Baker Mayfield Responds To Atlanta Hype
March 19th, 2024
Unfazed by Atlanta chatter.
Man, the way people are building up Atlanta, crowning their ass after signing Kirk Cousins, you’d think the Dixie Chicks signed a 40 year old Tom Brady.
Goodness gracious, Cousins is coming off a blown Achilles at 36. Bucs fans have seen what blown Achilles injuries have done to guys like O.J. Howard and Shaq Barrett. Those guys were never the same.
Atlanta is getting so much hype it is unreal. Yet the leader of the three-time NFC South champs is amused by it all.
Baker Mayfield appeared on “Free Agency Frenzy” on NFL Network last week and was asked about Atlanta being crowned as the New World Order of the NFC South, Mayfield seemed amused by it all.
You see, Mayfield remembers how that very same crowd now hailing Atlanta is the same lot that thought the Bucs would win two games last season.
“When I got here, the division ran through Tampa,” Mayfield pointed out right away. “And that’s the goal. You have to keep it that way.
“We had low expectations from the outside last year and I think that [perception] will change but we have the group here that will handle that correctly.
“This is the fun time in sports when teams aren’t even complete yet. Everybody is making predictions on who is going to win the division and all of that but we haven’t even started the offseason program yet.
“It is always fun to listen to the opinions. But we are just going to put our heads down and work. That’s kind of the MO here. That’s what Jason [Licht] is all about. That’s what Todd [Bowles] instills in us.
“Just, we are going to control what we can. We are going to play extremely hard. And we are going to play good football.”
Mayfield has the right mindset. All of the cheerleading for the Dixie Chicks is just that: noise. Atlanta still has to win games. And equally important, if they want to win the division, they first must go through the Bucs, the reigning champs.
Game on!
March 19th, 2024 at 7:07 am
No wonder dudes gravitate to Mayfield. No wonder why the locker room, on both sides of the ball, loves him. Hell, I’m ready to dig my leather helmet out of mothballs and suit up next to Mayfield.
March 19th, 2024 at 7:11 am
Is Kirk even going to be 100% by week one?
Keep taking notes Jason!
March 19th, 2024 at 7:17 am
We lost to the falcons and squeaked by them in the 2nd game thanks to AW jr. You have to think they at least got better.
March 19th, 2024 at 7:24 am
Hopefully we get to play cousins in prime time.
March 19th, 2024 at 7:25 am
JOE ~ “Bucs fans have seen what blown Achilles injuries have done to guys like O.J. Howard and Shaq Barrett in recent years. Those guys were never the same.”
Those guys were not quarterbacks either. They were a tight end and a linebacker. An ACL injury affects them much more than it does a quarterback like Cousins. Brady himself tore his ACL in 2008. How did that work out?
March 19th, 2024 at 7:45 am
Pretty sure ACL and Achilles are two different body parts. Just saying.
March 19th, 2024 at 7:53 am
Jason Says: “Pretty sure ACL and Achilles are two different body parts.”
My point remains. An Achilles injury affects a linebacker and tight end far more than it affects a quarterback.
March 19th, 2024 at 7:58 am
Some of you guys… I swear. Throwing up the white flag because NO overpaid a washed loudmouth Chase Young (a guy John Lynch didn’t seem to want back) and Atlanta signs a 36 YO QB coming off a major injury, who’s single largest accomplishment in the NFL is conning three dumb ownership groups into signing him for far more money than he’s actually worth?
Arthur Blank will likely get more value from Cousins if he puts him in one of his orange aprons and has him pimping lawn fertilizer.
March 19th, 2024 at 8:01 am
“J Marzullo Says:
March 19th, 2024 at 7:53 am
Jason Says: “Pretty sure ACL and Achilles are two different body parts.”
My point remains. An Achilles injury affects a linebacker and tight end far more than it affects a quarterback.”
He’s also 36. Not sure how old you are but I know from personal experience that it gets harder to recover fully. It also messes with your head – not trusting the repaired body part fully.
March 19th, 2024 at 8:06 am
Dan Marino was 32 when he tore his Achilles, and returned to play 6 more seasons, making the pro bowl in 2 of them.
March 19th, 2024 at 8:21 am
He’s also 36. Not sure how old you are but I know from personal experience that it gets harder to recover fully. It also messes with your head – not trusting the repaired body part fully.
Medical and sports medicine have come a long way. Certain medications can make 60 year old body parts perform as well if not better they did in their 20″s.
