Bucs' Freeman cool, calm and collected against Seattle

Josh Freeman may have played like a rookie at times this season, but he has rarely acted like one. For a kid trying to learn the most pressure-filled position in the National Football League, Freeman's poise has been, frankly, a little on the eerie side.

Even when things go really bad, he is usually able to learn from his gaffes and regroup. It's hard to remember sometimes he is only 21 years old.

So there he was Sunday, coming off the field after his first pass of the game at Seattle. It had been intercepted, just like eight attempts in the previous two games. At that point the only question seemed to be how long it would take Raheem Morris to give the kid a seat on the sideline so he could gather himself.

Freeman had the perfect response, though.

"(I) go right to him, he looks me right in the face and says, 'I've got it,' " Morris said.

He did, too.

Freeman had a pair of touchdown passes in the second half and thoroughly outplayed Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck as the Bucs won 24-7.

"I think our coaches have confidence in me, or they wouldn't be playing me otherwise. I have confidence in myself. There was never a moment where that confidence was shaken," Freeman said.

"Yeah, I threw a pick and I wasn't happy about it, but there wasn't a whole lot of conversation about it. I came to the sideline, and I said, 'I got it, I got it.' (Morris) said, 'All right, then get it.' "

He got it.

Freeman was able to roll away from pressure, which seemed to help. He was also buoyed by the Bucs' commitment to the ground game, which made it harder for the Seahawks to load up simply on him.

"That's the whole key. We have been talking about that all year - it's how well the players play around Josh that's going to make Josh," Morris said.

While the subject of Morris' job security is certainly compelling, Freeman's development is at least as big a story. The Bucs haven't really had a quarterback they could develop since Trent Dilfer - or Doug Williams if you want to go deeper into the way-back machine.

Freeman's selection with the No. 1 draft pick last spring simply has to work out. The early returns are encouraging.

He has been the quarterback for their only two wins this season and he put them ahead with a late rally at Miami, only to see the Dolphins rally.

"He's always going to be calm," Morris said. "He's always going to be composed. He never loses his inner self, so to speak. He was able to come out, just be himself and play well."

His numbers aren't dazzling, but they're basically the same as Mark Sanchez and Matthew Stafford - the two QBs drafted ahead of him. They rank 29th, 30th and 31st in the league, respectively (Freeman is 31st). No one ever said there wouldn't be a learning curve.

Based on what we saw against the Seahawks, he is learning. He seems to be constantly soaking up whatever knowledge he can while always - always - staying focused.

Maybe it's just his nature.

Morris says Freeman is calm and composed? That's one way to put it. Sometimes I wonder if the kid has a pulse. Even after beating Green Bay in his first NFL start, Freeman acted like he was coming off the field from a weekday practice. I'm sure there's emotion somewhere under that stoic demeanor, but he keeps it well-disguised.

Take this game, for instance.

Some guys are fiery leaders and fist-pumpers, but not Freeman. He really didn't act much differently than he did after throwing three picks the week before against the Jets.

So we'll see what happens Sunday at New Orleans, where the Saints figure to be in an angry mood after their first loss of the season. They were all over Freeman in a 38-7 win here in Tampa last month. They sacked him three times. They intercepted him three times.

He is able to shake off games like that, though. He seems to keep his balance. He seems to understand that mistakes are part of his NFL journey, and not to be swallowed by them.

What can you say about a player that, other than the obvious?

He's got it.