As quarterback Josh Johnson, a second-year, second-day draft pick who abruptly was given the starting job on Monday, prepares for his first NFL start, Bucs coach Raheem Morris is happy with what Johnson has done in practice.
“He had a really great day Wednesday,” Morris said Friday. “We came back on
Thursday and didn’t practice as well as we did Wednesday . . . but he was
decent. And [Friday] he cleaned up a lot of things and got a perfect
red zone period in there, and he fared pretty well. Now it’s time to go
out to the game and actually play.”
It’s a dramatic change for a guy whom the Bucs were thinking about using at receiver only days before making him the every-down quarterback.
But it’s still a risky situation for the Buccaneers. If Johnson plays well, what happens to 2009 first-rounder Josh Freeman?
In the end, the Bucs could have another Derek Anderson/Brady Quinn situation on their hands, with strong play from Johnson making it harder for Freeman to get onto the field.
Bottom line? In the modern NFL, quarterbacks of the future shouldn’t get drafted in round one. If, before the first-rounder becomes a starter, another guy plays well, the process gets much more complicated — and the pressure on the youngster only increases when he finally gets the nod.
Especially after what Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco did in 2008 (and what Mark Sanchez and, to a lesser extent, Matthew Stafford are doing in 2009), quartberbacks picked in round one need to play right away.
Train wreck!
Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Sanchez are all Roethlisberger (spell check please) version 2.0
The Bucs real starter is playing backup for the Jags. Johnson looked good in preseason – then again so did Bruce Gradkowski before he finally got the start a few years ago.
The best thing for the Bucs is Lefty is no longer the Bucs starting QB. Too bad it took 3 losses for Raheem to get on board with that.
Jery Glanville called it NFL – “Not For Long”
Not For Long for Raheem Morris as head coach.
They fired Gruden for him?
how does this team avoid blackouts?
Are you serious, Qbs who are picked in the first round need to play right away??? Have you even looked at the numbers of QBs grabbed in the first round by bad teams, thrown out there and been awful, battered, abused, and made so many early mistakes they lose their confidence. Having to sit and learn for at least a year has payed off for some key QBs. Doesnt matter what round your taken, how many QBs who start as a rookie do well. Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco and Sanchez are recent, but look at just the last 10 years, and look at the percentages.
The Bucs Josh Johnson
One of Jon Gruden’s projects
Should have kept Chucky
“In the modern NFL, quarterbacks of the future shouldn’t get drafted in round one.”
You have to be kidding. Virtually every good starting QB has come from the 1st round. The success rate of quarterbacks taken in the 1st round is only around 50%, but when you get past the first round it dramatically drops to about 90%. Let’s look at some QB picks from the first half of this decade.
05 1st:
Smith, Rodgers, Campbell
The rest:
Orton, Cassel, Anderson, and 5 even more irrelevent guys
04:
Manning, Rivers, Roethlisberger, Losman
The rest:
Schaub, Luke McCown and 11 piles of suck.
03:
Palmer, Leftwich, Boller, Grossman
The rest:
9 never weres
02:
Carr, Harrington, Ramsey
The rest:
David Garrard and 11 whomevers
01:
Vick
The rest:
Brees, Rosenfels and 8 lads a leaping
00:
Pennington
The rest:
Brady, Bulger, 8 scrubs.
Seven quality QB’s taken in the first round out of 16. 64 scrubs (with a few “ok” QB’s) selected after that. If a team is looking for a franchise QB they should draft in the first round. Few will ever be lucky enough to draft another Brees or Brady in later rounds.
I really wanted to give Morris a chance, but everything he has done, does, & says just keeps screaming to me CLUELESS DUMB A**!! Before the season started I was thinking they’d win between 4-7 games. Now I think they’ll be lucky to win 3. So sad.
Somewhere out there, Jon Gruden is laughing his ass off.
I wouldn’t even put Stafford in that group to a lesser extent. I know most people probably don’t watch the Lions games but I’m a fan and a glutton for punishment. In the first three weeks I’ve seen Stafford miss so many wide open receivers it’s pathetic. His stats against Washington didn’t look that bad but watching the game he could have had almost 400 yards if he could have just hit a couple more wide open guys. I think Stafford is proof that a lot of first rounders should sit until they are ready. And if Culpepper were to play well then great because having two good quarterbacks is a good problem not one you want to avoid as Florio seems to be suggesting. One more point also is that Clevelands problem isn’t that Brady Quinn sat and Anderson played well, it’s that Brady Quinn is bad at football and Anderson is no longer playing well.
ignorant small sample size nonsense. joe flacco, big ben and matt ryan are all HUGE exceptions to the rule. those three guys all became rookie starters because their teams had nobody else to send out. they ran simplified offenses and were carried by good defense and dominant running units.
Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Sanchez are all Roethlisberger (spell check please) version 2.0…
I think maybe we should wait on that until Sanchez starts at least one playoff game, and Ryan and Flacco have started at least one SB game, let alone are wearing two SB rings.
I’m a Vikes fan, so my best experience with a first round QB that was a decent success would be Daunte Culpepper. I blieve he was taken 11 after Tim Couch, Donnavan McNabb, Akili Smith went 1, 2, 3, and Cade McNown went one after. The only QB more successful in that group is McNabb.
Culpepper sat out his first year, only coming in and taking some Victory Formation snaps, if memory serves. But the others all Started as rookies, with McNown splitting some starts. Culpepper looked a little tentative in his second year, but had a pretty good year. In 2004 he would have been league MVP except for a performance by a guy named Peyton Manning.
The next bit of history I would bring up would be the San Diego Chargers. Phillip Rivers sat for two seasons behind Drew Brees. I think that situation has worked out well for both SD and NO.
The last one I’d bring up here would be Aaron Rodgers. He sat out three seasons (more if Favre would have gotten his way) and to this point, he looks like the real deal.
Then we should look at the Starting QB’s right now. How many teams are struggling at QB? Off the top of my head I would say about half would love to have a better QB. How many legit good QBs are there in the league right now? A handful? What is the actual overall success rate of QB’s drafted? Dismal!
So, no. I don’t think that just because a guy is drafted in the first round that he -=has=- to start right away. I think there’s plenty of history that says that you could have a Browns situation, or you could have a Chargers situation. And it’s not like Freeman was taken in the top 10 pics either. At 17, he has an incentive laden contract that won’t cost the Bucs much while he still sits.
Best player plays. I don’t give a crap when the player was drafted. If a 5th rounder proves better than a 1st rounder, then why would the 1st rounder be given preference? I thought the goal here is to win games, not develop quarterbacks (tell that to al davis).
This is the guy he labeled his “career backup.” This idiot Morris, after calling out Antonio Bryant because he was hurt, saying during preseason that Gaines Adams would be considered a bust if he did not have double digit sacks this year, suggesting Winslow was not trying hard to get a first down against the Giants, now says the O-Line, the one arguable strength, was manhandled by the NYG because they are not very physical.
How’s that for motivation, kids?
If Morris wasn’t so stupid, I’d think he was intentionally setting himself up for a mutiny.
Yet, in the Golden Age of apologist butt-smooch media, Morning Moron Dan Sileo expressed surprise that the players “quit” after three games. Hint: It’s the coaching, stupid.
Gruden is still under contract. If I was one of the Glazer stooges, I’d be calling him up and telling him to show up for work on Monday.
There are a couple major differences between the QB’s who started right away and Freeman.
#1) Initially the Bucs thought they were a playoff team. So they didn’t think they had to force Freeman into the game so fast. Now they’re finding out that coaching is really important. For God sake, this team is more talented than last year and the only differences are QB, a couple lost veterans and the coaching. I have to go back a long way to see worse play calling.
#2) The statemants from all the Bucs players and staff on Freeman is that he’s really talented but he’s still really raw and he’s not ready yet. Johnson is however. That’s a major difference between Sanchez, Stafford and Freeman. Even Stafford, who has been off, has been learning and has the smarts to be successful in the future. Freeman is not there yet.
Lastly, I agree with people who say that Johnson should be the starter. I said so in the preseason. I don’t believe that Freeman plays anytime soon because I think Johnson is by far the best QB on he roster. We’ll see I guess.
Im sure morris, just got done telling josh that he is a career back up. If thats the case where does this team plan to go with a back up at the helm
ModHairKen – every week this season the TV team announcing the Bucs game has pointed out how atrocious the play of tight ends Winslow and Stevens really is. To the point they are diagraming them like a coach would do in classroom with the telestrator.
Winslow is right back to the lazy a$$ ways he was famous for in Cleveland while drawing the salary of highest paid tight end in the league. Winslow and Clayton are the 2 Bucs receivers Lefty hit most consistently right in the hands and both consistently dropped the balls.
Morris nailed it in dogging out Winslow – he was expected to be a team leader, instead he is very much like having a T.O. on the team. Clayton should be holding John Gruden’s mic cord on MNF – maybe he could hang on to that.
Nice thought bringing Gruden back to the team – laughable – like your post. Johnson hasn’t started one game – yet you have no clue how he’ll do til the game starts on Sunday. If it turns out to be good, you’ll be all over supporting the new QB like a typical Tampa Bay goober/fair weather fan.
You’ll see the real idiot the next time you look in the men’s room mirror.
@ xacvol
“Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Sanchez are all Roethlisberger (spell check please) version 2.0″
Possibly….but without the FLAB !
heh heh heh…… Roethlisberger is a pudge ball.