The Buccaneers aren’t expected to have a lot to be excited about this year. A 3-13 season will do that to a team.
But with Josh Freeman entering his second season firmly anointed as the starter, things are looking up for Tampa Bay.
Not much went right for the Buccaneers in the first half of 2009, entering Week 9 without a win and 0-for-2 on starting quarterbacks. After Byron Leftwich was benched after three games, and the athletic Josh Johnson, a fifth-rounder from the 2008 draft, fared no better in the next handful, the team ran out of options. Tampa Bay wanted to let Freeman sit and learn for a year, but it had no choice.
The first-round pick from Kansas State surprised everyone. He orchestrated an 11-point fourth-quarter comeback over the Green Bay Packers and threw for 205 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Not a bad debut.
Though he finished the season with a 3-6 record, he helped the Bucs end the year on a high note, winning two of their last three. His final statistics don’t jump off the page — 158-for-290 passing, 1,855 yards, 10 touchdowns, 18 interceptions and two fumbles — but his poise in the pocket and leadership in the locker room did. He impressed his coaches and teammates so much that head coach Raheem Morris has not wavered from openly stating that Freeman is the Buccaneers’ starter.
Freeman wouldn’t have it any other way.
"If anything, it makes me feel better," Freeman told USA Today. "They tailored an offense around me, and it's playing to all my strong suits. That makes my odds (of success) even better. Stepping in and getting to run plays that [offensive coordinator Greg Olson] designed for me, that's ideal.
"He knows the things that I do well, and he knows the things that I need to work on, as well. I think it's awesome to have a team around me and coaches around me that are putting so much faith in the quarterback."
At 22 years old, Freeman obviously has a lot more to learn before he will be mentioned as one of the top quarterbacks in the league. But one major step has been taken in his progression, as his confidence is at an all-time high after hearing that the Buccaneers are his team. In fact, he’ll tell anyone who asks that they are.
"Yeah," he said definitively before pausing and back-tracking just a bit. "Well, I mean, it's hard to say it's my team, especially if you say it like, 'MY team, my team,' but yeah, man, I feel like I'm a leader on this team, but we have a lot of leaders on this team."
Freeman may think Tampa Bay has "a lot of leaders," but everyone will be looking to the 17th overall pick to not only improve individually but also better the team. Few, if any, are expecting the Buccaneers to challenge for the NFC South crown in 2010, but in another year or two, Freeman is expected to bring the team out of the division's basement.
As Freeman goes, the Buccaneers go. It’s a daunting notion, but one that Freeman seems more than willing to handle.
