“He’s Got An Awesome Arm”
March 22nd, 2023
Bucs receiver Mike Evans.
When it comes to the Kyle Trask-Baker Mayfield competition, Joe leans toward Bucs power brokers wanting Mayfield to have the job and that the competition is “alleged” more than it is real.
Former Bucs quarterback Chris Simms didn’t go there, but he did say he has a very hard time believing Trask will be able to compete against Mayfield.
When it comes to the “day-to-day battle” on the practice field, Simms said on Pro Football Talk live, Trask can’t go toe-to-toe with Mayfield.
Simms characterized the Bucs’ signing of Mayfield at a bargain price as “the steal of the century,” and he dropped a bunch of other clichés tied to how the Bucs found the perfect fit for their post-Tom-Brady situation.
Simms added that Mayfield showed last season that he still has the tools of a standout quarteraback, including “an awesome arm.”
Mayfield may be nothing more than an average quarterback with an engaging persona, but he has proved that he can win over coaches. Trask is well-liked, but he probably needs to show coaches and teamamate a different side of himself — in addition to more precision in practice — to really compete with Mayfield.
March 22nd, 2023 at 12:32 pm
It’s all about the Trask Suppression Conspiracy. Now Chrissy Simms is a part of this shameful effort to rob Trask of his entitlement, SAD.
March 22nd, 2023 at 12:32 pm
Starters are always decided in March and by Chris Simms, so I don’t understand the need for training camp.
March 22nd, 2023 at 12:37 pm
Kyle Trash
March 22nd, 2023 at 12:42 pm
Baker will start…most can see that already….and yes it was a great steal of a deal. I remember saying 4-6 mill and look what happened. Its awesome!
We aint done yet.
Trade out of the first.
STeve Avila
Darnell Washington
Devon Achane
Mekhi Garner
Jake Moody
and heres a new one, TE Tucker Kraft in a late round
March 22nd, 2023 at 12:43 pm
the HC doesnt have time to waste and he knows it. His seat is so hot!!! The veteran will get the nod unless Trask just blows him away through offseason, camp, and preseason.
Todd knows if he has another losing season, it will be 6 out of 7 years with a losing record as a HC, with one Play-off game where he got seal clubbed after backing in….
Todd Bowles is a loser and so are we as long as he is the HC, period
March 22nd, 2023 at 12:45 pm
Voice of the Truth is the voice of the truth.
March 22nd, 2023 at 12:47 pm
If Trask really wants it he’ll need to go get it. If he clearly shines brighter in camp than Baker he’ll be hard to suppress.
Bowlzo needs to win and he needs to do it today, not tomorrow..
That said, I’d really love to see a rookie come in and wipe the floor with both of them.
March 22nd, 2023 at 12:48 pm
So Trask is another high draft pick that sucks…
Keep racking up the busts Licht!
Whatever Go Bucs!!!
March 22nd, 2023 at 12:54 pm
If Hooker is there in the second round that would be awesome!
March 22nd, 2023 at 12:55 pm
Had we signed Brissett, I would believe the Bucs staff sees potential in Trask and truly wants to evaluate his potential but by signing a guy like Mayfield, that makes me think they already know Trask is likely back up material at best. Coaches tend to know if they got a good young prospect simply from what they see behind the scenes and nobody has been raving anything about Trask other than he’s a hard worker. Certainly a needed trait but most pro QBs are diligent at their craft but when the bullets fly is when you see if they can execute. What little we’ve seen, hasn’t looked capable
March 22nd, 2023 at 12:55 pm
Goat farmer- your first comment- *slow clap.* Nicely done.
March 22nd, 2023 at 12:56 pm
Hooker will go before 19, trust me….QB is a hot commodity this draft.
March 22nd, 2023 at 12:57 pm
GF, insane isn’t it? Joe stop taking about this as a competition. That maybe the company line,. But we all know baker was signed to be the starter. I’m also incredibly sick of the lie that Brady held Trask back. One, Brady was never coming off the field. Two its not how the league works. Starting QBs don’t hand pick their backup. They had to rebuild trasks delivery. Maybe he’s made some progress, but the Mayfield signing tells me otherwise.
