QB Josh Freeman is making progress and hopes to improve this season. (Paul Spinelli / Associated Press)

The Buccaneers struggled with a 3-13 record in 2009, but those kind of seasons are easier to take when you have a young quarterback making his way in the NFL. That said, the fans will eventually expect that young quarterback to produce.

That’s why the team brought in Alex Van Pelt as the quarterback’s coach — to get second-year QB Josh Freeman to become a top signal caller.

Van Pelt and Freeman have been spending a lot of time together, with the coach saying that his pupil is never a ‘second-offender.’ Meaning he does not have to tell the quarterback the same thing twice. That, Van Pelt told the St. Petersberg Times, is what is leading to Freeman’s growth as a quarterback.

“His growth from getting in and watching the (film) and everything he did last year — from there to where he is now, you can see the growth,” Van Pelt said. “It’s huge. It’s exponential growth already. And there’s a comfort level, too. Once you’ve been in the system for a year, (you can say), ‘I understand protections, I understand all the issues that go with protections, I understand my reads, my footwork.”

Other stories making their way Around the Web on a Wednesday:

• Dallas Morning News columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor answered emails from Cowboys fans (he is a braver man than me), and said that he believes that Roy Williams will play for the Cowboys this season so owner Jerry Jones gets a little bit of bang for his buck. But Williams will probably be cut next season.

• Cowboys receiver coach Ray Sherman said that Williams was working hard during the offseason during a radio interview on ESPN radio in Dallas (via the Dallas Morning News). But Sherman was absolutely glowing about rookie Dez Bryant, saying that it was hard to compare him to anybody.

“I want to say that he reminds me of somebody but he I think he is in a class by himself because he can do so many things,” Sherman said. “He’s a punt returner, he’s a kickoff returner…he’s a guy that is a tremendous athlete, a tremendous receiver; he catches the ball as well as anyone I’ve seen. I mean, you can try to compare him with people because they did some of those things, but this young man has the ability: he can utilize the quick twitch and has the speed to get downfield.”

• The 49ers handed LB Patrick Willis a lucrative contract on Tuesday. But what does that mean for Manny Lawson? A source told Comcast Bay Area that Lawson and the 49ers have not been engaged in any serious contract discussions.

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