Freeman takes blame; what happens now? Martin Fennelly, The Tampa Tribune, published 7 December 2009 You knew there would be days like this. Now what happens? Josh Freeman proved that Sunday - five times over, he took it in the teeth. His nightmare was the holiday gift that kept on giving in a thoroughly winnable 16-6 loss to the Carolina Panthers, which alternated between Freeman's 21 completions to Bucs and five completions to Panthers. Sunday, bloody Sunday. There was no way around it. This one was on the kid. It happens. Now what happens? "I threw six interceptions one game, I think," said Doug Williams, Bucs director of pro scouting and a former rookie quarterback himself. "I think it was six, at San Francisco. We lost 6-3." Actually, it was five, and the Bucs lost 23-7 in that Dec. 9, 1979, game. Guess you never remember days like that for long. At least the good ones don't. "You got to move on," Williams said. And so it will have to be the new five-interception man. Freeman threw two picks in the Carolina end zone, one near the goal line and two more in and around that. He cost his club possibly as many as 28 points, maybe more. Freeman was calm as ever after the game, repentant, taking the blame, but seemingly unfazed by the mess. He was matter of fact. "I want to play in this league a long time. The guys who throw a lot of picks usually don't last," he said. He threw as many interceptions Sunday as he had his first four games as a starter. He also threw for the first 300-yard passing game of his career. But he turned what was the NFL's second best team at red-zone touchdown efficiency into a disaster area, though, at 1-11, it's hard to tell one Bucs disaster from another. "I think we were inside their 30-yard line eight times and we came away with six points, and that's completely unacceptable," Freeman said. "Tough loss," Bucs coach Raheem Morris said. "Tough day for the young man in the red zone. ... You've got to make better decisions once he gets down there." You knew a day like this was out there. Now what happens? "(Matthew) Stafford, (Mark) Sanchez, they've all had these tough days," Bucs general manager Mark Dominik said. Freeman locked in on his receivers too often. Twice that receiver was Antonio Bryant, who made some remarkable catches Sunday. But Freeman forced the ball when he shouldn't have near - or in - Carolina's end zone. "It wasn't just Antonio," Morris said. "He forced it in some other places. That's just the confidence the kid has in his arm." No matter. It killed drives. It killed hope. It killed victory. And Freeman knew it. He'd gladly take back some of those throws. "Like my coach always says, it's a game of inches, and today I was few inches off," Freeman said. A few? "We just have to deal with the fact that Freeman is growing up," Bucs center Jeff Faine said. "He's going to make mistakes. He's a rookie ... he keeps earning his stripes, getting a few scars on him, but the scars will heal." The kid has tools. He took a beating when he took off and ran. He'll beat himself up over the picks - to a point. "He's tough physically and mentally," Doug Williams said. "He's not one of those soft, emotional guys. This will still kick his (butt) on the bus, on the plane, and when he gets back home. But he'll bounce back quick." Next week, the Jets are in Tampa with rookie quarterback Sanchez, who went ahead of Freeman in the draft. Sanchez has thrown 17 interceptions this season, five in one game and four in another. Sanchez also was called out by Jets coach Rex Ryan for not sliding after a run, endangering his and the Jets' season. "He's our knucklehead and we love him, but, man ..." Ryan said. Josh Freeman smiled over that. "I took a lot of heat for sliding," he said. It was late Sunday afternoon and he could still laugh. "I don't have time to feel sorry for myself," he said. No one is calling Freeman a knucklehead - and no one expects him to knuckle under to Sunday's horror show. "It'll mess with you," Doug Williams said. "But you can't mess with this kid much. He's a winner." Sunday happened. Now what happens?