March 22nd, 2023 at 1:06 pm
Trask is entitled to NOTHING. Entitlement leads to complacency and a lack of drive. If Trask wants the throne, he needs to take it with force. No one is stopping him from taking the reins, organizing offseason workouts, showing production in practice and filling some of the Brady leadership void. Trask needs to get proactive on the leadership front, otherwise Baker is going to storm in and get the team rallying around him in no time. Once the team has rallied, it will be hard for the coaches to go another direction.
I seem to recall a young Russell Wilson beating out a Matt Flynn veteran FA acquisition in Seattle a while back. I’m sure Canales remembers that very well. Trask has a legit shot in my mind, but Joe’s practice notes lead me to believe he has a mountain to climb to do it.
March 22nd, 2023 at 1:16 pm
Redeemer and KC Buc – some day I need to buy you both a few beers.
But first we need to get to the bottom of this Trask Suppression Conspiracy and contain it before it robs Kyle of his entitled privilege to start because he piled up some nice college stats one year, throwing to wide open NFL caliber talent against bartenders and waitresses. The fact that he’s been evaluated every day for two years by people who make a very good living getting paid to do such evaluating, is irrelevant. The way it’s been conducted is unfair, and an obvious sham.
March 22nd, 2023 at 1:35 pm
lol GF, I saw the word entitlement and I went 0 to 60 in 3 seconds.
Also, I am really hopeful for some new “At Home with Baker Mayfield” ads with Baker on the pirate ship…the possibilities are endless!
March 22nd, 2023 at 1:36 pm
Baker is gonna win the job… wink wink. Trask has zero experience and didn’t even overtake Gabbert to keep the tablet warm for the GOAT. Having said that, unless Baker plays out of his mind and the Bucs are winning, they will both play. Imo
As far as draft goes LOAD UP – OT, OG/C, edge guys, LB… would love to see 4 to 5 linemen. Ideally, want the Bucs to trade back and get another 2nd or 3rd… we need more picks…. too many holes. I wouldn’t mind a Hooker either
March 22nd, 2023 at 1:38 pm
Oh look another post dumping on Trask. Joe hit his quota for the day\.
March 22nd, 2023 at 1:39 pm
Think about the commercials!
March 22nd, 2023 at 1:50 pm
Baker to the HofF yada yada yada he flamed out last year and came back and had one come from behind win, I hope I’m wrong but a tiger doesn’t change his stripes!
March 22nd, 2023 at 1:51 pm
He’s got an awesome arm, but short little legs.
March 22nd, 2023 at 2:01 pm
When Trask played against future UPS workers in the Miami preseason game last season, he was efficient when he had better players on the field, he was accurate and got the ball out on time. His mechanics, My Momma thought, were greatly improved, especially his takeaway and throw. Much more compact and his release was much quicker. His feet were much better but could see some breakdown at times and it’s mechanics it was still able to get the ball out quickly and under pressure.That said, how can he compete against Mayfield when he doesn’t have any experience working with the ones in the regular season? Has anybody given thought to how the Packers handled Aaron Rodgers when he sat behind Brett favre? Notice Aaron’s first year wasn’t flawless. He had to grow into it. After paying for NFL quarterback training for my son for 5 years prior to college, My Momma thinks the Trask should be given an opportunity at some point. Obviously we know our coach and GM are are on the hot seat if they don’t produce now. Signing Mayfield was a good and necessary signing. The Glazers are not going to have much patience based on past history with a coaching staff that fails to put a winner on the field for 2 years in a row. And
My Momma doesn’t count last year as satisfactory. Bowles is on the hot seat as he should be.
March 22nd, 2023 at 2:01 pm
Baker Mayfield = Bruce Gradkowski
March 22nd, 2023 at 2:16 pm
My Momma would add that Trask has shown he does stay focused even when a play breaks down. Something Mayfield has not mastered, and has made some really boneheaded plays. Of course at times maybe he and his receiver were not on the same page as is the case with any quarterback; Tommy Boy I used. But, maybe our shiny new OC can help him by keeping the ball out of his hands like Bowels likes to do. Be efficient and run the ball. Got to fix that o-line first!
