Todd Bowles Lists Keys To Winning Bucs’ QB Battle
May 16th, 2023
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles
The quarterback competition is in full swing at One Buc Palace. The microscope is on Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask.
Yesterday, Todd Bowles talked about what will crown a winner.
Bowles, speaking on The Rich Eisen Show, hit on a lot of leadership points and, to Joe’s surprise, didn’t mention turnovers specifically.
“Obviously, the practice is important, the communication with the guys, leadership in the huddle, accuracy — you gotta make plays, of course, in this league to win ballgames,” Bowles said of what will determine a winner of the QB battle. “And who commands the huddle and who the team runs behind more that gives you the best chance to win. And that’ll be sorted out over time.”
On this date in mid-May, Joe hopes Kyle Trask gets the start in the opening preseason game, assuming there’s still a quarterback competition at that time.
Trask has never started a game of any kind in the NFL, and it sure would seem like an important evaluation tool. Again, that’s if there’s still a competition in place.
May 16th, 2023 at 8:22 am
Protecting the ball, moving the chains, red zone performance. Scoring TDs not FGs. Simple in theory.
May 16th, 2023 at 8:44 am
Bake is going to shake the turnovers, and lead the pirate ship to treasure. Trask will mop the deck
May 16th, 2023 at 9:02 am
Athleticism is one talent, presence and leadership is another. The will to win (competitiveness) and not letting anything stand in your way is the key.
Ask Tom.
May 16th, 2023 at 9:18 am
I think this whole so called QB Competition is one big sham.
I don’t know anybody who thinks that Baker Mayfield will not be our starter.
May 16th, 2023 at 9:25 am
I agree that we need to see Trask with the first string vs a first string defense…..until that, we’ll never know what we have in him.
May 16th, 2023 at 9:31 am
Every year there’s a surprise team why can’t it be the Bucs and baker
May 16th, 2023 at 9:40 am
If Bowles doesn’t see turnovers and protecting the ball as an important factor. Let’s bring back Jameis! (Thank God that can’t happen)
May 16th, 2023 at 9:45 am
I’m thinking “make plays” is an umbrella statement about throwing it to our guys and not to theirs.
May 16th, 2023 at 9:46 am
Joe the same could be said about every other quarterback after they are drafted. Why does this site always sound like Trask should have somehow beat out Brady in his first 2 years? Brady is the best qb to ever play the game and this team still sucked last year. Mayfield sucks. He was on a team that gave him everything to succeed. He had a great defense, best running game in the nfl, and weapons to throw to. They dumped him off to Carolina who didn’t want him and dumped him off to the Rams who didn’t want him. If he plays here we will win just enough games to be mediocre and lose out on a qb next year. If Trask starts we get him opportunity and if he looks good we wont need a qb. If he sucks well be in better draft position. Isn’t that a win, win?
May 16th, 2023 at 9:49 am
T remind everybody again, Trask carried a horrible Gators team to the SEC championship game and nearly beat Alabama if the Gator Defense didnt give up over 50 points! You think Pitts is great? He was nothing before Trask and has done nothing in the NFL. Tony? He is always hurt. Gators had the worst defense in over 100 years! Thats how good Trask was. Sorry this FSU site is in such a hurry to get rid of him.
May 16th, 2023 at 10:02 am
Imo, this qb job is BM’s job! He will show that he’s the guy or not! If not then plan b, that’s where KT gets his chance. Why do I believe this? Inexperience will cost wins!! So you go with experience every time! With TB’s job on the line, this is a no brainer!
May 16th, 2023 at 10:14 am
I remember being angry that Tebow never really got a chance, because all he did was win the few times he was on the field. Apparently it was very obvious that there was no point giving him a chance, he’d never be able to succeed
May 16th, 2023 at 10:35 am
It’s easy to throw to Evans and Godwin. Winston and TB12 had ridiculous stats.
Who can read a defense, get the ball out quicker, and put it on the money? The players will naturally back the guy who can do that better.
May 16th, 2023 at 10:47 am
Whichever QB can get the other 10 players on offense prepared best and at a reasonable rate. It’s actually good that this competition is coming in the same year of an new offense being installed because it puts everybody on the same page of the same book. Again, I’ve got no preference for either guy, but whomever can be the best option to lead his teammates, facilitate the offense, and score the most points is my favorite Bucs QB in 2023.
May 16th, 2023 at 10:49 am
Weak
So Bowels is gonna watch and see
The anti Lombardi
May 16th, 2023 at 11:11 am
Best handoff up the gut.
May 16th, 2023 at 11:48 am
For arguments sake, let’s say Trask effectively moves the offense and Mayfield doesn’t, but is rah rah and firery. Who you gonna chose? Performance is what counts. If you perform, the rest of the team will follow.
