Should the Bucs sign QB Josh Freeman to long-term extension now?

[BucBalla85]

Freeman is 2 TD passes away from holding the franchise record.  Given our franchise numbers are sad, Free has 76 TD right now with 54 int.  So the idea is to move on from a 24 year old who at the end of this year will own our Franchise TD record in 57 games played?

Nobody has said to get rid of him. Its a discussion to resign him this offseason or not. I think its a pretty good debate. He hasnt played his best and has shown flashes and some bad stuff. Who is he? We dont know yet honestly. I think it would be smart to resign now because with those numbers above and that hes only 24. Hes gonna get better. We need to resign him now while hes still understanding everything. Cheaper. I mean lets face it guys. With those numbers above. He will likely get an extension here. You dont let your Franchise leader is Tds walk. Thats why I say the sooner the better. Cheaper. 

[BucBalla85]

Now that I think about it. Foedus brings up a great point. Do we really think they wont resign the franchise leader in TDs? Given this franchise history with QBs they would not let Freeman get away. Hes young and full of potential. They will resign him. Its just a question of when I believe.

[Foedus]

Drew Bree's first 58 games:  79 TD  53 INT after 58 games he was 26 years old at the end of that season.  Chargers let him go after that year, I wonder if they would like to do that over?

Freeman has 76 TD passes in 54 games you don't let that walk out the door.  Does Free need to improve in some areas of course what 24 year old doesn't.  Good coaching, which I would argue he hasn't had till this year, could help him improve.

[QaZ]

Let me ask you this.  Name all the QB's who have more wins, higher completion PCT, and passer rating than Alex Smith since last September?  Besides, the discussion is whether or not to give Freeman an extension, not how to get an elite QB.  In essence, if you're unsure about Freeman being an elite QB... then he isn't one.

Tell me how many teams Freeman played for just as good as the 49ers? win%? seriously?
Tell me how much his QBR means if his coach benches him for a a 25 old QB, who has zero NFL starts and a lower QBR on his resumee? Who had was rocking the league between oct 25th and nov 25th, a time in which A Smith already was riding the bench?

It's about how to get an elite QB, how to improve the team, how to win SBs. Those are the parameters the extension has to be evaluated on. Forget about the name of the players, put all those sentimentalities aside. You play the best. no one else.
Of course i'm unsure about Freeman being elite, but does this make Freeman not elite and more importantly not elite in the future? I do not care about Freeman, i want an elite QB, maybe he will be one mabye not. All you seem to care about is Freeman not being the QB that sucks on your team, which he maybe does or not, completely ignoring the risk of another QB sucking, mabye worse maybe less, running blind into a situation in which you have to decide between franchise tagging the still not proven Freeman, sticking to an unproven QB out of the 2013 draft class(which you have to draft BEFORE deciding about Freeman), wasting money on a FA QB that  is there for a reason, or waste another pick on a QB in 2014.

You feel unsure about Freemans future after 4 years(5 years then) but you then feel confident to do know about a QB drafted in 2013 or 2014? Maybe you end up with Rivers, if extremly lucky, but let Brees walk. Maybe you stick to Freeman, but miss out on the next T Brady.

All this just leads to good things, if atleast Freeman or the other game turns out to be great (and if you are able to indentify the right one) . Everything else leads to worse, franchise tagging a mediocre QB in Freeman, or having to extend him under those circumstances, or watch the next M Sanchez(draft) or  B Leftwich(FA).

I do not think its coincidence IND and GB ended up with Luck and Rodgers, while Freeman shatters every franchise record here, in his 4th season.

[TBayXXXVII]

Now that I think about it. Foedus brings up a great point. Do we really think they wont resign the franchise leader in TDs? Given this franchise history with QBs they would not let Freeman get away. Hes young and full of potential. They will resign him. Its just a question of when I believe.

If Mark Sanchez plays next season like he did this season, he will be the Bucs all-time leader in yards and TD's.  Being the fastest runner in 100M dash in high school, doesn't mean you're one of the fastest runners in the world.

[Foedus]

Freeman is 2 TD passes away from holding the franchise record.  Given our franchise numbers are sad, Free has 76 TD right now with 54 int.  So the idea is to move on from a 24 year old who at the end of this year will own our Franchise TD record in 57 games played?

Nobody has said to get rid of him. Its a discussion to resign him this offseason or not. I think its a pretty good debate. He hasnt played his best and has shown flashes and some bad stuff. Who is he? We dont know yet honestly. I think it would be smart to resign now because with those numbers above and that hes only 24. Hes gonna get better. We need to resign him now while hes still understanding everything. Cheaper. I mean lets face it guys. With those numbers above. He will likely get an extension here. You dont let your Franchise leader is Tds walk. Thats why I say the sooner the better. Cheaper.

