Freeman throws first TD pass in 27-20 loss to Texans

TAMPA - The Bucs decision makers have come under some intense scrutiny the last few days, but one decision that probably can't be questioned is the call they've made on rookie quarterback Josh Freeman.

The Bucs' plan is for Freeman to spend most of this season, if not all of it, watching from the sidelines, It was hard to question that call after watching Freeman work his first pro start Friday.

Though he ended his one-half stint by drilling a 23-yard touchdown pass into the hands of wideout hopeful Cortez Hankton, Freeman mostly struggled during the Bucs' 27-20 loss to the Houston Texans.

"First time coming out of the gate, he was a little nervous," Bucs coach Raheem Morris said of the player the Bucs have deemed their franchise quarterback. "You could see it in some of his throws.

"He made some nice plays, some nice scrambles, but he was moving around a little bit more than you would like to see him move around. But he did come back and deliver a touchdown, so we are fired up about that."

The touchdown pass, Freeman's only one of the preseason, came at the end of the Bucs' longest and most impressive drive of the half, a six-play, 74-yard effort that started with just 2:13 remaining on the clock.

Freeman was at his best during that drive, completing four of seven passes for 57 yards and running out of the pocket twice for 16 yards. He was at his near worst during the six series that preceded that.

He started the night by throwing an interception on his first throw of the game, threw another a few series later and went into that final two-minute drive having completed just three of 10 passes for 28 yards.

"The night started out and I played a little too cautious," said Freeman, whom the Bucs moved up two spots to take with the 17th pick in the draft. "I wasn't really letting the game come to me and it wasn't really working out for us.

"But then I got the opportunity in that two-minute drive to come out and cut a few loose, and I had a lot of my teammates make a lot of big plays for me and we got into the end zone."

That touchdown capped an unspectacular preseason for the Kansas State product, one in which he completed 22 of 49 throws for 238 yards and a touchdown and was intercepted three times.

The first of those picks was returned for a touchdown, but Freeman believes he improved as the preseason wore on and Morris agreed, citing Freeman's performance down the stretch Friday.

"He had to make a couple of great scrambles there, make a couple of good third-down conversions to end that thing and get us in the end zone," Morris said. "It's what you want to see."

The Bucs saw a lot of what they wanted to see from second-year quarterback Josh Johnson as well as Johnson took over in the second half and rallied the Bucs to within a score of a tie.

He did so by completing 12 of 21 throws for 182 yards and a touchdown. Like Freeman he was intercepted on his first throw of the game, but he bounced back after that to all but secure a roster spot.

"Josh went out tonight and proved again that he can move the football and be productive," said Morris, who must cut his roster back to a season-opening 53 players by 6 p.m. today.

"The thing about him is he can go in there without a bunch of [practice] reps and that's a big-time quality in this league. That's a special quality in this league.

"I hate to say it but it's the Jason Garrett-type of quality - the guy who can back up Troy Aikman for 12 years or whatever it was and go into a game when they need him to and win it and be at his best when he gets het chance to play."

Johnson was arguably the best the Bucs had at quarterback this preseason, finishing with 17 completions on 30 passes for 218 yards, a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown.

"I felt I had a good control of the offense, a good grasp of what was going on," he said. "I was able to go out there and just be me, and I'm glad I was able to do some things I don't usually get to do in practice."

For now the practice games are over. Starting a week from Sunday the games start to matter, and Morris said he believes his team is ready for the battle ahead.

"I think we're ready, and I'm excited to get going," Morris said.