Three Of Six Colts Sacks On Baker Mayfield
November 29th, 2023
Coach Bowles points a finger.
On Sunday, without the benefit of film study, Joe wrote about Baker Mayfield’s bad day against the Colts with one lowlight being eating three sacks he didn’t have to take.
Today, head coach Todd Bowles was asked if Mayfield held the ball too long on some of the six sacks the Colts had Sunday.
Bowles acknowledged Mayfield could have done more to get rid of the ball and avoid takedowns.
“There’s about three of them where we could have gotten rid of the ball where we had it protected pretty good,” Bowles said of the Colts’ six sacks. “And the other three I thought they beat us on pretty good. There was nowhere to throw, but you can get out of the pocket and try to do that.”
Joe loves Mayfield’s scrambles, but Joe would be quick to applaud giving up on plays, too, when that’s the wise move in the situation.
Mayfield holding the ball too long has hurt the Bucs in two consecutive games. Joe’s eager to see if Mayfield corrects that problem on Sunday.
November 29th, 2023 at 12:23 pm
Maybe so but at least he’s trying to make something happen. Unlike some others on the team.
November 29th, 2023 at 12:27 pm
Yeah, Baker could have played a bit better. So could everybody else. Ya know what? Bowlzo could a coached better too. Funny. No mention of that.
November 29th, 2023 at 12:38 pm
Just play Trask..season is over
November 29th, 2023 at 12:44 pm
Baker is not bad, even more I think he is slightly better than average, but for sure he is not the answer……
Great Backup! Even more, I would draft one, and keep Baker in case nobody gives him a big contract..
November 29th, 2023 at 12:59 pm
Hero ball time for Baker. I appreciated his play as a game manager. Bowles isnt the only guy playing for a future though. I can see a huge disconnect coming. Baker can wake up feeling dangerous and burn the whole locker room down. I dont think the captains on this team will openly rebel against Bowles, but I am certain they are going to tell Team Glazer it isnt working out.
November 29th, 2023 at 1:03 pm
Start Trask! Guarantee he would have played better than Baker this year.
November 29th, 2023 at 1:05 pm
zzbuc
I do not necessarily disagree with your post but if we added a little nuance I’m wondering where you would end up.
Mayfield has already gotten a crappy Browns team to the playoffs and beyond the first round.
So if you mean Baker is not Patrick Mahomes, Burrows or another elite QB who can pack a team on his back and carry them I agree. However when you look at Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson and some other SB winning QB’s they needed a great team to get to the SB. Baker needs a great Defense to win consistently.
He can’t single handedly carry a team on his back but he clearly can do his part.
IF the Bucs defense had played 75% as well as they did in the SB year Baker would be 7-4 right now!
So I respect your belief he’s not the answer but the solution IMHO is not simply dumping him. Get the right coach and let him begin to build a great team around Baker or Trask. Once the team proves you can reach the playoffs then you look for the answer.
See John Lynch at SF. He built a great SB ready roster before getting his QB. And then he made a HUGE mistake trading 3 first round picks for Trey Lance and getting only a 4th rounder out of it. Luckily the last guy in the draft saved his bacon.
IMHO a good if not great QB like Brad or Trent can’t win with the right team but a GREAT QB like Dan Marino struggles if the team is not great.
The NFL is littered with failed first round QB picks because they generally go to horrible teams that have high draft spots BECAUSE they suck.
November 29th, 2023 at 1:08 pm
SINCE WE’RE TALKING QBs …
I saw a mock today. Bucs took Huskies WR Odunze and QB Penix. That’d be amazing. We have Vea, Gaines, and JTS on defense. The Tampa Huskies.
November 29th, 2023 at 1:12 pm
Baker = Deberg
Very, very ugly 1st qtr pick puts us in a hole out the gate
He plays much better for 2.5 quarters
He doesn’t scramble and takes a sack on the last chance play, the third time of the day he did that same thing
Baker is just good enough to get you beat more often than not
November 29th, 2023 at 1:13 pm
cannot agree with you more-build the team around Mayfield. This team looks so much like last years and if you watch Brady with the oline he sucked no time to throw the ball. One positive is the run game we should have used it alot more last game but we did not-last thing are the recievers playing up to there potenial as it should be throw it to whos open instead of we have to get it to Godwin or Evans.
November 29th, 2023 at 1:23 pm
Bucs have won 4 games by a 42 point differential … about 10.5 PPG average. We’ve lost 7 games by a total of 59 points differential … about 8.5 PPG average. We’re not blowing teams away when we win, nor are we getting blown out when we lose.
Of our 7 losses, 2 were on coaching IMO (Falcons & Texans). Both of those games were very winnable. A 3rd loss (Colts) could’ve been a win if a few plays had swung our way (we still got whooped in the stats, but we MIGHT HAVE pulled out a win with a little ‘luck’). The other 4 losses were beatdowns … those 4 opponents averaged a 34.33 TOP to our 25.67 TOP (almost 9 minutes advantage per game). Hard to win games like that.