March 22nd, 2023 at 2:18 pm
My Momma would add that Trask has shown he does stay focused even when a play breaks down. Something Mayfield has not mastered, and has made some really boneheaded plays. Of course at times maybe he and his receiver were not on the same page as is the case with any quarterback; Tommy Boy included. But, maybe our shiny new OC can help him by keeping the ball out of his hands like Bowels likes to do. Be efficient and run the ball. Got to fix that o-line first!
March 22nd, 2023 at 2:22 pm
For all the experts convinced that Mayfield has already won the FAIR COMPETITION, take a good look at Baker’s last season (2021) with Cleveland. It’s obvious that some of you ‘believe your eyes’ and that stats are meaningless, but did your eyes tell you this …
o 14 games (2021 season) … record 6-8 (not terrible IMO).
o 418 passes with 252 completed … 60.5% (not great, but not horrible either).
o 17 passing TDs in his 14 games … against 13 INTs (that’s a 1.31 TD/INT ratio). Over his career, Baker’s ratio is 1.59 TDs/INT. Brady’s ratio was 3.06 TDs/INT. Jameis’ ratio is 1.45 TDs/INT.
o 43 sacks in his 14 games … slightly over 3 sacks per game. Biggest question to ask IMO is WHY? Was it because of a terrible OLine (like we had last year according to Giselle at least), or because Baker is slow getting rid of the ball, or whatever?
It may well be that Bowles & Canales will ‘gift’ him the job because he makes $4 mil instead of $1.5 mil like Trask, but I still doubt it. In reality neither Bowles nor Canales know what Kyle Trask can do. Same of Baker Mayfield. But they both want to WIN; that’s the nature of the beast. Unlike Joe, I personally think that it will be a FAIR COMPETITION. Fair to the extent that BOTH will get to work with the 1’s to give the coaches a feel for how well they can manage the starting unit. How long it’ll take them to decide which one gets the starting nod is anybody’s guess.
March 22nd, 2023 at 2:46 pm
But I don’t understand is why are there so many bucs fans crying about Kyle Trask getting robbed of the starting job? I expected this fanbase to want to start the guy that gives us the best chance to win. This isn’t a popularity contest.
March 22nd, 2023 at 2:55 pm
GF, I’m a PBR man so it’d be a cheap date lol. This whole things is ridiculous. They’ve had plenty of time to evaluate Trask. I’ve heard everything from Trask didnt get enough snaps, to Brady wanted gabbert as his personal backup, to the Farve Rodgers comparison. All of these theories are as dumb as the other.
March 22nd, 2023 at 3:15 pm
As we all know, Chris Simms is right 100% of the time.
.
Oh wait, he isn’t. Baker Mayfield suck suckity suck sucks. And so does Kyle Trask.
March 22nd, 2023 at 3:15 pm
Baker can be a gunslinger, imho exactly the type of QB Mike Evans needs.
Mike Evans needs the type of QB who will throw him the ball, even if he is not wide open, because Mike Evans has proven he will come down with the ball.
March 22nd, 2023 at 3:29 pm
KiddG941 Says
“But I don’t understand is why are there so many bucs fans crying about Kyle Trask getting robbed of the starting job? I expected this fanbase to want to start the guy that gives us the best chance to win. This isn’t a popularity contest.”
You’re right, it’s not a popularity contest. If it were, everyone would back Mayfield.
This is about who is a proven bust. The facts say Mayfield. Anyone who says he’s not a bust is grasping at straws. He’s already proven it on the field.
Whereas, Trask has not been given a chance at all. Practice is entirely different from live games. A QB grows in games. He learns playbooks in practice.
The point though, is that Bowles is not willing to spend time to develop a QB. It’ll cost him his job in the long run, but he’ll hand the starting job to Mayfield.
Trask may or may not be any good. We don’t know. Ideally, have a real competition between him and a draft pick is the way to go…but bringing in Mayfield means there is no real competition.
Bowles has already made up his mind.
Even if Trask does better than Mayfield in camp…he won’t get the nod because Bowles knows he only has this year to find success.
The only chance we have is if Mayfield gets infured…in camp.