Couldn't agree more you might be able to get him this year at 6 year 65 million, if you wait till next year and he puts up similar numbers and the defense improves.  We will win more games and he will have a ton of leverage.  I would argue to sign Josh before Flacco signs if I'm Josh's agent Flacco's deal is my starting point.

[QaZ]

Freeman has never had to compete for his job EVER. This needs to change. Next year I expect us to push for the playoffs, and we'd better have more than Dan Orlovsky at backup in the event that Freeman goes down. Competition at all positions is a good thing

The race for tallest midget did wonders for the JETS, right? They already locked up a bye on wild card day, right?

But Dom would be stupid to not consider alternatives to Freeman, already in next years draft.

[BucBalla85]

Drew Bree's first 58 games:  79 TD  53 INT after 58 games he was 26 years old at the end of that season.  Chargers let him go after that year, I wonder if they would like to do that over?

Freeman has 76 TD passes in 54 games you don't let that walk out the door.  Does Free need to improve in some areas of course what 24 year old doesn't.  Good coaching, which I would argue he hasn't had till this year, could help him improve.

Your right man. You dont take a chance on Freeman leaving. I dont care what hes done so far. The positives outweigh the negatives I think. Reason I say that is because hes got solid numbers, has shown an ability to come back and win games, and hes really young with still a lot to learn. Sure hes looked really bad in many games. You also have to throw in what hes had his whole career here. First three seasons were with Raheem and staff (not very good coaches) and he also didnt really have very many weapons. Also was still very young and learning not only football but being an adult as well. I know some fans arent very confident in him and havent from the start but I think people in the building have a great confidence in him to grow into the QB they wanted when they drafted him. They have that patience that people on here obviously dont have. Which is why I think your right. They will resign Freeman. Hopefully sooner than later because its cheaper. 

[QaZ]

Now that I think about it. Foedus brings up a great point. Do we really think they wont resign the franchise leader in TDs? Given this franchise history with QBs they would not let Freeman get away. Hes young and full of potential. They will resign him. Its just a question of when I believe.

If Mark Sanchez plays next season like he did this season, he will be the Bucs all-time leader in yards and TD's.  Being the fastest runner in 100M dash in high school, doesn't mean you're one of the fastest runners in the world.

Just being jamaicas 2nd fastest, still gets you gold at the olympics.

[BucBalla85]

Now that I think about it. Foedus brings up a great point. Do we really think they wont resign the franchise leader in TDs? Given this franchise history with QBs they would not let Freeman get away. Hes young and full of potential. They will resign him. Its just a question of when I believe.

If Mark Sanchez plays next season like he did this season, he will be the Bucs all-time leader in yards and TD's.  Being the fastest runner in 100M dash in high school, doesn't mean you're one of the fastest runners in the world.

Id argue that Freeman has way more potential than Sanchez ever will have in anything. Plus the history or lack of Franchise QBs on this team. They will resign Freeman. Its only a question of when. 

[Feel Real Good]

Freeman: 54 games, 1,026-1,737, 59.1%, 12,090 yards, 7.0 YPA, 76 TD, 54 INT

Snachez: 60 games, 998-1,804, 55.3%, 11,756 yards, 6.5 YPA, 67 TD, 64 INT

Yet another stellar comparison.

[alldaway]

I have seen enough to lock him up. 

[BaghdadJoe54]

As bad a he has looked, I say yes.  As we saw this past weekend, Schiano is going to rely on the defense so I say keep the offense together.

Gives us that 4pt lead next year, and the defense better dominate.

[chace1986]

Freeman: 54 games, 1,026-1,737, 59.1%, 12,090 yards, 7.0 YPA, 76 TD, 54 INT

Snachez: 60 games, 998-1,804, 55.3%, 11,756 yards, 6.5 YPA, 67 TD, 64 INT

Yet another stellar comparison.

Who was comparing Sanchez to Freeman, or saying that Sanchez was better?

The comment was regarding the TD record for this franchise. Sanchez overall has been below average, yet if he were on this team and performed the way he has at NY, he would soon be the franchise leader in TDs.

That puts the franchise record into perspective. It means nothing. Freeman overall, has been average. You can continue to be a stat-wh*re and continue to throw out random numbers, but the fact remains that Freeman is wildly inconsistent and the stats do not tell the whole story.

[Chief Joseph]

But Freeman is only four years old! He's going to turn into a Manning any second now!