Freeman = Free Man

Well...so much for that I guess...

Yesterday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers released recenly-demoted Quarterback Josh Freeman. Freeman surely had struggled throughout the preseason and in the first three games of the year, but releasing him means that the Bucco's would rather be penalized the $6 million+ guaranteed they owe Freeman than even keep him on the roster as a backup. In a league where salary cap dollars are typically hoarded in a manner similar to Scrooge McDuck protecting his gold, this is a stunning move to say the least. That Freeman spent the past 3 seasons as the Buc's starting QB - including last year when he threw for 4,200+ yards and 25+ TD's; both career bests by significant margins - makes it an even crazier.

I do, in fact, fully support teams committing to rebuilding. The recent Trent Richardson trade is a great example and I commend the Browns new leadership for pulling the trigger on that very controversial deal.  Understanding that in order to win NFL championships, you need to have a franchise QB - and that a mediocre, nearly 30-year-old in his sophomore season in the league is very unlikely to magically turn into that guy - the Browns looked at their most valuable asset (Richardson, last year's #3 overall pick) and saw him as their best shot at landing the highly coveted 1st round pick that would give them the significantly better chance to draft a franchise QB in April that they so desired. The newly-installed Browns leadership had been analyzing Richardson's skill set and they came to the fairly obvious conclusion that his power-running style does not jive with the vertical offense they are installing; meaning they would either have to re-tailor the offense around their best player's skills or would need to limit the upside of their best player by using him in a role for which he is not optimally suited.

An upstart HC in Rob Chudsinzki, a promising defense (yes, a guy named Barkevious is the biggest star on a team w/ a dog for a mascot), an exciting offense & two 1st round-ers. The Browns finally seem to be on a path to return to the top of the NFL.

Identifying these important factors, the Browns decided to commit to rebuilding the roster, and the thoughtful & analytical approach to this trade must be commended (the Browns winning all of their games since the trade might throw a wrench in their plans to nab a top QB in the draft, but it didn't look think they mind winning games in Cleveland last night, where the Dawg Pound was rockin' throughout a closely fought victory over Buffalo). The Browns provided a template for the type of unapologetic internal analysis and vision-based decision-making that turns tough decisions into successful ones in the NFL. Clearly, the Buccaneers did not utilize this template when assessing Josh Freeman.

First of all, Tampa Bay has been one of the biggest spenders in free agency over the past few seasons, investing big money for top players like WR Vincent Jackson and OL Carl Nicks and trading a 1st round pick for top CB Darrelle Revis and signing him to a huge deal as well. Add in last year's 1st round pick and Pro Bowl RB Doug Martin, and it is beyond clear that this team had high expectations and was gunning for the playoffs at a minimum - in no way were they operating like team that was a candidate to blow up and start over.

So if the Buccaneer's have invested so much into this team and this season, how could benching the 4-year starter at QB just 3 games into a season in which much of the NFC is struggling - in particular the NFC South, where Atlanta is off to a 1-3 start - and replacing him with 3rd round pick Mike Glennon - drafted as a backup plan to Tampa falling short of trading for Carson Palmer - because of his "ideal" measurables (as opposed to innate talent); he is a far worse QB prospect than last season's 3rd round "surprise" Russell Wilson (a first round talent who dropped into the 3rd because of stupid concerns about his height; ever heard of a 5' 11" QB named Drew Brees?!?!) - possibly be the past path to the playoffs for this team?

The answer must be that it is not, and that other elements factor into the decision-making process.  First of all, that Tampa was seeking to trade for Carson Palmer to replace Freeman (and then subsequently drafted an emergency parachute in Glennon when Plan A fell through) during the offseason is very telling, showing that misgivings Schiano had about Freeman started well before he struggled in this season's opening games.  As Freeman set career-bests in basically every meaningful category (to be fair, it was a very up and down campaign that saw him put together an 8-game stretch of pro-bowl caliber play sandwiched in between two 4-game stints at a replacement-level performance), other factors clearly went into making the series of decisions that led to Freeman being released.

Perhaps the most significant of these factors is that Greg Schiano is the latest in a long line of college coaches to be mis-identified as an appropriate NFL coaching candidate.  Schiano reportedly treats the grown-men professional athletes on his team like redshirt freshmen walk-ons at Rutgers.  He apparently requires his QB to be the rah-rah leader type in the mold of Tom Brady; it isn't a bad idea, it is just something the laid back Josh Freeman was never going to be and good coaches figure out a way to motivate any personality (see Jim Harbaugh's completely different approaches to coaching Alex Smith & Colin Kaepernick).  Putting your foot down and creating a feud in the way Schiano did has no place in the NFL...or at least on successful NFL teams.

There are also more shady things that have come out of this mess, such as Freeman's inclusion in the lowest form of the NFL's drug program being leaked to the media.  Additionally, a report this morning on ESPN describes the decision to release Freeman as being made by the Glazer family - who felt Freeman's continued presence on the team undermined Schiano's authority in an already fractured locker room, and that Schiano trumped Freeman because Freeman's rookie contract runs out after this season and Schiano has two more guaranteed years.

Seriously Schiano? You leaked my participation in the NFL Drug Program to the media the week you benched me!?! Excuse me, I have to go call the NFLPA...

So stupid. With Glennon behind center and teams stuffing the box to stifle Martin, the Bucs are enormously unlikely to overcome their poor record and make the playoffs this season. If that is the case, Schiano will almost surely be fired and Tampa will have ruined its credibility with players throughout the league (not to mention their own locker room) just for the privilege of paying Schiano AND next year's coach's salary.

Additionally - unlike what the Browns accomplished when trading Richardson - releasing Freeman has done nothing to get the Bucs closer to having the franchise QB they feel will get them to the next level. While unlikely to make the playoffs, the talent the Bucs have invested in up and down the roster makes it unlikely for them to perform poorly enough to be in a position to land a top QB in the draft.

Sure, Freeman could have played at replacement level for the rest of his career, but if the idea is to IMPROVE at QB, the Bucs have done nothing to make it more likely that significantly meaningful improvement will occur at the position. In fact, by allowing for and backing up unprofessional and ego-driven behavior from their coach, The Bucs have likely inflicted great damage upon their brand and their reputation as a franchise.

If Schiano is behind the leak of Freeman's drug issues - whatever they may be - he should never be allowed to coach in the NFL again. Furthermore, he should jump ship (sorry, pirate humor) soon before he ruins his reputation even further. If I'm him and a USC comes calling to bring me back to the college ranks, I wouldn't think twice about taking the opportunity to get away from one of the more toxic coaching situations in the recent history of the NFL.

P.S. Reading back over this I'm even more surprised at the chain of decision-making that led to this happening. The Glazers are well respected owners who also own Manchester United...clearly they should know better than all of this.