me “bashing” robert when all I did was post some of his own comments. That alone says a lot.
@robert
I am sorry robert but I am not buying what you are selling. I don’t believe you know very much about football. (An honest opinion based on your posts.) There is nothing wrong with that but don’t make posts claiming things with such certainty when you don’t really know what you are talking about. You don’t need to pretend you are some sort of corporate executive for us to take you seriously. Just take a step back and add “I think” to your posts once in awhile.
Also, I did not “chase your posts” specifically. I copy a lot of people’s comments. Including my own so that I can remember what exactly was said. You don’t need to threaten to “thrash” people verbally or physically. Nobody likes an internet thug.
July 15th, 2013 at 1:06 pm
Lol, we are gonna need all the entertainment we can get for the next week in a half.
July 15th, 2013 at 1:07 pm
walt……no worries bro….I don’t even take it as insults.
“consider the source” is something I learned long ago.
July 15th, 2013 at 1:10 pm
Don’t mess with Robert guys, he’s a big bad corporate CEO/Ninja Assassin that will hunt us all down and kill us while wearing a #8 Glennon jersey.
July 15th, 2013 at 1:13 pm
@robert
It’s ok Robert, I’ll forgive you and welcome you back to the fan base when we are winning games with Freeman under center this year. I won’t even mention Glennon OR the bet lol
July 15th, 2013 at 1:14 pm
Man, Schiano has had two good looking drafts/offseasons since arriving in Tampa. I hope the Bucs can take are of business this year.
Playoffs/Consistency or bust for Freeman.
Glennon will get a chance (if needed).
July 15th, 2013 at 1:15 pm
“Successful people make their decisions quickly and change their minds slowly. Failures make their decisions slowly and change their minds quickly.”
I don’t cap my name because I am not trying to be important……never said I was corp exec….check you log entries again.
July 15th, 2013 at 1:16 pm
Anybody remember Miguel EL Grande? Where did he go? Right now would be a great time for him to show up and start crying about the 16×16 “Gauntlet” Schiano will have them do before the start of training camp.
July 15th, 2013 at 1:16 pm
LOL
ninja….. funny poo. back to work now.
carry on
July 15th, 2013 at 1:17 pm
^^^^ I totally agree with all of your statement
July 15th, 2013 at 1:18 pm
@stevek
I agree
July 15th, 2013 at 1:21 pm
Glennon still has to beat out Orlovsky. The Bucs depth chart going into camp is Freeman , Orlovsky, then Glennon
July 15th, 2013 at 1:26 pm
Then what is it that you do robert? You have said it before but I apparently didn’t copy that one down. (Or maybe I just want to see if you actually remember what you said you did?)
I am not sure when capitalizing the first letter of your name became a sign of importance. Its basic grammar concepts taught in elementary school.
Also, you blew the whole “not trying to be important” thing when you bragged about how much money you made in the last article.
July 15th, 2013 at 1:27 pm
24 more days til Glennon sets the NFL pre-season on fire! (sarcasm)
July 15th, 2013 at 1:31 pm
headhunter for 16 years……so I know a little something about excuses, BS and people who have “it”…….and it aint jfro
your turn. whats your occupation? grammar police?
July 15th, 2013 at 1:35 pm
@Buc1987
Oh boy!! I can’t wait!! (Even more sarcasm)
@WestCoastBucsFan
I recall him saying so as well, he may not have said CEO, but it was something along those lines.
Also, he claimed he makes more money than 98% of us, that much confidence when you literally know what NONE of us do for a living tells me that you must carry a pretty important job title.
Regardless, none of this matters at all, and I’m done bashing on you for today Robert, I’m sure you will comment something ridiculous again by tomorrow for me to laugh at.
July 15th, 2013 at 1:36 pm
I cook french fries @ Burger King…..
July 15th, 2013 at 1:38 pm
@Couch Fan
Remember he was a Chip Kelly fan so I think he is an Eagle fan now.
July 15th, 2013 at 1:48 pm
Head Hunter = NFL Scout? I wasn’t aware of that lol
July 15th, 2013 at 1:48 pm
I have no interest in sharing my occupation. There is no reason to. You put it out there before so I just asked that you restate it. You obviously feel as if it is important for us to know who you are and why you are qualified to assess football players better than the rest of us.
