The Tampa Bay Buccaneers don't have a quarterback controversy, but they do have a player to watch in Mike Glennon.
After Josh Freeman struggled in Friday night's 25-21 preseason loss to the Patriots, his rookie backup showed progress, standing tall against the rush and displaying his strong arm in a two-touchdown performance against New England's multiple-look defense.
"He's picking it up," Bucs coach Greg Schiano said, per the team's official website. "It's hard for a rookie; it's a lot of stuff and exponentially when you put a defense like New England's that does a lot of stuff -- it's 3-4 and it's 4-3; it can kind of get on you. He didn't get a lot of plays in practice. That was by the plan. He got some, but Josh was going to get most of the practice and Mike was going to get most of the game, and that was the way we wanted to do it."
On a night when Freeman was sacked three times and Glennon was knocked to the turf on his first drive, Schiano was impressed with how the rookie responded to a collapsing pocket.
"He got crocked one time," Schiano said, "and I was anxious to see how he got up; and he caught one right between the numbers and popped up."
Glennon's numbers -- 12-of-22 passing for 121 yards and two touchdowns with one interception -- were a step forward, but what stood out to us was the arm strength and the way he bounced back from the third-quarter pick.
It's hard to argue with Greg Cosell, the NFL Films senior producer who said in May: "When you pop in tape of a guy, and often you can see this after one game or 15 throws, you say, 'That guy (Glennon) looks like a quarterback and other guys don't.' "
Schiano repeatedly has quelled talk of a quarterback switch in Tampa Bay. It's Freeman's job to lose, but Glennon gives the Bucs an intriguing second option.
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