There is something that has been bothering me for a very long time now. It has been burning deep down inside of me weeks before last night's preseason game. Here it is:
I truly believe that Josh Johnson is the best quarterback on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and I also feel that Josh has not had a fair opportunity to be in the mix for the starting QB job.
If you also thought that Josh is the best quarterback on the team after last night's game, forget about it. I am not talking about last night's game and this is not about Josh's performance against the Titans.
Here is why I think Josh is the best quarterback on this team:
- Josh has all of the physical tools a quarterback needs to be successful.
- Josh is the smartest quarterback on the roster and the most mentally sharp.
- Josh is the fastest quarterback on the team.
- Josh is the most accurate.
- Josh has the quickest release.
- Josh has the best pocket presence.
So you still don't believe me and don’t think Josh is the best quarterback on the team? I’ll tell you what, go to training camp and watch him practice first hand. Watch Josh in the limited reps that he gets. See the lasers that he throws. See first hand how amazing his accuracy is. Watch how he takes care of the football. Watch him in the pocket.
If you go to training camp, and watch him play you can’t tell me he's not the best quarterback on the team.
So why wasn’t Josh given a chance? I don’t know. Raheem Morris promised Luke McCown a fair chance to win the starting job. He also promised Byron Leftwich a fair chance at the starting job. Why wasn't Johnson also promised a fair chance?
I think that Johnson can be our franchise quarterback, but he wasn’t given that chance. Was it because the Bucs drafted Josh Freeman and forgot all about Johnson?
I don't understand why the Bucs and their ownership believe that a franchise quarterback has to be a first round draft pick. Why would you spend a first round draft pick on another project to play with at quarterback when you were almost finished putting the final touches on the other project you drafted last year? Was he not good enough because of his fifth round draft status?
If you think or have heard that Josh Johnson isn't developed yet or that he's still a project or that he has a long way to go, forget about it. Josh has spent every singe day since he has been drafted being developed and working one-on-one with Greg Olsen for hours after practice and on his own time. Unfortunately, the attention has turned away from Johnson and is being focused on Freeman now.
Why is Josh Johnson the forgotten man? Is Johnson somehow in Jagodzinski's dog house? Is he not getting an opportunity because he was one of Gruden's guys? Or because he was just a fifth round draft pick?
All I am asking here is that Josh get's a fair chance and a fair opportunity to win the starting quarterback job. I want Josh to get the same amount of reps as Luke and Byron get, and I want to see him play with the first team. Unfortunately, this hasn’t happened because the quarterback battle was predetermined between Luke and Byron before training camp even started. Why?
I feel that Josh Johnson was ripped off and all of his hard work doesn’t mean anything now. What is going on here is an absolute travesty.
So, Johnson was forgotten because of Josh Freeman. Well, Freeman is light years away from playing, and I wish people would stop pretending that he isn't because he is. So why then is Freeman getting reps over Johnson in the preseason and in practice, and why did Freeman have an opportunity to compete for the starting job. A small opportunity it was, but it was still an opportunity that Johnson did not have.
I think Greg Olsen knows that Johnson is the best QB on the team, and I think the players know it too. What I don’t understand is why Jagodzinski doesn’t also know this.
So, what are the Bucs’ plans for Johnson then? Are they planning on putting him on the practice squad? I hope they are not planning that because he will be picked up immediately after he is released by another team once they get a hold of his practice tape.
Johnson is too good to not have a role on this roster. As long as a roster spot is given to him, I will be happy. Why not use him as a quarterback in the Wildcat offense?
Again, all I am asking is that he gets a fair opportunity. Maybe he didn’t get that because the Bucs are afraid that he will win the competition. Maybe the Bucs didn’t want him to win the competition because it would hold back Josh Freeman from playing as the other two quarterbacks are just stopgaps for Freeman. I don’t know.
If he deserves the job and doesn't get it, I will be mad as I’m sure a lot of other fans would be.
If you also believe these things about Johnson, sign the petition.
Brought to you by the committee to give Josh Johnson a fair opportunity to start at quarterback.
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Update: The official petition to start Josh Johnson, the best QB on the Bucs and the farthest along in Greg Olson's offense.
