Tom Brady Points Toward A Baker Mayfield Advantage
June 3rd, 2023
“Kyle, you can do this. I did in 2001. Look at Brock Purdy last year. Be ready.”
The Buccaneers’ quarterback battle pits the 28-year-old “natural born leader” veteran of 71 starts and three teams versus the 25-year-old QB who can count his career pass attempts on two hands.
The winner will succeed Tom Brady, and Brady says experience matters.
Brady talked to Jori Epstein of Yahoo! Sports this week talked about Aaron Rodgers adjusting quickly after his trade to the New York Jets. Unlike Brady coming to Tampa in 2020 and not knowing any coaches, Rodgers played previously for the Jets offensive coordinator.
Per Brady, Rodgers has an edge because he only has to get clicking with the talent around him. Joe was intrigued. Why? Because Brady said teammates should be a quick study for Rodgers since he’s had so many over the years.
“He’s familiar with the plays. Now he’s got to get used to the players, which shouldn’t take him a lot of time because he’s played with a lot of players over time,” Brady said.
That got Joe thinking about Baker Mayfield getting traded from the tanking-unsuccessfully Panthers last season to the Rams, where he walked off the street and won a game in prime time with only a few days to prepare.
That’s the mark of experience. Will Todd Bowles be intoxicated by dreams of Mayfield starting fast in Minnesota in Week 1?
Reality says Bowles desperately needs to start the season at least 2-2 before the Bucs’ Week 5 bye to keep pressure off his job and the team.
No, Joe is not painting Mayfield as a miracle worker. He started quite slowly for the Panthers last season, though Carolina was a team in disarray.
Still, Joe continues to see Mayfield as the Bucs’ opening day starter. Joe finds it hard to believe Bowles will want to roll with Trask out of the gate, given his lack of experience and Bowles’ job on the line with a tough early schedule.
If Mayfield starts and can’t hit the ground running, then Bowles can always switch to Trask at the bye week. Joe believes Bowles will see the competition in that light unless Trask finds a way to wow him in a big way come August.
June 3rd, 2023 at 4:12 pm
Close to zero UPSIDE with Mayfield. He’s proven to be an inconsistent, mediocre NFL QB. If he plays so-so this season the Bucs will have to give him a huge contract.
Trask has ALL THE UPSIDE. Has another year on his rookie deal. If he stinks it up, then you go draft the QB of the future. If he plays well, you build around him. It’s that simple.
Why anyone would be pushing for Mayfield to start, unless he has some sort of miraculous career resurgence, which is highly unlikely since he’s been in the league awhile, just doesn’t make sense for this team.
June 3rd, 2023 at 4:19 pm
Out of the 80+ players on the roster, there must be someone other than Mayfield or Trask to write about ?
June 3rd, 2023 at 4:21 pm
That’s how I see it to. Mayfield starts the season. But Trask will get a chance later in the season.
June 3rd, 2023 at 4:22 pm
*too
June 3rd, 2023 at 4:33 pm
maybe tom is thinking of slinking back into the mix……lol
#MidSeasonTommyBeeToTheRescue
June 3rd, 2023 at 4:38 pm
what if:
one qb goes down early on, for the season with an injury (not wishing this on anyone)…
the other qb comes in and isn’t cutting the mustard…
and tommy b is getting itchy af just watching…
mike & chris call tom and say “yo get down, get down with the program”…
then what ??? 🙂
June 3rd, 2023 at 4:39 pm
Actually Joe, Brady didn’t say Baker has an advantage, you’re saying that. Brady was talking about Rodgers, yet you inserted Mayfield. Seems like you didn’t read what’s here. –Joe
June 3rd, 2023 at 4:43 pm
oh yeah…and factor in that the OL is looking like one of the strong points on the team at that time…
just sayin’, because if the OL looks like trash, TB12 wouldn’t want to risk it anymore…
but if the line is stout, maybe just maybe
June 3rd, 2023 at 4:45 pm
What a deceptive click bait headline, that Brady “said” Mayfield has an advantage. Wrong! “A Baker Mayfield Advantage,” which is experience. Why so annoyed? Sheesh.–Joe
He said no such thing. He was talking about Aaron Rodgers. So basically this piece is just Joe’s thoughts and Joe’s inferences.
