CBS: Bucs Are A Talented Team, Except For Quarterback
May 31st, 2023
Questions.
Joe can’t recall reading any observation of the Bucs as having a bad team.
Most analysts like the talent, especially at receiver, especially at linebacker and the secondary.
But with the team’s talent at the most important position, quarterback, so many believe Kyler Traskfield will drop the team down.
It seems a lot of folks already have branded Baker Mayfield a loser. And Kyle Trask doesn’t move the needle. Add Will Brinson of CBS to the growing list of folks not seeing what the Bucs are seeing at quarterback.
Tampa Bay still has top-level remnants of its title run, including WR Mike Evans, LB Lavonte David and S Antoine Winfield Jr., but the QB questions, coupled with a transitioning O-line and overly conservative coach in Todd Bowles, have the Bucs as the most likely candidates to fall from the top all the way to the bottom of the NFC South, as Caesars Sportsbook forecasts.
Well, Joe thinks Brinson raises a fair point in that each and every position on the offensive line has a very real question mark on it. And we all know how much Bucs coach Todd Bowles wants to run and leave the memories of No-Risk-It; No-Biscuit offense in the closet where the Vince Lombardi Trophies collect dust.
Different quarterback(s), different team, different era, different offense.
But Joe does think Brinson lays out a potential disaster. Bowles wants to run the ball. What if many of the same questions about the offensive linemen come true and the Bucs can’t run. What then?
Can Traskfield overcome a pass-only, one-dimensional attack?
Are are we looking at a first-round pick of a quarterback next spring?
If the Bucs cannot succeed running, this team may be, in the words of Gunnery Sgt. Hartman, in a world of sh!t.
May 31st, 2023 at 8:14 am
I mean, the Brady led Bucs couldn’t overcome a one dimensional offense…so, my gut feeling is no way this offense will thrive if they are one dimensional. Even heavy passing offenses have an x factor, scrambling QB or dangerous running back(s).
So, I feel my big fear is that there is no patience for this scheme to develop. If the run game struggles and we lose a few then the bi…. you’re looking at a potential qb controversy. Then a new qb struggles after a game or two. Boom, back to plan A. Crappy season, New HC and staff. Back to square one next season.
This team is going to have to commit to one qb or the other and COMMITT to the scheme for a yr. Give it space, suck it up and see where it leads. I hate to say that as it probably means a yr or two of average results. Low win total first half of season and coming on strong end of season, surviving outcry during next offseason for Bowle’s head etc….
May 31st, 2023 at 8:15 am
Now that Brady is gone, it is easy to see that the National Tampa Hate has returned.
Instead of calling Todd Bowles overly conservative, I think a better name for him would be “Blitz Happy”.
I still remember his call for an all out Blitz that left Cooper Cupp uncovered, and IMHO cost us a championship.
May 31st, 2023 at 8:19 am
We are playing the hand we were dealt. Not sure why these experts don’t or refuse to understand this. Every team has to pay for their Super Bowl Runs and eventually the Chiefs and Eagles will be in this very same position. Some teams like the Steelers can rebuild and stay competitive and others not so much. There was one QB we could afford and still give us a chance to stay competitive ourselves and we went out and got him.
May 31st, 2023 at 8:25 am
We already know how good Mayfield is. We do not know how good Trask is.
May 31st, 2023 at 8:26 am
Let’s see how it all unfolds.
May 31st, 2023 at 8:29 am
I have to agree that the QB position is the weak link and everyone will be learning a new offense. I can see how the offense could tank this year and become one dimensional if we can’t get the running game going. In this transition year it will be interesting to see how the Traskfield- Canales offense does against the Carr-Gruden offense.
May 31st, 2023 at 8:33 am
I have no problem with people hitting on Todd Bowles the head coach.
I will never forget the defensive game plan that he had ready for the Super Bowl. Nobody was stopping Kansas City that whole year. The Bucs after getting burned in the regular season with KC, switched his game plan to make sure that if KC was going to score, they were going to have to march down the field in short plays. Then the defense tightened up and would not let them score a TD.
KC with Mahomes scored an average of 28 points a game that year. We held them to 9. In a high scoring league, Bowles has shown his worth as a defensive coordinator.
May 31st, 2023 at 8:50 am
You know what can change the effectivity of the run game, outside of the personnel? Is actually being committed to running the ball. Not just using the run game primarily to piggy back a bunch of passing concepts off of it, but an actual dedication to running the ball being a strength of this offense. This wasn’t the case under BA/Leftwich and damn sure wasn’t the case during the Koetter era and hasn’t been a “strength” since the Lovie Smiths’ last year.
You know that familiar feeling at the sight of an early(albeit slim) point margin and the run game gets abandoned and the QB is tasked with passing us out of a hole? That was the bluieprint for our offense from 2016 to last year. Sure we had different personnel, different coaching staffs, but both offenses steeped in a vertical passing principles did not see being a team that can threaten with a strong run game as a primary option for the team. I’m looking for Canales and our offense to bring balance back and I can’t wait to see this offensive scheme rollout with time.
