Grade Josh Johnson's performance A-F

[OKC_Buc]

For what this kid has been given, I think he deserves a B.  All the way through OTA's and preseason who was the odd man out?  Even PR said if anybody was out the door, it was probably going to be JJ. Given the amount of reps he has received since coming into the NFL while having to learn two different playbooks all while having the pressure of Freeman in the shadows.  This kid played pretty damn well.  We all know Clayton sucks and Bryant hasn't even come close to performing like last season despite being in a contract year and being franchised.  Tons of Bucs fans were already throwing around the idea of gunning for K2's head because of his dropped passes in key situations. For the fact of Philly throwing everything except the kitchen sink at JJ I give him props. It's his second game starting as a pro.  I think he can only get better and to be honest, right now I think many of us don't think Freeman could fare any better.  Just because we used a first round pick on Freeman doesn't mean we should start him over JJ.  Many of you think Raheem is a joke and way over his head to begin with, so why should we trust him on Freeman when he's not even an offensive minded coach to begin with?

Way to go JJ let's see what you can do against the Panthers.  Despite all the doom and gloom of many "Fans" I see the shining spots and think there are things to build from.

GO BUCS!!!!

[Incognito]

From what I hear, he gave himself a C. I agree with him... but for a noob QB who was pretty much thrown into the fire, would you have expected more? Would you have even expected a C?

Look, Favre, Brady and several other elite QBs didn't start out well. You don't give a QB one game to prove himself. At least 3 games is a legit chance IMO.

So, in closing, I give JJ a C for this game. What is your grade for JJ?

[John Galt?]

a solid C. He was handicapped by atrocious play calling on the sidelines.

[Larry Brackins]

He gets a C. He wasn't good, he wasn't bad. He was average.

[cheveliar]

I'd give him a C+ only because I personally didn't see or feel him being afraid.  I saw a first start guy doing what he knows...Big difference...

[Incognito]

He gets a C. He wasn't good, he wasn't bad. He was average.

Well said. He played average under a lot of diversities. You take a QB under that kind of duress and he walks away with a C? Thats pretty good IMO.

[Caveat Emperor]

He gets a D+ / C- from me.

The completion % wasn't where it needed to be, he looked confused on his reads, and the offense looked terrible on 3rd down. Add in a bad pick, and it's a bad day at the yard. If it wasn't for the turnover, I don't think this unit would've produced a TD.

[cheveliar]

He gets a D+ / C- from me.

The completion % wasn't where it needed to be, he looked confused on his reads, and the offense looked terrible on 3rd down. Add in a bad pick, and it's a bad day at the yard. If it wasn't for the turnover, I don't think this unit would've produced a TD.

Completions not where YOU need them to be...LOL  I didn't see the confusion I saw a guy extending the play with his feet and no being a sitting duck...The bad pick?  Have a you seen any good picks get thrown?

[Incognito]

He gets a D+ / C- from me.

The completion % wasn't where it needed to be, he looked confused on his reads, and the offense looked terrible on 3rd down. Add in a bad pick, and it's a bad day at the yard. If it wasn't for the turnover, I don't think this unit would've produced a TD.

Consider this... JJ put the Bucs in the position to get two field goals that would've won the game had they been good... and the kicker blew em. So maybe your grade should take that into account.

[dalbuc]

Completions not where YOU need them to be...LOL  I didn't see the confusion I saw a guy extending the play with his feet and no being a sitting duck...The bad pick?  Have a you seen any good picks get thrown?

You didn't see confusion? Holding the ball too long = confused. You saw him bailing out ASAP. He was basically street balling the entire game.

[MBF]

C sounds about right.

[Incognito]

The bad pick?  Have a you seen any good picks get thrown?

Nope... and even the best of QBs get picked now and then. In fact, they get picked MORE times per game that JJ did.

[benchwarmer69]

Imo, I think he gets a B, if you factor in him being "new" and hardly getting any reps in the offseason.

I ALmost want to give him an A, because that was the closest game we've had yet. However, the defense seemed a bit better today (against the skins anyway) so it's hard to judge JJ's performance compared to BL's. I'll give the kid some credit, he really could have done worse on his first outting like many others before him have had. I'd say he had a better day than Campbell who's been playing in the league longer with possibly a better team. I don't think he's the "answer", but it's a nice start for the guy and a more swallow-able loss (if there is such a thing).

[Caveat Emperor]

You didn't see confusion? Holding the ball too long = confused. You saw him bailing out ASAP. He was basically street balling the entire game.

This. Where other people see "great mobility" -- I see a QB who was too confused by the defense to make a throw and unable to deliver a quick ball to the hot read to avoid the pressure.

Oh, and 59% completion is nothing to write home about, especially when none of the throws were really downfield.

[bradentonian]

I'll go with a C. The real grade comes after several more games to see if/how he adjusts to the speed of the game.