On Monday, we heard from Buccaneers quarterbacks coach John McNulty that quarterback Josh Freeman had a very good reputation among coaches around the league.
That bodes well for Freeman should he become a free agent after the 2013 season, but it doesn’t mean all that much for the Bucs during the 2013 season. That front has seen a lot more focus on head coach Greg Schiano’s occasional forays into suggesting other possible starting quarterbacks, which doesn’t do much to convince anyone that Freeman has a great reputation in his own locker room.
Offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan says that’s not the case at all. Sullivan called Freeman “our quarterback” and “a heck of a player” while pointing out that he set several franchise passing records last year in his first season in a new offense. Sullivan thinks Year Two will bear even more fruit.
"[There] has been a lot of improvement from Josh, and really all the offensive players the second year in the system,” Sullivan said, via Pewter Report. “This time last year -- it is like a foreign language -- just learning the formations and the calls. Now we have a complete offseason, a training camp, a preseason and ... things are much smoother and we are really excited about where we are at.”
It’s been entertaining to see all the good cop/bad cop stuff the Buccaneers have done with Freeman this offeseason, especially when Schiano plays both roles himself, but there’s really not much left to say on the matter. Freeman’s going to get this year to make his case for a big contract, which will almost certainly come with the Bucs if he makes the convincing one Sullivan seems to believe he’ll make.