TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -Josh Johnson doesn’t consider himself the answer to all of Tampa Bay’s problems.
The second-year quarterback just wants to do his part to get the winless Buccaneers on track.
“It’s not my job to be the savior of this team. My job is to come in and help us get wins,” the 23-year-old said Wednesday, looking ahead to his first NFL start against the struggling Washington Redskins.
“We are talented. We’ve just got to put it altogether and become one cohesive unit. … Offense, defense, special teams. If we all become one, we’ll win games and it won’t just be on one guy.”
Johnson, a fifth-round draft pick in 2008 who was inactive for all 16 games as a rookie, takes over an offense that managed just 86 yards total offense during last week’s 24-0 loss to the New York Giants.
He replaced Byron Leftwich, who completed 7 of 16 passes for 22 yards and an interception, in the fourth quarter, and wound up leads the Bucs in passing and rushing despite only playing one series.
venth-year pro Leftwich, a former starter in Jacksonville and Atlanta who figured he’d have to win some games early to keep coach Raheem Morris from going with Johnson or rookie Josh Freeman, the team’s quarterback of the future.
Like Freeman, Leftwich was a first-draft pick. His first start came as a rookie after the Jaguars got off to an 0-3 start with Mark Brunell at quarterback in 2003.
“It was this same situation. It wasn’t nothing Brunell did wrong. We were 0-3. … It was the exact same scenario, so I would be naive to sit up here and be mad and act like I don’t understand how this thing works,” Leftwich said.
“I was disappointed, but I wasn’t surprised,” he added. “I think we all knew that I had to win coming out of the gates, and that this might be a possibility. I knew if we didn’t win games, it was a chance no matter how good I played.”
Leftwich was productive throwing the ball in losses to Dallas and Buffalo. But the absence of a running attack put him at a huge disadvantage against the Bills and Giants, who put him in an even deeper hole last Sunday by rushing for 226 yards and controlling the ball for nearly 44 minutes.
The Bucs, who have been even worse on defense, concede that Johnson will need lots of support in order to have a chance to be successful.
he past two weeks. Johnson was the leading rusher against New York, gaining 15 yards on his only carry.
“We had a successful game against Dallas. We have to get back to that,” Morris said, adding that Johnson’s mobility adds an element to the offense that was missing with the 6-foot-5, 250-pound Leftwich.
“I’m just expecting the guy to go out there and be himself. I’m not telling him to go out there and be anybody but Josh Johnson. … He is a very confident young man. He has a nice swagger,” Morris added. “He is not Troy Aikman, he is not Michael Vick. He is Josh Johnson.”
The Bucs are ready to rally around him, noting he’s played well whenever he’s had an opportunity – whether it be during the preseason or the limited time had to run the offense against the Giants.
As senior at San Diego, where he played he played for Jim Harbaugh and set a NCAA Football Championship Subdivision record for passing efficiency, Johnson threw for 43 touchdowns and only one interception.
“I saw his college stats and they are ridiculous. That has to say something. I don’t care who you are playing against, that’s pretty impressive,” tackle Jeremy Trueblood said.
“People gravitate towards him. People want to follow him, that’s what you want in a quarterback,” Trueblood added. “Like I said, he is probably one of the smartest guys on the team. … I feel more than confident in his abilities.”
dskins coach Jim Zorn called Johnson “quite a talent” and said Washington’s challenge will be remain disciplined on defense, respecting his mobility, as well as the rest of Tampa Bay’s offense.
“Obviously, a tremendous strength is his ability to move around and create. Those kinds of quarterback are very dangerous,” Zorn said. “He’ll take every opportunity he has. Our responsibility to make sure we’re sound in how we defend him.”
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