NFL.com Not Impressed With Bucs’ Candidates Behind Center
May 21st, 2023
NFL.com not convinced.
The majority opinion at NFL.com is not believing in the Bucs.
Last week NFL.com selected seven reporters/analysts/on-air personalities to pick a defending division champion that is least likely to repeat as their division’s king of the hill.
Three of the seven believe the NFC South will have a new champ. Only one other division champ had multiple votes, and that’s two for Buffalo.
So why do three of these folks not have any faith in the Bucs this year? Yes, there is a common theme between and you can pretty much guess what that is.
Tom Brady is out. Kyler Traskfield is in.
Judy Battista, friend of Ira Kaufman, typed, “The Bucs barely won the NFC South at 8-9 last season, just one game better than the rest of the division, and the biggest reason for their success — Tom Brady — is now retired. Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask will compete to replace the G.O.A.T. (good luck).”
Long-time NFL columnist Jeffri Chadiha added, “The Buccaneers’ first problem is at quarterback.’
Typed analyst Eric Edholm of Brady, “They frankly weren’t that good with him last season.”
As Joe has said, nationally, it’s hard to find anyone who thinks Traskfield can lead the Bucs to the playoffs. Not even in the lousy NFC South.
Whatever method the Bucs are using to sell football fans on Traskfield, it’s not resonating nationally. At all.
May 21st, 2023 at 8:03 am
because you dont get better when you lose the GOAT
May 21st, 2023 at 8:12 am
They could just as easily go 11-6 as 6-11, just no way to predict it at this point
May 21st, 2023 at 8:15 am
The major factor for all this IS because Tom Brady is no longer here. I don’t think it mattered who replaced him (except maybe Aaron Rodgers) that they would be down on the Bucs defending the South crown. Even had we gotten Derrick Carr or drafted Levis or Hooker would it have mattered. This is a rebuild, not a retool when you lose historically the best QB this decade.
May 21st, 2023 at 8:18 am
That’s why I think sink or swim the Buc’s should have given the start to Trask. That was the plan when he was drafted in the first place.
May 21st, 2023 at 8:31 am
Look at the problem and come up with the best viable solution. Because of selling out to win the Super Bowl this was the best solution. To hear fans and so called experts complaining about it makes little sense.
May 21st, 2023 at 8:32 am
We weren’t that good with Brady…..so it seems logical folks will assume that Mayfield or Trask won’t get the job done…..
But, you have to play games to find out…..all this early speculation is meaningless.
May 21st, 2023 at 8:34 am
All the teams in the NFC South are in rebuild mode. The Bucs are the last team to start. We got old and slow really fast. It’s gonna take a few years for teams to gel. We’ve got some talent, but it all starts in the trenches. The Oline has to come first and takes more time, D line next. We still have a shot at the division because every team is in a similar situation. The Saints have the best QB, not sure about their lines both sides of the ball. Seems pretty wide open.
May 21st, 2023 at 8:36 am
Spending less than $10M for TWO starting QB candidates makes it hard for anyone to believe your team will be a contender – since everyone believes the NFL is a QB driven league.
Mayfield’s career has more downs than ups. And Trask has been invisible since he was drafted. So I get it….
Yet I still see a better Bucs team heading into the 2023 season than the 2022 version that squeeked into the playoffs only to get routed and ousted by the Cowgirls just 4 months ago.
Special Teams will be better…. Defense will be better…. and I can pretty much guarantee the Offense will score more than 18 ppg……
May 21st, 2023 at 8:41 am
You make no sense, Joe. If “three of the seven believe the NFC South will have a new champion this fall”, that means 4 of the 7 – a majority – believe the NFC South will have the same champion, the Bucs.
May 21st, 2023 at 8:43 am
Quarterbacks are not the whole team as way too many media types and fans believe. A great quarterback can only do so much with a bad offensive line, as the Bucs clearly suffered from last season. Just look at all the no. 1 overall pick quarterbacks who struggle mightily in their first couple of years in the NFL. Obviously it’s because they arrived on the roster of very bad teams, the worst in the league. It’s only when they get surrounded by quality talent, both in the offensive line and the skill positions, that they can begin to get to the level of their natural talent.
