Raheem Gets A Third-Place Vote; Freeman 13th
January 4th, 2011
"You stop that, Mr. Hat."
NFL guru John Clayton, The Professor, of BSPN, continues his twisted view of the Buccaners.
A couple of weeks ago, he said the Bucs weren’t worthy of the playoffs even if they got in. Stunning arrogance, in Joe’s mind.
Now Clayton says Raheem Morris is No. 3 on his list of Coach of the Year candidates. Speaking on The Fabulous Sports Babe Show on 1040 AM yesterday, Clayton revealed Eagles coach Andy Reid gets his vote, followed by Todd Haley in Kansas City. Raheem checks in at No. 3.
C’mon, Clayton. Joe might have made a good case for Reid if he hadn’t lost to the Vikings at home in Week 16. The Bucs’ 10-6 is more impressive than the Eagles’ 10-6.
In a column today on BSPN.com, Clayton went on to rank Josh Freeman as the 13th best quarterback in the NFL, two steps behind Eli Manning and his 25 interceptions. …Hmmm, Joe suspects there’s not a Bucs fan in the world who would trade Freeman for Manning.
Clayton goes on to write that Sam Bradford is more of a lock to become an elite QB than Freeman.
What genius analysis from Disney’s evil empire.
January 4th, 2011 at 3:37 pm
You would think such a handsome man would possess more football knowledge.
January 4th, 2011 at 3:43 pm
I can’t figure out why Ben Roethlisberger is ranked so high. This season, Freeman had better stats then Big Ben in almost every category.
January 4th, 2011 at 3:47 pm
John is still upset he wasn’t chosen for the role of Beaker on The Muppets
January 4th, 2011 at 3:47 pm
This list has to be a joke.
So Ryan, Rodgers and Schaub are in the same category as Brady, Manning and Brees?
Good one, Clayton. Good one.
Those other guys have RINGS. Ryan, Rodgers and Schaub haven’t even ever won ONE playoff game.
Laughable.
12 “elite” QBs out of 32? Someone needs to look up the definition of the word “elite”.
January 4th, 2011 at 3:51 pm
I’m NOT going to knock Clayton’s method of determining an elite vs. Chad tier but having Eli ahead of Freeman is just plain ludicrous!!!!
In fact Freeman’s QB rating this year was 95.9 vs. Eli’s 85.3 rating.
Freeman has 61.4% completion vs. Eli’s 62.9% and Eli averaged 250 yards per game passing compared to Josh’s 215 yards but there are 2 stats that really stick out for me:
1. Eli only got sacked 16 times this year vs. Freeman who got sacked 28 times!
2. Eli only averages 4.4 yards rushing per game which Josh averages 22.8 yards per game rushing!!!! WOW
Considering the Bucs offensive line had 2 undrafted rookies starting in the final part of the season and that only Penn made it thru the entire season it’s amazing that Freeman’s stats are THAT good!
I’ll take Josh Freeman over Eli Manning ANY DAY of the week.
January 4th, 2011 at 3:51 pm
Love the South Park reference.
January 4th, 2011 at 3:57 pm
Cant complain about these rankings too much. I don’t think its that much of a big deal. But he has wayy to manny elite Qbs. Because i sure did not know there were 12 elite Qbs in the NFL O.o…. But the rankings are fine im actually surprised he put freeman at 13th and that mark sanchez was behind him.
January 4th, 2011 at 4:02 pm
I saw this earlier. What exactly are this guys qualifications anyway?
I mean he’s been on ESPN forever but why is he on there to begin with?
This just shows why these awards are a load of crap. The reason why Raheem says he doesn’t care about it is because he has no reason to respect the opinion of the people who give them out.
oh and also…. the Sports Babe’s show is awful.
January 4th, 2011 at 4:08 pm
COTY is Raheem.
Reid? No, he stumbled with sub-par play down the stretch and his handling of the QB’s was poor.
