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Rookie QB Josh Freeman, the team's first-round pick in 2009, saw his first NFL regular-season action in London

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The Start of Something

Oct 27, 2009 - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Week Seven contest was notable enough for its location. Played at Wembley Stadium in London (though considered a Buccaneer home game) the game was the 2009 addition to the NFL’s International Series, itself part of an ongoing effort to spread the most popular sport in the United States to the rest of the world. For the Buccaneers, it was also the first regular-season game the team had ever played outside of the States.

So it will be a memorable game for franchise, despite the forgettable outcome, a 35-7 loss to the New England Patriots. In the long run, however, the game might be equally remembered as the beginning of a new era for the Buccaneers.

We say that simply because, with about nine minutes left in the game, Josh Freeman saw his first official NFL action. That does not necessarily mean that Freeman will start or even play again the next time the Buccaneers take the field against Green Bay following their bye week. Freeman could play against the Packers, or he could be held back until later in the season, or possibly even into 2010. But that time will come — the Buccaneers spent a first-round pick on a quarterback for the first time in 15 years for a reason — and the team has high hopes for it. If he is to become a “franchise quarterback,” if there is to be a Josh Freeman era, then it started on the slightly slick grass of Wembley Stadium.

Freeman’s first outing was brief and, because the Bucs were down four touchdowns at the time, not a very good barometer for what the young passer might be capable of. He ended up captaining two short drives, in the process completing two of four passes for 16 yards, running once for five yards and taking a pair of sacks. His very first NFL throw was a sharp curl route to Brian Clark that netted the Bucs’ 13 yards.

After the game, the expected questions about who would be under center against Green Bay came immediately, but Head Coach Raheem Morris was noncommittal. Morris does not believe it’s good strategy to make such an important decision in the emotional moments after a game. Obviously, it’s possible that the Buccaneers will give Freeman his shot, given their winless record as the season’s halfway point approaches.

"I've grown a lot as an NFL quarterback in these last four games and without that opportunity, I might be behind right now. All I can do is get better from it."

“We’ve got to go into the bye and that’s a chance to evaluate ourselves some more, a chance to look at ourselves deeper,” said Morris. “We’ll go into the bye, self-evaluate and come out of that thing and be ready to deal. We’ll have a couple of days to sit down in the lab. Everything will be evaluated this week.”

Viewing such instant success stories as Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco as the exception rather than the rule, Buccaneer management would have been content to keep Freeman in incubation for his entire rookie season. Experienced veteran Byron Leftwich won the starting job to start the season as the Bucs’ tried to put their best foot forward in the playoff race. When an 0-3 start followed and the Buccaneers’ offense had trouble negating the opposing pass rush and generating plays, the mobile but green Josh Johnson was given a shot. Johnson has started four games, and while his raw numbers, including a 50.4 passer rating, have not been spectacular he has shown definite promise for such a young and inexperienced player. Johnson knew that his own time at the helm was likely finite, given the presence of Freeman, and that his best way to stay on the field was to produce some victories. That hasn’t happened so far, but Johnson has still grown significantly from the experience.

“I understand the whole situation right now, and it's perfectly fine," said Johnson. "I have gotten an opportunity to play four games and who knows what happens after this, but I've gotten a lot better and I appreciate the experience I've had in the past four games. I've grown a lot as an NFL quarterback in these last four games and without that opportunity, I might be behind right now. All I can do is get better from it. I know that next time I get the opportunity to play on the field, I've just got to do better, because all it boils down to is consistency and wins, and that's pretty much it. No matter what you do individually, it really doesn't matter if the team isn't winning games, and it all falls on the shoulders of the quarterback.”

Freeman will eventually go through a similar learning curve, whether or not it begins in Week Nine against the Packers. The Buccaneers’ 0-7 hole is probably too deep for Freeman or Johnson to salvage a real playoff run, but the remaining games are far from meaningless. Even in the short time that he played Sunday at Wembley, Freeman gave Morris and his staff some valuable film to begin breaking down.

“It was more opportunity to evaluate our people,” said the coach. “You’ve got nothing out there, you’re on neutral ground, we weren’t going to make a comeback. You’ve got an opportunity to get people out there and get them evaluated, get Josh some reps, so we made the change at quarterback.”

Freeman will have to wait to see if another change is coming soon.