INSCMagazine: Get Social!

There are NFL teams that have controversy surrounding the quarterback position, and then there are teams that have their guy in place and his backups set. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have two guys vying for the coveted position, and the results of the remaining preseason games could all but decide who gets the starting spot.

Josh Freeman is the go-to guy for the Buccaneers for the time being, but after being outshined by his rookie counterpart Mike Glennon in their loss to the Patriots, Freeman may not have the job all sewn up.

Last year, the two quarterbacks put up similar numbers, throwing for just over four thousand yards. Glennon, while leading the Wolfpack at North Carolina State, managed to put up four more touchdowns than Freeman. Although NFL-level football is a different game than at the college level, numbers don’t lie and every touchdown counts.

Numbers are important but in the NFL experience definitely matters, and that is one clear advantage Freeman has over Glennon. Over the past few seasons in the NFL, Bucs fans have seen Freeman’s stats steadily improve, aside from a bit of a dip in performance in 2012. At his peak in 2011 Freeman was completing over 60 per cent of his passes.

Part of what is making Glennon a part of the Bucs’ QB conversation is how he responded to the pressure of his first NFL game. After getting knocked down on his first drive, Glennon showed off his arm strength and his composure to throw for over one hundred yards and score two touchdowns. The only big blemish on his performance, a single interception. Freeman’s response to the Patriots’ pressure was less inspiring, getting put down on the turf three times in eight plays.

While there hasn’t been any real chatter coming out of  Tampa Bay about replacing Freeman with Glennon, the rookie is making a strong case for himself and causing people to take notice. Should this trend in the two competing quarterbacks’ performances continue, there may be some changes in the roster coming when the regular season hits.

Both Glennon and Freeman have an opportunity to show off their arms in their next match-up against the Dolphins, who had one of the lowest-ranked passing defenses last year. Bucs fans will have to see who puts on the best offensive show on Aug. 24. Maybe a strong performance against the Dolphins could dictate who the main guy is come the start of regular season play.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.