Byron Leftwich signed a 2 year, $7.5 million contract with Tampa yesterday. It’s awesome what you can do when you have two decent games as a backup on a Super Bowl Championship team in this country, isn’t it?
Leftwich, famous for his long windup, penchant for interceptions, and very unusual eating habits for a quarterback, joined a team without a quarterback after Jeff Garcia left for free agency.
Smooth move, Tampa. Way to allow a 3 time pro bowler in Garica to walk, while adding an overweight, underachieving quarterback who couldn’t hang on in the Jaguar’s offense.
In fairness to Tampa, Garcia is 39. But now this leaves them with no one but Byron Leftwich and Luke McCown to compete for the quarterback job.
Or does it?
Every draft site has Tampa drafting Josh Freeman of Kansas State in round one, but do they have to? Afterall, they did draft a quarterback named Josh last year.
Josh Johnson, 6-2, 201, was drafted in the fifth round last year after throwing 40+ touchdowns to only one pick in his senior season at San Diego, a D I-AA school. Johnson also ran a 4.4 second forty, sparking his ascent onto many draft boards.
Johnson has been given the green light by Tampa’s new regime to compete for the starting job, and his deep-slinging ability has opened many eyes on the team’s new coaching staff.
I’m not saying he will start, all I’m saying is, give me Josh Johnson, a kid who can run in a new offense, as opposed to Byron Leftwich, who wouldn’t move from the pocket if the nearest Subway was giving out free food.
Now, make that a McDonalds, and I’m sure he would run a 3.9 in the first forty yards.
Given that Brian Griese, Byron Leftwich, and Luke McCown are the only things stopping the young signal caller right now, I would be fine handing him the job tomorrow.
So fire away Tampa. Your offensively line is chock full of young, talented guys. The only piece missing is the quarterback and the receivers. But I assure you the Bucs would win more games with Johnson under center then they would with Freeman or Leftwich hogging up the backfield.
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While it certainly wouldn't surprise me if the Bucs drafted Freeman (as they have some sort of fetish for padding that area), they absolutely need a WR if they don't want to be seen as a joke in the league. With a nice selection at the top of Crabtree, Maclin, Harvey, and Heyward-Bey, they really can't miss.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the real point of the article, I don't think Leftwich is THAT bad. Sure, he has mostly been a disappointment all of his career, but I think he is the kind of veteran that the Bucs could use while Josh Johnson develops. I say start Leftwich (Griese is back-and-forth player and I don't even count McCown) and let Johnson take over in the last 4-6 games, that counting on whether they are still playing for anything at that point. At the same time, I've heard news that the dual-quarterback system is something multiple teams in the league are considering trying out and the tandem of Leftwich and Johnson could be perfect for this.