Mandatory Credit: Kevin Liles-USA TODAY Sports

In 2012, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got to see flashes of brilliance from their young quarterback Josh Freeman, particularly during the middle of the season when he was producing at a high level and overcoming a poor defense that failed to support him week after week. But near the end of the season, he started to fall apart, turning the ball over more often and becoming the subject of speculation and criticism. So what went wrong for Freeman, and what led to his collapse in the final few weeks?

In this article, I am going to break down every interception thrown by Josh Freeman in 2012, and attempt to extrapolate the root causes, notice the trends, and speculate how Freeman may do in 2013 based on the mistakes he made in 2012. Let’s start in Week 2.

Mandatory Credit: Jim O

Interception 1: Week 2 against the New York Giants. Up 11 Points in the 3rd Quarter.

This play is maybe the prototype Josh Freeman interception, or at least it was coming into 2012. Freeman took a short drop, faced pressure, and throws fading away from the play rather than stepping into his throw. Troy Aikman on FOX’s coverage noted that Freeman had the chance to escape the pocket and run, but he instead chose to throw moving away from his target, and sails it over the head of Sammie Stroughter for an easy pick. Freeman committed two cardinal sins of a QB: He threw late over the middle, and he threw off his back foot while moving away from the play. Freeman showed that he was unable to handle pressure well on this play, something I broke down statistically a few weeks ago (click here to read more once you’re done with this article!).

Verdict: This one was Josh’s fault, and while he was under pressure, he should have done better than to make a poor throw with awful footwork.

Interception 2: Week 2 against the New York Giants, Down 7 points in the 4th Quarter.

With just 12 seconds left, and with one timeout, the Buccaneers were looking to get down the field and tie the game despite blowing a big lead. Freeman again faced pressure thanks to a perfectly timed jump by a Giant’s pass rusher, and doesn’t make a good throw at all. Freeman bolts from the pocket and rolls right, and is trying to find Dallas Clark over the middle to get closer to the end zone in order to set up one last heave downfield with a few seconds left. The other receivers were not open at all, and Clark had broken into a bit of space, but Freeman’s throw on the run wasn’t good enough, and the defense took advantage.

Verdict: This one is on Josh as well, there was a fairly open receiver and he failed to deliver a catchable pass in a key situation.

Interception 3: Week 3 against the Dallas Cowboys, Up 7 points in the 1st Quarter

This one isn’t on Josh Freeman at all. DJ Ware leaked out of the backfield, and with Josh facing a corner blitz, he looks to dump the ball off to his running back to see if a play can be made, and to settle for a punt. The playcall was awful, with three other receivers virtually running to the same spot in the middle of the field, so Freeman had no choice but to try to dump it off. Ware allowed the ball to hit his body, pop into the air, and land in the hands of a Cowboys’ defender.

Verdict: Bad luck, bad playcall, and awful attempt to catch the ball by Ware.

Interception 4: Week 4 against the Washington Redskins, Down 4 points in the 1st Quarter

Freeman took a seven step drop on this play, but it had to be cut a bit short, as the outside pass rushers were already on the chase behind Josh. He stepped up and had to weave his way through the maze of a collapsed pocket and stepped into a misguided throw that ended up in the wrong spot. Vincent Jackson had 1-on-1 coverage against Deangelo Hall, and Hall had position on the sideline side of Jackson. Freeman threw the ball to this side, rather than to the inside of Jackson, and that meant Hall was in perfect position. The pressure probably disallowed Freeman the time and ability to consider the positioning of Hall, so the throw wound up in the hands of the Redskins.

Verdict: Josh once again allowed pressure to affect him, but this wasn’t an awful decision, it was just a throw that needed to be very well thrown, but was instead thrown slightly below average, which isn’t good enough against a ballhawk like Hall.

(Click the “Next” button to continue reading)

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

We have all heard the conflicting feelings from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ front office, coach, and even players regarding the uncertainty of quarterback Josh Freeman. There is so much ambiguity, that it has led to doubt. And not just doubt about his play, but about his future with the team.

Don’t get me wrong here, I am seeing both sides of this battle. If Freeman has a season of poor play, then you get a bargain on him, afford to bring in his predecessor or some stronger competition next year, and not be searching the car seat for change as a result of the horrible cap hit (think Mark Sanchez). Or, if he comes out and proves himself worthy, than pay him the money he deserves and keep him under center with an offense that has already started to build around his position (look no further than Joe Flacco and his recent impact on the Ravens off-season).

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

This year and last year’s signings, have proven that Dominik and the Glazers haven’t been afraid to pay for strength, but let’s hope that translates back to their own players and not just money they flash to bring big names on board the private jet. Free agents can burn you (good-bye Eric Wright) just as bad as a player you have let walk. There are measures that need to be taken to ensure this decision is made properly.

GIVE JOSH FREEMAN THE CREDIT HE’S DUE. Yes, Freeman’s play was a bit shaky to watch last year, but look at his season-by-season numbers. He had personal bests in yards, touchdowns, yards per attempt, yards per completion, yards per game and even his longest completion to date. Sure he had 17 interceptions, but let’s remember that 8 of those came over a 2 game span near the end of the season. To give you a further idea, Josh’s touchdown to interception ratio was better than the likes of Tony Romo, Matthew Stafford, Andrew Luck, and even Jay Cutler to name a few.

