“I Was Wrong About Baker Mayfield”
October 8th, 2023
Bucs thoughts.
It is always refreshing to hear when folks in the Fourth Estate confess they had the wrong vibe about something.
Former Bucs starting defensive tackle and current BSPN talking head Booger McFarland recently took to Twitter to admit he was offbase about Baker Mayfield.
Now Joe doesn’t know exactly what McFarland has said about the Bucs’ starting quarterback but Joe had heard McFarland on a podcast this summer where he said he wasn’t a fan of Mayfield in Tampa.
Jump aboard, Booger. You weren’t the only one.
Joe does agree with Booger that the Bucs are the best team in the NFC South. At least as of today, Oct. 8. Another former Bucs starter, retired guard Ian Beckles, said the same last week.
Think about it: The Bucs already whooped up on the slimy Saints in their crib. The Stinking Panthers are horrible and the Dixie Chicks don’t have a quarterback.
Try to convince Joe one of those three teams is better than the Bucs.
October 8th, 2023 at 12:13 am
Baker and the Bucs are getting a lot of coverage and kudos. Hope this attention doesn’t go to their heads and fall flat against the Lions. Want to see a good game and hopefully come out with a WIN!
October 8th, 2023 at 1:07 am
Lions know they are in for a tough one next week. They are clearly being cautious with Brown and Gibbs, possibly Branch to have them all ready next week. I hope that means they don’t overlook and consequently get upset by the Panthers, don’t need them coming off an upset loss and having any extra fire. If the Bucs are healthy, and well prepared, ready to go from opening kickoff. They beat Detroit. I don’t bet on the Bucs, as a loss paired with losing money is super hard to stomach, I can’t sit on the sidelines and not have faith anymore. Bucs ML incoming before they become favorites the rest of the way. (Outside Buffalo and SF)
October 8th, 2023 at 1:08 am
Todd Bowles is about to turn 60, Dave Canales 42, Baker Mayfield 28
Let’s say Bowles coaches till 65. Canales will have 5 years as OC and will be a mature 47 and primed for HC.
Baker will be 33.
The offense will be well established and ready to turn over to a new OC.
The average age of the team should still be slightly less than 30. (just a guess)
Let’s say Baker plays till age 38.
The next decade looks pretty good.
October 8th, 2023 at 1:18 am
I forgot, Kacy Rodgers and Larry Foote are well trained under Bowles and would easily fill the DC position.
There is Jason Licht’s HOMEGROWN team.
October 8th, 2023 at 1:28 am
One more thing. Coach Bowles could turn over the defense in 1-2 years to Rodgers or Foote to keep one or the other or both from being poached.
Then Coach Bowles could focus solely on the Head Coach position.
Given all the young talent, Licht and the front office should have a stable salary cap situation in 1-2 years.
I’m liking what I see.
October 8th, 2023 at 2:28 am
Wow… I am truly amazed at how many are manning up and admitting their mistake. I was actually amazed that Booger said anything in the first place.
Go Bucs!
October 8th, 2023 at 2:35 am
Joe said:
The Bucs already whooped up on the slimy Saints in their crib. The Stinking Panthers are horrible and the Dixie Chicks don’t have a quarterback.
I can understand analysts thinking the Saints would be better than us but did they actually think that rookie Young and Ridder would be better than Mayfield? Apparently so because the reason that was stated for us finishing last in the division was because of Mayfield. Preposterous!
October 8th, 2023 at 2:40 am
What amazes me is stat heads and media types that just CANNOT give credit where credit is due. This is obviously the right situation for Baker and I’m happy for him. Seeing OU win today was probably good for him.
Of course he might have one or two bad games but that doesn’t mean Bad Baker has arrived and now the talking heads are correct. Every QB has a bad game. Look at Josh Allen in week 1. Look at Burrow this year. Russell Wilson went to 2 SBs and if you didn’t know it, you would think he was terrible the past 2 years.
It’s about the system you are in and the team around you.
Does anybody think Brock Purdy would be awesome for another team? Maybe, but not if it had a horrible O Line and no CM.