Nobody has done more with less than Raheem.
January 4th, 2011 at 4:09 pm
D-Money:
I think this jabroney is actually in the sportswriters Hall of Fame even.
Then again, that’s not saying much.
John Clayton is a goob. And its because of many other things than this recent article.
12 of 32 NFL QBs are “elite”? I’m still laughing.
January 4th, 2011 at 4:10 pm
Good.
Hang it at 1BP and remind Freeman every day that people doubt what he can do.
January 4th, 2011 at 4:11 pm
I used to hate him until he slammed Sean Salisbury on live TV. You remember, Sean Salisbury, arrogant and smarmy career bench sitting do-nothing backup.
Sean Salisbury: “John, you cant possibly know what your talking about! You never even actually played in the NFL!”
John Clayton: “Well really, neither did you Sean!”
January 4th, 2011 at 4:14 pm
Here’s the thing..Tampa Bay is a small market. Clayton is not going to admit Freeman a top five quarterback because of ratings alone.
Ask yourselves this…Why didn’t Mike Williams or Legarrett Blount win offensive/rookie player of the awards thoughout the season? RATINGS! And now you see why players hate the media so much.
January 4th, 2011 at 4:24 pm
I just read on his bio that he got his start with ESPN by way of being a contributer to the Sports Babes show when she signed on with ESPN radio.
That explains a lot. She is the biggest Buc hater ever.
January 4th, 2011 at 4:24 pm
The NFL ranking is what really matters, and I believe Freeman is at number 6.
January 4th, 2011 at 4:26 pm
“The Bucs’ 10-6 is more impressive than the Eagles’ 11-5.”
The Eagles didn’t even go 11-5, they too were 10-6 and we had a better conference record to boot!
Joe has corrected.
January 4th, 2011 at 4:30 pm
Beaker on the Muppets? Now that’s funny Nick! Awesome
January 4th, 2011 at 4:37 pm
Stop watching the talking heads from ESPN Joe. It only fires you up as it does me. Only kidding. I know it is a requirement for what you do. The point is Clayton probably had not even seen a buc game this year. If you want to give coach of the year to the chief’s coach, I can see that. The Chief’s made a nice turn around but Andy? This is the same guy that said Kolb is the better quarterback and they were suppose to make the playoffs. BTW. I would take Freeman over Manning any day no matter what the rankings are.
January 4th, 2011 at 4:46 pm
Yet, another example of why Clayton ABSOLUTELY KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT FOOTBALL..
January 4th, 2011 at 5:04 pm
I would like to see his head explode since it is so impacted with $h!t. If you take away his body, that big round head looks Little Stewie on Family Guy. I wonder if Clayton’s/Stewie’s screen name is Thomas or Buc You.
January 4th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
LOL! I just notice the caption under the picture.
I always thought he looked like Mr Mackey but you’re right he’s a dead ringer for Mr. Garrison.
Also a little bit of Gollum from Lord of The Rings in there as well.
January 4th, 2011 at 5:14 pm
who cares what Mr. Mackey says um kay. It’s obvious hate due 2 us being ina small market. Far as COTY if Haley or Morris wins it’ll be well deserved. Far as QB ratings goes Bathroom Ben, Dentene Ice, and Little Brother are ranked 2 high. It wouldn’t surprise me 2 see Bradford becoming better than Freeman as both will be great QB’s in tha near future
January 4th, 2011 at 5:23 pm
There are maybe two guys on the entire list that I would even consider taking over Freeman.
In five years or so after Manning and Brady are gone its going to be Bradford, Freeman and then everyone else.
January 4th, 2011 at 5:29 pm
Hey Joe…Jagz got the boot again. That is three teams in three years.
January 4th, 2011 at 5:36 pm
It’s amazing to me that Clyton can see his keyboard to write such trash with his head so far up his a$$. What a waste of space.
January 4th, 2011 at 6:09 pm
That face you superimposed over the writers body is freaking me out.
