What has Josh Freeman done in four years to improve?

[TheQ]

With all the rookie QBs and second year QBs showing more improvement and game sense than 5, then it might be smart to not give him a contract like the
Jets gave to Sanchez...all that guaranteed money, kill the salary cap, get stuck with him for 2-3 more year of ineptness.
Lots of options at QB out there, and if he stinks up the next two games, he will have big time competition in training camp next year....as he should.

[NotDeadYet]

     As I recall, it was Caddy making line-calls before, now it's Josh. Have to agree, it's when things defensively (or even our own offensive guys) aren't what was expected and Josh has to figure out what to do to compensate, that Josh has his biggest problem. He seems to show his uncertainty in either body language or by making a bad throw mechanically, or just plain making a bad choice where to throw it. However, what shouldn't get forgotten is he's learning yet another offense this year too. And from other threads, it's a very complex scheme, 'borrowed' from the Giants. Given this, I'll cut him slack until net season...

[NotDeadYet]

With all the rookie QBs and second year QBs showing more improvement and game sense than 5, then it might be smart to not give him a contract like the
Jets gave to Sanchez...all that guaranteed money, kill the salary cap, get stuck with him for 2-3 more year of ineptness.
Lots of options at QB out there, and if he stinks up the next two games, he will have big time competition in training camp next year....as he should.

   Agree. No way we should extend him this year, as he needs to prove himself worthy of it. He's too inconsistant so far; needs to show he can be much more consistant at making decisions in-flight, which IMO is a NECESSARY component of successful leadership...

[JDouble]

If you aren't constantly improving, you are getting worse. What has Freeman improved over four years? Can anyone say with a straight face that he is better now than he was in his first start verse the Packers in 09'? If anything he has gotten worse. The ONLY thing I can honestly say he has improved is is play action fake. Other than that, I see no improvement. I see the same exact player from that Packers game in 2009, minus the dual threat mobility. More importantly, I don't see the fiery passion he showed in '09 or '10. There is no leadership there. No fire.

[BucNY]

If you aren't constantly improving, you are getting worse. What has Freeman improved over four years? Can anyone say with a straight face that he is better now than he was in his first start verse the Packers in 09'? If anything he has gotten worse. The ONLY thing I can honestly say he has improved is is play action fake. Other than that, I see no improvement. I see the same exact player from that Packers game in 2009, minus the dual threat mobility. More importantly, I don't see the fiery passion he showed in '09 or '10. There is no leadership there. No fire.

People know how I feel about Freeman but I'm not a subjective homer like many are in the opposite direction.

I think this is a fair comment. He now handles all aspects of the offense from line protections to audibles. However his skills have no changed but who really thought they would? Improvements for QBs are between the ears. He can still throw one of the best deep balls in the game and he still is less accurate on short passes that most would like.

The real question is can he read a defense better than he did? That is an impossible question to answer without being in a QB meeting. We have seen him go through progressions and make a big time thrown in every game. We've also seen him not go through his progressions, stare down a receiver and throw the ball almost directly to a defender. Why is that? I don't know. To much trust in the WR, mis-reading the defense, not reading it at all?

Again we can't really tell. What I tend to think is that we have a guy with all the tools he needs. Let's keep him in the same offense and continue building the team to support him and see if he can develop the consistency he needs to go from 12-15th best QB to 6-8. The guys that are playing very good right now are the guys who have great defenses and just need to not make big mistakes or guys like RGIII/Cam Newton who were given an offense similar to what they ran in college. This cut down on the amount of new reads they needed to learn and instantly made them comfortable. You are really kidding yourself if you think 3 new offenses in 4 years doesn't matter to a QB's comfort.

[moose40]

Not sure you can actually pre-plan panic.

You can't simulate it in practice, because our defense can't get to him 

[moose40]

If you aren't constantly improving, you are getting worse. What has Freeman improved over four years? Can anyone say with a straight face that he is better now than he was in his first start verse the Packers in 09'? If anything he has gotten worse. The ONLY thing I can honestly say he has improved is is play action fake. Other than that, I see no improvement. I see the same exact player from that Packers game in 2009, minus the dual threat mobility. More importantly, I don't see the fiery passion he showed in '09 or '10. There is no leadership there. No fire.

People know how I feel about Freeman but I'm not a subjective homer like many are in the opposite direction.