I hope this week of practice is Epic and we get EVERYONE back.
Any news on Chase Edmonds?
I’m tired of these Gio types that come in here and get injured.
October 8th, 2023 at 3:24 am
Imagine Barry Sanders on those Cowboys teams instead of Emmitt Smith. Imagine Marino on those 49ers teams instead of Montana. Imagine Baker on the Chiefs instead of Mahomes. Imagine Mahomes on those Sooners teams while Baker on Texas Tech…
You guys are correct. It’s being on the the right team with the right coaches. Period.
October 8th, 2023 at 4:41 am
Booger, you’re wrong about a lotof things. This tells me he’s not plugged into the Bucs organization, or locker room like you think he would be. Dissing his former team hasn’t endeared him to the fan base, or the team.
October 8th, 2023 at 5:23 am
Fundamentally Mayfield was drafted into one of the worst organizations in the NFL. Still he had early success not experienced in Cleveland in decades before a shoulder injury stopped his growth.
The Browns went another direction with Watson and we can see how that worked out! Not well!!! 11 games suspension, not wanting to play despite being cleared by the training staff and the desires of the head coach. My son is a Browns fan and he said they are UPSET!
I get Baker’s struggles, inconsistency, and his swashbuckling style can produce ints. But he had success before why not again. I’m not sure why everybody expected him to suck. Or why they thought the Defense was not strong enough.
The major surprise to me is the way the OL has quickly developed into a decent unit with the possiblity of becoming very good. That combined with Baker’s escape skills and pocket awareness are what has made the difference.
The D was never as bad as people seemed to believe and now with the injection of a half dozen difference making rookies and 2nd year guys the D has the chance to become elite once again.
Clearly media types thought Brady won the SB not the Bucs and when Brady left they figured it was over. No wonder guys have a chip on their shoulder.
October 8th, 2023 at 6:05 am
Citrus County … ‘The next decade looks pretty good.’
I’m thinking that the Bucs’ organization & fans probably said the same thing in 2002, with a SB championship under our belts, an outstanding defense & Chucky as our HC. Then poof … 7-9 the next season, then 5-11 the season after that.
I’m of the school Citrus that in the NFL ‘you’re only as good as your next game’. Media & fans will turn on you in a heartbeat, because, oh ya, you just became a loser when you lose a ballgame. They look for scapegoats, and the easiest targets are the GM, the HC followed by the coordinators, and the QB. Easiest words to say in the English language … ‘See, I told you so’.
October 8th, 2023 at 6:12 am
D.R.
“Easiest words to say in the English language … ‘See, I told you so’.”
True dat! Sadly to me there are some, few I’m happy to say, that would rather say that than have the Bucs win. I have been impressed however with the significant number of posters here who were Baker detractors who like many in the National Media have admitted their mistake.
You’ve pointed out the “easiest words to day” and I think a corollary goes with it.
The hardest words to say “I was wrong.” There are some posters here who have had to courage to say those words and my respect for them always increases.
October 8th, 2023 at 7:13 am
I didn’t think much of Baker coming in…
I thought Kyle out performed him in camp and deserved to be the starter, however the coaching staff thought otherwise…
That being said, Baker has been solid at best as the starter; the one thing he does well that Brady never could is improvise when the play breaks down…
Our inability to run the football consistently is my biggest concern at the moment…
October 8th, 2023 at 7:17 am
StPete … ‘The hardest words to say “I was wrong”.
True dat. Then again, my wife always acknowledges I was wrong for me to save me the embarrassment.
October 8th, 2023 at 8:30 am
I’m just glad the Panthers picked the wrong QB. Stroud is really doing great in Houston. We don’t need any of that in the NFC South unless it’s the Bucs.