March 22nd, 2023 at 4:08 pm
Baker Mayfield will get Todd Bowles fired watch and see lol !! Baker Mayfield will start because he will be gifted the job because of the money and has more experience than Trask . And Trask will be another quarterback that played good in college that bucs couldn’t develop. And most of yall want to tank for Caleb Williams or Drake May. What gives you the indication that they will develop one of those quarterbacks next year lol 🤣🤣 ? Just like I said Tampa Bay has been where young quarterbacks careers come and die . But it’s always the young quarterbacks fault to this fan base on this site. Lol 🤣🤣
March 22nd, 2023 at 5:05 pm
Defense, I don’t doubt they’ll put on a dog and pony show. The real question is why did they sign baker to begin with. To me it’s fairly obvious. What did Bowles say? Trask needs competition. That’s a tell in my mind. They don’t think Trask can win the job outright. He may well win the job, but it’d take a colossal jump from Trask and a complete collapse from baker. Who the hell knows, if they draft a QB and it is a real competition, said qb could in theory win the job. But I’d bet my life That’s not what happening here.
March 22nd, 2023 at 5:17 pm
Anyone who has watched football knows that Baker Mayfield aint ‘it’… If Mayfield does get the starting gig week one it wont last long. Trask is the future and its not even close.
March 22nd, 2023 at 5:20 pm
It’s in the best interest of everyone at the Bucs table for Mayfield to have a resurgent type year. Why? Because chicks dig scars.
It’s in their best interest because a resurgent Mayfield is a potentially national story that will reflect positively on the organization as a whole and the Glazers bottom line, JL’s brilliant capacity to recognize the attributes required for that resurgence, Bowles’ will not only save his job but look to be the leader that had the cajones to hire an unknown coach for his new OC and Canales looks like a brilliant quarterback whisperer that not only brought back the likes of Geno Smith, but also recaptured the magic that Mayfield was thought to have. This isn’t a Tom Brady and the Bucs win a Superbowl caliber story, but it has the potential to be huge. You don’t get this level of potential with Trask. Simple to sell too
March 22nd, 2023 at 5:37 pm
Here you go Joe, congrats you found another negative garbage to report on Trask. You are making leaving on hating Trask before even he plays in any real game. So much talking about Baker’s arm vs. Trask noodle arm. Accuracy is the key not the arms. Again Baker stats were ranked at bottom 31st in ESPN qb stats in 2022 and prior to that. Stop bragging about Baker. He is just a loser wherever he goes.
March 22nd, 2023 at 5:38 pm
Simms knows a bit about bouncing around the league with moderate success – like Mayfield.
March 22nd, 2023 at 5:40 pm
If Trask deserved the job the Bucs wouldn’t have gone out and picked up a sure fire starter. All these ladies calling for Trask to be gifted the starting job over Mayfield are delusional.
March 22nd, 2023 at 6:31 pm
I must be missing this torrent of posts calling for Trask to be handed the job. I have seen a few and that’s it.
I do see a lot of people saying the coaches/GM suck but then valuing their perceived evaluation of Trask by the signing of Mayfield. Either the coaches suck or they don’t. If they truly suck should we put any value to their evaluations of Trask? The coaches responsible for developing Trask are all gone. Nobody really knows what the new offensive coordinator and QB coach thinks of Trask and there hasn’t really been an evaluation since there is no game tape and limited footage from practices.
Regarding Trask’s ability to supplant Gabbert, Clyde Christensen said they weren’t able to get him the reps to be prepared to go in games and so in his own words said it was never a real possibility (the reason they couldn’t get him the reps was because Brady took all the reps he wanted). Same guy also said that Trask is accurate, commands the huddle well, and doing great in his development. Additionally said that the plan was always to have Trask sit back and learn while Brady was here.
The reality is the Bucs were always going to sign a vet and draft another QB. Unfortunately, Bowles because of his nature and position was always going to start the vet unless the rookie or Trask just blow away the vet.
The one thing as Bucs fans we should all be hoping for is that whoever is the QB is good enough to help the team win games.
March 22nd, 2023 at 6:34 pm
People raving about Baker and trashing Trask are out of their minds. If Baker was a sure fire starter he wouldn’t have been a free agent and signed for $4 million plus incentives. Was anyone else even interested in signing him?
March 22nd, 2023 at 6:35 pm
And we wasted a second round pick on Trask because?
March 22nd, 2023 at 7:15 pm
Redeemer … ‘The real question is why did they sign baker to begin with.’
