Digging Deeper: Why Josh Freeman Failed with the Buccaneers
By: Matt Harmon
October 5, 2013
It’s easy to look at Josh Freeman’s 59.3 passer rating, and especially his horrific 45.7% completion percentage and determine that poor individual play is the sole reason for the deposed starting quarterback losing his job. However, with most things in the NFL this situation requires a little further digging to fully understand why Freeman lost his starting job, and eventually was released by the Buccaneers. So, here is a comprehensive three-part explanation of why the Freeman era was a failure in Tampa Bay. This article is not designed to make excuses for Freeman; he obviously played poorly enough to lose his job on his own, but the public owes it to themselves to be educated on why he may have been set up to fail.
Poorly Designed Offensive Scheme
After doing some All-22 film study on the Buccaneers offense through the first three games of the season, one can conclude they may have one of the poorest scheme designs in the NFL right now. As the rest of the NFL moves toward fast pace schemes that take advantages of mismatches in the middle of the field and in the flat, head coach Greg Schiano and offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan seem to be stuck about twenty years in the past. The Bucs offense is almost solely predicated on a strong ground game setting up deep shots down the field. The Bucs have almost no presence in the middle, or short and intermediate areas of the field (but more on that later). Essentially, on almost all of his passes, Freeman was asked to drop back seven steps and complete high degree of difficulty passes to his two outside receivers, Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams, near the sidelines. Of course, Jackson and Williams are both big receivers with good jump ball skills, so when those passes would work it would look pretty, but that formula is not exactly built to sustain consistent success. No quarterback was asked to make such difficult throws more often than Freeman was, and that is the primary reason for his shockingly low completion percentage. Here are a few plays from Tampa Bay’s first two games to illustrate these concepts
October 5, 2013
It’s easy to look at Josh Freeman’s 59.3 passer rating, and especially his horrific 45.7% completion percentage and determine that poor individual play is the sole reason for the deposed starting quarterback losing his job. However, with most things in the NFL this situation requires a little further digging to fully understand why Freeman lost his starting job, and eventually was released by the Buccaneers. So, here is a comprehensive three-part explanation of why the Freeman era was a failure in Tampa Bay. This article is not designed to make excuses for Freeman; he obviously played poorly enough to lose his job on his own, but the public owes it to themselves to be educated on why he may have been set up to fail.
Poorly Designed Offensive Scheme
After doing some All-22 film study on the Buccaneers offense through the first three games of the season, one can conclude they may have one of the poorest scheme designs in the NFL right now. As the rest of the NFL moves toward fast pace schemes that take advantages of mismatches in the middle of the field and in the flat, head coach Greg Schiano and offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan seem to be stuck about twenty years in the past. The Bucs offense is almost solely predicated on a strong ground game setting up deep shots down the field. The Bucs have almost no presence in the middle, or short and intermediate areas of the field (but more on that later). Essentially, on almost all of his passes, Freeman was asked to drop back seven steps and complete high degree of difficulty passes to his two outside receivers, Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams, near the sidelines. Of course, Jackson and Williams are both big receivers with good jump ball skills, so when those passes would work it would look pretty, but that formula is not exactly built to sustain consistent success. No quarterback was asked to make such difficult throws more often than Freeman was, and that is the primary reason for his shockingly low completion percentage. Here are a few plays from Tampa Bay’s first two games to illustrate these concepts
This play from the Bucs Week One loss to the Jets is almost a perfect illustration of the their ridiculous offensive concept. The Bucs essentially send their three receivers on go routes and ask Freeman to launch a 50/50 jump ball down the field to one of them. Worst of all, this play is called when Freeman is throwing from his own end zone, and greatly opens up the Buccaneer’s offense to the possibility of a safety. Freeman gets rid of the ball before the Jets pass rush gets there, but predictably, his deep pass to Mike Williams at the top of the picture is incomplete.
