“We Should Have Been More Efficient”
September 30th, 2024
“Strive for perfection, Baker.”
Joe thought the Bucs offense was good yesterday. Not elite, but in the first half Joe doesn’t know how the offense could have played much better.
Baker Mayfield thought the Bucs left plays on the field.
That’s what the Bucs quarterback told his predecessor, Tom Brady, in a postgame chat.
We all heard about Brady and Mayfield speaking before the game. But Brady and Mayfield cut a clip for FOX Sports after the game as well.
Brady complimented Mayfield for running a good gameplan to beat the Eagles. Mayfield seemed to suggest the offense wasn’t as sharp enough.
“We didn’t make enough plays for him,” Mayfield said of the gameplan crafted by Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen. “We should have been more efficient. He was dialed in.”
Boy, was he ever. All Bucs fans have groused how the team hadn’t scored a touchdown on its first possession of a game for 23 straight games, dating back to December 2022 when Brady was the Bucs quarterback.
Yesterday, not only did the Bucs snap that ugly streak, they scored a touchdown on their second drive, too. Yes, Coen was locked in.
“He was dialed in,” Mayfield told Brady. “Just understanding the strengths of their defense and how we needed to attack it. The whole day.”
Then Brady offered interesting advice to Mayfield. It’s been about a season and a quarter since Brady last played for Tampa Bay. A bunch of Brady’s ex-teammates are still on the team.
Brady has a hunch the Bucs can be so much more.
“Keep putting some pressure on those guys to be even better,” Brady told Mayfield. “I know what you guys are capable of.”
Does Brady envision a postseason run for the Bucs?
Time for @TomBrady's #LFG Player of the Game Award 🏆
Congrats to @Buccaneers QB @bakermayfield for his performance vs the Eagles! pic.twitter.com/ZmaiSoTsDg
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 29, 2024
September 30th, 2024 at 10:51 am
Great interview and all the media wants to talk about is the Baker – Brady spat, which is fake news.
September 30th, 2024 at 10:55 am
I’m glad Brady mentioned the drops and that’s part of the inefficiency that Baker mentioned.
Let’s see if this season will be ups and downs. A loss after the big Detroit win and now a big win over Philly. Did the Bucs really learn their lesson or will they have another loss after this win?
September 30th, 2024 at 11:07 am
Great stuff man. Baker needs to take this to heart and really push the guys. Love the respect he has earned in the locker room after the game. Good bounce back game for him. Much better play calling. Liam Coen needs to put that much time in every week and not play VANILLA offense a SINGLE GAME. DUH.
I was irritated at times with Mike Evans effort. I swear the guy has looked hurt at times and he certainly isn’t the beast he was at 25. After rewatching the game, Evans is simply taking care of his body. Man that 1,000 yd season is important to him and he know missed time from injury can sink his season. In that regard, Im not that irritated anymore.
I do have an interesting thought. If Mike has say 900 yds going into the last week of the year and we have already clinched a playoff spot and can’t gain a seed, does Mike play or sit out? How TOUGH would he play knowing an injury could sink the postseason? At what point in the season does Mike quit worrying about injury and plays beastly? That game is coming if he falls behind. Again he will risk it because it is IMPORTANT to him. How much more could we get out of Mike if he wasn’t concerned with the record? Just some food for thought.
As long as we are winning, I don’t really care.
September 30th, 2024 at 11:15 am
“Baker – Brady spat, which is fake news.”
Perhaps but the bad taste Brady has left in “some” fans mouths is not FAKE!
I agree that the “Baker-Brady” story might have been overblown but I’m a Baker fan and admire his honesty but sometimes honesty can get you in trouble. Not with me but look at the American public writ large. Half of us would just as soon support a total fraud as vote for the real deal.
The story is not Brady-Baker having a spat, I agree with that. The story is the way Brady’s career came to a close obviously left a rotten taste in the GOAT’s mouth and year 3 of his shenanigans has also left a rotten taste in the mouth of many Bucs fans, more than just me. His statement of always being a Patriot doesn’t anger me but it does mean he’s made a pretty clear statement of where his heart remains.
September 30th, 2024 at 11:16 am
I know exactly what Baker was talking about. The Bucs dropped 5 or 6 passes in the first half including an easy one in the end zone by the hyped up Kam Johnson who has frying pans for hands.
September 30th, 2024 at 11:18 am
Agreed Billy Bucco
Mike is in and out of the game way more than many other years. Love Mike but if you are taking snaps off you need to eliminate the drops
September 30th, 2024 at 11:18 am
Joe,
Not having multiple drops is how the Bucs offense could’ve been more efficient yesterday.
September 30th, 2024 at 11:20 am
Thurs night games have been a 50-50 affair for the Bucs since BA & Todd Bowles has been here JimBob (3 wins, 3 losses). We lost to the Bears, Bills & Ravens, but beat the Eagles, Cowboys & Panthers on Thurs nights during those 5 years.
