“I’m Pretty Much Delusional When It Comes To That”
September 11th, 2023
One of Joe’s offseason themes was “Todd Bowles needs wins.”
He got a glorious one yesterday behind his big-play defense and a sacrifice-my-body edition of Baker Mayfield rallying the Bucs from a second-quarter deficit.
Joe has written about Mayfield’s successful stiff-arm of a Vikings linebacker for a five-yard gain in the fourth quarter, and Joe adored Mayfield later turning up field to run on a critical 3rd-and-2. That play ended when a linebacker nearly decaptitated Mayfield but he held on for the key first down.
Mayfield was asked about his physicality after the game on the CBS postgame show.
“I’m pretty much delusional when it comes to that. I need to protect myself,” Mayfield said of embracing contact on those runs rather than taking cover.
“But there’s certain things on like a third down right there where you got to go get it. It’s a team game; you need everbody when it comes down to those critical moments.”
Back to “Big Balls” Bowles. He still needs wins, and that will require Mayfield staying healthy unless you’re among the mob that believes Kyle Trask would have done just as well yesterday in the hostile Vikings dome.
Bowles can’t have Mayfield sacrificing his body routinely, and it was good to hear Mayfield knows that. Still, winning is what the game is about. And as long as Mayfield is putting his body on the line intelligently and only in crunch-time spots, Joe’s fine with it.
September 11th, 2023 at 11:19 am
Let him play. He got the team fired up IMO. Old school. I liked it. He should get a single bar face mask.
September 11th, 2023 at 11:20 am
Say what you want about mistakes made in the first game, but this team was hitting hard on all three Offense, Defense and even Special Teams. Give me a team with an attitude all day long. This has the making of a very physical team! One down 16 to go.
September 11th, 2023 at 11:24 am
I liked our physicality yesterday……we hit hard and tackled well…..
September 11th, 2023 at 11:27 am
I thought for sure that defender would get a penalty
September 11th, 2023 at 11:35 am
The Bucs were the more physical team yesterday. That was clear from the onset
September 11th, 2023 at 11:36 am
The best way to get your team behind you is to lead by example especially when the game is on the line. BM did that yesterday! Welcome to Tampa BM!!
September 11th, 2023 at 11:36 am
Hard to say how Trask would have done. However, I do think he hits the wide open Godwin for the TD in the first quarter.
September 11th, 2023 at 11:40 am
Playing to win.
This team looks much better than last year team that was sleep walking and playing to lose.
How good they are is hard to say because they lack top end talent on offense outside of Godwin, Evans and Wirfs. But at the very least they are more than capable of doing work while the Bucs top end defense can slow down opponents.
September 11th, 2023 at 11:50 am
Baker had a terrible first half. But, he also didn’t make it worse by turning the ball over the way Jameis, for example, absolutely would have.
September 11th, 2023 at 11:50 am
Game ball should have gone to Bowles. This was a team win. If the D doesn’t shut down Minnie on 1st half scores, if he doesn’t say screw it on 4th and 1, if he doesn’t trust McLaughlin on a 67 yarder? They lose. Pretty sure this is the team he wanted, one that toughs out a W with “moxie”, LOL
September 11th, 2023 at 11:50 am
So slide short and take the loss? I don’t understand
September 11th, 2023 at 11:51 am
BBB
that has to be the absolutely best name DaJoes have ever hung🤤 on anyone in all his years typing!
September 11th, 2023 at 11:51 am
Please knock off the “what Trask would have done better” garbage. He’s on the bench. The guy that gives the Bucs the best chance to win has the job and he proved it yesterday. I hope we don’t find out what Trask can do this year, means the Bucs are winning and that’s the point, not how many stains are on the Trask mob’s #2 posters.
September 11th, 2023 at 11:52 am
This division sucks, saying that the Bucs can’t win it is stupid. The national guys love the Saints for some reason. The mediocre Derrick Carr put up 16 points at home yesterday. F the Saints. Atlanta beat Carolina, so Peter Queen will have them going to the NFC championship. Yesterday is our formula for winning. Not the most exciting way but a W is a W.
GO BUCS
September 11th, 2023 at 11:53 am
Maybe this team ain’t that bad lol stop playing zone tho we are a man team
September 11th, 2023 at 11:58 am
Bears game will prolly sell out and Ray Jay will rock after that performance. Sunday will be a Battle Royale.
September 11th, 2023 at 12:02 pm
he redeemed himself in the secound 1/2…… BUT
let’s not pretend he was great. His balls lacked the smoothness needed. All fast balls, and he missed wide open guys, and even some of the ones caught were questionable. He did seem to have command at the line in the 2nd half though. I have to admit… I was ready to throw in Trask before the end of the 1/2.