October 8th, 2023 at 9:00 am
Now that the accolades are pouring in let’s do something we haven’t been able to accomplish in a few years. Home Field Advantage! If the Detroit Lions come to RayJay and push us around (even though they are good), the term smoke and mirrors will be tossed around once again. We have a hard time showing up on Dale Mabry. For years we struggle with consistency in our crib. The game has been flexed so more people will be watching. Showing up in Creamsicles will be an amazing start against a formidable opponent. The following week we have Atlanta, we hope they don’t run down our throats. One game at a time and let’s put some locomotive steam behind our wins, GO BUCS!!
October 8th, 2023 at 9:05 am
D.R. We married ladies with similar skill sets!
October 8th, 2023 at 9:06 am
@DR
SO TRUE…. Thank you for the laugh from me and my wife.. 💯😁
October 8th, 2023 at 9:21 am
You characters are a screech at times, Big reason why I’m on here. Citrus Co., you’re up around that Big Bend area. Did you get whaled by Idalia? I know, a bit off-topic.
October 8th, 2023 at 9:31 am
Why should we ever believe this guy or anyone in the media? These guys tend to be bandwagon jumpers and just say what every one else is saying. Like Baker said just tune everybody out. Don,t believe the hype nor the hate.
October 8th, 2023 at 9:45 am
ATLBUC:
You point out the fallacy that a team needs to tank for a top pick quarterback, like Caleb Williams. But top pick quarterbacks only go to horrible teams, and the climb up to respectability if not winning championships is long and hard, and requires the addition of many more good players, and good coaching. A top pick quarterback only buys a team a chance at getting better, and considering how many first round pick quarterbacks fail in the NFL, it’s not a very great probability.
The way Jason Licht did it after his failure with the Winston pick was to focus on drafting and signing other quality players with the hope that a good to great quarterback can be had in free agency. And of course it worked to perfection.
The Bucs have one two Super Bowl championships, neither with a top draft pick quarterback under center (drafted in the 9th and 6th rounds respectively).
October 8th, 2023 at 9:53 am
Canales won’t be here for five years, if this team makes the playoffs. He will be a HC.
Booger was a dominant player on college who disappointed as a Pro. A common LSU trait.
October 8th, 2023 at 10:46 am
A lot of us were wrong about Baker. Lets hope he keeps proving us wrong. 13 games still left.
October 8th, 2023 at 10:56 am
A lot of commenters on here said the same and are here now acting like they didn’t say it either you know who you are
October 8th, 2023 at 2:31 pm
Defense Rules Says: Easiest words to say in the English language … ‘See, I told you so’.
My observations in the short time I’ve been participating here are that the true fans want to hear optimism backed up by supportive facts. Negativism is just that and it serves no purpose. The haters ( I’m not saying you are one.) usually get barked at quite loudly. Negativism is a shower on the fans parade.
Do you have confidence in Jason Licht ? I do. His performance as judged by his comparison to past GM’s here and others around the league past and present has been pretty darn good. He has proven his effectiveness in all areas within his job scope.
You made reference to the post SB 2002 Gruden years in which the Bucs declined.
Let’s not forget that the Glazers mortgaged very heavily to get Chucky for the chance to get a SB ready team to the glory land. The price they paid for immediate success cost the organization in the long term.
Chucky demanded that his GM be his buddy Bruce Allen. The Glazers complied. In my view , Bruce Allen is no comparison to Jason Licht. How did Allen’s Washington term grade out?
The graph chart on Jason Licht continues to show higher highs and higher lows.
The arrow points UP.
As I was speculating so heavily about last years debacle I got smacked around a bit. I still have a theory but now realize that the TRUE fans don’t want to hear that ****.
So, how about this; Let’s all of us just look for the POSITIVE because positivity is what we need.
October 8th, 2023 at 5:56 pm
Contender or pretender….. bucs find out on sunday which one they are….
October 8th, 2023 at 9:18 pm
Duane, I LOVED your post! It should give many on here a different perspective. Good one!
October 8th, 2023 at 9:22 pm
Only 4 games into the season… we got stomped by the Eagles… I was somebody who was telling my Bengals loving friend that Baker was going to be okay at Tampa, but if you put Baker on the throne and give him the crown already, you’re gonna be disappointed.
October 9th, 2023 at 10:17 am
LOL the KOD.