Is the Pressure on Josh Freeman in Tampa Bay?

 Quarterback Josh Freeman is going into his fifth NFL season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and a lot of critics and analyst believe that this is his year to show that he can win and be consistent, or else he won't get a contract extension like Joe Flacco, Tony Romo, or Matt Ryan.

  In the 2012 season Freeman passed for a career high 4,065 yards and 27 touchdowns, while also throwing 17 interception which is five less than he had the season before. His biggest problem seems to be that he can't be consistent with his game and last season I really began to think that he has found his groove in the pocket and was starting to breakout and be the elite quarterback that I know he can be. Freeman had a four week stretch in 2012 (week 5-9) where he had 13 touchdowns and only one interception, he had one interception  in the month of October, which came against the Kansas City Chiefs along with three touchdowns, in which they won that game 38-10. He had only eight interceptions on the season until the month of December came around, Freeman had nine interceptions in the last three games alone with only two touchdowns to show for them. It started out with four against the Saints, four against Rams and one in the last game versus the Falcons. He was able to keep the Bucs in fighting contention for the first 10 weeks of the season with a record of 6-4. Well, the last six games he wasn't that lucky or good for that matter, Tampa Bay went only 1-5 and they were on the outside of the playoffs looking in with a 7-9 record.

  In  the 2013 season, Freeman needs to pick it up on the back half of the season. I believe that in 2010 he showed that he can be an elite quarterback in the league when he had over 3,400 passing yards, 25 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions for the whole season and he was able to carry his team to a very good record of 10-6, in which he had more game winning drives than any other QB that season. Tampa Bay gave him pieces to work with last season when they signed all-pro receiver Vincent Jackson, veteran tight end Dallas Clark, and they have a running back that shows a lot of promise in Doug Martin who had an incredible rookie season who had over 1,400 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. It will really be up to Freeman to show everyone that he is a top tier quarterback in the NFL. I believe that with the addition of rookie, Mike Glennon out of North Carolina State who is projected to be his biggest competition, Freeman will show that he not only deserves to be the starting quarterback but also that he deserves to be the teams franchise quarterback. I hope that by this time next year we will see Josh Freeman sign a big contract extension with Tampa Bay and if not, hopefully someone else will be willing to give him the big pay day that I believe he deserves.