Baker Mayfield Love Explained
May 10th, 2023
New Tampa Bay offensive coordianator Dave Canales.
When spring rolls around and players are only practicing in shorts and t-shirts, coaches tend to share more personal impressions of the players and talk more about their intangible qualities.
And when it comes to new Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield, there seems to be plenty to say.
Coaches seem drawn to the guy.
Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales was asked for his impressions of Mayfield and about how Mayfield fits into the new Tampa Bay offense.
It sounded like Canales has a budding mancrush.
“I just like his presence. He just has such a great swag. You know, he steps into the huddle; he belongs. He comes right in here, he’ll light up the room,” Canales began.
“You know, he’s a good dude and he just knows how to connect with people – that’s what I’ve been most excited [about]. And then of course, the game is never too big for him. The bullets start flying and he stays cool. So I love that about him. As far as our system, our system is pretty friendly in terms of who the player is and what type of athlete they are, because we do have so many different ways to get to the right play. It ends up becoming pretty friendly for any type of quarterback.”
Canales went on to talk about Mayfield’s maturation process after multiple rejections around the NFL.
“So, he’s been told no enough times where I can feel the hunger that he has for wanting to re-establish himself as a starter and to really have the type of career he envisioned, that the Browns envisioned for him, taking him No. 1 overall,” Canales said. “But there is something in him right now where there’s like this release where he’s like, ‘I know what I gotta do today, that’s good enough.’ And so I can feel that from him. It’s not an anger or any type of resentment for what happened. It’s more like, ‘Look at this cool opportunity.’”
Interesting stuff from Canales, who sees the hunger in Mayfield. And remember, Todd Bowles says Mayfied is a “natural born leader.”
May 10th, 2023 at 4:03 pm
Fluffer season
May 10th, 2023 at 4:12 pm
I am actually hoping Trask is the better QB,,,, while in Tampa
May 10th, 2023 at 4:16 pm
Trask will seize the moment. And the job
May 10th, 2023 at 4:30 pm
Nothing could be better than a tossup between Mayfield & Trask……
My money is on Mayfield…..why….because that’s where the Buc money is.
Many are writing off this season but if we can manage a decent run game….improved defense (likely)…….better special teams (likely)….we have a chance to surprise.
May 10th, 2023 at 4:38 pm
Then you put him in a real game, a defensive guys yells obscenities at him as he goes by.
That gives him that old deer in the headlights look, he starts running around and tossing interceptions, just like Vinnie did it.
May 10th, 2023 at 4:42 pm
TBBF
Many are writing off this season but if we can manage a decent run game….improved defense (likely)…….better special teams (likely)….we have a chance to surprise.
************************************************************
I would truly like nothing better!
I’m afraid if we do, it will be completely on the players because recent observation tells me that our HC is not ready, and may never be ready, to run the whole show.
We’ll know for sure by the fourth game whether or not he has learned to game plan. Short of that, again, it will be on the players.
Can they carry Bowles to another season?
May 10th, 2023 at 4:55 pm
Baker Mayfield was playing well in his 2 years of stability under Stefanski. The 2nd year with stefanski he was injured badly by week 6 and Haslem(owner) had made up his mind early in the season to get watson hell or high water. He has some better weapons here albeit the run game which is so key.
May 10th, 2023 at 5:00 pm
WHAT IF …
1. Baker plays like it’s 2020 (3500 yards, 26 td, 8 int)
2. Canales builds a solid run game
3. Kancey, JTS and Hall emerge as major disruptors
The NFCS is wide open. The Bucs could 10 wins and make the playoffs.
Don’t count them out.
May 10th, 2023 at 5:07 pm
I think Canales’ presser was good, but at the end of the day Baker has to deliver wins. Hopefully the new offense will be better for the QBs and Baker gets enough protection to go through his progressions.
May 10th, 2023 at 5:09 pm
Canales says Mayfield connect with people? I connect with my boss and he still
says it will be 2 more years before I can get another pay raise. Its been 2 already.
Just make sure Baker connects with our receivers and not the oppositions repeatedly..
May 10th, 2023 at 5:45 pm
That’s a great attitude to have while backing up the mighty Kyle Trask!!
May 10th, 2023 at 5:59 pm
And fans supposed to get excited about this nonsense? Maybefield is a bust.
May 10th, 2023 at 6:04 pm
We’ll see soon enough. May the best man win.
May 10th, 2023 at 6:57 pm
Mayfield just threw another pick.
May 10th, 2023 at 7:05 pm
I think so much hinges on our offensive line. If it is solid, then I expect Mayfield (or Trask) to be effective, along with our running game. I was listening to the Joe Buc Fan podcase this morning and it seems that there is a feeling the Bucs have the potential to field a top 10 defense. If that is the case, and the offensive lines plays well, the Bucs could very well be a playoff team. There are a lot of “ifs,” but nothing I just wrote is unreasonable.