January 4th, 2011 at 6:50 pm
John Clayton is to analysis what Michael Clayton is to pass catching!
January 4th, 2011 at 7:30 pm
First off…None of us should even care what a guy who clearly has never actually played a sport in his life thinks about sports. What the hell is such a dork as this doing anywhere near a professional sports journalism job? John Clayton makes Woody Allen look like a greek god in comparison.
Second off… Freeman 13th???Behind guys like Matt Schaub? How come Matt Schaub can’t lead the team with the best offensive line and the best reciever in football to better than a 6-10 record? I’ll tell you why. Its because he sucks. Just throwing for a lot of yards doesn’t make you worth a crap if you don’t make the plays that count to win games, which clearly, Matt Schaub is incapable of. Tony Romo????? That is just a joke. The Cowboys actually improved with journeyman John Kitna at QB. Im sorry but if your an elite QB your team does not play better when the journeyman backup steps in. And Manning with 25 picks? Clearly Freeman belongs not only in the elite group but ahead of Manning, Schaub and Romo without question. Joe Flacco? Im sorry but Joe Flacco is kind of like a Josh Freeman with less speed, less size and less arm strength. I would like to have seen Joe Flacco lead the Bucs to a 10-6 record with the D they had this year. Would not have happened. Same goes for Aaron Rogers for that matter.
Bottom line
only 6 guys finished the season with better passing ratings than Freeman
Brady,Rivers,Rogers,Vick and Big Ben
Of those 6 only 2 threw less picks than Freeman- Brady and Big Ben
Of those 6- Rivers had less wins(9) and Rogers\Vick had equal wins(10) but their defenses also ranked higher than the Bucs in yards given up per game. The Packers D also finished second in points given up per game while the Eagles D finished below the Bucs.
Drew Brees had more wins, yards and 32 TD’s but had an AWFUL TD to INT ratio with 22 freakin picks and was lucky his defense covered his ass in a lot of close games this year.
Schaub had about 1,000 more yards than Freeman but had 1 less TD(24) and 6 more picks(12) and of course that pesky 6-10 record which means you aint nothin special of a QB even with a bad defense.
Matt Ryan had slightly more yards than Freeman(3705 vs. 3451) more TD’s(28) and more picks(9). Atlanta finished one spot ahead of Tampa in total defense(16). The big difference was Ryan pulling out more wins(13).
We all know Big Ben had a FAR better defense. Rogers had a better defense but still finished with the same record. Rivers defense finished first in total D and 10th in total points but he still ended up with one less win.
We can get into the argument about strength of schedule but remember that the above QB’s who had harder schedules also had better D’s covering their asses.
I could go on and on like this but the bottom line is that when you compare TD’s vs. INT’s, passer rating, victories, and the quality of defenses backing them up the only QB’s who I think had better seasons or were more valuable to their teams than Freeman were- Brady and Ryan and possibly Vick.
Ranking Josh Freeman 13th means IGNORING the numbers and just playing a biased game of “who’s my favorite QB’s”. Either that or using passing yardage as your main criteria, in which case Freeman finished exactly 13th. This seems to be EXACTLY what Clayton did. But that is such a flawed method for ranking the QB’s because you can pass for a lot of yards but also a ton of INT’s.
January 4th, 2011 at 7:34 pm
oops I meant 5 QB’s above in all the spots where I said 6. Freeman finished 6th in passer rating.
January 4th, 2011 at 7:56 pm
Boy, John Clayton is one handsome man!
January 4th, 2011 at 8:00 pm
What kind of garbage list is this?? Wow, I didn’t know that there were “12” elite QB’s in the NFL. Freeman had a fantastic year! It’s even more fantastic when you look at the circumstances. He had two rookies off the scrap heap starting for him. All of his receivers were rookies. He had no running game until Blount game along.
Josh Freeman finished this year with 25 TD’s, only 6 INT’s, 3,451 yards, and 95.9 QB rating!
