|
|
 Visit the 606v2 forum |
Buc Ball - Is Free the Man in Tampa?
by Conor Philpott
If you saw Josh Freeman in 2010, you would have thought this kid could soon be an elite QB in the NFL. He played incredibly well, throwing only 6 interceptions, at times his receivers bailed him out but overall he was pretty accurate, read the game well and most importantly won games for the Bucs.
The 2010 Freeman resembled Ben Roethlisberger, with an added dimension. Roethlisberger is known as a scrambler but he isn't a great rusher, he has good mobility to get out of tough scenarios but doesn't usually pick up more than 100 yards a season. Freeman ran the ball, and ran it incredibly well. He was second in rushing yards from a QB, only behind Mike Vick. You could argue that Freeman looked better as he had to play in front of a weak schedule in 2010. In some ways you would be correct, the Bucs got to play in what was an extremely poor NFC West and pick up 4 wins.
Yet with playoff hopes on the line, in the Louisiana Superdome, Freeman showed he had the talent. With an 80 percent completion rate and 2 Touchdowns, I think many thought the Bucs had their future QB. With guys like Mike Williams, a 2010 4th Round Pick and LeGarette Blount an Undrafted Rookie who had over 1000 yards in seven starts, and only received his first touch in week 3 of that season, I think some Buc fans thought that we could be seeing an incarnation of "The Triplets".
The "Triplets" were the name of Dallas Cowboys' three pronged during their 90s dynasty. They were Troy Aikman, Quarterback, Michael Irvin, Wide Receiver, and Emmit Smith, Running back. Smith is now the all time leading rusher and all three are in the NFL Hall of Fame. While I think some Bucs fans got ahead of themselves (myself included) a relatively weak schedule seemed to over shadow deficiencies that still existed on the team, mainly on defence.
Free Agency was somewhat of a disappointment, Michael Koenen was the only pickup of note and Barrett Ruud and Carnell "Cadillac" Williams were let go. Ruud was a solid player and could have help bring along Mason Foster the rookie who started last season for the Bucs. Foster put together a decent season but looked overawed on the backend, a veteran presence would have helped greatly.
Back to Freeman; admittedly I wouldn't know a huge amount about QB play, but I am a big sport fan. If you are staring down at one guy for a significant amount of time, the ball is going to him. That goes for American Football, Gaelic Football, Soccer, anything. Freeman was guilty of this last year, some of his interceptions were not incredibly bad throws; if a defender knows where it's going to go, they can do a good job anticipating it.
Freeman threw the ball off the back foot at times, which loses power. The ideal way to throw is with your front foot planted, Freeman's power seems to be generated mainly from his back foot, I think this clip showcases it, although to be honest, my example might be wrong!
The 2010 Freeman resembled Ben Roethlisberger, with an added dimension. Roethlisberger is known as a scrambler but he isn't a great rusher, he has good mobility to get out of tough scenarios but doesn't usually pick up more than 100 yards a season. Freeman ran the ball, and ran it incredibly well. He was second in rushing yards from a QB, only behind Mike Vick. You could argue that Freeman looked better as he had to play in front of a weak schedule in 2010. In some ways you would be correct, the Bucs got to play in what was an extremely poor NFC West and pick up 4 wins.
Yet with playoff hopes on the line, in the Louisiana Superdome, Freeman showed he had the talent. With an 80 percent completion rate and 2 Touchdowns, I think many thought the Bucs had their future QB. With guys like Mike Williams, a 2010 4th Round Pick and LeGarette Blount an Undrafted Rookie who had over 1000 yards in seven starts, and only received his first touch in week 3 of that season, I think some Buc fans thought that we could be seeing an incarnation of "The Triplets".
The "Triplets" were the name of Dallas Cowboys' three pronged during their 90s dynasty. They were Troy Aikman, Quarterback, Michael Irvin, Wide Receiver, and Emmit Smith, Running back. Smith is now the all time leading rusher and all three are in the NFL Hall of Fame. While I think some Bucs fans got ahead of themselves (myself included) a relatively weak schedule seemed to over shadow deficiencies that still existed on the team, mainly on defence.
Free Agency was somewhat of a disappointment, Michael Koenen was the only pickup of note and Barrett Ruud and Carnell "Cadillac" Williams were let go. Ruud was a solid player and could have help bring along Mason Foster the rookie who started last season for the Bucs. Foster put together a decent season but looked overawed on the backend, a veteran presence would have helped greatly.
Back to Freeman; admittedly I wouldn't know a huge amount about QB play, but I am a big sport fan. If you are staring down at one guy for a significant amount of time, the ball is going to him. That goes for American Football, Gaelic Football, Soccer, anything. Freeman was guilty of this last year, some of his interceptions were not incredibly bad throws; if a defender knows where it's going to go, they can do a good job anticipating it.