May 16th, 2023 at 12:43 pm
So we have gone from
No risk it …. No biscuit
To
Que Sera, Sera
May 16th, 2023 at 12:46 pm
@Beej, imagine if Tebow was not white and he didn’t believe in Jesus.
Imagine if he was AR15 except with a Heisman Trophy and a College Championship under his belt.
Tebow got shafted because he perfected the dual threat QB role but was white. The league tried to cover for it a few years later when Tyson Hill was forced onto the Saints.
I’m kidding, everyone knows Tebow really sucked and his style didn’t transition into the NFL. Right, everyone knows that. LOL
May 16th, 2023 at 1:11 pm
Shh CrackWise you can’t say that on the interwebs. Noticing stuff is not allowed
May 16th, 2023 at 1:15 pm
LOL they’re going to run Bake in the RPO. It’s going to be a long season.
May 16th, 2023 at 1:15 pm
I like Baker’s demeanor etc, but I honestly think Trask has that clutch gene ala Brady to make the plays when they need to be made. We’ll see, obviously, but that’s what my intuition says
May 16th, 2023 at 1:22 pm
Chris Apple – then you don’t know anybody.
May 16th, 2023 at 1:23 pm
As far as Tebow is concerned he should have went to Jacksonville. Rex Ryan torpedoed his career on purpose much to the delight of the NY media.
That was a serious error in judgement on Tebow’s part. He thought NY would bring him into the limelight – but it was more like under the spotlight. He stepped into a wolves den. It was naive of him to expect a fair shake there. Obviously his Southern Christian aw shucks charm didn’t play there – at all.
If he would have gone to Jax he would have had hometown support and been able to stay in the league long enough to get game reps and take his game to the next level.
As soon as he chose the Jets I knew it was a huge mistake. That decision ended up costing him.
May 16th, 2023 at 1:30 pm
As for who wins the competition, I trust the coaches to make a good decision.
Then, who the hell knows? One may be better than the other … or it may be six of one and half dozen of the other?
Or, maybe one starts and doesn’t make it through the season, and then the other one has to step in and step up. Just ask the FortyNiners about that!
One of the jillion things I disagree with JBF about is his tired old trotting out of the dumb statement, by Arians or whomever (I don’t care), that “If you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have any.”
Just plain stupid stuff, really.
Nobody can count on their starting quarterback in Week 1 being able to start all 17 games. And more in the playoffs. If all your hopes are on that one single guy being there, you are hanging your azzz out in the wind to be knocked off. Players get hurt all the time. Including quarterbacks – just ask Baker Mayfield who played most of his last season with the Klown Kar otherwise known as the Browns with a very hurt shoulder. Because the Browns had no decent backup, they forced Mayfield to play on a bum shoulder instead of getting his required surgery. That ended his career in Cleveland.
Tom Brady is the exception to the rule that quarterbacks get hurt. Even he missed an entire season due to a knee injury, though his career was so long that one season didn’t seem like much.
No matter who wins the Bucs quarterback competition, I am much relieved that the no. 2 guy is going to be a serviceable starter if no. 1 can’t play.
May 16th, 2023 at 1:30 pm
The worst case scenario is that both of these guys are just mediocre enough to lift the team to 7-10 not-the-worst-team level of stink that leaves someone in management to decide they deserve another chance in 2024 to do it again. That’s the “hell on earth” outcome, one that every fan should fear the most.
May 16th, 2023 at 3:21 pm
It’s unfair, but when has an ex-Brownie QB done anything really good in the NFL? I hope Baker can get it done. He will almost certainly win the QB battle. Baker’s story with the Bucs still reminds me a lot of the talented Jim Plunkett washing out from two NFL teams, and then coming into the Raiders to backup Stabler. Voila! Not one, but two SB wins followed. Can Baker walk in the footsteps of Jim? He certainly can! Go Bucs! Shake & Bake!!
May 16th, 2023 at 3:35 pm
Chris, I believe that Trask will win the competition easily. All he needed was the chance to play with the 1’s. That’s something we’ve never seen in the pros
May 16th, 2023 at 3:45 pm
Only way this team can win a few games this year is to play lights out defense which is unlikely because of lack of depth in tne defensive backfield.
May 16th, 2023 at 4:12 pm
May the best man win!
May 16th, 2023 at 4:55 pm
ONCE AGAIN…
It makes absolutely ZERO sense to start Mayfield.
If Mayfield plays decent, but not great, the Bucs will have to sign this inconsistent guy to a big contract as he’s on a 1-year deal. It will eat up too much of our cap next year and it’s too big of a risk.
By starting Trask, if he stinks it up then you draft your QB of the future next year. If he plays well, then you have a another cheap salary year from his rookie deal.
All the potential UPSIDE is with Trask, not Mayfield.
