AP/Brian Blanco
As preparations continue for Saturday's pre-season opener at Tennessee, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have released their initial depth chart. Luke McCown heads the quarterback rotation and will get the start in Nashville this weekend. However, there are questions about him being able to keep his first team spot by the start of the regular season in September.
Veteran Byron Leftwich is the backup followed by first round draft choice Josh Freeman on the QB depth chart. Leftwich will start the second pre-season game against one of his former clubs, the Jacksonville Jaguars. A year after Matt Ryan (Atlanta) and Joe Flacco (Baltimore) took their squads to the playoffs as rookie starting quarterbacks, the Bucs will certainly not write off Freeman in the pre-season quarterback derby.
While Leftwich and Freeman were first round draft choices, McCown was viewed as more of a sleeper when he was drafted in the fourth round of the 2004 draft by the Cleveland Browns. The Louisiana Tech product was a four-year starter in the college ranks and passed for nearly 13,000 yards for the Bulldogs. McCown didn't have much help on either side of the ball as Tech went 19-29 from 2000-03.
McCown's NFL odyssey has been one that has tested his patience. In three of his five years, he has been limited to a total of one pass attempt. After getting four starts as a rookie in Cleveland, he didn't get to attempt a single pass during his first two years with the Bucs in 2005-06. McCown was limited to a single pass attempt a year ago.
The optimism tied to McCown is mainly based on his 2007 season. He made three starts for Tampa and was able to hold his own. McCown completed nearly 68 percent of his 139 throws while posting a solid 91.7 QB rating.
McCown has been able to soak in four years of knowledge in his role as the backup quarterback for the Bucs. The 28-year-old has been able to avoid some physical pounding as well by being on the sideline more often than not.
While it is understandable for head coach Raheem Morris to closely evaluate his quarterbacks in practice and pre-season games, there are some factors that seem to give McCown an edge. Tampa Bay needs a versatile player at the position. McCown and Freeman fit this bill better than Leftwich. Freeman is the most versatile of the three quarterbacks but he lacks the experience.
Many fans will look to the success of last year's rookies to support going with Freeman. However, the Falcons and Ravens were strong enough in other areas to take a lot of the pressure off of Ryan and Flacco. Neither player was in the top 10 in the quarterback ratings a year ago.
For a team that has several question marks, McCown appears to give the squad its' best chance for success in 2009. Some time on the sidelines can pay big dividends for backups when they finally get a chance to start. The top ranked QB in the NFL in 2008 was Phillip Rivers of the San Diego Chargers. After serving two years as a backup to Drew Brees, Rivers quickly became an elite quarterback when given a chance to start in 2006. Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers had to hold a clipboard for three seasons before gaining the starting reigns last year. Like Rivers, he quickly established himself when given a chance to play.
While McCown isn't a hyped first-rounder like Rivers or Rodgers, he has the opportunity to translate his observations as a backup into success on the field. With an offensive line that is pretty average and some inconsistent receivers, Tampa Bay will need a resourceful quarterback in 2009. During Jon Gruden's tenure, the Bucs never finished higher than 18th in the league in points scored.
Leftwich is making a push for the starting spot. He is the most experienced of the three quarterbacks. However, there are a couple of strikes against him. He has taken a lot of physical pounding in his NFL career. Leftwich has little mobility in comparison to McCown and Freeman. Also, he appears to have lost a lot of the swagger that he displayed early in his career with the Jags.
McCown has the arm strength of Leftwich with some of the mobility of Freeman. While it is a team in transition with Morris at the helm, McCown has been exposed to Morris as an assistant in prior years. While the Bucs are viewed to be in a rebuilding mode in 2009 by most of the so-called media experts, the club isn't thinking that way. The recent history in the league suggests that the difference between first and last place from one season to the next is razor thin.
When the Bucs open the regular season on September 13th against the visiting Dallas Cowboys, McCown should be under center as the starting quarterback. With Derrick Ward and Kellen Winslow on board, Tampa Bay has the potential to have some real offensive firepower in 2009. Freeman is the quarterback of the future but it wouldn't be wise to throw him right into the fire. For the immediate future (the 2009 season), McCown should get the first shot to lead the Bucs offense.
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