Fact is that this is not a truly competitive team. It’s a middle-of-the-pack team, at best. Too many inexperienced youngsters; too little depth; to many new moving parts that aren’t effectively gelling. All coached by a staff that’s probably grown very accustomed to working with quality veterans rather than rookies. Nothing about this year spells ‘This train is bound for glory’.
November 29th, 2023 at 1:24 pm
Once again, if Trask were the guy, Baker would not have beaten him out in the offseason. Kyle Trask is not the best kept secret in the NFL. He isnt even Mike Glennon 2.0. At least Glennon had a coach that believed in him.
November 29th, 2023 at 1:27 pm
The “Baker Mayfield Devotees” still trying to convince everyone, how good Baker is. They are a cult.
November 29th, 2023 at 2:05 pm
ummmm………………………..roll out
November 29th, 2023 at 2:13 pm
Be serious. It wasn’t a real QB competition in camp. Baker was gifted the job by a HC who didn’t want to put his job on the line with an unproven QB. And look how that turned out for him. Everywhere Baker goes he has a losing season but none of it is his fault?
November 29th, 2023 at 2:28 pm
BM is like a cat with his tail on fire back there. looks good when he makes it out or hits a WR, …..BUT
I would much rather have a QB back there that can read the D and get the ball out. (I know we had that and even the bucs f-ed it up with the playcalling.)
mark this post. BM will go down in one of the next 2 games and Trask will finish the season. we make the playoffs. one and done. todd gets fired and the new coach still drafts a QB (because who wouldn’t with a new team)
Trask goes on to be a starter elswhere. I do not see him being a STUD….but he is serviceable and could have won with this team given a chance.
November 29th, 2023 at 2:44 pm
I’d really love to see Mayfield turn off the headset and play backyard football. One play at a time in the huddle. No more run up the middle for 1 yard. The receiver goes out 2 yards past the first down marked and does a button hook. Go out and score points and have fun. Call time outs when you should. Defense goes out and knocks people on their butts. Cornerbacks don’t let anyone catch a ball.
These are professional athletes that don’t need the unprofessional coaches the Bucs keep supporting.
November 29th, 2023 at 3:01 pm
Maybefield is responsible for the sacks as well as for 5 of the 7 loses.
November 29th, 2023 at 3:15 pm
Mayfield coming back from the injury looked rattled for quite some time. He was either holding onto the ball way too long being tentative or he was giving up way too quickly on plays dumping ball to White. All in all there has rarely been any rhythm on offense for us this season and Baker is as responsible for it as anyone.
November 29th, 2023 at 3:50 pm
Immobile Mayfield is bad Baker. Desperate Baker is even worse. When old boy presses things go sideways. Start Trask Sunday. The Bucs might squeak out a win despite him being overwhelmed by NFL gameday speed
November 29th, 2023 at 3:58 pm
All the NFL QB experts here should have s fact.. Mayfield never lost to Burrow head to head. Neither did Brissett with the Browns. DeMassage boi managed it. But it takes a team. Any sane person gonna say Baker or Jacoby is better than Burrow?
November 29th, 2023 at 4:02 pm
I agree, there is a cult seething with great anger in the land of the Bucs. And Kyle Trask, not Baker Mayfield, is in the center of that obsession. The Bucs knew exactly what they have in Trask. So did Brady. That’s why they signed Mayfield. Mayfield could be in the Top 3 in TDs if 5 passes weren’t DROPPED!
November 29th, 2023 at 4:13 pm
“with one lowlight being eating three sacks he didn’t have to take.”
NFL is a fantastic sport to specify the plays – the time left and quarter are right there om the screen. Since I reviewed four I can tell you what must have been one of these alleged lowlights
A scramble away from the rush up the middle that didn’t work and resulted in a sack
Like I stated in the first post you made this claim – You can’t herald when A QB scrambles/escapes and makes something happen and then cry when he gets tackled.
Yes definitely every time Baker has run for yardage or avoided a sack and extended a play those are ALL times when he could have thrown the ball away. Bowles and tampa media like yourself just have to be consistent that you want the Qb to ALWAYS flush those plays. None of this praise when he picks up yardage or extends plays and completes a pass and then castigating when it doesn’t work.
because in real life things don’t always work.
November 29th, 2023 at 4:30 pm
A lot of posters write about how bad Bowles and the coaching staff suck. Out of the other side of your mouth you write that if the coaches had deemed Trask the better QB, he would be playing. WHICH IS IT???
November 29th, 2023 at 5:07 pm
The Beer Whisperer Says:
The “Baker Mayfield Devotees” still trying to convince everyone, how good Baker is. They are a cult.
———————
He’s Jameis with fewer interceptions. Makes amazing plays, follows them up with boneheaded ones. He is what he is. But he is QB1, and you don’t bench QB1 until you’re mathematically out of contention.
