Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Can They Win With Josh Freeman?

[BucBalla85]

Notice how on the last one when he steps up Jeff Faine is getting drilled 4 yards into the backfield off the snap?

He only sees what he wants.

[JasonOfthetower]

That article said absolutely nothing.  "Maybe it's the people around him, maybe it's not.  Sometimes he's good, sometimes he's bad".  No analysis or anything at all.  Just stating the blatantly obvious.

THIS is QFT,

[Boid Fink]

Olsen SUUUUUUUUCKed.

I'm going to be rooting Freeman on like madman Sundays. If you don't you need to not watch the Bucs. What's the point?

Freeman will play better. He has to.

[TBayXXXVII]

Notice how on the last one when he steps up Jeff Faine is getting drilled 4 yards into the backfield off the snap?

Notice in that first one how Freeman never once looks to his left... post OR pre-snap?  That better get coached into him.  I see this mental breakdown on Freeman in a lot of clips that people post on here, not just the ones by Java.  This is apparently an issue that Olson never addressed.  Just fixing that one thing alone should improve Freeman greatly.

Also, notice how in the 2nd play, again... he never looks left with the exception of a quick glimpse pre-snap?  On both plays the defense was able to bring pressure from that side twice without any trouble.  Freeman didn't do anything to stop them... audible, roll out, time-out, blocking adjustment... nothing done at all.

Just more evidence to coaching ineptness.  They never addressed this with the kid to help him out.

[Skull and Bones]

Please see 2010! 

I guess we should have kept Morris as HC then.

[Theoldbuc]

Please see 2010! 

I guess we should have kept Morris as HC then.

The question was, "Can they win with Freeman?" The answer is yes they can. If they won with him in 2010 with inferior coaching, they can win with improved coaching, dontcha think?

[BucfanNC12]

Freeman will do fine now that he has VJ to throw to and a better OL. But I do agree, it's make it or break it this season for JF. Too much money was spent for failure.

Agree. He has no excuses to at least bring back 2010 play or better.

Fans have a short term memory. Bring back 2010? I seriously hope not. Don't forget 2010 was no different than the first six games in 2011. We sucked nearly all three quarters and have a Tebow miracle late in the fourth quarter. Fans were blinded by the 25 TD 6 INT numbers. Few fans including myself knew that kind of playing could not continue. Now can you blame Raheem for his lack of development and preparation for Freeman, yes. Can you blame Olsen for his bone-headed/predictable play calling, yes. At the same time Freeman has played poorly. Don't get me wrong because I hope he stays and develop for the long haul. However, blaming the WR corps and the OL is a little unfair. Last season Freeman had plenty of time to throw, he just held onto the ball to long. Also, prior to VJ, he had a talented WR corps. How can they be expected to do anything if the play calls were predictable (i.e. Blount not on the field pass) and Freeman only throwing five yards at a time. I think the article was weak but for us to win Freeman has to improve.

[muvlodge]

I don't care what Lynch said, the O-line play there was piss poor. The first play if you watch D Joseph gets driven right into Freeman making him get flushed right into J Allen.  Then the other plays well, they all looked bad.  The other thing is on all of those plays there was hardly a WR open at all. Not a good clip to try to prove a point.  I don't see why they just don't sign Barrett Ruud to QB ....that would fix everything   That is  a joke directed at the poster of this clip ; )

[BucfanNC12]

I don't care what Lynch said, the O-line play there was piss poor. The first play if you watch D Joseph gets driven right into Freeman making him get flushed right into J Allen.  Then the other plays well, they all looked bad.  The other thing is on all of those plays there was hardly a WR open at all. Not a good clip to try to prove a point.  I don't see why they just don't sign Barrett Ruud to QB ....that would fix everything   That is  a joke directed at the poster of this clip ; )

I hope your assessment isn't from a video clip. The O-line last season overall wasn't bad. Freeman holds the ball too long. What TBXXXVII pointed out is something Freeman has been doing for a while. In the first play of the video he didn't scan the field. In the second play he starred down Winslow until he was open. Anyone who watched the games last season knows Freeman has serious issues with his mechanics. Blaming the OL and WR corps were the least of his problems.

[Theoldbuc]

Freeman will do fine now that he has VJ to throw to and a better OL. But I do agree, it's make it or break it this season for JF. Too much money was spent for failure.

Agree. He has no excuses to at least bring back 2010 play or better.

Fans have a short term memory. Bring back 2010? I seriously hope not. Don't forget 2010 was no different than the first six games in 2011. We sucked nearly all three quarters and have a Tebow miracle late in the fourth quarter. Fans were blinded by the 25 TD 6 INT numbers. Few fans including myself knew that kind of playing could not continue. Now can you blame Raheem for his lack of development and preparation for Freeman, yes. Can you blame Olsen for his bone-headed/predictable play calling, yes. At the same time Freeman has played poorly. Don't get me wrong because I hope he stays and develop for the long haul. However, blaming the WR corps and the OL is a little unfair. Last season Freeman had plenty of time to throw, he just held onto the ball to long. Also, prior to VJ, he had a talented WR corps. How can they be expected to do anything if the play calls were predictable (i.e. Blount not on the field pass) and Freeman only throwing five yards at a time. I think the article was weak but for us to win Freeman has to improve.