Tom Brady, a 6th round pick, arrived on the roster of a team that was built to win a Super Bowl, with a quality defensive head coach and a quality offensive coordinator, and he and they did. Not because of heroics by Tom Brady, whose stats would be considered mediocre, but because he landed on a good well coached team ready to make its way. The first half of that season – 2001 – the Pats had lost 4 of their first 7 games, but only lost one more game the rest of the season on their way to a Super Bowl win.
It is entirely plausible that the rebuilt Bucs this season will start out slow, and then build a head of steam. Maybe not a Super Bowl championship, but easily plausible as repeat NFC South champion and a trip to the playoffs.
May 21st, 2023 at 9:02 am
^ Great points, Duane.
May 21st, 2023 at 9:10 am
Count me as a believer in this team – am I’m not just being a homer. New OC who seems to have a plan, revamped OL with some depth and a few new pieces on the D. I ain’t skeered.!
May 21st, 2023 at 9:14 am
We’ll know by the play on the field, so until then everything is speculation.
May 21st, 2023 at 9:23 am
Hang this stuff from the rafters so every player sees it every day. Their reaction to it will show us their character.
May 21st, 2023 at 9:24 am
Brady was a bigger part of the problem last year, than he was of the solution. Greatest of all time in 2020? Absolutely. Greatest of all time in 2022? Nope, not even close, and you can’t even blame it entirely on the team around him. He wasn’t focused. He skipped out on preparation for the season for the first and only time in his career. He retired and then he didn’t. There was the rumor that he wanted to play for Miami. He was distracted, and he simply wasn’t as committed as he was when he arrived.
I believe we will have a better “team” in 2023 than we did in 2022, no matter who plays QB. The Bucs were one dimensional with Brady and Leftwich, and malfunctioning. Defend the pass and the Bucs can’t score. We couldn’t score and we were never any threat to run the ball past first down. I believe in our new OC, and the OL has to be better. I love most of our draft, and I don’t see any team in our division being significantly better. We should win the division again, and likely an early out in the playoffs. I see Trask as a long term solution, and Mayfield as a short term fix.
May 21st, 2023 at 9:41 am
Trask has to be better than Desmond Ridder or Sam Howell in my opinion
May 21st, 2023 at 9:50 am
In the past 47 years, except in the Brady era, the media has never given the Bucs many good reviews. We’re definitely not Houston, Carolina, or Chicago at this point so as long as the locker room can stay positive, and maybe give a beat down to the horse whisperer, we have just as much chance as the rest. We’ve seen what a few key injuries, and idiot coaches, can do to ruin a season. This may be a big surprise for all of us!
May 21st, 2023 at 9:50 am
Brady out, Traskfield in, HC/DC still here.
May 21st, 2023 at 10:07 am
The NFL talking heads have made a ton of predictions over the years, many of which are totally wrong. The good news is that we are in a bad division, so anything can happen. I think a lot has to do with offensive game planning and things Canales can do to help the QB’s and not ask them to do things they can’t.
I think the defense may actually be better this year.
May 21st, 2023 at 10:08 am
The problem with the Bucs’ offense last year was their offensive line combined with the immobility of Brady and his lack of will to take a hit.
Brady was panicked and just chucking it. He decided who he was going to throw the ball to before the ball was snapped, not even trying to go through his progressions. Many times, he had more time than he thought and had a wide open receiver downfield but didn’t even look for him because he was too afraid of taking a hit.
While Traskfield doesn’t have the elite mobility of some NFL’ QBs, the QB position will certainly be far more mobile than it has been in the past few years. That, and a new OC that believes in a moving pocket will give the QB more time to find the actual open receiver.
In other words, I truly believe the Bucs offense will put up more points than they did last year (4-7 per game). The question is, how many more points will the defense give up than they have in the past?
May 21st, 2023 at 10:33 am
Brady was not panicking because the OL that allowed the fewest hits, pressures and sacks of Brady’s career.