Good win, gutsy play by BM…. but does he have the touch needed for those soft throws? The drops did not do him any favors. *cough…MIKE*
September 11th, 2023 at 12:04 pm
Just FYI – Bear meat needs to be heavily seasoned and slow roasted.
September 11th, 2023 at 12:18 pm
It would be awesome to start the season 2-0
September 11th, 2023 at 12:43 pm
Baker is that classic overachiever. He will do anything and everything for the next play including putting his body on the line. I was impressed that his will to win did not lead to unnecessary risk or turnovers, and that he did not pout and take it out on his line. Just one game, but I appreciate how he just goes to war with the guys he has available. This may just be the type of guy that can succeed on a Todd Bowles team.
September 11th, 2023 at 12:48 pm
Baker kinda reminds me of a younger, slightly bigger and bulkier Jeff Garcia out there; but with elite arm strength and 1st-pick-in-the-draft pedigree…
I really like an inspired, executing Baker Mayfield.
He may turn out to be a keeper.
September 11th, 2023 at 12:49 pm
Only an idiot is talking about what Trask would have done. Get some help. Loser.
September 11th, 2023 at 1:08 pm
I am still marveling over the fact that we won that game with the stats we had. Our team NEVER gave up. One thing is clear. It was a much better game to watch than many of our others last year. It also took the whole team to win it.
September 11th, 2023 at 1:18 pm
Modhair do I think Trask would have done better than 61.7% and 172 against last year’s 28th ranked defense?
Yeah I do. Seriously the Vikes have nobody in coverage and their front 7 is weak. That team is in trouble. Still, the Bucs still couldn’t run against them and used a dink and dunk ball control short passing game to get points on the board.
Its a moot point though. We got Crash Mayfield in at QB and this is our team make up. Play defense – hope for some turnovers and let Mayfield run his short passing game with a handful of downfield shots a game. Its gritty and exciting, but not sustainable against better teams.
It was a key win though. Now they come home against Chicago – anyone watch their game yesterday? Whoo-boy that’s not a good football team. Bucs could start you this week and get the win at home.
2-0 is a legit possibility. The Bears are pretenders.
September 11th, 2023 at 2:18 pm
Joe brought up Jeff Garcia the other day and I couldn’t not see the similarities yesterday. They’re very much alike in style and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Looks like this might be a really fun team to watch even if we take more Ls than Ws.
September 11th, 2023 at 2:38 pm
Poppa I can see the comparison.
Garcia with the Bucs:
W/L: 14-10 64.1% comp 205 PYPG (187 in 2007, 226 in 2008)
Plus in 2008, he was part of that late season collapse. What’s that saying again? Just good enough to get you fired?
On another note…
Anyone catch Geno Smith’s line from yesterday?
16-26 112 1 TD – that’s Mayfield-esque. $100M doesn’t get you much these days.
September 11th, 2023 at 2:53 pm
Where’s all the Bucs are trash non fans today Jeff what your mom won’t let you borrow her phone to talk all that hate today loser
September 11th, 2023 at 3:28 pm
This has always been how he operates.
For reference, see: him headbutting teammates who have their helmets on, or him playing through essentially a broken shoulder a few years ago.
But yes, he needs to keep himself healthy too. Hopefully as the offense grows, he won’t be in as many do or die situations where he has to risk himself like that.
The stiff arm was frickin awesome though. Maybe he can teach Rachaad White how to not go down as soon as a defender touches him…
September 11th, 2023 at 3:57 pm
Though I was hopeful that Trask won the job, I know this team wasn’t as horrible as the pundits and sports bookies say they are. Baker did get a horrible franchise to the playoff. So, they really underestimated the Bucs. Great game Bucs. Keep fighting, improving, and winning!
September 11th, 2023 at 6:07 pm
People can say what they want, and I said plenty, but the Bucs wanted to win more than the Vikings did. Whether or not that holds up against better teams than the Vikings … who knows? In a game like football teams that NEED to win frequently do. That’s the big difference with TB. He just needs to win. If a little of that scraped off onto the franchise this is what it would look like. Call it moxie if you must (ack) but this is going to be interesting.
September 11th, 2023 at 6:40 pm
Baker balled out on those runs but if he keeps that up he will eventually get injured and we will see Trask at some point. Baker needs to stay healthy.
There should have been a penalty called on one of the hits during a pass where the defensive player purposefully landed on top of Mayfield’s shoulders.