March 19th, 2024 at 8:30 am
They all said the same things last year when the slimy saints signed Derek Carr, we all saw how that worked……..
March 19th, 2024 at 8:40 am
I like having all the national media hype on Cousins and the Falcons. Great Bucs bulletin board material.
For these older QB’s and even the younger QB’s, an interior pass rush can be VERY effective by putting a big DL in the QB’s face. A few hits by Kancey, Vea, and Hall will work wonders on Cousins. Actually, forget Hall, draft a great DT3 pass rusher like Darius Robinson.
March 19th, 2024 at 8:50 am
Back in the day the BUCS were laughed at & the butt of the joke, this time things have changed the change started when Ole #12 came too town & then comes a young gunslinger named Mayfield with a winning attitude & a big arse chip on his shoulder. He sold his type no chit ways to play football to his team mates & now the fan base is starting to BELIEVE . GO BUCS WE RUN THE SOUTH .BRING IT on!!!! GO TAMPA BAY!!!!
March 19th, 2024 at 9:09 am
The Falcons should be better. At least enough that 9-8 won’t win the division next year. And really, Thank God. The NFC South was getting embarrassing.
The column in the TBT made a good point. Though I’m stoked Jason Licht brought most of our guys back, how can we assume we’ll be improved? So far, the only change from last year is we’ve lost a legit NFL cover corner.
The only things we can hang our hats on are some continuity on offense (and that’s only if Liam Coen’s offense is that similar to Dave Canales), continued growth of last year’s rookie class, and hopefully a strong 2024 draft class.
Meanwhile, the Falcons, who went toe-to-toe with us last year, greatly improved at QB and head coach, and already had talent all over the offense.
Some of that hype is legit.
March 19th, 2024 at 9:29 am
We don’t know Atlanta improved at head coach. I seem to remember the wheels coming off the wagon when Raheem coached here. Assuming he’s better seems less safe than assuming Kancey and Diaby and Goedeke are better.
March 19th, 2024 at 9:30 am
It’s the same people who said Carolina would win 7-8 and finish ahead of us. I predicted they would win 3. Boy was I wrong. Me feeling on Atlanta is they win no more than 8 games. Carolina once again is in the 3-4 range. Saints are 8 game winners too. 10-7 looks good for us. Better if our corners can cover better this year.
March 19th, 2024 at 10:01 am
BUCS BEST OFFSEASON MOVE
Canales Out > Coen In
Canales was horrible. 19th – 23rd ranked (depending on the stat you pick). 31st ranked rush. 16 is average. Canales was praised on his demeanor and positive attitude. Never on his ability to gameplan or strategy.
March 19th, 2024 at 10:03 am
Create more pressure from the edge and I guarantee our corners get better.
March 19th, 2024 at 10:34 am
Sly, I agree 100%
March 19th, 2024 at 10:39 am
All the talk is cheap, performing is what matters most. I guarantee Mayfield is taking notes and will be ready for Atlanta.
March 19th, 2024 at 10:54 am
I think a lot of people in here are potentially in for a rude awakening. The Cousins signing should not be overlooked at all. He’s been playing like a top 10 QB these past few years. Sure he hasn’t had much playoff success but you have to go through the regular season first and he’s put up great numbers in the regular season.
If healthy, Cousins is easily the best QB in the division, and I dont expect the injury to effect a pocket passer that much. The Falcons were just a QB away and they got one. Not worried about the Saints or Panthers, but the Falcons are a real threat. Bucs will probably need to go 5-1 in the division to win it since the Bucs will be playing a 1st place schedule while the Falcons play a 3rd place schedule. A lot less margin for error for the Bucs
March 19th, 2024 at 11:00 am
I LOVE Baker’s attitude and the BUCS attitude;
Lets go to work, teams don’t even have complete rosters yet, training camp injuries haven’t happened yet, the draft hasn’t happened yet; anyone saying what’s going to happen this upcoming season is most likely full of bull. It’s fun, that conjecture thing, but let’s not forget that everyone has a LOT of work to do and God only knows if each one of these guys will.even be ALIVE when the season starts! Work hard, bring your A GAME, to God be the glory and go BUCS! It should be a FUN season to watch. I love Cousins vs. Mayfield and Canales at Carolina…a more competitive NFC South makes for awesome football! If I’m going to wonder about things we can’t foresee yet, I’m going to wonder if it’s possible for 2 NFC South teams to make the playoffs this year. Wouldn’t that just point out how little anyone knows?! It’ll be fun to see how it all plays out and hopefully, we get to root for OUR TEAM in the playoffs for the fourth season in a row before we have to listen to the media at large tell us how bad the BUCs will be in 2025!