May 31st, 2023 at 9:09 am
In 2021, Mayfield and Beckham were injured- Browns’ offense sputtered and at the end of that year, the Browns’ defense failed.
A healthy Bucs’ roster this year and Bucs are a playoff team.
May 31st, 2023 at 9:12 am
I would take Kyle Trask over some of the first round picks in this year’s draft. At the very least, he was able to spend a few years learning under the GOAT.
May 31st, 2023 at 9:18 am
this team is screwed…..but people don’t wanna admit it now cause it’s early.
NO WAY you go into a season with a Journeyman QB and a QB that’s never started a regular NFL season game and think you’re going to be successful.
If this team gets over 4 wins……..I’ll actually be shocked.
May 31st, 2023 at 9:36 am
Geno, You make a valid point. Bowles should stay a defensive coordinator not a head coach. He is clueless as a HC! Last season showed that!
May 31st, 2023 at 9:37 am
Pretty much. Bucs couldn’t afford to bring in another quarterback (which is why several pundits believe Bucs are drafting one next spring).
May 31st, 2023 at 9:38 am
Trask is a real likable guy. I hadn’t really heard him say much until yesterdays press conference. I’m rooting for either or both of those guys (Buc Qbs) to prove these national guys wrong.
May 31st, 2023 at 9:38 am
This so called experts or analysts or whatever they wanna be called, do not realize how stupid they sound.
I can understand that being said after game 5 or 6 but now???
Maybe they need to say something because this stupid programs are so many and so bad that they have nothing to say, FA is over, draft is over, well, get a vacation and shut up!!!
May 31st, 2023 at 9:49 am
I have seen more promising young Quarterbacks ruined by teams that threw them into hopeless situations way before they were ready to adjust to them than I care to remember, it happens every year without fail , look at all the successful quarterbacks today , how many started as rookies? Most successful QB’s in the league were given time to observe ,learn and adjust, Farve, Rogers , Mahomes, even the GOAT, sat and learned, while legions of their promising brethren were physically or mentally damaged and destroyed, maybe , just maybe, Tampa did it the right way with Kyle Trask, time will tell.
May 31st, 2023 at 9:50 am
Watch Platoon again, Joe because Gunny Hartman never uttered those words in the movie. Private Joker mentioned “..in a world of sh!t”, and then Gomer replied” I am in a world of shit” just before he ate a round from his service rifle. An inaccurate metaphor undermines the clarity, and valididity of the comparison. As Jack Reacher reminds us, details matter.
May 31st, 2023 at 9:54 am
Joe, when quoting the opinion of an “expert”, it would be helpful to give us his batting average on past opinions. 🙂
May 31st, 2023 at 9:55 am
For us to have a good game to game run offense we will need a stingy turnover making defense that doesn’t let opposing teams score quickly at will. Running the ball eats up clock so it is necessary that we almost score on every possession or we can find ourselves down by multiple scores quickly making us abandon our game plan. Remember the rules are more friendly than ever for the pass and receivers don’t even have to catch the ball on PI calls to pick up yards. Breathe on a QB on a pass rush and that’s 15. This is why the run game has taken a backseat.
May 31st, 2023 at 9:58 am
and lackluster coaching
May 31st, 2023 at 10:02 am
VATom Says:
May 31st, 2023 at 8:14 am
I mean, the Brady led Bucs couldn’t overcome a one dimensional offense…so, my gut feeling is no way this offense will thrive if they are one dimensional. Even heavy passing offenses have an x factor, scrambling QB or dangerous running back(s).
—————————-
Brdy had a huge part of making the offense one dimensional. Why drop the safeties back when Tommy Boy refused to ever throw downfield? Tom’s desire to throw everything at or behind the LOS was our biggest weakness on O last season, not the coordinator, not the line, not the running backs… but his decision making. We don’t know what Leftwich called, all we know was what Brady decided to throw. And what he threw were usually the types of plays that are sight audibles… plays that are called AFTER the team lines up at the line of scrimmage. That steaming pile of crap offense was mostly on Brady.
May 31st, 2023 at 10:11 am
The NFL is geared towards wizzbang pinball wizardry… we ain’t got no explosive stuff
Just season fodder for the teams that do .
May 31st, 2023 at 10:13 am
Brandon, that’s fair
But neither of the QBs on our roster look like deep passing threats so far. I agree Brady was probably unning a pseudo Leftwich offense and didn’t want to hold the ball. So effectively every receiver became a running back and Brady was trying to give em a 2yd head start on the line backers by throwing short passes…
Gonna be an interesing few games this yr.