This play is shown to illustrate an under-utilized aspect of Tampa Bay’s offense. As per usual, all of Tampa Bay’s receivers are running routes that will take them at least ten yards down the field, and the only player left in short area of the field is circled, running back Doug Martin. However, Martin only begins his route after being asked to stay at home in pass protection, so, that option of the play is essentially to slow to develop. Freeman never gets the opportunity to see Martin, who has a ton of room to run if he catches the ball in stride, and instead he must throw a pass to Vincent Jackson on an out-route. This is one example where Freeman’s physical skill set allows him to complete this pass, but still illustrates the poor set up for consistent success of Tampa Bay’s scheme.
This play shows something that is consistently frustrating while watching the Bucs offense through the first three weeks of the season; there is just nothing in the way of an easy short through or middle of the field presence for Freeman to even consider making a check down to. The circled areas of the field Tampa Bay consistently leaves barren. Yet again, Freeman sees a muddles pocket, and without a reliable short-area target is forced to chuck another deep ball up for grabs. He goes to Kevin Ogletree this time, and the result is predictably another incompletion.
An Overrated Supporting Cast
Some analysts suggest that Josh Freeman was set up to succeed because he has a strong supporting cast, but that is an inaccurate assessment. People believe this because Freeman has two strong starting wide receivers. Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams are both big, physical that are very capable of grabbing the 50/50 balls this offense asks its receivers to catch. However, Vincent Jackson is not having his best season as he was famously caught from behind by a linebacker on a would-be touchdown pass in Week One, and has dropped a pretty alarming number of balls. Freeman also has running back Doug Martin, but he has been stuffed in the running game because opponents have no respect for Tampa Bay’s passing game. Martin himself has also not been used in the passing game like he was last season. As a rookie Martin caught 49 passes for 472 yards, but this season his is only on pace for a meager 28 receptions. As was illustrated in the screen shots of their offense, the Bucs are in dire need of a check down option or someone to operate in the flat. They already have a ready made option for such things in Doug Martin, but the Bucs seem unwilling or unable to incorporate Martin in that way.
While that was a review of the Buccaneers’ strengths on offense, and even those have flaws, but there is still a ton wrong with this offensive personnel. Some seem to believe that Tampa Bay has a strong offensive line, and on paper, perhaps that is true. However, their best lineman by far, guard Carl Nicks missed the early part of the season with a staph infection and the rest of the offensive line has performed pretty poorly. Donald Penn gets some press as a top-tier left tackle, but he always has had problems staying motivated and this season he is noticeably getting beat way too often for someone of his talent. The other high profile member of the offensive line, guard Davin Joesph, has always been slightly overrated, but this year coming off of an injury he has been downright bad. His performance really jumps off the film screen, and not in the good way. He gets whipped pretty consistently in pass protection and he has not been getting much of a push in the running game. The rest of the offensive line is comprised of just a bunch of guys, and that combination of Carimi, Dobson, and Zuttah are not good enough to pick up the slack when the mainstay guys fall off.
The most frustrating aspect about Tampa Bay’s offensive personnel is the their lack of a reliable tight end or anything that resembles a slot receiver. Last season, after cutting ties with Kellen Winslow, the Bucs brought in the ghost of Dallas Clark, but did not resign him for the 2013 season. This year they anointed the disappointing Luke Stocker, and his 28 career receptions as the starting tight end and he caught exactly zero passes before going on injured reserve. Now the Buccaneers are left with Tom Crabtree and converted receiver Timothy Wright at the tight end position. As for the slot receiver position, Tampa Bay has no one on the roster in the Wes Welker, Julian Edleman, Victor Cruz mold who can operate in the middle of the field and be a reliable short to intermediate target for their quarterback. The Bucs tried to roll out Kevin Ogletree as their third receiver, but he was released before Week Four. If you watch offense’s like the Patriots or the Broncos, you will see coaches using slot receivers and tight ends to take advantage of a plethora of mismatches that present themselves in the middle of the field, but Tampa Bay has not attempted to provide their quarterbacks with such luxuries.
