Analysis: Bucs sign Dan Orlovsky

Well, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a new backup quarterback, and his name is Dan Orlovsky. And yes, I had to check about five times to see if I spelled his name correctly. Also, I’m not sure if I spelled “spelled” right, can anyone check on that? I think my grammar check is in Russian.

I know about half of you are thinking, Great, it’s that Joe guy again. The guy who ruined our hopes by trashing the Eric Wright deal, and he was lame enough to call him Eazy-E. And now he wants to hate on Orlovsky? Look, we know he’s bad. But…but….

But guess what? I actually like this move for the Bucs, and I think Dan Orlovsky is one of the better backup quarterbacks in the NFL. The deal makes complete sense for the Bucs, because of one big reason.

When you have a young starting quarterback with upside, but also a QB who can also struggle at some point; it’s nice to have a veteran QB who can be the steadying presence on the bench. You need the guy who is willing to hold the clipboard and has backed up some talented quarterbacks. (Matt Schaub is one of them, Curtis Painter is the other. Hey…wait a minute.) Josh Johnson is as good as gone, and he might even end up playing for Jim Harbaugh.

Having that whole “young quarterback with upside as the backup” system only works if your starter is an established veteran, and while Josh Freeman is a damn good quarterback (anyone who states otherwise is a jealous Dolphins fan), he isn’t established yet. Anyone who argues against the second point needs to stop ignoring the 2011 season, because it was bad. I mean, you can only put a certain amount of the blame on the coaching, line, and receivers. Quite a bit of it also falls on Freeman’s shoulders, but the 2010 season showed us what Freeman is capable at his best. And it might not have even been his best, because he will always improve.

In any case, this team needed a veteran backup, and they got one in Dan Orlovsky. He isn’t expensive either, and he’s going to be a  solid QB for this team on the bench. He played well last season for the Indianapolis Colts and is a notoriously good spot-starter, so long as the spot is warm. Nobody will be crying over the loss of Johnson, because we didn’t need him and he didn’t need- or want- us. Orlovsky is better for us in the short and long term, because the long term involves Freeman. He’s the franchise guy. This move was the best move for the franchise, and when it’s all said and done, you can’t argue with that. Unless if your Skip Bayless. Then you can argue against every valid point in history by saying “Tim Tebow is better than him” even if the statement was “Michael Jordan was the best NBA player in history”. Skip would say, “No, Tebow could beat him”. Or, “No, Tebow has a better vocal range than Chris Cornell”. Sorry, I just like hating on people who show an abnormal amount of love for a certain player. Don’t worry, you can do the same for me whenever I praise Steve Young.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

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