That’s the simplest question to answer of all Redeemer. We had only ONE QB on our roster when Mayfield was signed. Thus we needed to add at least one, and most likely two to our roster. Unfortunately we don’t have any money to afford someone better than Mayfield ($4 mil plus incentives is chump change for experienced QBs).
Mayfield signed on here for 1 reason & 1 reason only: it gives him the best opportunity to regain a starter’s role. His ego says ‘I was drafted #1 so I DESERVE to be a starting QB’. He obviously believes in himself & in his ability. Kudos for him; I wouldn’t have wanted any QB who didn’t believe he was starter material.
That in & of itself however doesn’t mean that Kyle Trask will ‘go quietly in the night’. He’s not gonna roll over & play dead, because this is HIS opportunity to grab the starter’s role also.
That’s why I believe a FAIR COMPETITION is so important; our future could very well hang in the balance. Assuming that Mayfield wins the starter’s job & has a great year (and I wouldn’t mind that 1 bit BTW), you know as well as I do that he’ll be asking for a king’s ransom next year. And who could blame him? Somebody will pay it. If Trask wins the starter’s job, we’ll at least have him for 1 more year before we have to pony up for more money. And as a hedge, I’d be drafting yet another QB next year.
March 22nd, 2023 at 7:19 pm
ABucAway lol what a fairy tale
March 22nd, 2023 at 7:24 pm
Verily, I say, we need a FAIR COMPETITION. Because, as the capital letters obviously illustrate, it’s been very unfair so far.
March 22nd, 2023 at 7:27 pm
I like Trask and hope he gets a lot of reps in the preseason but last year he was a 3rd stringer and he’s supposed to start this year. Don’t think so. Giselle was right, the Oline was not good last year.
March 22nd, 2023 at 7:39 pm
Yep. Trask is supposed to start this year.
Because……………………????????????
March 22nd, 2023 at 7:48 pm
@ Just Leave Trask Alone
It would certainly be a Grimm fairy tale for you. To me it just is. The stock of everyone at the table goes up with a resurgent Mayfield. The only negative may be Jason Lichts ego getting bruised because his rnd 2 pick would be a clipboard holder but that can candied over because Trask was also an Arians pick and Arians also picks Ol Lefty to be a head coach and we know how wrong he is there also.
Your boy Trask is an Arians holdover on the cheap and him at qb1 doesn’t offer the upside that Mayfield does. It may not happen that way but it’s what is hoped for. How much more quickly does Canales get his name in the hat for a HC’ing position if he is the coach that gave Geno Smith a new lease on football life and was the OC for a resurgent year from Mayfield. I’m not sure I’d look at it from any other way.
Not saying it’ll happen but they are setting the stage and putting things in place as best as possible to give it the best chance of happening..
March 22nd, 2023 at 8:08 pm
I BELIEVE BAKER WILL ULTIMATELY WIN THE STARTING JOB..BUT, I’D LIKE TO SEE US STEAL DEANDRE HOPKINS FROM THE K.C.CHIEFS & AUSTIN ECKLER FROM THE L.A.CHARGERS , GIVING UP THE 19TH 1ST ROUND PICK FOR ECKLER..I HAVE CONFIDENCE WE WILL FIND QUALITY LINEMAN (OFFENSE & DEFENSE) TO UPGRADE OUR LINE TO PROTECT OUR QUARTERBACK &RUSH THE PASSER..( IN THIS LEAGUE YOU CAN NEVER GET ENOUGH PLAYMAKERS ON YOUR OFFENSE, BUT TOP SAFETIES & CORNERS ARE A NEED THAT MUST BE FILLED ( I WAS SURPRISED WE DIDN’T GO AFTER C.J.GARDNER-JOHNSON AT SAFETY)
March 22nd, 2023 at 8:14 pm
Pssst, hey Joe’s intern. Let loose and submit my comment already.
March 22nd, 2023 at 8:17 pm
Come on Joe’s intern. Let loose your goose neck and submit comment.
