Is There ANY Doubt Freeman's A TRUE Franchise QB...?

[Sailing2smth]

Russell Wilson, Phillip Rivers, Andy Dalton, Joe Flacco, Matt Ryan, Matt Stafford - guys that are in and around the group Freeman is in.  To break out - lead with performance and presence - to be top eight - be better than these guys plus the list TheAman put up.  Not as good - clearly better AND win

Russell Wilson..now that is a guy that I am impressed with.  When he came out I thought that by midseason he would be replaced but he is tearing it up.

[dbucfan]

lol - it isn't so much RG3 or Luck - though both have outperformed Free's first season - but rather the need for Free to be better than those named to be considered a franchise qb - and he has to lead the bucs to wins - just not there yet.  And having watched Freeman this year I think he as the physical and mental abilities to do it - but it has to be done before he is  truly a franchise qb. 

[TheAman]

Wait, what?  RGIII is without a question of a doubt outperforming Freeman this year.  Why is it blasphemous to say RGIII is better than Freeman?  Just because Freeman is older?  Well then you'd have to take 2011 into account as to how good Freeman is.  Luck is a bit closer, especially if you only look at Passer Rating, but he dominates Freeman in ESPN's Total QBR.  And it would be horribly insulting to Freeman to say Palmer is better.

[The Anti-Java]

You guys forget how young Freeman is.   He is younger that Ryan Tannehill.

[dbucfan]

That would be a better argument if we were discussing ages - but we aren't - simply who are the best qbs... the franchise guys - vs guys who are good and showing promise

[olafberserker]

and tannehill sucks

[Buc on the Move]

I definitely see freeman as our franchise qb. Some franchise qbs are better than others. The franchse qb just is the face of a franchise for better or worse, not all are great or even playoff winners(romo and rivers off the top of my head). Free is at least at that level, every year, with a decent supporting cast, he gives you a shot at playoffs. The elite qbs almos guarantee playoffs when healthy, and will definitely win some too, Jfree is not there yet. I see him in the same class as matty ice frappacino, t romo, rivers, cutler, Vick, etc. franchise, yes, elite, not by a long shot...yet.

[TheAman]

So are you saying half the starting QBs in the league are franchise QBs?  If so, that's fine, but I disagree with that notion.

[Buc on the Move]

I think I am saying that...oh crap what now.

I've got it.

Either the franchise label Is stupid or doesn't mean what some people think/want it to mean. He's a guy you stick with and hope he makes it to elite. Meanwhile the hopes of your franchise are pinned on him, while you trust him to be your guy. If he's good enough to keep that job in this league for 4-5 years, minimum, he IS your franchise QB. It doesn't mean he is great, just that he is the guy who will be here next year, and probably the next.

[jerseybucsfan]

IMHO Freeman is around the eighth or ninth-best QB in the NFL with a strong potential to reach the top five. But with that said, he: 1. Has never made the playoffs
2. Only had one winning season before this one
3. Never won a playoff game (obviously)
Let's see how it plays out. He looks fabulous. But we'll know a lot more about him in two months.

Not trolling, but do you really think he's 8th best right now?  Who is he better than out of this list?

Brady, P Manning, E Manning, Rodgers, Brees, Roethlisberger, Schaub, RGIII, Luck, Ryan

I wouldn't put Luck ahead of him. Schaub has never won anything. Ryan makes the playoffs, only to play poorly there. But RGIII can be debated.

[jerseybucsfan]

You guys forget how young Freeman is.   He is younger that Ryan Tannehill.

Age cannot be included in this argument for good or bad. He's been in the league four years. If you use the age factor, you immediately disqualify him from any elite conversation. He doesn't need that copout, which is all that that is. He's fine, regardless of his age.

[chace1986]

What are the defining characteristics of a TRUE Franchise QB?

[TheAman]

Ok.  So you can throw away that label on Vick, because this is the last year he's in Philly, based on your own logic.  And I think Romo and Cutler wouldn't necessarily be in that list either.  Here's my question.  If Drew Brees had declined to resign with the Saints next year and becomes a free agent, what teams refuse to talk to him?  There are your franchise QBs.

[jerseybucsfan]

1. Brees isn't leaving
2. We wouldn't go for him anyway
3. Vick was always overrated to begin with

[TheAman]

Not disagreeing with you on 3.  And no **CENSORED** he isn't, I'm saying if, work with me here.  And I really don't know if you're correct on #2.  Can you really say if someone like Drew Brees had come out and said "Hey, I want to play for Tampa Bay", that we'd say absolutely not?  You can say that for teams like New England, Green Bay, Giants, Washington, Indianapolis, etc.