I agree that he has to improve. My guess is that he would say the same. However, predictability, drops, wrong routes and being one of the most pressure QB's in the league played a huge role in his performance in 2011.   The play that defined the supporting cast for me was the Atlanta game when Winslow knocks down the intended receiver. The pass is intercepted by Lofton for a pick 6. smh

[Theoldbuc]

Notice how on the last one when he steps up Jeff Faine is getting drilled 4 yards into the backfield off the snap?

Notice in that first one how Brady never once looks to his right... post OR pre-snap? That better get coached into him.  I see this mental breakdown on Brady in a lot of clips that people post on here, not just the ones by Java.  This is apparently an issue that O' Brien never addressed.  Just fixing that one thing alone should improve Brady greatly.

Also, notice how in the 2nd play, again... he never looks left with the exception of a quick glimpse pre-snap?  On both plays the defense was able to bring pressure from that side twice without any trouble.  Freeman didn't do anything to stop them... audible, roll out, time-out, blocking adjustment... nothing done at all.

Just more evidence to coaching ineptness.  They never addressed this with the kid to help him out.

Just saying you could take a few plays of any player and "make that point." Just a few years ago Brady was tagged as the NFL's worst QB under pressure. My point is, I wouldn't take 3 plays or the 2011 season, for that matter, and write the book on Freeman's career.

[BucfanNC12]

Freeman will do fine now that he has VJ to throw to and a better OL. But I do agree, it's make it or break it this season for JF. Too much money was spent for failure.

Agree. He has no excuses to at least bring back 2010 play or better.

Fans have a short term memory. Bring back 2010? I seriously hope not. Don't forget 2010 was no different than the first six games in 2011. We sucked nearly all three quarters and have a Tebow miracle late in the fourth quarter. Fans were blinded by the 25 TD 6 INT numbers. Few fans including myself knew that kind of playing could not continue. Now can you blame Raheem for his lack of development and preparation for Freeman, yes. Can you blame Olsen for his bone-headed/predictable play calling, yes. At the same time Freeman has played poorly. Don't get me wrong because I hope he stays and develop for the long haul. However, blaming the WR corps and the OL is a little unfair. Last season Freeman had plenty of time to throw, he just held onto the ball to long. Also, prior to VJ, he had a talented WR corps. How can they be expected to do anything if the play calls were predictable (i.e. Blount not on the field pass) and Freeman only throwing five yards at a time. I think the article was weak but for us to win Freeman has to improve.

I agree that he has to improve. My guess is that he would say the same. However, predictability, drops, wrong routes and being one of the most pressure QB's in the league played a huge role in his performance in 2011.   The play that defined the supporting cast for me was the Atlanta game when Winslow knocks down the intended receiver. The pass is intercepted by Lofton for a pick 6. smh

Being one of the most pressured QB's in the league is not true. I actually posted a thread on this once. Freeman ranked 19 of 33 starting QB's last year getting sacked. Players like Tebow, Phillip Rivers, Tom Brady, Cam Newton, and Big got sacked more than Freeman. Like I said in an earlier post, he held on to the ball too long. Also look at TBXXXVII post about his mechanics on the click versus the Vikings. The play calling and Freeman himself were bigger problems than the OL and WR corps. Sometimes they were unfair blamed for his play.

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tabSeq=0&season=2011&seasonType=REG&d-447263-n=1&d-447263-o=2&d-447263-p=1&conference=null&statisticCategory=PASSING&d-447263-s=PASSING_SACKED

[TBayXXXVII]

Just saying you could take a few plays of any player and "make that point." Just a few years ago Brady was tagged as the NFL's worst QB under pressure. My point is, I wouldn't take 3 plays or the 2011 season, for that matter, and write the book on Freeman's career.

The difference is that this might happen to Brady 1 or 2 times a game or half... it happens with Freeman 1 or 2 times per series.  Also, I'm not just referencing the 1 clip Java posted.  Go look at ANY clip someone posts, whether it's promoting Freeman or bashing him... it ALWAYS happens.  You don't see the frequency with the better QB's in the league that you see with Freeman.  Plus, you will notice that same frequency in Freeman in 2009 and 2010... so it's an on going thing.  Keep in mind, I didn't actually bash Freeman for this, it was the coaching or lack there of, that I was bashing.  This is a problem just about EVERY QB has when they come into the NFL.  With even decent coaching, this is generally fixed.

[3rd String Kicker]

I've been watching some clips of the Carl Nicks and they had a complete breakdown at center, I think the aging Kreutz manned the position prior to an early retirement, it definitely threw Brees off. I think the run game this season is going to help keep the pressure down for Freeman.

[TBayXXXVII]

I've been watching some clips of the Carl Nicks and they had a complete breakdown at center, I think the aging Kreutz manned the position prior to an early retirement, it definitely threw Brees off. I think the run game this season is going to help keep the pressure down for Freeman.

Heck, the firing of Olson alone will accomplish this as well.