I think this is a fair comment. He now handles all aspects of the offense from line protections to audibles. However his skills have no changed but who really thought they would? Improvements for QBs are between the ears. He can still throw one of the best deep balls in the game and he still is less accurate on short passes that most would like.

The real question is can he read a defense better than he did? That is an impossible question to answer without being in a QB meeting. We have seen him go through progressions and make a big time thrown in every game. We've also seen him not go through his progressions, stare down a receiver and throw the ball almost directly to a defender. Why is that? I don't know. To much trust in the WR, mis-reading the defense, not reading it at all?

Again we can't really tell. What I tend to think is that we have a guy with all the tools he needs. Let's keep him in the same offense and continue building the team to support him and see if he can develop the consistency he needs to go from 12-15th best QB to 6-8. The guys that are playing very good right now are the guys who have great defenses and just need to not make big mistakes or guys like RGIII/Cam Newton who were given an offense similar to what they ran in college. This cut down on the amount of new reads they needed to learn and instantly made them comfortable. You are really kidding yourself if you think 3 new offenses in 4 years doesn't matter to a QB's comfort.

But BucNY, in the meeting room is one thing isn't it? if he's sitting in his chair and correctly call out presnap reads, that's one thing right? The other side is bringing it to the field and executing that same knowledge/poise that he shows when there is no pressure (meeting room) and still react/decide appropriately when it's "go-time".
Is it possible that he just "freezes" under pressure? He certainly looks like a deer in headlights at times.

[Theoldbuc]

If you aren't constantly improving, you are getting worse. What has Freeman improved over four years? Can anyone say with a straight face that he is better now than he was in his first start verse the Packers in 09'? If anything he has gotten worse. The ONLY thing I can honestly say he has improved is is play action fake. Other than that, I see no improvement. I see the same exact player from that Packers game in 2009, minus the dual threat mobility. More importantly, I don't see the fiery passion he showed in '09 or '10. There is no leadership there. No fire.

People know how I feel about Freeman but I'm not a subjective homer like many are in the opposite direction.

I think this is a fair comment. He now handles all aspects of the offense from line protections to audibles. However his skills have no changed but who really thought they would? Improvements for QBs are between the ears. He can still throw one of the best deep balls in the game and he still is less accurate on short passes that most would like.

The real question is can he read a defense better than he did? That is an impossible question to answer without being in a QB meeting. We have seen him go through progressions and make a big time thrown in every game. We've also seen him not go through his progressions, stare down a receiver and throw the ball almost directly to a defender. Why is that? I don't know. To much trust in the WR, mis-reading the defense, not reading it at all?

Again we can't really tell. What I tend to think is that we have a guy with all the tools he needs. Let's keep him in the same offense and continue building the team to support him and see if he can develop the consistency he needs to go from 12-15th best QB to 6-8. The guys that are playing very good right now are the guys who have great defenses and just need to not make big mistakes or guys like RGIII/Cam Newton who were given an offense similar to what they ran in college. This cut down on the amount of new reads they needed to learn and instantly made them comfortable. You are really kidding yourself if you think 3 new offenses in 4 years doesn't matter to a QB's comfort.

There have been several comments this year by Schiano and the OC that the receivers made wrong reads, Freeman made the right read. So maybe he is making progress, in the new offense. 

[GameTime]

a question i have...if sullivan is hired after next season like many believe he will be...will freeman then have to start over with a new offense and need 6 more years to master it?

[moose40]

a question i have...if sullivan is hired after next season like many believe he will be...will freeman then have to start over with a new offense and need 6 more years to master it?

But he'll only be 25 then, he's still young enough to learn a new offense

[Madman]

He has lost weight so he can be slower, that is...wait...what the eff is that?

LOL

I think he's improved from last year but I swear he was better in 2010. Faster, more decisive, more confident. Really don't get how he got slower after dropping 30 pounds. Crazy.

[JavaRay]

a question i have...if sullivan is hired after next season like many believe he will be...will freeman then have to start over with a new offense and need 6 more years to master it?

But he'll only be 25 then, he's still young enough to learn a new offense

I'm not sure he's bright enough to learn any offense at any age.

[BucBalla85]

Freeman is gonna have a monster season next year. Watch.

[MUSCLE_HAMSTER]

I'll say this..

I could jump on a Geno Smith bandwagon in exactly 2 seconds

[Madman]

I just want THIS guy back. THIS guy moves around in the pocket, uses his feet and athleticism, looks confident, looks like a leader.

Josh Freeman 2010 highlights