NO, Brady was panicking because FTX was getting exposed, his attempt to tamper/play with the Dolphins was exposed, his wife found a younger more pliable man, he almost missed the wedding of his old boss, he did prepare to play a position that could leave him crippled. I think that about sums it up for why Brady legit sucked out loud last year.
OH, and is OC was tugging hard on his coat tails to trying to use him to land his next job. Where is the Byron of Moronsville these days?
Trask is ready, just waiting his turn like he always has. This will easily be a better season without the 2023 Tom Brady and his Leftnut problem.
May 21st, 2023 at 10:43 am
Were these people in Mayfield’s corner when he won the Heisman? When he was drafted No. 1? When he ended the 19 game losing streak? When he set a rookie record for passing TDs?
This guy is good. He can pass the ball. He can lead. He is dynamic. Charismatic.
Give him WRs, blocking and coaching stability. Then let’s see.
May 21st, 2023 at 10:50 am
Leave it to Hc Grover to spew his crap every article .Nothing of value always a troll
May 21st, 2023 at 11:02 am
Mike Florio is like the only one saying Baker could have a good year and lead the Bucs to the playoffs
May 21st, 2023 at 11:10 am
Fun fact. Trask put up identical numbers to Baker in his Heisman year. With arguably less talent and against better talent.
So that point is a wash.
Breaking a 19 game losing streak. INEVITABLE.
Going to the Playoffs. OK, but was he part of winning the Super Bowl with the GOAT?
Can’t ask for stability from others when you’re the one causing it too not be stable.
I like Baker ALOT, as Kyle’s backup in the event Kyle sucks or gets injured.
May 21st, 2023 at 11:16 am
Put me in the camp that says Brady was spooked by our OL sieve and did not play up to his standard last year. That combined with a total lack of a running attack caused last year’s fiasco. That being a complete farce even being in the playoffs. I think with a little luck Mayfield may perform enough to get us close again to the playoffs. There we will get beat into the ground – -again.
May 21st, 2023 at 11:28 am
tommy b……….they’re keepin’ the light on for ya…
(and it’s one of those little green banker desk lamps)
May 21st, 2023 at 11:36 am
If we can get to the start of the regular season with our O-Line starters (all our starters, actually) healthy, we will have a shot at 9+ wins. Our O-Line was obviously a glaring weakness last year!!
May 21st, 2023 at 11:38 am
One more point as to why Trask is such an interesting QB option for us. Outside of the RUSHING numbers. You can’t find a Heisman winning QB that put up the numbers that Kyle did. WITH LESS TALENT and AGAINST BETTER TALENT. Close to or about the same is what you will find.
Again, rushing aside, although I know it is all the rage.
SERIOUS QUESTION HERE. Had Kyle won the Heisman vs the RB who won it. How good would everyone feel about knowing we have a Heisman Winning QB who sat behind the GOAT and a form #1 overall QB for two years? Who we even want a competition or would we just want another veteran QB/former #1 overall Heisman winner to back him up. Just incases Kyle actually sucks?
Be honest BUCS FANS. Super Bowl 2023 here we come. 🙂
May 21st, 2023 at 11:41 am
Spell check is kicking my ass this morning. But you get the point. Would you even want competition for Kyle? If so, who better to bring it than someone like Baker.
Kudos to the Bucs, the more I think about it. The better I feel about our QB situation.
May 21st, 2023 at 11:41 am
You cannot blame anybody for not having confidence in the Bucs. I mean Baker has been on 3 different teams in the NFl and ahhh, lets just say he is still movin around tryin to fir in somewhere at a teams expense. And this yr it will be the Bucs. I got 0 confidence in our QB situation. So I’m gonna kick back and watch this thing take shape or not.
May 21st, 2023 at 11:49 am
I believe that Licht hit a home run in this past draft plus he signed some undrafted free agents that look promising as well.
That said, some of these guys aren’t going to really show their potential for a year or two and need to be developed. I have no idea what the record will be this year and neither do the writers at NFL.com. But I know we’re not going to win another Super Bowl THIS year, at least not without divine intervention.