May 31st, 2023 at 10:26 am
@JimBuc2
You’re thinking of “Full Metal Jacket”
May 31st, 2023 at 10:36 am
I can’t wait until this time next year
May 31st, 2023 at 11:00 am
I feel like national media hated that Brady chose the Bucs of all teams lol. We are generally a team they like to be pessimistic on so all of this kind of just seems natural.
I think the realistic path to a successful season this year is a top 5-10 defense, and at least average run game / o-line. That’s what the front office has basically laid out as the plan with their offseason priorities and the OC hire.
If the defense is just average or worse and/or run game below average we will probably be picking in the top 5-10 and looking for a new HC. I like this OC though and hope there’s enough talent/consistency between the O-line and traskfield + Rashaad White to execute his vision. It’s a little weird we didn’t add another RB tho
May 31st, 2023 at 11:26 am
Jimbuc2: it’s FMJ, not Platoon.
May 31st, 2023 at 11:35 am
Ryan Jensen has to be able to play well, Tristan Wirfs has to be good at left tackle, and Luke Goedeke has to be an All-Pro right tackle in hiding, otherwise, this line is even worse than last year’s as constructed.
May 31st, 2023 at 11:43 am
Lord C … Perfect analysis. Bucs look to be a much different team this year, but how well we do will be determined more by our defense than anything else IMO. And yes, Top 5-10 would be nice. I do however expect our offense to get into the 21-22 PPG range, which would allow us to roughly break even on the season if our defense comes through.
May 31st, 2023 at 11:46 am
I can see Baker winning the starting gig but just moxie will be the deciding factor because everything else being evaluated I believe will be pretty close. I could see our QB situation as being pretty good and if Mayfield gets injured, Trask may do so well that he keeps the starting spot. I think this offense will be successful with either at QB. I am not judging Trask or Mayfield for the past couple of seasons. This is a fresh start and it is going to be fun to watch them battle it out.
May 31st, 2023 at 11:51 am
The real problem is Bowles. He wants his team to play a certain way. Which is fine, except for the fact the fact this team was built to be a throwing team. It takes a while to convert the personnel to shift an offense. 2 years? That’s optimistic but not impossible.
May 31st, 2023 at 11:52 am
Spot on accurate assessment by CBS. But then again, we already knew this now didn’t we?
May 31st, 2023 at 12:14 pm
Go Trask beat Mayfield!
May 31st, 2023 at 1:38 pm
I think all these national and Bucs analysts and fans haven’t any clue that they have a new OC that has been offensive and QB coach with Pete Carroll for years. He will be installed to what the plan was last year, except they thought could come through without BA and Brady. Trask better be able to move from PS to first string, I will think Baker will have a very good chance Baker will start just from experience.
May 31st, 2023 at 1:53 pm
@Defense Rules
Agree and that would definitely help if the offense can just average 21+ that would be adequate. I didn’t realize how bad we were last year (just 18.4 PPG) or 8th worst…
May 31st, 2023 at 4:54 pm
This was worth the price of admission for the GOAT.
I don’t understand all the downtrodden views?
These same fans expressed more hope when America’s Turnover Machine was losing in remarkable fashion.
I just don’t understand, in what world or logical breakdown, is it not “ok” to be where we are this year because Jason Licht crafted a championship roster and got the lotto after his #1 overall pick busted out of town.
I’m excited to see the competition unfold and I think we will be pleasantly surprised.
May 31st, 2023 at 4:56 pm
I also think Kyle Trask is going to turn some heads and be a solid contributor. I really do think he’s smart enough, has nice touch on his ball, and can read what’s going on. I am absolutely pulling for him, just like I do all shucks QBs- until they present data otherwise, we should give the kid a shot. Hoping he wins the job and doesn’t look back.
May 31st, 2023 at 4:56 pm
Mayfield is the Plan 9 of QB’s
June 1st, 2023 at 1:51 am
This dude whoever he is.
Not at all a gambling fan…I’m a football fan so please leave all the Vegas crap off my Football site. I could care less what a bunch of Gangsters think!
He is stating the obvious! If we can’t run, we got problems…Just like last year.
If we can’t pass block, we got problems…Just like last year.
Coaching by Bowles needs to improve.
We don’t yet know anything beyond that. Too many new pieces, new offense and Huge question marks at QB.
As my lovely Neice used to say when she was little…Duh!?!
But because I have been a real Bucs fan since the begining and it is the off season I remain optimistic.
June 1st, 2023 at 11:29 pm
Then you’re not looking around enough. I’ve seen 2-3 reports ranking the Bucs talent the bottom 1/4th of the league. That’s almost as insane a take as thinking the Bucs can pull a starting LT out of nowhere when they have the 2nd best tackle in the league on their team, all because Joe thinks Tristan can’t face a different way when doing the exact same thing he’s always done. Maybe the best athlete in the league on the line, he can’t possibly figure out facing left. 😅