Down Goes Freeman

August 21st, 2010

The word is now out, per various sources. Josh Freeman will miss the final two preseason games but might be ready for opening day in three short weeks.

Of course, there’s no way to spin Freeman’s busted thumb on his throwing hand as a good thing.

There’s no need to rush the guy when you’re trying to build a “lasting contender,” but losing on opening day could send this team spiraling in the wrong direction fast.

And now Freeman loses the chance to get some of the rhythm with his young receivers that the Bucs’ brass was hoping to acheive.

Greg Olson has his work cut out for him to try and craft a winning gameplan for Johnson and Freeman against the Browns while Freeman rehabilitates.

Major test for this coaching staff.

14 Responses to “Down Goes Freeman”

  1. goodfellajay Says:

    A GOOD THX YOU TO THE INTERNET ..we watch the game free..and so can you google is ur friend…no black outs in my house so go to hell NFL….

  2. goodfellajay Says:

    he will be fine …ill be at the game when we beat thr Browns…come see me 213 row h seat 15

  3. Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa Says:

    Well, I guess Jonhson will get a lot of playing time, so we will find out what we got ?
    I think we may need to rethink our offensive line ? I don’t think they are giving our QB’s much time ? Other Teams protect their QB’s much better.

  4. Pete Dutcher Says:

    @Joe Who said:
    “There’s no need to rush the guy when you’re trying to build a “lasting contender,” but losing on opening day could send this team spiraling in the wrong direction fast.”

    I’m not so sure about that. This team has a bunch of guys now that play to win every game. I’m sure they would bounce back

    “And now Freeman loses the chance to get some of the rhythm with his young receivers that the Bucs’ brass was hoping to acheive.”

    Again, not sure about that either. This is where Freeman’s dedication in the off season pays off. He’s been working a lot with the guys already and while it hasn’t been much in live game situations, he’s still formed bonds to them.

    I’m sure he might start the Browns game off a little slow, maybe throw and interception even given that it’s his throwing hand. But if he heals up enough by then, he should be fine.

    Wouldn’t surprise me if his accuracy is a tad off on the long passes though.

    The solution? Caddy, Huggins and Graham in the Browns game.

  5. Pete Dutcher Says:

    @ Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa
    Keep in mind that they are a tad rusty after having a long off season and barely playing in both preseason games. They’ll do better than last year for sure.

    I wouldn’t count on Johnson being the backup going into the season. I think Carpenter will be or the Bucs will bring in someone. In this case, I wouldn’t actually mind Griese coming back just as backup.

  6. eric Says:

    Carpenter will not be the backup, thats just ludicrous. Not even Rah would do that! Carpenter is playing vs. back ups, its meaningless.

    As for a tail spin if they lose to Cleveland, it almost guarantees a 0 dash 3 start and no better than 1 dash 7 at the half way mark.

    Ward’s guarantee didn’t exactly work out did it?

  7. thomas Says:

    If they go 0-3, Jimbuc and Capt Dim should be banned from this blog and forced to only read the soft-a– love, err journalism, being publiched on pewter report!

    Also, we should make them move to Rah’s next stop – Hofstra’s intramural flag team!

  8. Greg Says:

    @ Thomas

    I haven’t read any blogs from JimBuc in some time, why are you guys still busting his balls? Personally, I’d like to see him come back, reading yours and Eric’s posts gets old!

  9. Brad Says:

    Agree with Pete and not with Joe. This could actually be an advantage to get our backups critical playing time in the event Freeman has any set backs during regular season. Freeman worked his ass off in the offseason and believe that will pay off big.

    I’m more concerned with our defense and how soft the entire unit looked. I didn’t any big splash plays.

  10. Scott Says:

    On the other hand the announcers for the Giants/Steelers game seemed to think Leftwich had a good night.

  11. Vince Says:

    The “race for 10” may have just become the “race for 3”.

  12. topdoggie Says:

    Bummed out right now. The Browns game isn’t so important for our future seasons. It is critical for this season. If by a miracle we squeak into a wildcard beating Cleveland is a must.

  13. BigMacAttack Says:

    JJ is getting better and so is Rudy. They should be able to make it until Freeman gets back. At least we don’t have Sluggo anymore.

  14. tampa2 Says:

    Now the Glazers have a great excuse for the losing season! And to give Raheem a free pass for losing. It’s all Freeman’s thumb’s fault. To that guy hoping for a wildcard, I feel real sorry for you!