Figuring Out The Unknown With Dave Canales
July 7th, 2023
Questions.
There seem to be a lot of questions for new Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales. This isn’t any sort of personal attack. It’s just that this is Canales’ first gig as a playcaller.
Canales is a blank easel. No one knows exactly what to expect.
For NFL columnist Mike Jones of The Athletic, his biggest question for Canales is how can he resurrect Baker Mayfield’s career?
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Dave Canales
… Canales, formerly Seattle’s quarterbacks coach, has the task of leading the Bucs into a new era while also trying to help them remain relevant in a very winnable NFC South. …
Mayfield struggled in Carolina, but ended his season on an encouraging note as the Rams’ interim starter. Canales came from a similar offense in Seattle, so perhaps he can further capitalize on Mayfield’s strengths and position him for a career-saving campaign in his sixth season since the Browns drafted him first overall.
Well, SpongeBob Leftwich’s shoes are quite small. No worry there. Tom Brady is a different beast altogether.
Joe knows from watching practice that the Canales offense is much more of an east-west attack than north-south. If Bucco Bruce Arians had a vertical offense, Canales’ offense will be horizontal. He’s going to use every blade of grass between the sidelines to spring open backs and receivers.
Recently, Baker Mayfield said Canales’ offense will look somewhat like Sean McVay’s offense in Los Angeles. If Mayfield is correct, it will be a fun offense to watch.
Hey, if Canales finds a way to get Mayfield to peak and Mayfield re-signs with the Bucs (for a nice raise), that tells Joe that Canales did a helluva job. And if that happens, would Canales be a head coach somewhere else this time next year after saving the careers of Geno Smith and Mayfield in consecutive seasons?
July 7th, 2023 at 5:18 am
No way Joe. But teams sometimes get crazy with QBs and coaches.
Just look at the Bucs history and…well…
LOL
Go Bucs!
July 7th, 2023 at 5:54 am
Great comment garro, Really brought something to the conversation……
July 7th, 2023 at 6:42 am
This offense strikes me as one that doesn’t require the skills of a Mahomes or Brady. If 2020 Mayfield can be revived we’ll do just fine
July 7th, 2023 at 7:03 am
Canales has been coaching in the NFL for 13 seasons. He knows what he’s doing. This might be the thousand time we’ve read Canales has never called plays, and we’ll keep hearing it till he does. Like everything else we hear this time of year, his lack of calling plays is so OVERBLOWN!
July 7th, 2023 at 7:33 am
I have faith in Canales turning the offence around. Next year will have to take care of itself.
July 7th, 2023 at 7:41 am
‘Joe knows from watching practice that the Canales offense is much more of an east-west attack than north-south.’
I agree based on what we’ve read Joe, but there are a lot of unstated assumptions in there. Bucs were very much an east-west attack last year IMO because our OLine couldn’t get the job done (pass protect long enough to let deeper routes develop) AND TB12 couldn’t scramble to buy time. Personally I think our OLine will be much better this year if guys can stay healthy (a big IF I know). And Canales will just be more ‘selective’ about going for the intermediate & deep play than BL was (do a better job of setting it up?).
You still seem to be assuming that Mayfield gets the starting nod. I don’t. Kyle may not have the ‘moxie’ that Baker has, but moxie never won a football game either. Performance counts, and Trask MIGHT surprise even you before this preseason finishes.
July 7th, 2023 at 7:49 am
Canales also coached under Norm Chow(1 year at USC) Darrell Bevell, Brian Schottenhiemer, and most recently Shane Waldron. So DC has seen a contrasting styles in his time on Carrolls’ offensive style, but has also seen the overlap in those different approaches. To me, that alone should indicate that even though we’ve no clue of exactly how deep Canales’ playbook is/will be we can definitely look at his time in Seattle and see he’s got some good inspiration to draw from.
