Jason Licht: Baker Mayfield Driven By Negative Press
August 29th, 2024
Tortured by the front office.
When Bucs fans see a story or report doubting or criticizing Baker Mayfield, it’s a safe bet Mayfield himself has it in his phone courtesy of Bucs staff members devoted to putting it there.
Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht made that clear today during his visit to The JP Peterson Show via FanStreamSports.com.
Licht said the Bucs enjoy their identity of being criminally underrated and a big part of that is how Mayfield reacts to the negative press.
“Especially with the quarterback, the most important position on the team, the way that he responds to that I think has kind of driven us,” Licht said of Mayfield. “Whenever I see an article, or [assistant GM John] Spytek, or the guys here in the front office see an article saying that [Mayfield] sucks, we send it to him right away because we know that it’s going to help us in the end.”
The Bucs and Mayfield are in a fun place. Perhaps Team Glazer can hand a brown bag filled with C-notes to a reporter at one of the many hemorrhaging media outlets to write a hit piece on Mayfield? One could even argue Licht has an obligation to make that happen.
On a more serious note, Joe wonders how will Mayfield will handle things and find motivation if the script flips on him and the Bucs?
If Mayfield starts the season strong and the Bucs beat Atlanta in Week 5, the Falcons’ bandwagon probably runs off the road and the Bucs will become everyone’s favorite in the division just a week into October.
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August 29th, 2024 at 12:41 pm
baker will remind the media who they picked to win the south and why lol….and todd will keep the team humble and hungry….
i see 12wins…
GO BUCS!!!!
August 29th, 2024 at 12:47 pm
The Bucs shocked the world last season with their 3-1 start going into the bye.
They didn’t handle it well at all, not surprising considering who the head coach is.
So it’s fair to wonder if they have early success again this season, how they will handle it.
August 29th, 2024 at 12:51 pm
Joe,
Even if we slaughter our first 5 opponents, the shills in the “we hate the Bucs” media will stick to their guns. No one in the media these days ever admits their wrong. They will stick with the negative articles up and until we win the Super Bowl. God willing. Upon which time they will all say they told you so.
Just my humble opinion…
August 29th, 2024 at 1:20 pm
“No one in the media these days ever admits their wrong.”
It’s not just the media. It’s infected our entire society. Admission of an error is tantamount to committing a mortal sin.
I do not get this. You CANNOT FIX A MISTAKE UNTIL YOU ADMIT THE MISTAKE.
The worst lies are the ones we tell ourselves.
Making mistakes and getting comfortable is what gives us the ability to keep on striving. I know as a customer how many times I’ve been impresssed by an organization that admits a mistake and corrects it!
August 29th, 2024 at 1:30 pm
11-6 here we come!
August 29th, 2024 at 1:34 pm
DvaderZ51 Says:
Even if we slaughter our first 5 opponents … the media will stick to their guns.
^^^^^
Have you ever noticed the Bucs never win? It’s always the other team lost. What’s wrong with them?
Let’s hope the media has to wonder why that other team “lost” the Super Bowl!!!!
August 29th, 2024 at 1:41 pm
OK Joe, start cranking out those negative Baker articles!
August 29th, 2024 at 2:15 pm
Hope to see 11+ wins this year.
But…as a Buc fan, I will always know 6 or fewer are within the realm of possibility because of various reasons…that I will not name because I don’t want to jinx the team.
August 29th, 2024 at 2:16 pm
SlyPirate Says:
“Have you ever noticed the Bucs never win?”
I have. Unfortunately. First season.
I know that wasn’t your point, but that was the first thing to come to mind. That and finally winning a game the next season.
August 29th, 2024 at 2:18 pm
stpetebucfan Says:
“No one in the media these days ever admits their wrong.”
“It’s not just the media. It’s infected our entire society. Admission of an error is tantamount to committing a mortal sin.
“I do not get this. You CANNOT FIX A MISTAKE UNTIL YOU ADMIT THE MISTAKE.
The worst lies are the ones we tell ourselves.”
.
Very well said, and 100% true.
