The Buccaneers have gone from laughingstocks of the NFL early this season to playing good football recently, and the progress of rookie quarterback Mike Glennon has been a big part of that.
Coach Greg Schiano said today that Glennon, whom Schiano installed as the starting quarterback after benching Josh Freeman after Week Three, has proved that he’s the man for the job.
“I have a ton of belief in Mike Glennon,” Schiano said.
Schiano’s biggest mistake this season may have been his decision to start Freeman early in the year only to go through a messy divorce, instead of simply turning the team over to Glennon from the beginning. It was obvious early on that Schiano didn’t think highly of Freeman and did think highly of Glennon, and it was odd that Schiano kept insisting through the offseason and early in the regular season that Freeman was his man. Schiano should have simply acknowledged what many people thought: Glennon was a Schiano man and Freeman was not.
Now Glennon is playing well, and he’s particularly playing the kind of turnover-free football that Schiano likes. Glennon has thrown just one interception in the Buccaneers’ last five games.
In fact, Glennon is throwing so few interceptions that Schiano was asked at his press conference today whether Glennon is too cautious with the ball. In Schiano’s view, Glennon is taking some shots downfield, but he’s taking them at smart times.
“You can get to be that way, but Mike hasn’t,” Schiano said when asked whether Glennon has become too safe. “I don’t think that’s an issue with Mike. Mike will rip it in there with tight coverage. But what he’s not done is rip it in there with tight coverage and a man behind, and that’s where you get the tipped passes and interceptions and that kind of thing.”
With Glennon playing well, the Buccaneers have proven themselves to be a tough team to beat. No one saw that coming a couple months ago.