“I Guess I Kind Of Live Under Rocks”
May 30th, 2023
“Nice line, Kyle.”
Today it was competing Kyle Trask’s turn to take a question about the Bucs being routinely roasted across the nation as a team cruising toward a top-5 draft pick next April.
Trask seemed unaware that NBC Sports insider Peter King thinks the Bucs are the 31st-best club in the NFL, and that he put his foot down on the proclamation. Many others also believe the Bucs are a half-step above pure stink, including oddsmakers at sportsbooks across the nation.
Trask was asked about the down-on-the-Bucs noise today on WDAE radio.
“I’m not too aware. You know I guess I kind of live under rocks,” Trask said.
“I think the energy in the building is just really good. I don’t think anybody’s concerned about that at all. We all know what good players and a good offense looks like. And we know the potential we have here at practice that we see with our eyes, the plays that are being made. So we know that we’ll be just fine at the end of the day no matter what anybody else is saying.”
Of course, Joe does not believe Trask is unaware of the slams the Bucs are taking from national media.
It’s almost silly to think Trask was being forthright. Players always seem to say they don’t pay attention and then it comes out later they were well aware.
Heck, Tom Brady himself said publicly that he regularly showed the Bucs’ offensive line how it was being degraded by media, and Trask was a two-year student of The Goat. Brady thought it was important to share and to consider it motivation.
Joe suspects the entire Bucs roster knows it’s being brushed off as a non-contender this season, and Joe hopes that leads to the Bucs playing with a heightened intensity come September.
May 30th, 2023 at 5:33 pm
“Goatfarmer Says:
September 5th, 2022 at 7:16 pm
Man. What a leader. What a beast.
But we’d be better off to have moved on this year to prepare for the future. Go 6-11. That’s progress! Yeah!!!
Right Osqueel?”
WELL. It’s nice that SOME things in our world are consistent
May 30th, 2023 at 5:58 pm
Should we root for above average results based on expectations? I’m inclined to believe if we can’t win 11, I hope we don’t win 5.
May 30th, 2023 at 6:08 pm
Trask hears it. Except 90% of the national articles are either bashing Mayfield or talking up Mayfield’s potential. He has the luxury of being considered the No. 2 QB right now. If Trask doesn’t beat out Mayfeild nobody will be surprised. If he does then the stories will change to be more centered around him. Until then Trask can tune it out.
May 30th, 2023 at 6:32 pm
To think, a year ago today, the Bucs were favored to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
One year under Todd Bowles, and without Brady, and now they’re being picked as the 2nd worst team in the NFC.
May 30th, 2023 at 7:05 pm
Rod Munch – last I checked, teams have to play 17 games before the 31st ranked team is determined.
If you thing media talking heads make it unnecessary to play the games, then you obviously don’t pay attention to anything but your own useless braying.
The media talking heads at this time last year (including ESPN) projected the Philly Eagles as the 16th ranked team in 2022, and predicted that Jalen Hurts wouldn’t survive the first month of the season as Eagles starter at quarterback.
Somehow or other, it appears that the 17 regular games, the playoffs, and the NFC championship, and Hurts being a consensus MVP runner-up “, said differently.
May 30th, 2023 at 7:12 pm
Reminds me of when Kyle was backing up Felipe Franks when Franks was injured and all the prognosticators were writing off the Gators as being doomed because all they had was a backup Quarterback who had been second string in High School and had never played in a college game much less in an SEC game! Didn’t bother Kyle in the least ! All he did was lead the Gators to an SEC East Championship and was one dropped pass from defeating Alabama and winning the SEC crown outright while setting passing records at Florida and becoming a Heisman finalist! Now he’s had a couple of years to study under the greatest of all time! Really excited to see what he can do when he gets the chance now!
May 30th, 2023 at 7:19 pm
Trask and Mayfield are extremely lucky to not have all the media attention centered towards them. Brady was constantly hounded by the national media. Even right now, they can’t let him go! Just the endless speculation about his every move. The obsession with anything and everything Brady is exhausting. I think Brady handled the constant media attention fantastically throughout his career. Mayfield and Trask should be grateful that they’re not clickbait machines like Brady. You don’t have to worry about any articles about whether Trask is dating Kim Kardashian
May 30th, 2023 at 7:45 pm
Let’s wait and see shall we?
May 30th, 2023 at 8:03 pm
Maybe he doesn’t know. Maybe he doesn’t bother reading what sports yappers have to say. More power to him. Better to tune it out and focus on his work.
May 30th, 2023 at 8:32 pm
It’ll be the old “Us against the world” motivation. But that works time after time, so maybe it works this time too. I don’t know who will win the QB competition, but I’ve just got a feeling about Trask.