Also, you have never met “jfro”. If you have then I doubt it was anything more than autograph signing. There is no way you can tell from the TV if Freeman has “it” or not.
Obviously Schiano believes he has “it” or he wouldn’t be wasting his time with Freeman. Do you think that if the people you actually know Freeman didn’t believe he had “it” that they would pronounce him the starter? What type of head coach would do such a thing?
July 15th, 2013 at 1:50 pm
I’m a Milkman. I think that qualifies me as a NFL Evaluator.
July 15th, 2013 at 1:51 pm
When a QB has to re adjust every year to learn some new OC offense he’s never going to have an opportunity to master his craft. Mike Sulivan is the most creative offensive play caller we’ve ever had in Tampa and the offense is complex. All the other years 2011 and earlier, you KNEW EXACTLY what our offense was doing. And if a guy drinkin beer on the couch can see that before the ball is snapped I think the NFL defense on the other side can too. Truth is I do not believe we have seen Josh’s best yet…This year should be one of his best seasons and should put up some huge numbers.
July 15th, 2013 at 1:53 pm
It’s pile on robert day? I’m not jumping on that wagon. You guys are doing fine by yourselves.
and who the hell says we can’t be juvenile on a BLOG!!!!
LOL
“MOM!!!, bring me some meatloaf”
robert that’s hilarious I was lmao, good to see you can have fun too.
I blame Robert’s lack of intelligence on the Bucs Defense…
Couch Fan…another hilarious comment.
Some funny sh*t in her today!
July 15th, 2013 at 1:54 pm
Some funny sh*t in her today!
^^^^ I left the e out so WestCoast can correct me…
July 15th, 2013 at 2:02 pm
@ west coast.
you’re 23 or 24
you’re looking to get into the stock market *cough* after you get out of debt
you went through a religious course to be confirmed in the church, but *cough* changed your mind
you play too many video games
translation. you don’t have a f-ing clue.
carry on.
July 15th, 2013 at 2:04 pm
lol @ 87′
westcoast is busy deciding what he wants to do with his life…….grammar police, priest, venture capitalist or “mom, bring me some meatloaf”
I vote the later.
July 15th, 2013 at 2:42 pm
Good to see you can use Google search. (Funny what people resort to when they are embarrassed by their own comments.) I am 24 now. I am a confirmed Catholic. I did have some interest in the stock market but no longer. Nearly out of debt now as well. (Just for an update on that pretty old post you found.)
And yes, I do play video games. Quite a bit actually. I use Madden to learn the names of positions and players. There is nothing wrong with that. What I don’t use it for is training to be an NFL quarterback. Or determining how easy it is to read a defense. (The AI in Madden is terribly predictable.)
What I also spend a lot of time on is reading Matt Bowen’s play breakdowns and Steve White’s back when he used to do them. Both quite boring but incredibly knowledgeable analysts that can teach you a lot about play concepts in the NFL as they have both done it before. I also spend a lot of time researching various statistics. I do this so that I don’t make a complete ass out of myself everyday on a blog.
If you feel like educating yourself just type in “Matt Bowen inside the playbook” in Google. Then you can find out what reading a defense and knowing a playbook is all about and why it is not as easy as it is in Madden.
July 15th, 2013 at 2:54 pm
and here folks we have yet another jobless, video game junkie who collects stats for no reason (lest we forget his blog archive) and knows more about football than me because he reads matt bowen………
nothing else to see here……. oh wait….one more time!
“MOM!!!, MEATLOAF”
July 15th, 2013 at 3:04 pm
I never said jobless. I said quite the opposite, that I often post from my workplace.
I think it is funny how defensive you get when you realize you were completely embarrassed by a “jobless” 24 year old that “lives in his mom’s basement”. I hope I am never in that position when I am 42 years old. lol.
It’s okay robert. While you may discredit me for the person you think I am, you discredit yourself everyday by posting about things you know nothing about. It is incredibly obvious to everyone but yourself.
July 15th, 2013 at 3:20 pm
Lol Robert sounds bitter.
Got your panties in a bundle? xD
You’re so easy to mess with.