Honestly the best and worst thing about Canales are the same exact thing. he’s never to our knowledge been the lead play caller in the game, but for the folks who hated how predictable our offense was in 2022 that also means each team that plays us in 2023 will have a limited intel on how to gameplan for our offense. That can be viewed as a competitive edge, and a difference making element to having a year 1 OC.
July 7th, 2023 at 7:52 am
Sometimes coordinators don’t want that jolt of all the responsibility. The job at the top might not last as long as a high flying offense.
July 7th, 2023 at 7:59 am
I’m a big believer in energy. Not empty rah rah like eating wins, but serious committment to remaining positive and upbeat even in the face of adversity.
Canalas seems to have that type of “energy” that seemed to be missing in BL.
In his first two seasons I considered that a major asset of Brady’s which infected the team in a good way. When Brady went down mentally and emotionally, age, horrible divorce that drug out, it wasn’t just he who seemed to lose that “energy” edge the entire team seemed to fall into a funk.
Just initial observations..but Canalas seems like a guy who can break out of a funk.
July 7th, 2023 at 8:11 am
All I know is for canales to get Baker rolling he will have to do what other experienced coordinators couldn’t. For a first time coordinator that’s a tall order. We will see if Bowles is right very soon.
July 7th, 2023 at 8:14 am
Seattle’s Offense was to transform Geno Smith to a Dual Threat QB. Good luck with Baker. Saun McVay certainly can’t do it with Stafford except for an occasional Roll Out. Ram’s did Draft a QB this year so perhaps it is in the works.
As a typical Dual threat QB has never won a Championship I prefer a pocket passer that can control the game and a Big Line to Pound the ball at will.
This year will be a good comparison between DT and PP QB’s.
I am betting Shroud at Houston will out play both Young at Carolina and Fields at Chicago.
July 7th, 2023 at 8:19 am
I’d rather have a coordinator that’s unproven calling plays than one that has without the result.
July 7th, 2023 at 9:33 am
I am hopeful that this much younger Buc team will perform well……our roster is loaded with younger players replacing older players.
As for Mayfield…..he’s not a running QB….but he is somewhat mobile….I think that should translate well to the horizontal offense……
July 7th, 2023 at 9:45 am
Lots of play action and roll outs this year! I can see it going one of two ways. Either Bucs go 8-9 again or 12-5 based on oline and QB play. Either way I would bet Bucs lead the league in deep ball efficiency, CG & ME13 go over 1100 and 10 TD’s, a TE (Cade or Payne) with 750 yards and 8+ TD’s and have a 1000 yard rusher this season! This offense will be exciting and fun to watch. Period.
July 7th, 2023 at 10:04 am
You still need the vertical threat, if that is abandoned altogether, it will just tighten up the defense and make it easier for them to screw up our horizontal and running attacks, and we still have some outstanding vertical weapons and an outstanding 6’5” passer that can see the entire field , who is not afraid to stand and deliver to those deep routes as well as all the horizontal ones and makes the defense have to try to defend the entire field.
July 7th, 2023 at 10:21 am
I’d rather have a coordinator that’s unproven calling plays than one that has without the result.
And I would rather have an unproven 2nd round QB if he proves himself start than a journeyman former #1 pick get given the job because of college accolades and moxie
July 7th, 2023 at 10:36 am
SpongeBob still unemployed? I think that says everything that needs to be said about last year
July 7th, 2023 at 11:04 am
Why do people say Baker ended the season on an encouraging note?
170 PYPG in LA flat out sucked.
July 7th, 2023 at 11:23 am
Canales (who is yet to call a single play in the NFL) has some serious runway to travel before anyone should start declaring him an offensive savant or savior of Baker Bay or prophesying his assentation to a HC position in the league.
Not that he can’t be great…He’s just hell-a unproven at this point!
And say what you will about Lefty…But he did help deliver the Bucs 3 straight top-3 scoring offenses & 1 SB win (2019-2021) before Bowles abandoned the No-Risk It / No Biscuit in favor of TB12’s NE Dink & Dunk (2022).