GIVE HIM A FAIR CHANCE.  In his first year working with Mike Sullivan, Eli Manning had his second most yards, attempts and yards per game to name a few. He threw the most touchdowns of his career that year as well as the most interceptions…Starting to sound like someone we know? The next season, Eli came back and added over 900 yards to that total, improving most of his other stats on the way to winning his second Superbowl. This could be a nice sign of things to come, Mike Sullivan was just getting started last year. The more you let people build chemistry, the better they will work together. That goes for the quarterbacks relationship with his line, his receivers and his coaches. As long as Josh shows improvement from year to year and increased comfort, than the best thing to do is let it grow. The more the scenery changes, the more negative the effect on the player (look at Jason Campbell).

DON’T BLAME HIS PASSING GAME FOR THE LACK OF PASSING D. Hey, a 7-9 record is not indicative of a quarterback that made franchise records for passing yards, passing touchdowns and regular season points.  If there was a pass defense last year, than our season could have ended VERY differently. Seven of the nine losses were by less than eight points (hell, six of those were 7 points or less). This is the reason we signed Goldson, but let it be WELL known, that he alone is not the answer to a weak backfield. Imagine last season moving the last ranked pass defense to just an average 16th, and pairing that with our number 1 rush D! Three games were lost by less than a field goal. Just think of the possibilities.

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LOOK AT IT FROM HIS POINT OF VIEW. Take all things into account. I’m not even gonna say him not being signed is going to damage his confidence. His ten 4th quarter comebacks prove there is no issue there. But see every angle. Last season over half of his INT’s came after Carl Nicks was lost for the season. As I mentioned, 8 of them came over two games. Those two games were his highest pass attempts all season, paired with the only losses by more than 8 points, it’s fair to say he was taking big chances those games.

Last season, there were teams that had a great defense, but their offense just couldn’t finish games. This was not the case in Tampa. Think back to when Jon Gruden coached what, at the time, was the highest scoring offense in franchise history. The defense was upset over Monte Kiffin cheating on them and like a high school girlfriend ruined the party for everyone. Gruden was fired and the Glazers cleaned house, when their main problem had already left in the form of Kiffin. The reason I bring this up is I’m scared they will let Josh walk too early. If they get all of their defensive pieces lined up over the draft and free agency, then right when this team starts to click, they could begin rebuilding on the offense. What you need is a team that will all gel at the right time.

The reason I think the Buccaneers shouldn’t be focused on Josh Freeman right now, is because they need to focus an the areas that NEED to improve. The areas that hindered them last year. There is some  need for improvement at quarterback, but I don’t feel there is room for rebuilding. That said, allowing Josh Freeman to walk in 2014 could leave the Buccaneers rebuilding on one side of the ball for the second straight offseason. So let’s all enjoy Josh Freeman’s 2013 season, and see if he earns the right to be the Buccaneers’ quarterback for years to come.

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Joe Flacco is the highest paid player in NFL history. Let that sink in for a second. Now think of one year ago when Joe Flacco declared himself elite and decided to wait a year to sign a contract. Well, he won. The Ravens lost.

Guess who’s in the very same situation right now? That’s your Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Josh Freeman is scheduled to be up for renewal at the end of the coming season. Freeman is coming off a so-so year that ended in shambles.

Now is a great time to “buy low”. At the moment there are between 15-20 QB’s better than Freeman. However, there are also about 5 teams who would love to give Josh a chance to run their offense. So why not pay him now before any other team has a chance to get their hands on him? You can give Josh a salary outside of the top 10 QB’s and retain him for 4 or more years. If you let him get to Free Agency, you have to fight multiple other teams for his services, and the price rises thanks to the hype and competition for his signature. Even if Free has an average year by his standards, there will still be teams that want him, and the Bucs will have to outbid them to keep him around. The value of signing him now is the discount received from buying low when Freeman’s value is debatable.

Freeman currently is slated to make $8.4 million in 2013.  Compare that to quarterbacks across the league similar to Josh:

• Matthew Stafford, $12.5 million
• Philip Rivers, $12 million
• Tony Romo, $11.5 million
• Sam Bradford, $9 million
• Jay Cutler, $8.4 million
• Ryan Fitzpatrick, $4.5 million
• Jake Locker, $1.6 million
• Andy Dalton, $749k

Based on age, you have to figure right now, Josh is making about exactly (maybe a little more) than he should be.  However, you can see that if he steps his game up just a little, he suddenly is in line for a $60 mil plus contract for 4 or 5 years. Obviously better performance means better pay, and if the Bucs somehow make a run at or win the Super Bowl, we are looking at the next Flacco situation.

So it boils down to this point:  If Mark Dominik and the Bucs think Freeman will be better this coming year than he was last year, they are best suited to sign him now.  The price is low because he wasn’t great last year, and the risk is low because the number is not outrageously high for a player at his position.  It’s a copycat league.  Learn from the Ravens.  Do it now, or forever hold your peace.