“Last Chance Saloon”
May 25th, 2023
Word of the day: “Moxie.”
So who is it going to be, Baker Mayfield or competing Kyle Trask to lead the Bucs this year?
A couple of guys on SiriusXM NFL Radio yesterday said they’d be stunned if Mayfield is not the Bucs’ starter. Yesterday on “The Blitz” co-hosted by Bill Lekas and Charles Davis, both said the Bucs’ starting quarterback gig is Mayfield’s to lose and they think he’ll rise to the occasion in training camp.
“I think it would be an upset if he is not starting over Kyle Trask for the Buccaneers,” Lekas said. “Tom Brady is gone. There are still pieces to work with in Tampa. Mike Evans is still there. Chris Godwin is still there. Cade Otton showed some things.
“So there are still some pieces to like. … [Mayfield] may not get another chance to do this. We are reaching that point now that it has been Cleveland to Carolina to LA to Tampa Bay, this may be the ‘Last Chance Saloon’ for Baker Mayfield if this doesn’t work.”
Davis, who is the No. 2 game analyst for CBS, agreed.
“Before he signed with Tampa, for a while there, you have to wonder if there was a market for him? Fortunately for him, he has a chance to compete for a job and I’m with you, it would be a major upset to me and to you if he doesn’t take the first snap come the season opener in September.
“I just think overall he is that-guy who finds a way in these situations. He’s hard to beat one-on-one when you are competing with him. It’s been that way since he went to Texas Tech as a walk-on and then became the Big XII rookie of the year.
“He’s one of those guys, people just gravitate towards him. He has that extra charisma, that moxie. He is going to go all out on this one. I would be surprised if he is not the starter.”
Davis’ choice of the word “moxie” in reference to Mayfield caught Joe’s attention. What was the main word Super Bowl-winning coach Bucco Bruce Arians said about Mayfield? Arians praised Mayfield’s “moxie.”
May 25th, 2023 at 5:59 am
You could easily replace Mayfield with Bowles name and it would apply to him as well.
May 25th, 2023 at 6:18 am
Same headline applies to the HC
May 25th, 2023 at 6:28 am
Moxie, fortitude, determination, confidence, swag, backbone, grit, gumption, guts, sand, call it what you want but Baker is standing at the precipice of the
“Last Chance Saloon”.
So it appears it takes more than adjectives to be a good QB.
May 25th, 2023 at 6:38 am
Players also tend to gravitate towards the guy who shows confidence and swag but you have to be able to back it up. He has to walk the walk if he is going to talk the talk.
May 25th, 2023 at 6:43 am
As one commenter said yesterday Baker doesn’t have moxie he is sparky and his play in the NFL hasn’t backed his attitude. He thinks he is Russell Wilson but doesn’t have the speed to play in the NFL.
May 25th, 2023 at 6:52 am
I will root for whoever it is and not run either one of them down, Trask or Mayfield.Both have good qualities and bad qualities and neither one of them can walk on water.
May 25th, 2023 at 7:05 am
He went to Texas Tech, than Oklahoma. He was drafted by Cleveland, went to Carolina, Rams, and now TB. For all that moxie, lighting up the room, players gravitate towards him, why hasn’t stuck anywhere?
May 25th, 2023 at 7:05 am
If I had a dime for every time slow Joe opines on the question, unanswerable at this point, of who is going to start week 1 at quarterback on the Bucs, I’d be able to afford to buy the Bucs.
Give it up, Joe – really, you’re just filling the internet with meaningless digital yak.
The question of who will start week 1 actually makes little difference anyway, as either could start week 1 but not be the starter later in the season, or in the playoffs.
How about talking about football, instead of pooping out mindless gossip?
May 25th, 2023 at 7:39 am
Well, you are here reading it Duane and even commented…
It’s May fodder for the masses
Mind days Baker, heart says Kyle
Can’t wait for camp and September
Not sure I want to see past that yet LOL
Maybe I’ll change my screen name to 6WINSMAX
May 25th, 2023 at 7:46 am
I for one am looking forward to this season, maybe more so than in the past. Mark my words..Baker Mayfield will lead the Bucs to the division title. I say this not because Mayfield is exceptional at what he does but because of the sum of the parts around him. Canales, Evans, Godwin, Otton, R. White, revamped O line with some depth.
The defense should be much improved as well as they are younger, leaner and faster. Special teams..a punter that can flip the field and hopefully a kick / punt returner that can do some damage – you know…the opposite of Darden.
May 25th, 2023 at 8:24 am
Baker better fix those happy a** feet
May 25th, 2023 at 8:55 am
Duane Says:
“Give it up, Joe – really, you’re just filling the internet with meaningless digital yak.”
.
.
The drivel and insults sound the same. Only the names change.
May 25th, 2023 at 8:56 am
I listen to Charles Davis’ opinions, he is good.
May 25th, 2023 at 9:18 am
I’m not in the huddle, so I can’t speak to his on-field moxie, but that’s not the word that comes to mind while watching his pressers. He sounds like he’s talking down to reporters when he speaks.
