Evaluating The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Quarterbacks: Part I

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are gearing up for their most interesting season since their storied Super Bowl run in 2002. The team has a new coach, new general manager, new quarterbacks, new defensive coordinator, and, well, new everything.

“Starting anew” should be the motto at One Buc Place this season since there was a house cleaning and a complete departure from everything Jon Gruden.

No longer will the team train at the Walt Disney World Sports Complex, instead Morris has opted to have the team hold training camp in Tampa Bay .

Even with the changes the organization has made to personnel, will it make a difference?

During the 2008 season, the team primarily used Jeff Garcia and Brian Griese under center. While neither quarterback put up stellar numbers, Garcia at least provided the leadership that the young Bucs offense needed.

Garcia also brought a near 65% completion percentage, 12 touchdowns, and a quarterback rating of 114 on pass attempts longer than 10 yards. His production and leadership will be hard to replace.

In his place the Bucs have rookie Josh Freeman, veteran quarterbacks Byron Leftwich and Luke McCown, and Brian Griese. Earlier this offseason, McCown stated that he felt the starting job was his to loose and that no-one could take that position away from him.

But I’m pretty sure head coach Raheem Morris wants a competition instead of a handing the job to McCown. But if McCown wants the job, let’s explore his stats.

Luke McCown

Right, we can’t because there are none to go off of. McCown is going to have to prove himself in mini and training camp in order to “keep” the job.

Moving on, let’s take a peek at Byron Leftwich. Remember him? Started in Jacksonville for a while before Del Rio gave him the boot in favor of David Garrard. Then he went on to back up Joey Harrington, of all people, in Atlanta, before winning a Super Bowl with the Steelers as Big Ben’s No. 2.

Byron Leftwich

When examining his stats, Leftwich is a front runner. When his teams are ahead he does better, which is true for many quarterbacks in the NFL. His rating when ahead by 10+ points is a staggering 130.4.

However, when his teams are behind by more than five points his rating drops 45 points down to 85. Looking at Byron’s stats in the fourth quarter, his rating is 110, but he only has a completion rate of 54%.

That’s an astounding stat because the Bucs may play from behind during the season. If that is the case, Leftwich may not be the type of quarterback the team needs.

So with McCown staking his claim for the job with no experience to do so and Leftwich needing to prove himself as a leader and capable of bringing his team back, I’m not sure if either gentleman will be under center when the NFL kicks off.

Part II of this centerpiece on the Bucs' quarterbacks will be published this coming Tuesday; feature Brian Griese and Josh Freeman.