Here are my inferences: Mayfield does have two advantages. He’s actually played and started NFL games. He played in the system that we believe Canales is installing, or a similar one. That’s it.
June 3rd, 2023 at 4:51 pm
100% Joe. Trask needs to win big to get the early nod.
June 3rd, 2023 at 5:27 pm
I really think our gameplan will have a prescripted set of plays off of crazy motion and misdirection that we see way more scoring on 1st drives etc.
You see that mote often with these offensive minded gurus.
That really lends itself to either Trask or Mayfield so experience won’t matter as much. Are you good at remembering, now execute is much more point and shoot than Bradys style.
If we score 24 and hold to 15 we will still win a lot of games.
This defense is setup with a youth movement that will bring needed energy.
Either QB is fine with me.
I do understand experience in close games matter but you won’t know with Trask until you put him in that position. I say do that now and switch to Mayfield if he faulters.
June 3rd, 2023 at 5:58 pm
“Mayfield, is the natural born leader” no team has wanted to hang to.
June 3rd, 2023 at 6:05 pm
Baker is really good….. In his own mind.
All of Brady’s records are safe, with Mayfield playing.
June 3rd, 2023 at 6:20 pm
Wow, I am wondering if The Bucs should just cut Trask now as it appears that he won’t even get a chance to compete. I am not liking all this hype about Mayfield as he has not done one thing for the Bucs yet. The guy is been garbage most of his career and the media is treating him like he is the rightful starter. Once again the Bucs are failing a QB development.
June 3rd, 2023 at 7:33 pm
Better to go with Baker early. The line may not gel early, the running game may be a work in progress, as is the third receiver. Nothing to learn about Trask under those conditions. Baker has the edge, but loses it as we get deeper into the season and still know little about Trask. Also makes better sense to use Trask for the division games later in the season should it get out of hand. The success of the line and running game are going to be a bigger story than they signal caller this season.
June 3rd, 2023 at 8:26 pm
Yep, makes sense to start Baker early. To show the o-line, receivers, and RBs how to play football. Then play Trask later, for no apparent reason, after Baker has learned the team to play football.
June 3rd, 2023 at 8:36 pm
The sales job on Baker continues
June 3rd, 2023 at 9:48 pm
“Why so annoyed?”
Joe, this is a common occurrence on your blog, you make connections that aren’t explicitly explained either by the quotes you provide or by anything written in the article.
Annoyed? Not exactly.
Sick of reading sham journalism? Yes, I am.
June 3rd, 2023 at 9:52 pm
I wish them both the best, but whenever I hear anything about either one of them all I hear is
“blah blah blah, blah, blah… Draft a franchise QB next year.”
If Trask was even ready to be a back up, he would’ve been activated by now. And Baker has shown over and over he is nothing but an average QB, probably destined to be a back up, occasionally getting a starting job like this as a holdover.
This team is rebuilding, has a ton of ?‘s, has a lot of depth issues, and needs to get their QB in next year‘s draft, even if that means trading away, future pics to move up in the draft.
June 3rd, 2023 at 11:58 pm
Weak clickbait. 🙁
June 4th, 2023 at 1:52 am
Welcome to the post-Tom Brady era. Joe writes about what Joe finds most interesting, and Joe writes plenty about other things. It’s June. It’s underwear football season. List season is right around the corner.
People get p!ssed when Joe writes about Tristan Wirfs. What is there to add about Devin White outside of he’s going crazy publishing horsie videos on his TikTok account?
Right now it feels like the lousy Lovie Smith regime pre-Jameis. Even then, there was the Chase for Jameis that got fans’ blood pumping.
