Don't be down on Freeman, a lot can change in one NFL year. (Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE)

Now obviously the way the two men play the game is vastly different, they have different skill-sets and different tendencies. Manning is more of a classic drop-back passer, Freeman can move for instance. But they both have similar demeanors, and they both have a knack for the clutch.

In terms of their mindsets, their personalities, Freeman and Manning both share a laid back, self confidence that tends more toward quiet than out-spoken. Listen to what the Bucs say about their young quarterback. Despite the fact he will speak up in the media, he prefers to lead by example, he’s not a rah-rah type by nature. He’s just quietly confident.

That’s always been a knock on Eli, sometimes his laid-back attitude comes across as disinterested, but in the end that temperament helps Manning deal with adversity and pressure. It’s a trait that Freeman has as well. It’s probably serving him well this off-season.

But for both men, their demeanor belies a fierce competitiveness inherent in each of them. Eli Manning talks about not being nervous with the game on the line, nerves as he says are indicative of a lack of preparation. Josh Freeman by the same token has said he’d much rather go out and win a game than try not to lose it.

That attitude has been evident in both. Go back to Josh Freeman at Kansas State leading insane comebacks as a freshman, go back to him just last season, heck early this year and you’ll see a quarterback who is at home with a game on the line. Eli clearly needs little introduction when it comes to that department, especially not after last night. Both excel in crunch time.

The point isn’t too say that Josh Freeman is just like Eli, or that they are going to have similar careers.

Not at all.

The point is that these intangibles are huge to success in the NFL. The steeled demeanor and the ability to embrace clutch situations are absolutely essential in franchise quarterbacks.

A year after tossing 25 interceptions, Eli Manning hoisted a Super Bowl MVP. (Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE)

The Giants franchise always saw those qualities in Eli and he’s grown into a truly great quarterback at this stage in his career. But he went through some growing pains to get there and even now he still has bad games. Just like Josh Freeman.

In 2010 Freeman threw 25 touchdowns to just six picks and lead 7 game-winning drives. This year he threw 22 interceptions.

Last season Eli Manning threw 25 interceptions, this year he won a Super Bowl.

No, the point I’m making right now is that Josh Freeman isn’t as far off as some people think.

Sure he has work to do, film to watch and coaching to receive. But he has the tough qualities, the ones you can’t teach, the ones that make the difference between good and great. Josh Freeman has all the tools, both mental and physical, it’s just a matter of the Bucs getting him to reach his potential.

But if you were down on Freeman after this year, just look at Eli smiling today at Disney World as the reigning Super Bowl MVP and keep in mind that in the NFL there’s not that much distance between a 25-pick nightmare and Super Bowl dreams.

Dan Quinn was not interested in running the Bucs' defense. (Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE)

I mention this because Will Muschamp, the coaching wunderkind who once held the keys to the Texas Longhorns as a coach-in-waiting before the Gators pried him from Austin is himself a D-coordinator. Quinn, for all his talent, isn’t truly the guy behind that defense he is at best is a co-coordinator with Muschamp, at worst he’s an administrator of Muschamp’s D.

I know the knee-jerk reaction to this post on Twitter will be that he was a good candidate or that this was a good decision by the Bucs, but I don’t see it. Greg Schiano has never even coordinated in the NFL himself, let alone run a team. It’s incredibly important to bring in experienced coordinators so that Schiano doesn’t have to coach the coaches, Quinn is not an experienced coordinator.

I would say the Buccaneers were looking to be thrifty but Quinn’s salary at UF is a bloated 510 k, so I don’t know he would have necessarily come cheap. I just don’t understand the draw.

Now, don’t take this as me knocking him as a coach, Dan Quinn is a good coach. He deserves that respect. But zoom out for a second, as a candidate with no NFL coordinating experience coming on to the staff of an inexperienced head coach, is that the kind of risk you want to take? Talent aside, that’s a risky foundation with regard to experience.

Butch Davis is a good candidate, he comes with head coaching experience and a great NFL pedigree. Dave Wannstedt (whom Schiano worked under in Chicago and will now run Buffalo’s defense) would have been a great candidate.

But hiring another coach to run the defense who himself has never even been an NFL coordinator is madness. Part of the reason the last staff failed was lack of experience and so far the only known candidates the Bucs have offered jobs to seem to share that lack of qualification.

Dan Quinn did the Bucs a favor on Monday. Don’t weep for this one.

The Bucs aren't relocating.

Contrary to a sentiment posed yesterday by Jayson Braddock on Opposing Views, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will not be moving anytime soon. As was pointed out by Tom Jones of the Times, Braddock opines the Bucs could be headed out of Tampa in the next few years.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see two of their franchises move out of state. At face value it appears that the young Buccaneers are finally turning it around, but then you realize that they play in the same division as the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons. Josh Freeman could very well be a top 10 quarterback in the NFL but Drew Brees and Matt Ryan are ranked higher than him on that list. The owner, Malcolm Glazer, seems more interested in spending money on his Manchester United Futbol team (I just threw up a little bit after calling soccer football), then his Bucs team. Then there are the character concerns we’ve talked about here on the site.

I’ll skip quoting the rest because it fails to be even vaguely relevant to why a team would move. Braddock seems to be applying football thinking to a relocation strategy which doesn’t make much sense in that context. Here’s where the possibility the Bucs could leave Tampa does hold some water, the Bucs attendance has been abysmal and looks to continue in that direction, and Tampa is never going to be a major market like an LA could potentially be.

Here’s where it falls apart, there’s a lot of legal maneuvering and non-football related details that need to be considered before you can move a franchise in the NFL. For starters the Bucs have a relatively new stadium that is still Super Bowl-worthy by NFL standards (something that apparently Sun Life Stadium in Miami is not). They also have a fairly airtight lease and the city of Tampa has done them many favors along the way, well-documented favors that would make it rather difficult for the Buccaneers if a court battle ensued.

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