Licht couldn’t fix the team in one year given the salary cap situation. He’s learned a lot over the years and he is building a team that can go deep into the playoffs. But the reality is that can take 2 or 3 years for some players to reach their potential. Not many college players are going to come in and play at a pro bowl level. It happens but its not common.
May 21st, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Low hanging fruit for the pundits, an a bit lazy. Lets see them speculate on coaches on the hot seat, and get some real skin in the game. If this is supposed to be a strong defensive team with a running game, and you spent backup money for a guy competing to start, he shouldnt be the player that makes or breaks your entire season, right?
May 21st, 2023 at 12:15 pm
Do I care what the national NFL yappers and opinionators think about our QB situation? No, no I do not. I also would prefer actual worthwhile content on JBF over the regurgitation of other people’s opinions in the national media.
May 21st, 2023 at 12:38 pm
Cause it’s a clown car with a clown driving
We suck
May 21st, 2023 at 12:49 pm
I believe Baker Mayfield will be better than quite a few starting QBs in 2023. If he can stay healthy and regain the form he showed in 2019/2020 when he threw 26 TDs and 8 INTs.
– Chicago
– Carolina
– Detroit
– Indy
– Green Bay
– Houston
– New Orleans
– New England
– Pitt
– Atlanta
– San Fran
– Nashville
– Seattle
– Cleveland
– NY Giants
– Las Vegas
– Miami
– Washington
That is 18 teams who have mediocre to below mediocre or rookie QBs in 2023.
Do people really believe that B. Young, A. Richardson or CJ Stroud are going to be any good in their first seasons?
I don’t…
May 21st, 2023 at 1:05 pm
If you didn’t watch the games last year it makes sense.
It’s great to have Pickgrin back committing. He’s always making excellent points.
May 21st, 2023 at 1:12 pm
Canales just needs to design plays that move the stakes and take advantage of match ups. We can’t always be stuck in a 3rd and 9 situation like last year. I think if the Online can run block and we can get even a mediocre running game, then Traskfield can be successful, especially if there are plays that move the pocket. Maybe our QB situation is not as dire as the talking heads think it is, after all Brady didn’t do very well last year.
May 21st, 2023 at 1:37 pm
I don’t care who’s sold on the Bucs or not. This years’ Bucs will be improved. Sans Brady will be a plus.
May 21st, 2023 at 1:43 pm
Yeah, the expert talking heads have all the answers. Geno Smith was washed up. Jalen Hurts never was. It’s all BS until the games are played
May 21st, 2023 at 2:24 pm
the Bucs have potentially a superior offensive line this year….assuming they stay healthy. Their ability to gel as a team could enable either QB opportunity to deliver scores and if the D performs….deliver Wins……. If they fail it will be considered the fruits of a rebuilding year….but I have a feel I ng of optimism for some interesting football this year
May 21st, 2023 at 2:41 pm
Actually Joe, 4 of them believed the Bucs would repeat as division champions. Isn’t that the majority?
May 21st, 2023 at 2:49 pm
Both Baker and Kyle have experience with some success at QB… and could step up. I think Canales with no OC experience is a bigger question. That said, I hope all three surprise and shock the talking heads and we fans.
May 21st, 2023 at 2:56 pm
Agree with BBQBUC. Your logic is corrupt Joe! At least as you presented it, it appears that 4 of the 7, a majority, think the Bucs will repeat as Div champs,
May 21st, 2023 at 3:02 pm
I think this QB thing is over-blown. How much worse can Mayfield or Trask be, than Brady was last year?
Anyone who thinks Brady wasn’t bad last year, is not being honest, imo
Brady was done, physically. His decline started the year before. Missing passes high, low, and wide. Very uncharacteristic of brady. I was surprised he came back, last year.
May 21st, 2023 at 3:09 pm
NFL.com was also not impressed with Jalen Hurts.
May 21st, 2023 at 3:24 pm
Mayfield has LITERALLY been the worst QB in the NFL over the last 2 seasons. Literally. He’s not good. Go watch his ‘highlights’ over the last 2 years, then tell me if this season doesn’t end with Josh Johnson starting at least one game for the Bucs.