Freeman threw the ball off the back foot at times, which loses power. The ideal way to throw is with your front foot planted, Freeman's power seems to be generated mainly from his back foot, I think this clip showcases it, although to be honest, my example might be wrong!
|
|
Freeman also seemed reluctant to run last year. That's not all his fault however, Greg Olson Offensive Co-ordinator seemed to want to make Freeman into Drew Brees.
Freeman is a lot of things but he is not your typical QB. I think the success of 2010 may also have got to Freeman, there were times when he could have ran for a first down or even 3/4 yards, but simply didn't. He looked for a check down or to force a pass. Are these problems, they are problems. But they are fixable. I hope to see more running from Number 5 next season. He lost 20 pounds (he was overweight in 2011) in the off-season, and is now under the weight he was in 2010. |
|
I have mixed feelings about him losing such weight, I think he has lost muscle as part of it and one of the reasons he was a success in 2010 was his ability to shed tackles. As a lighter player, will he be able to shake off defensive lineman like he used to? It should aid his speed and manoeuvrability, with an improved Offensive line, I hope to see Josh put up rushing numbers like he did in 2010. If Greg Schiano wants to run the ball like he has stated than perhaps Mike Sullivan, new Offensive Coordinator will include some running plays like Rob Chudzinski did in Carolina with Cam Newton.
Tampa Bay have had some good receivers during their time. Mark Carrier, Kevin House while Jimmie Giles was also a pretty good receiver in a time where Tight Ends were typically used as run blockers Giles was part of a group of revolutionary tight ends, Kellen Winslow II, a current Buccaneer, is the son of Kellen Winslow who put up numbers akin to Rob Gronkowski during the 1980s. The Bucs have also have guys like Keyshawn Johnson and Joey Galloway, who may not have been elite but were incredibly good receivers who produced good numbers during their time in Tampa.
The problem for Tampa is they never really had an outstanding group of Wide receivers at one time. The Super Bowl Winning team contained one of the more solid ones. Keenan McCardell, Joe Jurevicius (Gene Deckerhoff's commentary of Joe's 71 yard catch and run against the Eagles in 2002 NFC Championship game is the stuff legends are made of!) and Keyshawn Johnson formed a very solid stable of receivers and are certainly up there with Bucs' best Wide Receiving Cores.
Tampa Bay have had some good receivers during their time. Mark Carrier, Kevin House while Jimmie Giles was also a pretty good receiver in a time where Tight Ends were typically used as run blockers Giles was part of a group of revolutionary tight ends, Kellen Winslow II, a current Buccaneer, is the son of Kellen Winslow who put up numbers akin to Rob Gronkowski during the 1980s. The Bucs have also have guys like Keyshawn Johnson and Joey Galloway, who may not have been elite but were incredibly good receivers who produced good numbers during their time in Tampa.
The problem for Tampa is they never really had an outstanding group of Wide receivers at one time. The Super Bowl Winning team contained one of the more solid ones. Keenan McCardell, Joe Jurevicius (Gene Deckerhoff's commentary of Joe's 71 yard catch and run against the Eagles in 2002 NFC Championship game is the stuff legends are made of!) and Keyshawn Johnson formed a very solid stable of receivers and are certainly up there with Bucs' best Wide Receiving Cores.
|
The current group have the potential to exceed previous groups though. Vincent Jackson is a very good wide receiver. Even if he doesn't produce great stats, he should draw enough coverage to help out Mike Williams, Arrelious Benn, Preston Parker and Desmon Briscoe. (Briscoe may be in trouble soon, he has failed to turn up at some recent camps and OTAs, I don't know if Coach Schiano will like this).
There is also Sammie Stroughter, a great return man and decent slot receiver, while Tyler Shoemaker ("The Cobbler") an undrafted Free Agent should compete for a spot and Tiquan Underwood formerly of the Patriots is another option. Add in Kellen Winslow, who struggled last year, he has lost some speed and looked unable to create much separation unless he pushed off, as well as two very good running backs LeGarette Blount and Doug "Muscle Hamster" Martin and you have a heck of an offence. Freeman should have plenty of time with Carl Nicks, Davin Joseph and Donald Penn protecting him. |
|
Freeman can do nothing about the defence but he certainly needs to have a solid season on offence. He has enough weapons to win and put points on the board. He needs the defence to help him out; surely it will improve from last season. Freeman will need a 6 or more win season and a positive TD:Int ratio, close to 2:1 or better to guarantee his spot next season. Otherwise, it might be time for the Bucs to move in a new direction.
If you wish to discuss this article with our members, please visit the 606v2 forum
You can follow v2 America Football on Twitter at @606v2AF
(c) Copyright 606v2 2012. Please do not reproduce without permission
If you wish to discuss this article with our members, please visit the 606v2 forum
You can follow v2 America Football on Twitter at @606v2AF
(c) Copyright 606v2 2012. Please do not reproduce without permission