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Bucs roll dice for the long term

TAMPA - Jon Gruden, quarterback grave robber, is gone.

So here comes a live one.

Meet the franchise.

Draft day spoke to Raheem Morris and Mark Dominik's confidence, in themselves, in their mission with these Bucs, but mainly in their relatively stunning first first-round draft pick as coach and general manager, one Josh Freeman, quarterback, the Kansas State University.

"He's my guy," Morris said. "I went and got him."

Actually, it was Morris and Dominik.

And after?

"We embraced," Morris said. "We hugged."

It might be the only love they're getting this morning.

This town seemed up in arms Saturday.

But with one dice roll, fraught with peril, filled with cries of "Reach" and "Amateur Hour," despite glaring defensive needs and 414 quarterbacks already under contract, and with Internet chat rooms exploding with doom, death, destruction a certainty, Morris and GM Dominik (with Glazer sprinkled in) put their self-assured stamp on this franchise. Bold, daring, insane, call it what you want. It wasn't boring. Oh, and there's this:

It was a long-term decision.

We'd almost forgotten what one of those was like.

"It's something we really felt," Dominik said. "We have this opportunity, let's really make our mark."

Say what you want, but a foundation is being laid.

Granted, it could become a crypt.

If Freeman works out, it's a terrific pick.

If he doesn't, it's a horrific one.

But the new coach and new GM just took the chance Gruden never did. They addressed what hadn't been addressed for years and years, the idea of truly developing a quarterback, the one true thing that separates the New Englands, Pittsburghs and Indys of the world from the riff-raff.

"When you draft a quarterback in the first round, you're making a pretty bold statement," Morris said. "He's the long-term decision. He's the direction we're going."

Luke McCown, Brian Griese, Josh Johnson and Byron Leftwich, thanks for playing, and eventually not playing.

Yes, there are a lot of first-round quarterback busts. For every Matt Ryan, there are two or three Akili Smiths. Nevertheless, the Bucs traded up two spots to deliver Freeman and his big-time arm into the loving - and not so loving arms - of Bucs football fans. One local radio entertainer said he would soil his pants if Freeman was chosen. Sometimes, you just have to let art be art.

Then again, consider again the historical success rate of first-round quarterbacks. It's not exactly through the roof.

Yes, this draft seemed to scream for defense, defense, defense. As if to make the Freeman pick more glaring, two NFC South clubs addressed needs that were also Bucs needs. The Saints chose Malcolm Jenkins, considered the best cornerback in this draft, while the Falcons took Peria Jerry.

"They have the luxury of Matt Ryan and Drew Brees," Dominik said.

So Josh Freeman is a Buc, the fourth first-round quarterback in team history, along with Doug Williams, Trent Dilfer and Vinny TestaColorblind. From his NFL Network perch at New York's Radio City Music Hall, the last Bucs head coach waved to Freeman. Does it get more surreal than that?

"Big-time talent," Chucky Gruden said.

The 6-foot-5, 248-pound Freeman put up very big numbers (against some very bad Big 12 defenses) and is a big-time arm with big-time confidence. In a phone interview, he considered being drafted 16 spots after top pick Matthew Stafford of Georgia and 12 spots behind USC's Mark Sanchez.

"They're good quarterbacks. I'm not taking anything away from them," Freeman said. "But if I had a pick, I'd take myself."

This might be fun.

Morris agrees. Then again, this guy would be upbeat while being waterboarded. He was in lunar trajectory with excitement about Freeman, who he knew as a freshman at Kansas State.

And there's new Bucs offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski, who worked with Matt Ryan at Boston College before Ryan became the answer for the Falcons. To Coach Jags, Freeman was probably sort of like a Lloyd Bentsen-Dan Quayle deal. I knew Matt Ryan. Matt Ryan was a friend of mine. Senator, you're another Matt Ryan.

Quarterbacks are such a crapshoot. Granted, so are most draft picks, even defensive ones, or haven't you met Gaines Adams?

But this is a risky choice for the new men in charge. Pick a bad linebacker and you get some heat. Go busto on a franchise QB and you lose your job. Time will tell. All we know now is that Josh Freeman is a Buc, and that Saturday was Raheem Morris and Mark Dominik's day, too.

It's their team. It's their pick. It's their guy.

And if it doesn't work, it's their butts.

LINK >> Bucs roll dice for the long term

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