May 16th, 2023 at 7:01 pm
I like Mayfield but I think Trask is a better passer. Mayfield may be more athletic and throw well on the move but that remains to be seen. I also believe that Trask has more upside and that hopefully he learned from the best ever to play the game. We made an investment in Trask with draft capital and time learning from the Goat. He is certainly better than Brock Purdy. Let the competition begin
May 16th, 2023 at 7:19 pm
Tim Tebow was a GREAT college football player!!! His skill sets simply did not translate well to the NFL. It’s as simple as that. Race nor religious beliefs had anything to do with it!!!
As for Trask I agree with Joe. Throw him into the first in game one! Let’s see what he has while there still enough time in the preseason to either correct his mistakes or go with Mayfield.
I like both QB’s and I didn’t go to UF so I honestly do not care who wins the competition. AGAIN…I’d love to have a San Francisco situation.
They went from Trey Lance…you know one of those guys some losers who want to tank for…the 3rd overall pick. He went down and in comes Garrapolo a guy who has proven he CAN win in the NFL with the right team and finished with Mr Irrelevant…the final pick in the draft..Brock Purdy and it turns out he might have been he best guy all along.
It’s VERY conceivable if not exactly probable that Mayfield gets the nod because of his experience…think Garrpolo…and as the season wears on Mayfield gets hurt and Trask is the next Brock Purdy.
It’s not impossible to at least IMAGINE the Bucs with TWO good QB’s.
May 16th, 2023 at 8:56 pm
Unless Trask blows it out of the water and Mayfly wipes out his shoulder on the first play, Mayfly will ave the edge with the Bowles cleaner.
That is because the Bowles cleaner wants experience.
How long Mayfly stays the starter is the bigger question. He should realize he plays better as a pocket QB, but hasn’t figured that out.
The first couple of games will be high turnover things, because the O-line won’t be solid. He will roll out, the O-line will lose any advantage they had and he will toss interceptions. Then he should be sat down and Trask take over.
May 16th, 2023 at 9:22 pm
Flowmaster Buc, stepping to the mic,
Gonna drop a rap about a quarterback’s fight.
Kyle Trask, the breakout star, rising above,
Showing resilience, a legend we’re proud of.
Baker Mayfield, the actor, stealing the scene,
But on the field, he’s nothing but a bad dream.
Trask’s got the skills, he’s got the fire,
A true leader, taking the Bucs higher.
Coach Todd Bowles, he sees the truth unfold,
Trask’s gonna win the position, make ’em all behold.
Buccaneer Nation, full of adoration and cheers,
Trask’s gonna conquer, wipe away their tears.
Flowmaster Buc, dropping the rhymes,
Kyle Trask, the legend, it’s his time to climb.
No more acting on the field, just greatness to show,
Buccaneers’ victory, watch it all unfold.
May 16th, 2023 at 9:32 pm
This why it’s crazy to call Trask a bust when he never played with the 1st team officially.
I think the Bucs gonna surprise a lot of peoples.
May 16th, 2023 at 11:06 pm
“On this date in mid-May, Joe hopes Kyle Trask gets the start in the opening preseason game, assuming there’s still a quarterback competition at that time.”
I would rather him get the start in the second preseason game, when the starter has more than a possession.
May 16th, 2023 at 11:10 pm
Show Me the TDs Says:
May 16th, 2023 at 11:48 am
“For arguments sake, let’s say Trask effectively moves the offense and Mayfield doesn’t, but is rah rah and firery. Who you gonna chose? Performance is what counts. If you perform, the rest of the team will follow.”
Not who would we choose…it’s who will Bowles choose. And it would still be Mayfield because he won’t risk his job on a QB with no experience.
Therefore…not a true competition.
May 16th, 2023 at 11:12 pm
Trask To The Future Says:
May 16th, 2023 at 4:55 pm
“It makes absolutely ZERO sense to start Mayfield.
If Mayfield plays decent, but not great, the Bucs will have to sign this inconsistent guy to a big contract as he’s on a 1-year deal. It will eat up too much of our cap next year and it’s too big of a risk.
By starting Trask, if he stinks it up then you draft your QB of the future next year. If he plays well, then you have a another cheap salary year from his rookie deal.
All the potential UPSIDE is with Trask, not Mayfield.”
I agree 100%…but do you think Bowles will take that risk for a pick he won’t be here to make? I sure do not.
May 16th, 2023 at 11:15 pm
Honestly, if…IF…Mayfield is unfortunate enough to get injured before starting day and be out for the season…well…that may not be the best thing for Bowles (though it would be a built in excuse), but it would be the best thing for the team.
May 17th, 2023 at 12:39 am
StPete you think AR-15 is all that better than Tebow? I don’t. It’s a joke.
May 17th, 2023 at 7:08 am
Just Leave
No I do not! I consider Tebow one of the greatest if not the greatest QB’s in UF history. I have mad respect for Tebow as a college QB. NFL…OK but not great.