Josh Freeman should have taken more deep shots, says Greg Schiano

Despite being a first-year head coach, Greg Schiano is no stranger to public scrutiny, and he's certainly no stranger to defending himself and his team.

Just weeks after Schiano defended his aggressive play-calling against the New York Giants' victory formation, Schiano said Monday that quarterback Josh Freeman needed to be more aggressive in the first half against the Washington Redskins, via the Tampa Bay Times:

After watching Freeman go 11-of-17 for 211 yards passing and one touchdown in the second half of the Bucs' 24-22 loss to the Washington Redskins. bringing his team back from a 18-point deficit, coach Greg Schiano admitted his team should've attempted more deep passes in the first half.

"Offensively, we threw the ball deep effectively in the second half. Probably needed to take more shots in the first half.''

The Buccaneers are one of four teams with a Week 5 bye, and Schiano is taking it upon himself to look back at the first four games, and look at what worked and hasn't worked for his quarterback so far:

"I look at this quarter of the season now, you step back with the bye week and that's what we're doing now, is looking at our first four games and attacking some things in the next two days. But if it were one thing he were comfortable with or not comfortable with, we'd just cut it out and we'd up more."

Freeman and the Bucs will return to action Sunday, Oct. 14, when they host the Kansas City Chiefs. We'll see if the Bucs come out of the bye week with more aggressive offensive play calling.