That being said, HE is the QB the team is trotting out for press conferences, not Trask. Pretty sure that means he’s the starter until something changes.
May 25th, 2023 at 9:25 am
Sadly, whoever wins the QB competition, the other one will then be seen as chopped liver. “He couldn’t even beat out….”
May 25th, 2023 at 9:41 am
Joe – why is Trask not speaking at press conferences? Is he not required to, or is the press not asking for him? Curious how that works.
May 25th, 2023 at 10:19 am
Baker will be in the NFL for as long as he wants to. “…if there was a market for him”? Maybe not as a starter but if his ego can handle making millions toting a clipboard as a backup QB, there’s always going to be a market for him until he ages out and as a backup, you never know when you might just get another chance to be QB1.
I’d really like to see what Trask can do with the 1st stringers in pre-season, but as cautious as Bowles is, I can’t see him starting over Mayfield purely based on experience. I think that’s why he wasn’t #2 ahead of Gabbert last year. Not that he wasn’t as good as Gabbert but Bowles probably preferred to have a veteran with more experience should something happen to TB12.
The early bye week will probably be the true settling of the position. If Baker wins the starting job but stinks the place up, we could see Trask in week 6. If Baker performs well (even if there are more losses than wins) he’ll probably keep the job.
May 25th, 2023 at 11:24 am
So Mayfield and Bowles have career futures in common.
May 25th, 2023 at 11:40 am
A lot of sprint outs favors Mayfield. That has always been his style.
May 25th, 2023 at 11:51 am
Mayfield is a lot like M Stafford that when they are sucking badly they hobble off the field like they have been playing all game hurt. Next game boom they are fit as a fiddle. Trask is better than some of the QB’s taken early in his draft class. Trey Lance, Zack Wilson, and possibly Mac Jones.
Would not mind seeing Trask come off the bench in the middle of a game, turn the game around, and never look back. History repeating itself.
May 25th, 2023 at 12:22 pm
Well, Mayfield took the Browns to the playoffs and had the first road win since 1969 for that franchise. Is he the guy who’s going to carry a team? No, he isn’t. Is he the guy who can roll up some wins with a decent supporting cast? Absolutely. Fun Fact, he’s undefeated head to head with Joe Burrow. Winless but close against Mahomes. (Sort of like what they said about Peyton Manning playing against Brady and the Patriots). Just my opinion, but I think these guys can win a bunch of games if the O-Line comes together
May 25th, 2023 at 12:27 pm
I like Baker and I think he deserves another chance. He shows great potential and maybe he just needs to be surrounded by good players. As for Bowles, he is totally incompetent and I don’t expect him to be around next year.
May 25th, 2023 at 12:41 pm
The real question is, what will the new coach in 2024 think about those two QBs?
May 25th, 2023 at 12:46 pm
Cobraboy lol
May 25th, 2023 at 1:11 pm
Voi8ce of Truth – the point that went totally over your head is that there is reporting, and actual analysis, and what JBF mostly does is to emote his feelings and intuition that the quarterback competition is a farce, and that the only guy who could possibly win the starters job is Mayfield, despite not seeing a single snap an a football practice.
Gossip, in other words.
Yes, fans want to hear about their teams and the players and coaches. No, the fans DON’T want to hear stupid gossip and mindless emanations and penumbras from a biased reporter who doesn’t report. As in actual stuff.
May 25th, 2023 at 1:21 pm
@Duane: JBF is NOT “journalism” in its purest form. It’s all about opinion and not “just the facts, ma’am.”
Besides, not everyone sees “facts” the same.
May 25th, 2023 at 1:27 pm
@bucs74–Trask had a presser a week or so ago. Scroll down on the Buc’s video site. It may have been a few weeks ago. His interview was one of the first ones.
As for Duane’s comments–Most of the fan’s postings here are based on opinions and gossip, too. There are plenty of facts sprinkled in both articles and comments. If you don’t like this site try another one. I opine that it is very difficult this time of year to even find things to write about. My least favorite are the articles that just repost quotes from interviews on the Buc’s website, but I still come here every day and appreciate the comments and most articles, for sure.
May 25th, 2023 at 1:53 pm
TARGET RICH ENVIRONMENT
Easy to hit Evans, Godwin, Gage (when healthy), White, Otton, (maybe Payne Durahm). Plus, a run-heavy offense makes it even easier.
We don’t need great. We just need a guy who doesn’t turn it over and delivers a catchable ball.
May 26th, 2023 at 12:30 am
@Dwayne, I like these stories and I am certain the vast majority of us do too. Most of its opinion and league banter because that’s all there is this time of year. We have something to talk or argue about and just enjoy a few good chuckles. It’s not much but that’s all there is till summer.
May 26th, 2023 at 12:59 pm
If Baker beats out Trask that equals a dead season. I have no faith in Mayfield. He’s shown time and again he’s a mediocre QB at best. Trask could be the future of this franchise, Baker is not. If Trask doesn’t win the gig, it’s back to the draft.