May 10th, 2023 at 7:13 pm
He’s got moxie…
That’s what people say about losers who can’t get the job done, but try hard.
This is his 4th team in a year, he’s had the worst QBR in the NFL over the last two seasons… and on top of that, I watched his tape from last year. He was mostly awful – and you can’t blame everything on the guys around him, he was responsible for most of the stuff I saw. He was getting tons of passes batted down, he was missing wide open guys, and he’d seemingly always check down to the underneath guys for 2 yards, when a 1% harder throw would have got him 12.
I really do hope I’m wrong about Mayfield, in which case the true blue Baker Backers can mock for having any doubts — but nothing about him gives me a good feeling.
May 10th, 2023 at 7:14 pm
By week 6, the Baker love affair will be over.
Mayfield has a natural way of doing that.
Mostly, by inconsistent play. About 50% of his games, are a disaster.
We’re not even considering the interviews, that will occur.
He is self-destructive, when speaking.
He has yet to figure out, that “less is better” sometimes.
May 10th, 2023 at 7:25 pm
I’ll say this: there is more upside in Kyle Trask, than Baker Mayfield.
I hope Trask earns the job, and lights it up.
May 10th, 2023 at 7:44 pm
Mayfield’s biggest short-fall, is between his ears.
He went to college, but has never heard of “Dunning Kruger Syndrome”
May 10th, 2023 at 8:48 pm
Baker can’t even see over the steering wheel much less the o-line. Don’t give me that drew Bree’s crap either about height doesn’t matter. Brees is a HOF. Baker is not
May 10th, 2023 at 8:58 pm
You will not hear anything but this from Rah Rah Canales. Everyone is a god
at 0-0.
May 10th, 2023 at 9:32 pm
1#bucsfan I went to a game in RayJay some years ago in the before Brady time and the Bucs were playing the Saints. Brees made some mystifying throws late in the game to thwart the Bucs. I had seats like 4 rows from the field in the endzone under the ship GREAT SEATS. Its one thing to see uncanny accuracy on TV but when you see it in person its on a whole other level.
He put balls on guys hands on 25 yard outs in the midst of a maelstrom – right on the money in stride centimeters out of multiple defenders reach. Where it could only be in order to make the play. You could see the Bucs defenders in the game gaining momentum – really starting to fly around – the entire stadium was energized with the level increasing. You could see the emotion and momentum clearly rising for the Bucs and then Brees makes a miraculous throw… Then I remember thinking along with everyone else that it’s ok – its just one throw. He got lucky. Bucs still got this. Pressure is whispers away from Brees all quarter and the secondary are all over the receivers there’s no way the Saints are taking this. Then Brees does it again. This time a 20 yard dig that threads through a miniscule window. I barely believe what I am seeing. How does he make that throw? Perfect combination of touch and power. Its not just where the ball ends up but the control of it’s trajectory which made it indefensible. Doubt now landsliding in. He connects on a corner route and the crowd is in stunned confusion.
I saw Brees make the 3 of the most clutch throws I have ever seen to wrench what looked like unstoppable momentum toward a seemingly sure victory and drive a knife through the hearts of 60K people in attendance.
That’s what an elite QB can do – alter the most assured outcomes to their team’s advantage.
I left the stadium stunned. This was not a normal human being. That kind of ability and performance I had just seen took some mental energy to fully process.
So yeah Mayfield isn’t Brees. Not close.
May 11th, 2023 at 12:15 am
Believe it when I see it. Interested to see if real players respond to his fake leadership. Came out of OK very arrogant and blamed everyone else for his shortcomings
May 11th, 2023 at 12:54 am
Wow. Greatly written story, Mike.
May 11th, 2023 at 1:31 am
I’m growing tired of Canales RahRah BS already!
Can’t wait for some
Camp and Games so we can see how much of this is PR.
May 11th, 2023 at 9:23 am
“Winston just threw another pick-six” Hey Mike S I fixed this for you.
May 11th, 2023 at 5:04 pm
I started counting the negative comments. After the first seven I simply stopped counting.
What a hopeless crowd and I mean that in the literal sense of a crowd that has forgotten how to hope. Truly sad.
But amidst all that angst and negativity a comment based at least on some sense of reality!
@Chark “Baker Mayfield was playing well in his 2 years of stability under Stefanski. The 2nd year with stefanski he was injured badly by week 6 and Haslem(owner) had made up his mind early in the season to get watson hell or high water. He has some better weapons here albeit the run game which is so key.”
That is exactly the take from my son who lives in Columbus and is a long time Browns fan. Haslem is a train wreck on the order of Hugh Culverhouse. He’s no Dan Snyder but he’s also not the Glazers(whom I’ve grown to respect greatly). With Snyder leaving Haslem is probably in the running for worst owner in the NFL.