Tribal Warfare
10-13-2012, 03:36 AM
Tampa Bay’s Freeman unfazed by change in his NFL fortune (http://www.kansascity.com/2012/10/12/3864488/tampa-bays-freeman-unfazed-by.html)
Tampa Bay quarterback, who played at Grandview, sees positives in the negatives.
By TOD PALMER
The Kansas City Star
Two years ago, Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman was among the brightest rising stars in the NFL.
Freeman, who won the Simone Award in 2005 while playing for Grandview High and went on to star at Kansas State, led the Buccaneers to 10 wins in 2010, tossing 25 touchdowns with only six interceptions.
Along the way, he guided five fourth-quarter comebacks, becoming the second-youngest quarterback in NFL history to lead his team from behind in the final quarter that many times in a season.
Plans were under way to chisel Freeman’s bust for Canton, but the NFL can be fickle. Twenty-two interceptions last year — one fewer than Ryan Fitzpatrick’s league-worst 23 — combined with a 10-game skid that capped a disappointing 4-12 season put those plans on hold.
But don’t weep for Freeman, who leads Tampa against the Chiefs at noon Sunday. He blames the spike in interceptions on trying too hard to make plays and forcing too many passes, but he also threw for more yards last year and bumped up his completion rate 1.4 percent.
So, there were positives, and Freeman — who missed one game late last season because of a shoulder injury — is convinced that on balance he improved as a quarterback.
“Honestly, and I’m going to sound crazy here, but I feel more like 2011,” Freeman said when asked about his form in his third full season as a starter. “That’s not from a standpoint of stats or any sort of black-and-white, fantasy football mumbo jumbo or any of that stuff. People don’t understand the stuff that goes into playing quarterback, especially as a young quarterback, with how much you learn and how much you grow from year to year.”
So far this season, Freeman’s first under former Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, it would seem that not much has gone right through four games for the Bucs, who are coming off their bye week.
There was an encouraging season-opening win against Carolina, but that was followed by a second-half meltdown against the Giants, a tepid performance at Dallas and a flat first-half showing against Washington.
Understandably, Freeman prefers to highlight the positives, such as the fact that Tampa hasn’t lost a game by more than a touchdown.
While Freeman has drawn plenty of criticism during the Bucs’ 1-3 start, he isn’t ready to panic despite completing just 54.6 percent of his passes — 65 of 119 — for 790 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions.
“I feel the best I’ve ever been as a player,” he said. “Each week, I’m growing in the offense and continually getting better alongside my teammates. Even though we’ve lost a couple close ones this year, we’re in a good place as far as moving forward and finding ways to win football games from here on out.”
While adjusting to Schiano’s ball-control offense, which heavily values time of possession and runs almost religiously on first down, hasn’t been easy, Freeman’s confidence and comfort are beginning to dovetail with his new coach’s confidence in him.
“He’s really developing and getting a better feel for what the offense is about and how to execute it,” Schiano said. “He’s only going to get better and better. I think the guy has elite ability, and we just need to get him comfortable with everything we’re asking him to do. And I think he’ll do it well.”
Tampa Bay quarterback, who played at Grandview, sees positives in the negatives.
By TOD PALMER
The Kansas City Star
Two years ago, Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman was among the brightest rising stars in the NFL.
Freeman, who won the Simone Award in 2005 while playing for Grandview High and went on to star at Kansas State, led the Buccaneers to 10 wins in 2010, tossing 25 touchdowns with only six interceptions.
Along the way, he guided five fourth-quarter comebacks, becoming the second-youngest quarterback in NFL history to lead his team from behind in the final quarter that many times in a season.
Plans were under way to chisel Freeman’s bust for Canton, but the NFL can be fickle. Twenty-two interceptions last year — one fewer than Ryan Fitzpatrick’s league-worst 23 — combined with a 10-game skid that capped a disappointing 4-12 season put those plans on hold.
But don’t weep for Freeman, who leads Tampa against the Chiefs at noon Sunday. He blames the spike in interceptions on trying too hard to make plays and forcing too many passes, but he also threw for more yards last year and bumped up his completion rate 1.4 percent.
So, there were positives, and Freeman — who missed one game late last season because of a shoulder injury — is convinced that on balance he improved as a quarterback.
“Honestly, and I’m going to sound crazy here, but I feel more like 2011,” Freeman said when asked about his form in his third full season as a starter. “That’s not from a standpoint of stats or any sort of black-and-white, fantasy football mumbo jumbo or any of that stuff. People don’t understand the stuff that goes into playing quarterback, especially as a young quarterback, with how much you learn and how much you grow from year to year.”
So far this season, Freeman’s first under former Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, it would seem that not much has gone right through four games for the Bucs, who are coming off their bye week.
There was an encouraging season-opening win against Carolina, but that was followed by a second-half meltdown against the Giants, a tepid performance at Dallas and a flat first-half showing against Washington.
Understandably, Freeman prefers to highlight the positives, such as the fact that Tampa hasn’t lost a game by more than a touchdown.
While Freeman has drawn plenty of criticism during the Bucs’ 1-3 start, he isn’t ready to panic despite completing just 54.6 percent of his passes — 65 of 119 — for 790 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions.
“I feel the best I’ve ever been as a player,” he said. “Each week, I’m growing in the offense and continually getting better alongside my teammates. Even though we’ve lost a couple close ones this year, we’re in a good place as far as moving forward and finding ways to win football games from here on out.”
While adjusting to Schiano’s ball-control offense, which heavily values time of possession and runs almost religiously on first down, hasn’t been easy, Freeman’s confidence and comfort are beginning to dovetail with his new coach’s confidence in him.
“He’s really developing and getting a better feel for what the offense is about and how to execute it,” Schiano said. “He’s only going to get better and better. I think the guy has elite ability, and we just need to get him comfortable with everything we’re asking him to do. And I think he’ll do it well.”