95.9 rating! That’s an elite QB in my opinion right there.
This list is worthless. And what is this “chance of being elite” thing this great “genius” came up with?
January 4th, 2011 at 8:09 pm
@JOE: NEAT VIDEO OF BUCS O-LINE… http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-oline-confidential/09000d5d81d74a12/O-Line-Confidential-Buccaneers-Week-17?module=HP_video
January 4th, 2011 at 8:31 pm
Joe, enlighten me. What qualifies John Clayton to even report on sports, much less make assessments such as this?
January 4th, 2011 at 8:54 pm
Dang, eight months until the regular season………………………sucks!
January 4th, 2011 at 9:22 pm
Yeah it does Eric…
January 4th, 2011 at 9:27 pm
Great link Hunter thanks
January 4th, 2011 at 9:53 pm
Hunter – THANK YOU for posting that video link.
My only question about that video is this – where the heck was Freeman? I know it was the O-line but …come on man.
The MORE I see of Penn the more this guy grows on you. Zuttah is really well spoken and I could see him & Penn being leaders on this team.
January 4th, 2011 at 10:01 pm
When do we actually find out who the Coach of the Year is?
January 4th, 2011 at 10:08 pm
How can you give coach of the year to someone who wanted to start Kolb and instead lucked out and has Vick carrying that team single handed.
January 4th, 2011 at 10:39 pm
Oh and as far as Bradford being more of a guarantee to be elite than Freeman (85% vs. %99 chance), I have two arguments with that.
1. Freeman ALREADY put up elite numbers this season so I would put his chance of being elite at %100 as in my mind he alreay is.
2. Bradford certainly has the chance to be elite BUT, he is pretty much a statue back there and he would not be the first QB with elite skills whose lack of mobility hurt them and kept them from being truly great. Guys like Vinny Testaverde, Drew Bledsoe and Carson Palmer come to mind readily. Despite whatever skills Bradford might have he did throw 18 TDs vs. 15 INT’s this year. Yes he was a rookie BUT he is immobile and there is always a chance that the NFL pass rush will keep him from ever improving greatly on that TD to INT ratio. Could he be the next Dan Marino or Peyton Manning as far as immobile QB’s go? Sure he could. But there is no way anyone should be putting that probability at %99 after he just put up almost a 1:1 TD to INT ratio.
January 4th, 2011 at 10:47 pm
Bradford sucks.
Dwayne Roloson, that’s what I’m talking about. Bucs, I love you, but we have one helluva hockey team now.
Joe Lightning!!!
January 4th, 2011 at 10:57 pm
Not advertising bucschat.com here joe, but don’t want act like I found this(businessinsider). Cool info on Freeman.
http://www.bucschat.com/showthread.php?28297-Franchise-Freeman-in-Rare-Company
He sure worked his azz off in the last off-season, and looking forward to seee what he accomplishes this year, and hopefully early next.
January 4th, 2011 at 11:26 pm
F**k you, Clayton.
I feel better now.
January 5th, 2011 at 12:35 am
The piece of thick spit that always forms between this clown’s lips is more qualified to write about football than he is! He probably wasn’t even physical enough to have been equipment manager for his JV high school team.
January 5th, 2011 at 4:19 am
Dumb ass !! I can’t believe he said that. No wonder he wears glasses. In 2 hrs Feerman will be the top QB in the NFL.
January 5th, 2011 at 10:48 am
Two hours? Look, I think Freeman is good but I don’t think he’s that good. Maybe in two years he’ll be the top QB in the NFL.
January 5th, 2011 at 12:05 pm
He’s obviously a racist who can only set aside his bigotry to embrace dog killers.
January 5th, 2011 at 1:30 pm
He’s got stars in his eyes. Moving on.
January 5th, 2011 at 10:04 pm
Andy Reid ? Michael Vick playing well makes any Coach look good!