August 29th, 2024 at 2:20 pm
Dave Pear, you raise a valid point. Last year, the media was blind-sided by the fast start.
But to be fair, the rest of the year was a pretty extreme rollercoaster.
August 29th, 2024 at 2:31 pm
All these hurt feelings. All this worry about what others think, say and write.
Weak.
August 29th, 2024 at 2:44 pm
@stpetebucfan said:
“It’s not just the media. It’s infected our entire society. Admission of an error is tantamount to committing a mortal sin.”
Sad but true.
Society SHOULD support people who are willing to admit they’re wrong. It’s a very hard thing to do and takes a lot of courage. I don’t see us moving (back?) in that direction soon, unfortunately. That’s part of the reason I’m not very optimistic about humanity in general.
BUT I AM optimistic about the Bucs this year! 🤘🏼
August 29th, 2024 at 2:54 pm
I agree with Dave Pear. The one thing pretty much everyone seems to agree on is that Mayfield plays his best football when he’s the underdog. That’s fine for now, but sustained excellence by definition requires that you bring your A-game when you’re already on top. Whether Mayfield can do that remains to be seen.
August 29th, 2024 at 3:02 pm
I hope we leave a wake of destruction in our path and upset their order of things in the nfc not just the nfc south. No one is saying baker mayfield sucks but you have to stop being a homer. Can anyone here go ahead and admit the national media issue with him is consistently, his career not the last two years it’s been up and down so how many of y’all positive he is absolutely sure he’s gonna kill it this year?
August 29th, 2024 at 3:16 pm
Mayfield has always been that way. He will make up reasons to feel disrespected if necessary.
August 29th, 2024 at 3:56 pm
I don’t get it. To me, it’s not “negative press” when you go 8-8 and then for the 17th game you need 3 field goals from your kicker to beat a 2-win team 9-0, barely pushing you over .500, and then in the playoffs you beat up a weak Eagles team and lose the next game on a prime-time choke of an interception. You guys wanting me to worship is like the press wanting me to worship Kamala’s record.
August 29th, 2024 at 3:57 pm
I don’t get it. To me, it’s not “negative press” when you go 8-8 and then for the 17th game you need 3 field goals from your kicker to beat a 2-win team 9-0, barely pushing you over .500, and then in the playoffs you beat up a weak Eagles team and then lose the next game on a prime-time choke of an interception. You guys wanting me to worship this record is like the press wanting me to worship Kamala’s record.
August 29th, 2024 at 4:27 pm
So the more bad press the better.
August 29th, 2024 at 4:30 pm
He is Orange Man of the NFL. The worse the media the stronger he gets. Bakezilla.
August 29th, 2024 at 5:42 pm
Finally, Vinny makes sense!!!
He doesn’t get it
We know
August 29th, 2024 at 6:31 pm
YOU SUCK MAYFIELD!!!!
Just here to help
August 29th, 2024 at 6:44 pm
Holy sp!t there St Pete BF
You’re not wrong, but holy sp!t nonetheless
August 29th, 2024 at 6:50 pm
@JK the Bakey Boi
If Kyle Trask had started last season and went 8-8 in the worst division in football and then for the 17th game needed 3 field goals from our kicker to beat a 2-win team 9-0, barely pushing us over .500, and then throwing the game-ending pick in the playoffs, you’d be crying to cut Trask and play Bakey. You know it and I know it.
August 29th, 2024 at 6:59 pm
Repeat this on loop, post it on your wall, blog it, only fans it, make posters and billboards, take out newspaper ads and radio slots. Make every politician and government agency and school say it every morning as a prereq. to punching in and every night while punching out of work.
WORD FOR WORD until actions are taken by every individual in their personal lives.
It goes….
stpetebucfan Says:
“No one in the media these days ever admits their wrong.”
“It’s not just the media. It’s infected our entire society. Admission of an error is tantamount to committing a mortal sin.
“I do not get this. You CANNOT FIX A MISTAKE UNTIL YOU ADMIT THE MISTAKE.