Greg Schiano Has No Idea What he is Doing
The Greg Schiano hiring was a bit of a head scratcher when it went down; he was an average college coach known for his authoritarian and disciplinarian style in turning Rutgers back into a respectable program. Then early in the 2012 season he pulled the “dive at the quarterback during the kneel down” stunt against the Giants. Everyone knew that move was bush-league, and the usually pretty politically correct Tom Coughlin even said as much post-game, but Schiano defended the move by saying that’s how they did things at Rutgers, and said he would continue to do that anytime his team faced a kneel down formation. At that point, many lost all potential respect for Schiano as a coach, and it will be his refusal to adapt to the NFL ways from “how we did things at Rutgers” that will be his ultimate undoing in the NFL.
What coaches like Schiano, and many others, before him fail to realize is that you cannot be a controlling dictator in the NFL like you can in college. It is much easier to control the every movement of a nineteen year old college boy who knows if he steps out of line he will lose his football scholarship, and probably be bounced from the university. In the NFL you are dealing with mostly wealthy men, some of who are in their thirties with families of their own. You cannot forcibly micro-manage their entire lives, because if you decide as a coach you don’t want them around, they can just go home to their money and their families, and one of the other 31 teams in the NFL will still probably come calling. Guys like Schiano think they can come in right away and run their teams like a tights ship and be Bill Belichick. You know what the problem with that theory is? Belichick wins championships. He has built a foundation of winning and respect that permeates through the entire Patriots organization, and when players come there they know if they follow him, they have a chance every year to potentially come away with a Lombardi Trophy. Nobody thinks that when they think of the Buccaneers organization or playing for Greg Schiano; that act just does not work in the NFL, and it is only a matter of time until Schiano loses the locker room, if he has not already.
There is no better illustration of Schiano’s failure as a head coach then his handling of Josh Freeman. Freeman was the perfect quarterback for former head coach, Raheem Morris, in that he was a laid back guy who does not respond well to constant picking and micromanagement. Of course, Morris was a failure as a head coach, and that is why the Bucs organization felt compelled to bring in his polar opposite in Greg Schiano. The relationship between Schiano and Freeman was doomed from the start; their styles and personalities were just had too much contrast. Schiano fell way short of endorsing Freeman as his starter headed into the offseason and then proceeded to try and trade for Carson Palmer, and ultimately drafted Mike Glennon in the third round of April’s draft. This season, it almost felt like the Bucs wanted Freeman to fail and when he ultimately did and was sent to the bench, there were multiple reports that attempted to disparage Freeman’s character. The Bucs denied those leaks came from them, but if anything it just showed there are cracks in the tight ship Schiano is trying to run. If you felt this strongly Freeman was never the player you wanted, you should have cut ties with him before the season, because frankly, its pretty hard to create this much drama with a laid back guy like Freeman.
Conclusion
So where does Freeman go from here? It is pretty hard to say this about a guy many were saying could potentially be an elite quarterback with an impressive physical skill set and a strong 2010 season under his belt, but it is really hard to see a situation Freeman can walk into right now and succeed. It is tough to envision a team like the Jaguars signing him when their season is already in the tank, and teams like the Browns or the Vikings would probably would not accomplish much if they signed Freeman now, because he does not know their offenses and may not be ready in time to help them. His best bet could be to head to Oakland, where Freeman’s former offensive coordinator during his best years, Greg Olson, currently holds the same position for Oakland. Now lets be clear, the Raiders should not bring in Freeman to overtake Terrelle Pryor, because Pryor has looked surprisingly promising and he could actually be the future there. However, Olson could help Freeman get his career back on track, and Freeman knows that offense and would be a massive upgrade over the pedestrian Matt Flynn as the Raiders’ back up quarterback. This move would benefit everyone involved, and would keep Freeman in a low-pressure situation and perhaps help him work to re-emerge as a starter someday.