March 19th, 2024 at 11:01 am
What, “Lt. Dan?” He didn’t even say anything… Just a very ‘generic’ statement that you would expect from ANY player, much less your Starting QB. LoL I guess, when you’re inside of your own head & just soooo ‘in love’ with a professional ball player/athlete like that, then you’ll just hold onto literally, every single word that they say. Very average statement. Nothing said that you would not have expected him to say, at all.
March 19th, 2024 at 11:02 am
Irishmist.
Im pretty sure that 32 is younger than 36. By almost 4 years.
And Dan Marino played in a different Era. Now, the league is a passing league.
Its about throwing te ball, and sacking the QB. Pass rush!
( except for the Bucs, apparently)
Kirk Cousins was a brittle statue BEFORE the achilles tear.
How mobile do you think hes gonna be now??
Teams with a pass rush( not the Bucs) are gonna get alot of hits on him.
I wonder how well his 36 year old Arse is gonna old up to that?
My guess? Not good . . .
March 19th, 2024 at 11:07 am
Dom Says:
March 19th, 2024 at 10:54 am
I think a lot of people in here are potentially in for a rude awakening.
…….
I think Cousins could be in for a rude awakening…. When getting pressured and you are 36 with a bad wheel he will start throwing it around and have more interceptions than any time in his career.
March 19th, 2024 at 11:24 am
@BakerFan
Cousins is going to a team with a much better O-Line than he had with the Vikings. He was the or one of the most hit QB’s these past couple years. The good news is the Bucs defense has played well the last few times they’ve played Kirk. Granted 2 of his 3 turnovers last year was just bad luck with his own guard knocking the ball out of his hand for a fumble and throwing an INT where his guy had the ball only to have Izien steal it from them.
Baker is going to have to step up in these division games this year because the only game he played well in division games last year was week 4 vs the Saints
March 19th, 2024 at 11:32 am
I hope they at least give us some competition.
March 19th, 2024 at 11:44 am
SlyPirate Says: “Canales was praised on his demeanor and positive attitude. Never on his ability to gameplan or strategy.”
Same with Baker. His “leadership” and “moxie” and “locker room camaraderie” and other BS are praised while his .500 record on the season (8-8, kicker won last game 9-0) and throwing picks when playoff games are on the line are studiously avoided.
March 19th, 2024 at 12:14 pm
Dom why are you on this blog if you like the falcons so much. Go to the falcons blog please.
March 19th, 2024 at 12:20 pm
I’m sorry ladies and gentlemen the game isn’t played on paper. We know what the bucks have. Atlanta is loaded on paper. And all this information is going to do is fuel the bucks even more. And put a bigger chip on everybody’s shoulder. And like I said we don’t play the game on paper.
March 19th, 2024 at 12:25 pm
@Woodenman
Because I’ve been a Bucs fan since I was a kid for 17 years now? I don’t like the Falcons or any of the Bucs division opponents. Especially the Saints. I’m just trying to be honest and objective in my analysis instead of seeing a black and red jersey and saying thats bad my team good. And at least I’m not saying I was going to root for the Falcons if Baker left us for them like a certain somone, or am solely a fan of a certain player of the Bucs team and not the Bucs franchise, again like some certain people here. But I guess in your eyes if you try to be objective you can’t be a fan of the team. Try not being do soft or stuck wearing the rose colored glasses 24/7
March 19th, 2024 at 12:33 pm
Dom Says:
March 19th, 2024 at 11:24 am
Baker is going to have to step up in these division games this year…
…….
I believe there are a lot of others that must step up their game, when you are dead last in the league in rushing and 4th to the last in time for pass protection I believe you should be looking at the big guys up front to do a hell of a lot more than that. I am very surprised that the Bucs did as well as they did with those 2 stats.
March 19th, 2024 at 12:36 pm
Should be some very good games against ATL this year, I am looking forward to it. I think @Dom did bring up a good point regarding the strength of schedule, the Bucs will have to bring their A game each week, I do not think 9 games will win the division this year as it has done the past 2 years, I do think the division will be better this year.
March 19th, 2024 at 12:49 pm
The NFL and network suits will put a Bucs/Falcons game on prime time. If Cousin’s is still their QB, meaning he hasn’t been injured,history tells us that’s a win for the Bucs.
