Mike Glennon was benched for Josh McCown today. That move has angered a lot of people, baffled others, and drawn shrugs from most. But the simple truth is that the Bucs think this is the best move to start winning games.
If the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wanted to figure out what they have in Mike Glennon, they'd let him start. If they saw him as their quarterback of the future, the franchise guy so many want him to be, then he'd still be starting. But he's not, and that tells us what this is really about: they don't think Glennon is the future, they just want to win now. And they think Josh McCown gives them a better chance there.
It's no secret that Mike Glennon has struggled in recent weeks. He's been inaccurate throughout the season, and his first-half performances have been completely unacceptable -- while his second-half numbers look vaguely like those of a Pro Bowl quarterback, but by then it's usually been too late.
Glennon seemed to be improved over last year, but he's regressed over the past couple of games. He's back to being hesitant to pull the trigger on tough throws, his ball placement is off, and he's had too many misfires. And if you're a pure pocket quarterback, someone who can't compensate for mistakes with spectacular improvisational play elsewhere, you simply can't afford that. For Glennon to be successful in the NFL he has to be decisive and accurate, and that's just not what we've been seeing over the past couple of games.
But will McCown do any better? Is that really going to solve the Bucs' problems? Color me skeptical. Mike Glennon has struggled the past couple of games, but it's not like Josh McCown was any good over the first three games. He was timid, made horrible decisions under pressure, didn't give his receives much of a chance and was generally inaccurate. The one thing he did better than Glennon was find the checkdown option, but that likely won't be the difference between a win and a loss.
In the end I just can't get excited or angry over this decision. Neither quarterback excites me. Neither quarterback looks like the answer to me. This is window dressing and moves for competition in a lost season. That's a shame, but it is what it is.