March 22nd, 2023 at 8:29 pm
So, he’s got an arm. Well, I’ve got a penis. Doesn’t mean that he can throw nor does it mean I can make babies. My daddy used to tell me that the proof is in the pudding . I like tapioca. I’ll be eating a lot of itll
March 22nd, 2023 at 8:31 pm
…if he proves his worth
March 22nd, 2023 at 8:46 pm
Wow a lot of fun comments. First thing Bowles will get Bowles “fired”. Doesn’t matter who is under center. As far as taking Trask in the second round, so what, we had a need for a developmental QB and took a flier. The jury is still out. Look at the DOZENS of QBs taken in the “top 10 or 15” picks that are complete busts. QBs are hard to evaluate. It’s a complete crap chute and Trask deserves a LEGITIMATE chance to compete. He hasn’t gotten that yet. He might as well be a rookie. It’s a shame he had Leftwich to learn under. Bucs are definately not known for developing QBs. So okay fine Mayfield is QB1 on the depth chart, OBVIOUS reasons why but it’s time to actually see what Trask can do and hey if the kid shocks the world, great!
March 22nd, 2023 at 8:55 pm
I believe that Baker will have a successful year IF they have an O Line TB12 didn’t have last year. If you can’t block the run AND pass game, you’re done. Brady got them a division title under duress. Baker won’t. Few could. Go Bucs!!
March 22nd, 2023 at 9:48 pm
Ugh!!!!
Tom Brady, PLEASE COME BACK!!!
Go Bucs!
March 22nd, 2023 at 10:56 pm
I would take the qb at UCLA if he is there in the 2nd round .
March 23rd, 2023 at 12:39 am
With all the running backs available on the market, I sometimes wonder if we should just forgo the QB and run the wishbone.
March 23rd, 2023 at 3:03 am
Amazing all this anti Trask stuff by Locked on Bucs and here. Seems people are so afraid Trask might be good they wanted him traded before he gets a shot. Analysts go on every year about QBs draft rankings based on 40.speed, arm strength, etc. Therefore Vince Young, Vick, Trey Lance, Wilson were all 1st round sure bets whose teams gave up boatloads of draft picks for. Unfortunately poor young Trask is simply a big tall QB who is an accurate, quick processor and excellent decision maker who drove an average team to top 10 in the nation’s most difficult college division. Instead Bucs fans are betting on a small, quick, slow processor and poor decision maker as the new QB, Mayfield. I predict, while Mayfield maybe the starter after preseason because of Bowles respect of experience, by mid-season he will be benched and Trask will become the leader..just as he did after taking over from speedy strong armed Frank’s in mid-season at Florida and by next season drove the offensive to historic records while speedy, inaccurate strong armed Richardon sat on the bench in awe.
March 23rd, 2023 at 7:35 am
Without a vastly improved Oline , NONE of this MATTERS. Good Football teams are created with competence at the point of attack.
Likely that the players will decide the QB as much or more than the coaches. Players talk amongst each other and to their position coaches and that all gets back to the HC. Players play harder for a QB that takes shots to deliver a long strike and that sticks his head in there for the 1st down marker. Trask has the arm and the smarts and will demonstrate he is tougher and wants it more than Mayfield during camp and preseason. Just watch the effort level of the Oline and running game when Trask is QB1 and Mayfield is QB1 and that will tell you what you need to know as far as who will be the starter.
Mayfield has a career passer rating that is LOWER than Jameis.
March 23rd, 2023 at 2:21 pm
I remember the goat was evaluated during preseason and that coach kept him the bench until the starter was injured. That coach was considered to be very good after the goat started and until the goat left. Losing record before and since. I don’t think rookies/unproven players get a fair shake because coaches feel safer with a veteran. Especially at Qb
March 23rd, 2023 at 2:59 pm
Mayfield went to the Rams to finish off the season for a 5 and 12 team. How good do you really need to be to do that? He looked good compared to Stafford because he was already stinking up the joint.
A 30 yard pass is the same whether it’s all downfield or a quick crossing route with 20YAC. Jimmy G has made a great living for not being able to deliver the ball deep. Arm strength is no advantage if you can’t get rid of it.
Mayfield may have more experience and ability to evade the rush but he lacks throwing lanes early in the Play. Throws a lot of Rainbows and thus has a TD/INT Ratio close to J. Winston’s. Mayfield brings to mind guys like Tua and Kyler Murray and will always struggle.
Trask has been compared to Brady since he came into the league. He will look much better when being compared to Mayfield.
Man the Best Man Win.
March 23rd, 2023 at 3:37 pm
I am terrified that Baker is going to turn it over like Jameis.