June 4th, 2023 at 2:09 am
Trask deserves his chance I mean Baker …..oh man
June 4th, 2023 at 2:35 am
This team has talent and can still win now with the right QB. So, experience is everything. Baker has not been on a team with talent on offense like this. He didn’t have Cupp when he was with LA. Can Baker still fail? Ofcourse, nobody supporting Baker is denying that.
He has shown he can lead a team to the playoffs with the right coaches. So, it’s a gamble I’m glad we’re taking because the morale of the team going into a season with, effectively, a rookie QB is not something most players will rally around. Trask has not shown that IT factor yet, and everyone close to the situation knows it.
Can Trask be that guy at some point? Sure. I would love to see it, but unfortunately he hasn’t given the coaches much to chew on to roll the dice on that yet. There is no guarantee that he would have succeeded as a starter on another team. From everything we’re hearing, he would have been pushed into the fire too early. This was a great situation for him where he got a chance to learn what it takes to be a pro learning from Brady. He may start his pro career late, but there will be no excuses to how he performs when he gets his shot. The Bucs were not the Bengals who needed Joe Burrow to play from day 1. It’s even sillier to compare the two now after seeing Burrow play. But, when Burrow was a rookie, nobody knew he’d turn into that dude and Trask wasn’t even touted as being top of his draft class. We drafted Trask to specifically make use of Tom Brady being a big influence on him.
June 4th, 2023 at 9:31 am
joe, i completely agree with your qb assessment. No way Trask starts the season. If somehow we can get the 2020 mayfield, bucs fans will be happy. If not, bring in Trask at some point and go for a yop QB draft pick.
You gator fans are so annoying… go Dawgs!!
June 4th, 2023 at 9:31 am
adam from ny … They call Brady, perhaps the least mobile QB on the planet, to run this moving pocket, bootleg offense?
WAKE UP, you’re dreaming son!
June 4th, 2023 at 9:59 am
WE GATORS FANS FEEL THE SAME (ANNOYED BY THE DAWGS )THAT BEING SAID..KYLE TRASK TORCHED THE DAWGS AS A SENIOR , MONTHS BEFORE HE WAS DRAFTED BY MY BUCCANEERS…HE WAS A FINALIST FOR THE HEISMAN TROPHY THAT SAME YEAR.!…FORTUNATELY, HE IS FINALLY ! GETTING A CHANCE TO BE THE TOP DOG IN TAMPA..I’M ROOTING FOR HIM, BUT, SINCE I’M A REALIST, I KNOW IT’S BAKER’S JOB TO LOSE ( WHICH WE HAVE ALL KNOWN FROM THE START )…
June 4th, 2023 at 10:12 am
Wolford is better than both.
June 4th, 2023 at 10:37 am
100% agree with Joe. Baker starting the season gives Bowles a little bit of a security blanket due to experience. And for Trask to be the Game 1 starter he needs to clearly show that he’s much, MUCH better than Mayfield in camp and pre-season. A tie or close battle goes to Mayfield.
We could see a switch at the bye week but if Mayfield plays well and the Bucs are 1-3 or 0-4 because the defense or ST or fumbles lose us games, he might not switch. If Mayfield is the cause of the losses, I can’t see him not going to Trask for Game 5. The boo birds in the stands will start chirping every time Baker takes the field.
However, guessing how Bowles handles this is a fool’s errand. He might go with Wolford. Lol
June 4th, 2023 at 11:20 am
Start whoever WINS the job.
June 5th, 2023 at 3:47 am
Joe
Please, stop misquoting Tom Brady and stop labeling Baker as a natural born leader. He is any thing but that with his hot head getting kicked out of Cleveland.
June 5th, 2023 at 8:45 pm
Mayfield will probably win the starting job based on experience. Making Trask a healthy scratch behind a 33 year old backup was stupid. Talk about sucking out every bit of confidence from the guy. No wonder he “looked hesitant” when he finally got a chance. He was exactly what they trained him to be. IMO he will be much sharper after this year; having a QB competition will rebuild his confidence. Having a QB1 who tries to lift him up (like Mayfield did with Matt Corral last year) will add to it. Trask’s story isn’t written yet, it’s really just beginning.