Go Bucs!
March 19th, 2024 at 12:52 pm
J Marzullo, that’s really ignorant. last year, Tampa had very little cap space and had to replace Tom Brady. All things considering, Baker did a very good job. You want to talk about baker throwing picks in the playoffs, yet you conveniently leave off Kirks lack of playoff success in the postseason. Kirk is 1-4 while Baker is 2-2 in the post season. What’s more, Kirk is 7 years older and has only played in 1 more playoff game than Kirk and still has a worse record. Baker has 10 post season tds to 3 it’s o Kirks 5 tds and 1 int in the post season. Baker has also passed for more yards in the post season. This is also with baker going from the browns, panthers, and rams to finally finding a home with tampa while Kirk had been with the Vikings sing 2016-17. Sure, Kirk is a good QB in this league. He makes the falcons a threat. But to scoff at Baker Mayfield’s ability is quite ignorant and shows that you really don’t have the understanding of the two like you think you do. Kirk has his flaws too. He’s also coming off and Achilles injury at 36. We will see how well he does once the pads come on.
March 19th, 2024 at 1:02 pm
Whitehead is also a massive upgrade at safety…That will allow AWJ more freedom to have an even better season, to where he doesn’t have to save the team by himself…several TD’s were scored last year because of poor safety and ILB play…it seems addition by subtraction and then addition.
Go Bucs!!
March 19th, 2024 at 1:16 pm
@BakerFan
You are correct that Baker wasn’t the sole issue on offense during those division games. He was one of them though. The run game absolutely has to improve and has been awful for years now. LG and Center need upgrades and Mauch needs to improve in year 2. The pass blocking however was one of the best in the league so you are just making that up.
Baker was undeniable awful in both games vs the Panthers. I’ll give him a mulligan for the last game because he was clearly hurt and playing on one leg . The two games vs the Falcons he didn’t play well either. The first game the defense gave up only 16 points and we still lost. It took the offense almost the whole game to get just 13 points. The drive before his game trying FG drive, Baker threw an INT when we were on the Falcons 26 yard line. He and Ryan Neal were largely to blame for that loss.
In the second Falcons game he had a grand total of 88 passing yards with 3:23 left before his game winning TD drive. The defense also gave the team 9 of the 29 points with a safety and setting up easy 8 yard TD drive with an INT. He gets credit for the last drive but for roughly 57 minutes he wasn’t playing well.
Baker isn’t blameless but I’m not expecting a non Bucs Baker fan to be objective about his guy
March 19th, 2024 at 2:24 pm
Dom Says:
March 19th, 2024 at 1:16 pm
The pass blocking however was one of the best in the league so you are just making that up.
…..
I did not make that stat up, Captain Tim came in with that one and if that is true then that O-Line has a lot to prove and just don’t blame the QB like a lot of people do on here.
March 19th, 2024 at 2:24 pm
What a difference a couple of months make. Many on these boards were seething from the loss to the Lions, nasty negative comments being made across the board, blow it up chatter, the aforementioned Bowles needed to fired, etc etc. And now look.
I really wanted to address some of the comments on here, contrary to their remarks that are in support of the Buccaneers…but then I ask myself “why be negative?” I’m simply going to bask in the optimism that I see from “most” of these comments. I’m proud to be hanging with you all. Here’s to 2024, LFG!
March 19th, 2024 at 4:11 pm
D cone says what a ridiculous post really friggin dumb what else wud u expect from that knucklehead?body parts at 60 being repaired verses some one half that age is moronic it’s still a bad pl for injury if it wasn’t it wud not take a year or more to recover & hope it works.we will c how Rodgers does also & it seems these older guys r the 1 having these type injuries to me it seems they r over staying there body parts especially the lower extremities all qb need good foot work wouldn’t u say
March 19th, 2024 at 4:52 pm
All I know, we were 1-0 against cousin last year and that doesn’t mean a thing…
Keep grinding GM Jason!
Let’s go Bucs!
March 19th, 2024 at 4:52 pm
Well, the media thinks the Panthers aren’t even worth mentioning this year. The Bucs even get lots more press. They almost beat us last year and now they have the intel of a bunch of our coaches. I am more worried about them than Atlanta. I wouldn’t even put it past egotistical “turncoat Canals” to snuffle up to Bowles or some of our players to try and get advice. We surely can’t count them out in place of Atlanta.