July 15th, 2013 at 3:26 pm
@ Robert
^that is pretty funny. Maybe it will piss Josh off
and make him play better.
July 15th, 2013 at 3:26 pm
What do Matt Ryan , russel Wilson , Andrew luck , Ben Roethlisbuerger , Sam Bradford have in common? Oh yeah. All had to learn new offenses and terminology. Heck joe Flaccos off coordinator was fired mid season. They all did well.
Yet we use this as an excuse for freeman? Come on. I like josh. But even in his 3rd year in Greg olsens offense he declined. I think we need to stop putting blame on everything outside of josh and realize he might either be Big Ben or Jason Campbell. My money is on choice number 2. Sorry but inconsistency usually promotes you to career back up.
July 15th, 2013 at 3:33 pm
@Bucfan
Did you just call him a career back up??? Really???
Wow.
A couple of you people are gonna be eating crow and singing a different tune by seasons end lol
I can’t wait.
July 15th, 2013 at 3:39 pm
I cant wait either! Just a few more days.
July 15th, 2013 at 3:43 pm
@Couch Fan
At least SOMEBODY around here is excited lol
What’s the point of following a team if you don’t even support them, that sounds miserable.
July 15th, 2013 at 3:55 pm
robert Says:
“insert 3-5 posters whom I would thrash verbally or physical– your choice)”
Well now…that’s pretty brave of you. Hide behind a screen name and make claims like that.
Newsflash, kid. Those that can, do it. Those that can’t, claim they can do it.
July 15th, 2013 at 3:56 pm
There are very few things to not be excited about. I may dislike Freeman as a player so far in his career but this team is stacked just about everywhere else. I think if we can have some good luck with injuries for once, this team will be hard to beat on sundays for anybody.
July 15th, 2013 at 3:56 pm
I agree, Walter.
July 15th, 2013 at 3:57 pm
The thing that bugs me is that people think Glennon can come in and do better than Josh Freeman. By the time Mike Glennon can learn, half our starters will be retiring.
July 15th, 2013 at 5:56 pm
I am even excited to have rookie practice Thursday, any news, go Bucs!
July 15th, 2013 at 8:16 pm
I agree not to judge until they take the field. But I have to give Jaws props for not only how he broke every QB’s play down but how he explained what he does. This shows humility and I respect that. He’s correct that when Josh was good, he was the best. When he was bad, he was horrible. I believe Josh will turn it around. The win in ATL was a boost and great way to finish for the Bucs. I’m looking for that top 10 and the NFC South crown for starters.
July 15th, 2013 at 10:51 pm
^^^ yes sir NFC South crown and I say that with cautious optimism, I’ve seen the schedule.
July 15th, 2013 at 11:12 pm
” I think Josh Freeman has a tremendous skill set. What is absolutely baffling to me is his inconsistency. He had a stretch of games last year where he was the best quarterback in the NFL. The Buccaneers were a red hot football team. For whatever reason, his play began to diminish down the stretch. In the NFL, all of these quarterbacks have the talent. It’s the guy who plays the most consistent week in and week out which is able to get his team to the playoffs.
Josh has the ability to take this team to the playoffs. He must become more consistent. He must have better ball control. He has to anticipate a little bit better. When he has guys open he has to hit them. These are things he can correct to become a top 10 quarterback.” – Jaws
Amen!!!! Point blank, end of story.
It’s now or never Freeman, it’s time to shed the Jekyll/Hyde Act
July 15th, 2013 at 11:18 pm
P.S.
Jaws does in fact consider ALL other factors when writing this,
Oline, TE, Defense, pressure etc…
July 16th, 2013 at 6:14 am
Can you imagine one of Robert’s clients desperate for a job and their hired “head hunter” spends his day bashing the QB of his favorite team and scribing juvenile comments and retorts to others who also seem to have a lot of free time. Just here on this piece Robert spent nearly four hours spatting with “apologists” instead of seeking employment opportunities for those depending on his expertise. Glad Josh Freeman isn’t such a slacker.
July 16th, 2013 at 9:56 am
hahahaha scubog ha ha ha ha ha
July 16th, 2013 at 11:15 am
scub….. FYI I don’t “seek employment opportunities for those depending on my expertise” lol