What went wrong with Josh Freeman?

It’s not just the hot topic in Tampa Bay, it’s the HOTTEST topic other than the Rays playoff race. Josh Freeman was the teams franchise QB going into a contract year when everyone plays their butt off to get that money. Instead, we’ve probably seen the last of No. 5 in a uniform for the Bucs.

What happened?

For starters, you have to go back to 2009 when he was drafted. No doubt, when a franchise QB is taken by a team, there is a level of pomp and circumstance involved in it. But Josh Freeman was no Andrew Luck. He was the third QB taken in the 2009 draft, and the other two, Mathew Stafford and Sam Bradford where take far before him. He was not considered in the same league as those two.

Instead, the Bucs took Freeman by trading up a spot to get him, and talked immediately about him as the savior of the Franchise. That has got to do something to a 20 year old. That has to build something dangerous up in you that gives a little room if it gets taken away. All we heard about in 2009 was “FIVE” this and “FIVE” that. No. Five was going to be the answer; he was going to lead the Bucs to glory and greatness.

And Josh sucked it up. And maybe rightfully so, because in game nine when he got his chance  Freeman was amazing. He Willed the Bucs to victory, beating the heavily favored Packers for the Bucs first win. The team played competitive from that moment on.

Then in 2010 he had a fantastic sophomore season. There was no slump, he was pinpoint, even for Josh Freeman, a traditionally inaccurate passer. He tossed up 25 Touchdowns and only 6 interceptions, with loads of comeback 4^th quarter victories. By 2011, he was introduced on Monday Night Football as the prime time emergence of Josh Freeman. You just knew you would be seeing a lot of this kid on Monday Night Football for the years to come.

But 2011 fell apart. The locker-room blew up in Raheem Morris’ face. A promising 4-2 start led to a 10 game losing streak, beginning with the trip to London where something happened specifically that killed the teams respect level for Raheem Morris. He was fired after the season was over, and gone was Freeman’s biggest supporter.

The Bucs went a different direction, opting for a disciplinarian coach, a tough no nonsense kind of guy, and undoubtedly, he found a Josh Freeman that was a little high on himself probably. A guy who for years had “FIVE” pushed into his head, that there was probably a little bit of entitlement going on up there. He surely had been coddled and pampered before, but now that would end. In his “Jersey Style” new head coach Greg Schiano probably was tougher on Freeman than anyone had been, and he probably showed signs he needed it.

Josh Freeman was a leader, if you remember; it was Freeman who organized the team activities in the Strike summer of 2011. That’s leadership.

But to go from that, to not showing up for your own camp just two years later, that’s a sign something is just not right. A QB has to be a leader on the team, at least on offense. Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, even Tim Tebow, all command respect in the Huddle. Freeman was leading by example up till that point, but even at that point, he could not get away from the constant noise in his ear that was no longer saying “Your our FREE, your our FIVE, our Savior.” Instead there was correction, coaching, and surely discipline that he could not handle. 

Somewhere along the line, Josh Freeman broke. He stopped being the Josh Freeman who was team leader to Josh Freeman who could not show up for a Radio interview. Then he missed his entire second day of a football camp with HIS NAME ON IT, that parents shelled out hundreds of dollars for. He claimed he had car troubles, and couldn’t call because he had phone problems.

Funny how that happens at the same time; and with his contract, there is no second car, no extra phone to grab from someone? “Hey I’m Josh Freeman, listen can you let me borrow your phone for a second I’ll get you tickets, autographs, something for helping me”. No, nothing like that entered his head.

He probably overslept, like he said he did when he missed the team photo. IT’s simply unfeasible that a QB could miss the team photo, so crazy, that I do not recall ever hearing that story from any player on any team…ever. Add it all up and it spells a big problem for the brain of Josh Freeman, the one area a QB relies to needs to excel as well as his arm strength.   

Together, these were such big deals, that his teammates did not vote him Captain. If you don’t think that’s a big deal, search to see how many starting QBs are also NOT the Captain. You may find one or two, rookies, just like Josh wasn’t the team captain in 2009. It’s more than just a symbolic gesture, its saying something.    

Now we may never know the real truth behind who called the players only meeting that took place just before the Jets game kicked off the season. But if anyone did question the validity of the Captain’s vote, it may have been Josh himself. Safety Dashon Goldston was rumored to have called for the meeting, perhaps to question the dedication of Freeman for the season. Goldston and Revis came here to win and win now. They cannot be happy to have come to this team with the idea it was a top notch offense ready to go that just needed a defensive player or two to get it over the top.

They can’t be happy that not only is it a team with a rookie QB, but that the default guy pretty much quit on himself and the team.  The final straw for Freeman was going behind the Bucs backs and doing that ESPN interview. Players must check with the team and go through proper channels before they can do anything with the media. This is a standard practice in the NFL, not a Bucs or Schiano thing.

In the interview, he says it would probably be best if the team would just trade him, in the most lifeless, passion-free, void of all  volume, tone or heart.

Pretty much Freeman in 2013.