As for the Buccaneers, they will continue to roll with rookie, Mike Glennon for the rest of the season, but it is doubtful he will help the Bucs win any more games than Freeman would, and you can expect them to remain near the bottom of the 2013 Power Rankings. Glennon’s future will depend on his play of course, but it will also hinge on whether Greg Schiano remains as this team’s head coach beyond this season. It is only his second year on the job, but if this team remains in the state of “dumpster fire” it is currently in, you could see him being the next logical fall guy, and that would be a justifiable move. In the end, the Freeman saga is a pretty sad story that shows us exactly how to not manage a quarterback. Freeman was once highly regarded as a quarterback with potential around the league, but he was doomed as soon as the totalitarian Schiano walked through the doors of Raymond James Stadium.
An Overrated Supporting Cast
Some analysts suggest that Josh Freeman was set up to succeed because he has a strong supporting cast, but that is an inaccurate assessment. People believe this because Freeman has two strong starting wide receivers. Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams are both big, physical that are very capable of grabbing the 50/50 balls this offense asks its receivers to catch. However, Vincent Jackson is not having his best season as he was famously caught from behind by a linebacker on a would-be touchdown pass in Week One, and has dropped a pretty alarming number of balls. Freeman also has running back Doug Martin, but he has been stuffed in the running game because opponents have no respect for Tampa Bay’s passing game. Martin himself has also not been used in the passing game like he was last season. As a rookie Martin caught 49 passes for 472 yards, but this season his is only on pace for a meager 28 receptions. As was illustrated in the screen shots of their offense, the Bucs are in dire need of a check down option or someone to operate in the flat. They already have a ready made option for such things in Doug Martin, but the Bucs seem unwilling or unable to incorporate Martin in that way.
While that was a review of the Buccaneers’ strengths on offense, and even those have flaws, but there is still a ton wrong with this offensive personnel. Some seem to believe that Tampa Bay has a strong offensive line, and on paper, perhaps that is true. However, their best lineman by far, guard Carl Nicks missed the early part of the season with a staph infection and the rest of the offensive line has performed pretty poorly. Donald Penn gets some press as a top-tier left tackle, but he always has had problems staying motivated and this season he is noticeably getting beat way too often for someone of his talent. The other high profile member of the offensive line, guard Davin Joesph, has always been slightly overrated, but this year coming off of an injury he has been downright bad. His performance really jumps off the film screen, and not in the good way. He gets whipped pretty consistently in pass protection and he has not been getting much of a push in the running game. The rest of the offensive line is comprised of just a bunch of guys, and that combination of Carimi, Dobson, and Zuttah are not good enough to pick up the slack when the mainstay guys fall off.
The most frustrating aspect about Tampa Bay’s offensive personnel is the their lack of a reliable tight end or anything that resembles a slot receiver. Last season, after cutting ties with Kellen Winslow, the Bucs brought in the ghost of Dallas Clark, but did not resign him for the 2013 season. This year they anointed the disappointing Luke Stocker, and his 28 career receptions as the starting tight end and he caught exactly zero passes before going on injured reserve. Now the Buccaneers are left with Tom Crabtree and converted receiver Timothy Wright at the tight end position. As for the slot receiver position, Tampa Bay has no one on the roster in the Wes Welker, Julian Edleman, Victor Cruz mold who can operate in the middle of the field and be a reliable short to intermediate target for their quarterback. The Bucs tried to roll out Kevin Ogletree as their third receiver, but he was released before Week Four. If you watch offense’s like the Patriots or the Broncos, you will see coaches using slot receivers and tight ends to take advantage of a plethora of mismatches that present themselves in the middle of the field, but Tampa Bay has not attempted to provide their quarterbacks with such luxuries.
Greg Schiano Has No Idea What he is Doing
The Greg Schiano hiring was a bit of a head scratcher when it went down; he was an average college coach known for his authoritarian and disciplinarian style in turning Rutgers back into a respectable program. Then early in the 2012 season he pulled the “dive at the quarterback during the kneel down” stunt against the Giants. Everyone knew that move was bush-league, and the usually pretty politically correct Tom Coughlin even said as much post-game, but Schiano defended the move by saying that’s how they did things at Rutgers, and said he would continue to do that anytime his team faced a kneel down formation. At that point, many lost all potential respect for Schiano as a coach, and it will be his refusal to adapt to the NFL ways from “how we did things at Rutgers” that will be his ultimate undoing in the NFL.