July 7th, 2023 at 11:30 am
We know he got passed over as OC at Seattle.
It is possible that he had too ambitious of a scheme for them, that it would be too hard for the team to execute.
I have not yet seen a team that couldn’t step up to such a challenge, just coaches who couldn’t.
This could be an epic year for Bucball, a real offense.
Whichever QB that can make that happen, I am for, though I still have reservations of Baker being able to fake it for long before reverting to form.
July 7th, 2023 at 12:16 pm
A Bucs Fan…wow are you setting yourself up for a letdown…
July 7th, 2023 at 12:35 pm
Buc 1987 and how is it you are so sure of this let down? Seattle had many of the same gloom and doom predictions last year, Yet some how they did well….. and the Bucs were predicted to have a winning season yet did not.
July 7th, 2023 at 1:57 pm
Joe research what kind of offense Dan Mullen had in Florida.
“Defend every blade of grass”
“Spread em and shred em”
“East-West Attack”
These words were used to describe the offense that Trask ran.
Good times brother.
July 7th, 2023 at 2:48 pm
It is kind of exciting to have no idea what to expect from this O as no one can gameplan for it – maybe that helps us early
We need a fast start this year, we have little depth and it’s a long season – if we don’t start fast we will likely be out of contention by Halloween
July 7th, 2023 at 4:03 pm
You must remember that, on the Seahawks, Canales spent a bunch of time up in the booth calling play recommendations down to the OC, at the time. He knows what he is doing if he just gains more confidence and experience from the sidelines.
July 7th, 2023 at 5:12 pm
anyway of getting tommy and kim k back??? hahaha we can beg?
July 7th, 2023 at 5:45 pm
I think the Oline is gonna be bad ass this season. I believe that and I think the run game is gonna be dramatically better. And lastly I think Rashad White becomes a star this year. Lots of bold predictions there. One prediction I can’t make. Will JTS actually be good this year? Flip a coin. I have no idea.
July 7th, 2023 at 6:10 pm
@kyle… Tommy and Kim K…? more likely, Tommy and Caitlyn – both jocks and more in common. Haha… July and no serious football to jabber about. People magazine time.
July 7th, 2023 at 7:06 pm
“All I know is for canales to get Baker rolling he will have to do what other experienced coordinators couldn’t.”
Baker Mayfield’s struggles began with the injury. They were exacerbated by the Browns horrid ownership…think Culverhouse like.
But why all the negative hyperbole? Alex Van Peldt was an offensive coordinator who DID get Baker rolling…to eleven wins and the Browns first playoff in decades followed by a road win over Pittsburgh in the playoffs.
The Mayfield disrespect here is simply over the top. If you wish to say the injury wrecked him permanently…perhaps? But HE HAS DONE IT IN THE PAST WE OWE HIM AT LEAST THAT MUCH SCOREBOARD!!!!
If Trask beats him out that’s great as well. Means he wasn’t simply handed the job because of his draft status and all the UF Homeboys rooting their butts off for him.
July 7th, 2023 at 7:53 pm
Dwayne Cone Says:
July 7th, 2023 at 8:14 am
Seattle’s Offense was to transform Geno Smith to a Dual Threat QB. Good luck with Baker. Saun McVay certainly can’t do it with Stafford except for an occasional Roll Out. Ram’s did Draft a QB this year so perhaps it is in the works.
As a typical Dual threat QB has never won a Championship I prefer a pocket passer that can control the game and a Big Line to Pound the ball at will.
This year will be a good comparison between DT and PP QB’s.
I am betting Shroud at Houston will out play both Young at Carolina and Fields at Chicago.
If Geno Smith was a DT QB last year then it’s not accurate that no DT QB has won a championship since Mahomes and KC won last years Super Bowl
Rushing 2022
Smith 68-366 1 TD
Mahomes 61-358 4 TD
July 10th, 2023 at 2:09 am
“Canales is a blank easel”
🤦🏻♂️