The worst lies are the ones we tell ourselves.”
Long Live this awesome, awesome SPORTS blog and its peasants.
August 29th, 2024 at 7:48 pm
See, and all you low IQ dullard Baker Boi(s) think I’m a hater. I’m literally the reason he’s still here. If all he had was you slobbering morons around, he’d be unemployed. Again.
August 29th, 2024 at 8:48 pm
Rod Munch Says:
August 29th, 2024 at 7:48 pm
See, and all you low IQ dullard Baker Boi(s) think I’m a hater. I’m literally the reason he’s still here. If all he had was you slobbering morons around, he’d be unemployed. Again.
—————-
You been hitting the sauce again Rod?
August 29th, 2024 at 9:07 pm
Vinny,
if Trask had started a season and went 8-8 with a roster predicted to get 5 wins max, a new oc, a new qb, I would have been thrilled. Whether you like it or not, the Bucs, Baker and even Bowles all exceeded expectations last season and showed a lot of potential for growth as an organization/team. Baker was considered by most to not even be a started level qb at this point. Instead, he was a top 15 ranked qb in his first season in a new scheme and an oc that to his credit did get Baker out of his mental funk, was overall an inexperienced OC who did not always put his team in the best spots (see 1-2yd runs on 1st and 2nd down). Baker overcame a lot of adversity and showed that he could grow in his role as qb if an organization put their trust in him.
Go Bucs!! (I’ll never get why some of you love rooting against your team and hoping for their demise just because of some subjective opinion that is more often then not extremely ill informed).
August 29th, 2024 at 9:37 pm
Vinny? 3 names 3 preseason games. You have a losing season with names already Son of Trask.
August 29th, 2024 at 10:01 pm
I get your point but this roster is a 10-11 win roster not a 4 win roster. If you are plugged into the team you know this and that’s why we feel the Bucs disrespect.
A large chunk of national media and casual fans think the Bucs are talent deficient and closer to the bottom of the league than the top.
Adding to it and Pooh Pooh-ing the .500 record only adds to guys like Evans and David and Baker getting overlooked for their accomplishments. If us fans don’t trumpet the potential and underlying success of this team then who will?
August 29th, 2024 at 10:02 pm
@ Vinny… that post was at Vinny and the negative fans.
August 29th, 2024 at 10:22 pm
I watched and listened to a lotta sports shows this Friday. Everybody is overwhelmingly picking the Falcons. Bucs luv being the underdog. I got us surprising everybody.
August 29th, 2024 at 10:35 pm
Mike Johnson Says:
August 29th, 2024 at 10:22 pm
I watched and listened to a lotta sports shows this Friday. Everybody is overwhelmingly picking the Falcons. Bucs luv being the underdog. I got us surprising everybody.
———–
I really don’t get the people who want to be the favorite. There’s literally nowhere to go but down when you’re saying, before a single play has been run, that you’re the best.
I’d much rather take the under, and that way, if they overachieve, it’s actually fun instead of just being expected.
August 29th, 2024 at 11:06 pm
Yeh good take Rod. Only problem there is that once you have been the underdog and then the tables turn then you had better be the guys who would rather take the over,and that way, if they underachieve, it’s actually unbearable instead of just being unthinkable. Baker played for the Sooners. When you win all the time you have to pay the price. OU opens tomorrow night on National TV. Their 5 star freshmen gunslinger will be expected to win and win big. Our Buccaneers don’t want to be underdogs too often. And this Bucs squad-led by Baker Mayfield- isn’t gonna feel like underdogs this year.
August 30th, 2024 at 8:24 am
After b!tchslapping the Falcons in week 5 and winning by 20+, there will be a video of Baker in the hallway outside the Buc’s locker room screaming
“How do you like me now?!”
Personally, I don’t ever see Baker throwing Cousins under the bus like that, but it would be perfect!
August 31st, 2024 at 5:02 am
Jason Licht’s comments shed light on how Baker Mayfield channels negativity into motivation. It’s a testament to his resilience and determination to rise above the criticism and deliver strong performances.