This will be a disaster, and if you honestly don’t believe that, it’s because you’re ignorant, or just a blind optimist – and if that’s you, I really hope you’re right since this season is going to be very dull, and very frustrating if it goes as I expect, since the Bucs won’t be bad enough to get a top QB in the draft next year.
I really don’t get how people can be offended or upset at the national media not liking the Bucs QB options. One guy has been the worst in the league, and the other guy was a 4th string QB, behind Griffin his rookie year, and then just a 3rd stringer last year. There’s no reason, zero, for optimism. None. This will be a disaster.
May 21st, 2023 at 3:26 pm
BBQBUQ Says:
May 21st, 2023 at 3:09 pm
NFL.com was also not impressed with Jalen Hurts.
————
After the Bucs destroyed Hurts and the Eagles in the playoffs, I listened, with glee, to Philly sports talk and those idiots were talking about how they needed to cut their losses on Hurts, he stinks, he’s awful, they’ll never win with him. It was quite fun.
May 21st, 2023 at 3:34 pm
Mayfield is no Joe Montana, that’s a fact. But he doesn’t have a weenie arm, yet.
Trask has yet to see daylight, on an NFL football field.
Both, can still move faster than room temperature molasses, so that is a plus.
May 21st, 2023 at 4:22 pm
Really boys how many different angles you going to try this story line this season? No one gives a rats a what NFL. com or any other media source writes about this team. Mayfield and Trask are it you can’t change it. Better to get behind them and support our team than worry what outsiders say.
May 21st, 2023 at 4:33 pm
NFL.com is impressed only with quarterbacks who advance the narrative.
May 21st, 2023 at 9:26 pm
Of course they’re not winning the division. They are reloading and getting their quarterback next year. Why that is an obvious to everyone I don’t know.
Their whole defensive line is a question other than VEA.
Offensive line is a question other than Jensen and WIRFS.
Wide receiver depth is a complete question after the top three.
Running back is a complete question.
Quarterback just went from the greatest ever to a complete question. Linebackers are really thin.
DBs are good but they have no idea on depth
May 21st, 2023 at 9:27 pm
Holy Ffff
why am I getting moderated for what I am saying? It’s ridiculous.
May 21st, 2023 at 10:38 pm
It really seems like many sportswriters & others have always had a bug up their @$$ with the teams in the area like FOREVER. Why because the area has pretty much dealt with losing a bunch?
May 21st, 2023 at 11:00 pm
This is just silly season. No one knows what’s going to happen. If they did, we wouldn’t have so many surprises every season.
May 22nd, 2023 at 8:58 am
Ok guys here’s what we do… we get a bunch of noname folks to write abunch of no brainer nonsense about the Bucs. But make sure they don’t do any research on them before they write it. They just regurgitate what others have writen in a creative way. Got it?
May 22nd, 2023 at 9:39 am
and the biggest reason for their (LACK OF) success — Tom Brady — is now retired. Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask will compete to replace the G.O.A.T. (good luck).
——-
I fixed the quote. The offense was AWFUL last season and to absolve Brady of blame is utterly stupid. Brady got 100% of the credit the previous two seasons when he came aboard to captain an offense that was already one of the better ones in the league (under TOM (turnover machine) Winston). Then last season, after our Head Coach retired, last season, far more than other seasons, we ran Brady’s dink and dunk, smoke screen offense, rarely throwing the ball more than a few yards down the field… and Brady somehow isn’t at fault? Ridiculous. The dude was awful last season and it was obvious from the beginning that Gisele took his balls in the divorce. How else do you explain that Brady’s sack percentage led the league for the 2nd year in a row (only two times of his career) and his 2.9% sack percentage was the 2nd best in his 20+ year career? The dude was petrified of getting hit. His constant one step and throw and checkdowns were by his own design. Him moving on (from the league’s most ineffective offense) can only be seen as a positive. We won EIGHT games last season with the worst offense in the NFL… that’s impressive. If our offense is even average, we will win 10+ games. The D will be better, the offense can’t help but to improve.