What coaches like Schiano, and many others, before him fail to realize is that you cannot be a controlling dictator in the NFL like you can in college. It is much easier to control the every movement of a nineteen year old college boy who knows if he steps out of line he will lose his football scholarship, and probably be bounced from the university. In the NFL you are dealing with mostly wealthy men, some of who are in their thirties with families of their own. You cannot forcibly micro-manage their entire lives, because if you decide as a coach you don’t want them around, they can just go home to their money and their families, and one of the other 31 teams in the NFL will still probably come calling. Guys like Schiano think they can come in right away and run their teams like a tights ship and be Bill Belichick. You know what the problem with that theory is? Belichick wins championships. He has built a foundation of winning and respect that permeates through the entire Patriots organization, and when players come there they know if they follow him, they have a chance every year to potentially come away with a Lombardi Trophy. Nobody thinks that when they think of the Buccaneers organization or playing for Greg Schiano; that act just does not work in the NFL, and it is only a matter of time until Schiano loses the locker room, if he has not already.
There is no better illustration of Schiano’s failure as a head coach then his handling of Josh Freeman. Freeman was the perfect quarterback for former head coach, Raheem Morris, in that he was a laid back guy who does not respond well to constant picking and micromanagement. Of course, Morris was a failure as a head coach, and that is why the Bucs organization felt compelled to bring in his polar opposite in Greg Schiano. The relationship between Schiano and Freeman was doomed from the start; their styles and personalities were just had too much contrast. Schiano fell way short of endorsing Freeman as his starter headed into the offseason and then proceeded to try and trade for Carson Palmer, and ultimately drafted Mike Glennon in the third round of April’s draft. This season, it almost felt like the Bucs wanted Freeman to fail and when he ultimately did and was sent to the bench, there were multiple reports that attempted to disparage Freeman’s character. The Bucs denied those leaks came from them, but if anything it just showed there are cracks in the tight ship Schiano is trying to run. If you felt this strongly Freeman was never the player you wanted, you should have cut ties with him before the season, because frankly, its pretty hard to create this much drama with a laid back guy like Freeman.
Conclusion
So where does Freeman go from here? It is pretty hard to say this about a guy many were saying could potentially be an elite quarterback with an impressive physical skill set and a strong 2010 season under his belt, but it is really hard to see a situation Freeman can walk into right now and succeed. It is tough to envision a team like the Jaguars signing him when their season is already in the tank, and teams like the Browns or the Vikings would probably would not accomplish much if they signed Freeman now, because he does not know their offenses and may not be ready in time to help them. His best bet could be to head to Oakland, where Freeman’s former offensive coordinator during his best years, Greg Olson, currently holds the same position for Oakland. Now lets be clear, the Raiders should not bring in Freeman to overtake Terrelle Pryor, because Pryor has looked surprisingly promising and he could actually be the future there. However, Olson could help Freeman get his career back on track, and Freeman knows that offense and would be a massive upgrade over the pedestrian Matt Flynn as the Raiders’ back up quarterback. This move would benefit everyone involved, and would keep Freeman in a low-pressure situation and perhaps help him work to re-emerge as a starter someday.
As for the Buccaneers, they will continue to roll with rookie, Mike Glennon for the rest of the season, but it is doubtful he will help the Bucs win any more games than Freeman would, and you can expect them to remain near the bottom of the 2013 Power Rankings. Glennon’s future will depend on his play of course, but it will also hinge on whether Greg Schiano remains as this team’s head coach beyond this season. It is only his second year on the job, but if this team remains in the state of “dumpster fire” it is currently in, you could see him being the next logical fall guy, and that would be a justifiable move. In the end, the Freeman saga is a pretty sad story that shows us exactly how to not manage a quarterback. Freeman was once highly regarded as a quarterback with potential around the league, but he was doomed as soon as the totalitarian Schiano walked through the doors of Raymond James Stadium.
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