The Buccaneers have insisted that their quarterback of the past will be their quarterback of the future, even if he’s not their quarterback of the present.
Coach Lovie Smith spoke in the strongest terms yet regarding second-year quarterback Mike Glennon during halftime of the local broadcast of Friday night’s preseason opener.
Via JoeBucsFan.com, Smith had this to say about Glennon in a prerecorded interview with Ronde Barber: “In time he will be leading our franchise.”
The potency of that assessment gives rise to a fairly obvious follow-up: When?
The transcript of Smith’s Saturday press conference reveals no questions or answers addressing that or any other matters relating to Glennon. In fact, Glennon’s name wasn’t even mentioned by Smith in the transcript. But the transcript shows that Smith did provide a less-than-glowing evaluation of the current starter, Josh McCown.
“It was tough, but we got a chance to evaluate Josh under tough circumstances,” Smith said. “That’s why he’s a mobile quarterback. Sometimes you have to move around a little bit. Josh will learn. He took a hit as he scrambled one time -- can’t take that hit. We’ll have better protection for him and he’ll be able to have more success.”
McCown threw only four passes, completing two to his teammates and one to the Jacksonville defense. Glennon, in contrast, connected on 11 of 19 throws for 140 yards and a touchdown.
If that trend continues, Glennon could be leading the franchise sooner than expected.