March 19th, 2024 at 5:26 pm
Even if the Falcons improve this year so should we. We can judge better after we see what the draft and later free agents we sign may mean. I for one prefer Mayfield over Cousins.
Go Bucs!
March 19th, 2024 at 6:02 pm
@BakerFan
PFF had the Bucs at 13 in their offensive line rankings. Their season average in pass blocking was 67.4 which is good. According to their ratings, they had 3 average games, 1 awful game, and 15 above average to good games in pass protection. It’s the run blocking that held the team’s offensive line back.
This is obviously only one source and an opinion on something that is hard to grade but when I rewatched the games that seemed to check out just from an eyes test.
I agree Baker gets a pass for the lack of a running game. It also doesn’t help when the OC insist on being a running team when the strength of the team was our WR duo, the O-Lines pass blocking ability, and Chaad as a receiving weapon out of the backfield.
None of this entirely excuses Baker for his poor play in division games though. I’m not putting all the blame on Baker, just saying he had his share in it and needs to improve which you seem to refuse to acknowledge
March 19th, 2024 at 6:21 pm
Cousins is fools gold. We should have picked up Kenny Pickens to.replace Trask. The kid is good.
March 20th, 2024 at 12:06 am
Dom
“Baker is gonna have to step it up in the division games”
Oh. Im sorry. DIDNT MAYFIELD WIN THE DAMN DIVISION???
I think theres 3 other QBs who need to step it up.
Seems like Baker is the Sheriff in the NFC South
Cousins, Carr, and that kid in Carolina better step up.
Mayfield just needs to do what he did last year. Whip their ass and win the division.
Mayfield was the Champ- not an “also ran”
March 20th, 2024 at 7:57 am
@Captin Tim
Whip their ass? The Bucs split with the Saints and Falcons and barely beat the team that only won two games last year. Yes he and other areas of the team are going to have to step it up. You shouldn’t be content with being 9-8 and winning the worst division in football. It was great for last year especially considering all the dead cap hit money but it isn’t going to be good enough this year.
This is why the Baker Bois are just as bad as the Trask supporters. You can’t offer any critiques towards Baker. In their eyes he’s done no wrong, is perfect, and it’s everyone’s else fault for any team failures. Yall act like I insulted your mother
March 20th, 2024 at 12:31 pm
@Dom
I am a baker supporter, and I know that he is not perfect. He definitely can improve. Definitely needs to start faster at the beginning of games and be consistent throughout.
That being said, I feel that while Dave Canales was a good, the slow starts and lack of success definitely falls on his shoulders too. There were times where they play calling was tough to watch. Felt like I was watching Brian Ferentz and the Iowa Hawkeyes offense at times. I was originally irritated when he left for the Panthers, but after some time and the hire of Liam Cohen, the bucs definitely upgraded at the OC position and is in better all over position for the future. Tepper hired Canales because he felt like he was making tampa bay weaker when in fact, it gave tampa bay an opportunity to upgrade and get better at OC. I would even bet that Tepper believed that if he took Canales, then Baker and Evan would leave which clearly didnt happen. Coen comes from the McVay coaching tree. The NFL is littered with successful coaches that have come from McVay’s coaching staff. Coen has been on it multiple times. Coen will use more 11 personnel and is giving Baker more freedom to check at the line.
The last part was really eye opening for me. If Canales did not give Baker the freedom to make adjustments at the line, then that tells me a lot of why our offenses stalled and took forever to get going. If QBs can’t make adjustments when needed, then the offense will take longer to get in sync. Liam giving Baker freedom is a great sign and will only help the offense. 11 personnel will allow for more spread looks, getting defenders out of the box and forcing them to use more DBS which will only help when running the football. That will allow Tampa to utilize play/run action passing which will help our passing attack. I also bet that Coen knows how to utilize Godwin and Palmer significantly better than Canales. Baker definitely needs to show that last year is what we can expect from him. I’m confident in him though and while hes not perfect, he is perfect for the bucs and is the guy for this team.
March 20th, 2024 at 2:45 pm
Atlanta will have to come and take it Lets go Bucs
March 22nd, 2024 at 7:48 pm
Never understood the Kirk cousins hype. This guy has never won anything. Raheem Morris was here and sucked if I remember correctly.
March 22nd, 2024 at 7:52 pm
Dom, just who would you have signed at QB. The Falcons got fleeced by Cousins. He has one playoff win and he is 36. SMH. Haters gonna hate.