Over the last 2 seasons under Todd Bowles we’re 0-2 on Thurs nights, but we were coming off a loss the previous Sunday’s game. Got a hunch that coming off a win will keep this teamn energized & give us a decent chance against the Falcons.
September 30th, 2024 at 11:39 am
GO BUCS!!
You have to remember Brady’s age when in Tampa. Probably some players thought they were playing with their fathers. Tom was so serious and committed. It wasn’t easy to have a bunch of fun, playing with him (which he admitted).
September 30th, 2024 at 11:53 am
BillyBucco … Interesting take on Mike Evans effort. Looked to me like Coen’s play selections had the Eagles (and our WRs & TEs) running all over the field. All of those guys must’ve been dragging at various times because it was ridiculously hot down on the field.
Coen definitely capitalized on the fact that the Bucs have excellent depth at WR, and did a very good job of substituting receivers during the game. Of the 77 offensive snaps logged, Otton played 95%, Godwin played 86%, Evans 77%, Shepard 65%, Cam Johnson 32% & Palmer 14%. Durham (19%) & Kieft (4%) even got in there.
As an aside, based on Rachaad getting 45 snaps, Bucky getting 32 snaps & Tucker getting 6 snaps, I’m guessing that the Bucs had TWO RBs on the field for 6 plays during the afternoon (83 total RB snaps against 77 offensive snaps in the game). Nice to see them experimenting.
September 30th, 2024 at 11:54 am
I say we are celebrating thanksgiving early and eating falcon on Thursday.
LFBake!!!!
September 30th, 2024 at 12:02 pm
Loved the “attack” mode the Bucs were in on both sides of the ball. Maybe BA had an early coffee with Todd. It pays to listen to a winning head coach. Instead of being afraid to pass because you’re afraid of your defense getting tired, score a lot of points. Keep it up.
September 30th, 2024 at 1:12 pm
I rewatched the game & counted 7 drops that Brady referred too.
September 30th, 2024 at 1:13 pm
Tom Brady was the best quarterback the Bucs have had to date. He did amazing things for the Buccaneers both on the field and off the field. His legacy is still benefiting the Bucs. I’m not surprised some of the younger players were stressed under his leadership. He was very serious about the game and would call out players when they were not doing their job. He called them out to inspire them to play better. Unfortunately some players reacted adversely to his inspirational efforts. But Tom’s right, it’s not really fun until you achieve the ultimate goal and win the Super Bowl
That being said I think Baker may be the best replacement for Tom Brady the Buccaneers could have found. He flashes like Brady, he adds another layer by being a run threat, is a great leader, and connects with the players in a way that inspires excellence.
Let’s beat them Falcons !! Go Bucs !! L G !!
September 30th, 2024 at 1:36 pm
DR, it’s not just hotter than you-know-where on the playing field, the humidity is brutally high. That combo can be a killer. If the Bucs were affected by it, the Eagles were levelled. Coen looks like he’s starting to get imaginative with the Offense. Raheem M. will have his work cut out for him Thursday Night. C’mon Bucs!!
September 30th, 2024 at 1:46 pm
Definitely a bunch of drops in this game, the score was closer than it should have been. I chalk some of that up to the heat. It was 110 on the field. That gets to you after a while. You think you’re focused, but it’s not quite what it should be.
And is fake news, there’s no Baker Brady feud. Baker was not wrong in what he said. Brady was not wrong in what he said.
I did not take Baker’s comment as completely directed at Brady. A lot happened that year to derail them and cause internal pressure.
September 30th, 2024 at 5:06 pm
David
A nice balanced post!
September 30th, 2024 at 6:31 pm
Evans needs the ultimate tattoo:
13 for 13
He’s plying 13 years and will have 13 1000+ seasons.
That tattoo won’t be compromised on Baker’s watch.
No way.
September 30th, 2024 at 6:33 pm
Sorry, better:
13 is playing 13 years and will achieve 13 1000+ yard seasons.
Bake’s on it.
September 30th, 2024 at 6:50 pm
Guys do realize it was 110 degrees out there. He was probably smoked running up n down that field. Crazy to even say he looked like he was protecting himself or in n out. Hell yea he was in n out late in that game O had a ton of snaps.
September 30th, 2024 at 8:30 pm
Considering the trash at RT, just getting the ball out and not getting sacked was the big thing. The script was fantastic, Coppertop gets all the credit – something he should have got all the blame for in week 2 and week 3 when he made zero adustments to Sucke blowing up the script.
That’s not taking away from Baker, he played great, but I wouldn’t be complaining about leaving too many points out there – except the dropped TD by Johnson, that is the stuff that should get him demoted to the PS, permanently, or at least until Shepard gets injured.