Things are not starting off well for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The team has plenty of careers in question as they head into the 2013 season. They fell to the New York Jets in their home opener while Freeman completed less than 50 percent of his passes. To make things worse, Freeman failed to get voted a captain and head coach Greg Schiano is being accused of tampering with the votes.
Freeman's performance against the Jets was downright dismal. He went 15-of-31 in passing for 210 yards and one touchdown and one interception. The 95.9 passer rating from 2010 is long gone. In a crucial contract year, Freeman's early struggles could lead to fans calling for rookie Mike Glennon to get time on the field.
To make matters even more muddy, Freeman was not voted a captain for the 2013 season. He also failed to show up for the annual team photo, raising plenty of questions. While that is not uncommon, it is somewhat rare considering how many years Freeman has been with the team and he is the franchise quarterback for the time being. ProFootballTalk reports the team held a players-only meeting after the loss to the Jets and the idea the voting for captain was rigged was the topic of discussion.
On Wednesday, Schiano denied the allegation that the team tampered with the vote, noting it was a decision by the players.
"The players vote. The votes are tabulated by me," Schiano said, via the Tampa Bay Times. "I know there's a story out there. It's 100 percent false. If there's a such thing as 102 percent, this would be it. The players know who they voted for."
Former Buccaneers quarterback Shaun King noted the fact that Freeman not getting the captain vote shows the team is falling apart at the seams and it is only one week into the season.
"One of the points being that some of the players felt like there was an unfair counting of the captain vote, feeling like Josh Freeman should have remained a captain... [Coach] Greg Schiano is a micromanager, and it's starting to wear thin with some of their veteran players," King said.
At this time, Tampa Bay does not appear to be going anywhere fast. Schiano is on the hot seat. Freeman is at risk of losing his job. The team faces the New Orleans Saints this weekend, which could possibly start their season 0-2.