May 30th, 2023 at 8:57 pm
the difference between 10-7 and 7-10 is so minor…
a couple bounces of the ball…
a lucky or bad game deciding call…
a bad coaching decision…
a qb has a terrible game…
a player fumbles twice for turnovers in one game…
it’s a really fine line sometimes…
mediocre nfl teams used to range from 9-7 to 7-9, and now that number is 10-7 to 7-10…
11 wins and better is a darn good football team…
6 wins or less is a crappy football team…
i think we’re somewhere in the mediocre range…
oh yeah and 2 things, never listen to peter king about the bucs, it’s never too good…and if trask is truly lodging under a rock, he needs to get out of there right quick!
May 30th, 2023 at 9:55 pm
Just……go. Play. Get on with it. The negative nancies and positive pollies are all too much.
Play. Leave it all out there. Sort out the coaching and talent levels after the season.
May 30th, 2023 at 11:05 pm
Let’s not throw Trask under the bus just yet. He has yet to take a snap with the first string. History shows this guy has been an overachiever. Keep an open mind.
May 31st, 2023 at 2:35 am
“Joe suspects the entire Bucs roster knows it’s being brushed off as a non-contender this season, and Joe hopes that leads to the Bucs playing with a heightened intensity come September.”
Spot on Joe! Thats “Athlete Speak” for let these asshats motivate you!
Warren Sapp would be up in peoples faces telling them how they were being disrespected by the media!
LOL
Go Bucs!
May 31st, 2023 at 2:56 am
Spot on Joe! Thats “Athlete Speak” for let these people motivate you!
Warren Sapp would be up in peoples faces telling them how they were being disrespected by the media!
LOL
Go Bucs!
May 31st, 2023 at 8:11 am
I just think it’s funny that Desmond Ridder is held in higher regard than Kyle Trask. Ridder had a good career at Houston. I know being a UCF fan I got to see a lot of him. I always thought he could be a solid pro. Trask on the other hand, had a better college career in the SEC, and was a Heisman runner up. Yet after only one year as a starter, Ridder is seen as much better than Trask with a bright future ahead of him. Trask on the other hand isn’t even in any conversations as a possible NFL starter. I must be missing something.
May 31st, 2023 at 8:44 am
Hodad.
You and I know that NFL coaches always assess quarterbacks different than college football fans.
Seeing a lot of guys on this site suggesting that Kyle Trask will be good because his college stats were good. Lots of Heisman or near Heisman QB’s don’t come close to making it in this league. Many with a lot more natural skills than Kyle Trask.
May 31st, 2023 at 9:22 am
The Bucs can either use this media bashing as motivation to play to their abilities and win close games or wither and die and lose games! The talent is there! Which direction they take??? Their biggest obstacle is the lack of a quality head coach!! It’s time for Bowles to motivate himself to coach like a winning head coach!!
May 31st, 2023 at 9:44 am
Position by position, the Bucs have the best roster in the South, not opinion… FACT. Even at our biggest question mark, Mayfield is no worse than the 2nd best QB in the division. Say what you want about him but he’s won games, he’s been far more than competent, he’s led his team to and won playoff games. Carr has never even played in a playoff game… and yes, I believe Carr is better than him, but a midget rookie in Bryce Young is NOT, not now anyways, maybe in the future he bucks the odds and becomes Drew Brees 2.0, and he’s definitely better than Desmond Ridder… who isn’t awful… but he is definitely NOT the answer at QB. My QB rankings of NFC South QBs…
1. Derek Carr- major tools and has had success in pass first offense
2. Baker Mayfield- has played very well in the past when healthy
3. Taylor Heinicke- super underrated scrappy player
4. Andy Dalton- smart system guy with enough tools, leadership, and experience to still be effective in short doses
5. Jameis Winston- has had some great games and awful moments, still seems to have improved since Bucs career but can no longer stay healthy. Good tools
6. Bryce Young-has never thrown a pass in the NFL, decent tools, super short, can he elevate play of people around him or does he need an all-star cast?
7. Desmond Ridder- looked competent in his few appearances last season, good mobility but not much of a downfield passing threat
8. Kyle Trask- second least experienced of all the other QBs, has a lot to prove. Decent tools
May 31st, 2023 at 10:16 am
Geno11 . It really don’t matter remember the bucs have never developed a quarterback in their team history. This franchise has done nothing but destroy every quarterback they drafted. I love my bucs but truth is the truth and I know it’s hard for some fans to admit that. I have no confidence that bucs will develop one of the rookie quarterbacks next year. I rather just build a great defense and and get a good running game and a average quarterback that’s not going to turn the ball over at a bad time in a game. Just no more old quarterbacks that after every year we don’t have to ask is this his last year that’s all I want and we might have a chance to a super bowl.
May 31st, 2023 at 12:21 pm
This is the time of year when football writers are bored and just trying to generate clicks and views for their content. I’ll start paying attention again in August. Until then – Joe, how about a series ranking the Bucs QBs all time? That’d be fun to argue about.
May 31st, 2023 at 3:50 pm
I’ve got a good feeling about Trask this year. Most people have forgotten that he was a second-round pick in 2021, and he’s been learning from Brady. He’s going to start this year, not Mayfield.
June 1st, 2023 at 7:27 am
When u have the worst lines in football it’s not a news flash to be picked to suck
It’s a real bummer