Once playoffs are out of reach, sure we should see if Trask is the long term answer (though I suspect most here know he isn’t)
November 29th, 2023 at 5:19 pm
I like Baker but he doesn’t know when to give up on a play. He thinks there’s always a chance he can pull something out. Tough S.O.B.
November 29th, 2023 at 6:17 pm
@Tony Marks – it’s called pocket presence.
You gotta know when to try to run / escape, and when to just throw it away.
I said yesterday that 2 of the sacks were on Baker, and that it looks to me like his pocket presence has deteriorated and he’s trying to press more since they’ve been losing. Apparently the head coach thinks it was even more that were on Baker.
November 29th, 2023 at 8:59 pm
“Mayfield holding the ball too long has hurt the Bucs”
So have passes batted down at the line. Pretty sure Baker leads the league in that category.
November 29th, 2023 at 11:16 pm
Baker has more dropped interceptions than td passes. Without looking it up, I would feel comfortable saying he probably leads the league in batted down passes. Baker stares down receivers, and either can’t or doesn’t see multiple open receivers in each game. Baker has happy feet in the pocket and horrible accuracy on deep balls. My guess is no one will ever pay Wyoming mayfield to evaluate qb’s for a living. But hey, baker does run for first downs occasionally (when he can manage to not fumble the ball) and he even hits mid range wide open receivers every once in a while. People who don’t want to evaluate a player we spent a second round pick on, in real game situations, with real starters playing along side him (aka FSU fans) need to get a clue. Baker is not the future. Make sure you missed on your 2nd rounder before hoping you hit on a qb in the first round next year.
November 30th, 2023 at 12:09 am
The problem for the Bucs is that we aren’t really good at any position group right now. On offense, if we had a better run game, or a better QB who didn’t miss passes, or if our WR didn’t drop multiple passes per game, we could be a lot better. We can’t overcome all of that though and of those things I think there is only one we can really directly control, the run game.
I don’t see any elite QBs being available this off-season and drafting a QB is no sure thing.
Our WRs have been pretty good in the past in catching passes but both ME and CGs drop rates have gone up. MEs drop rate this season is the worst of his career and almost double that of last year.
Run game though can be improved through the draft and FA potentially.
November 30th, 2023 at 2:32 am
unbelievable Says:
@Tony Marks – it’s called pocket presence.
You gotta know when to try to run / escape, and when to just throw it away.
—————–
Thats nonsense for the simple reason the nothing in life is 100%. Welcome to the real world.
Try watching more games. Baker has AMAZING pocket sense which is why he knows where to go to get away from the sack coming his way multiple times per most games – but humans don’t have echolation like bats so there are bound to be times when he can’t get away when he thought he couldn’t. Like I said to the joes – Its fine if you want him to flush all the plays in those circumstances just don’ t cheer its great when he doesn’t flush the play and picks up the down. Be consistent.
“Apparently the head coach thinks it was even more that were on Baker.”
and? You think citing the head coach on a blog where almost everyone claims he is incompetent makes a good point? lol… then to be consistent you have to buy that Bowles defensive schemes have all been solid like he claims and that all that is wrong with the team is effort and concentration like he says – good luck with that
Where’s the time stamps on these sacks like I said I would look at if you provided. Thats real evidence not a coach most the board wants to see fired at the end of the season if not right now.
November 30th, 2023 at 10:35 am
Give it up Trask was a wasted pick-even Wolford is a world better than him. His shining moment came in the game with a gimmie TD and what did he do lose 5 yards and then a missed pass. Trade hm for a happy meal for the team.
November 30th, 2023 at 4:09 pm
Sorry Tony but work and family life have been a bit more of a focus than rewatching that dreadful game. As I said to you yesterday, if I find some time this week I will try to locate timestamps…
But if you’re that interested, you could pull up a box score drive summary of the game, and look at each of the Bucs drives and get the exact timestamps of each sack for yourself, and then go watch…
November 30th, 2023 at 4:11 pm
Also if you read my post correctly, you what have noticed I said Baker’s pocket presence has generally been quite good, but in recent weeks he’s been pressing, and that has turned into more mistakes and a lack of presences to just throw the ball away sometimes. You think it’s just a giant coincidence that he’s been turning the ball over much more lately as well compared to earlier in the season?
November 30th, 2023 at 4:18 pm
Ding!
December 1st, 2023 at 7:53 am
Bucsnbucks
Well said. They have a starting QB who c a n throw, assuming he’s healthy, but they won’t let him. These blind coaches are obsessed with running the ball. But they can’t block for a good RB and badly need a big no. 2 RB a la Lenny to compliment White , as good as White is.
Put in Trask if you really want to lose.
There’s your cult right there.
December 1st, 2023 at 9:19 am
@Stpetebucfan
Oh I agree so much. Finally a rational, clear thinking analysis. Don’t let the guys who think with their emotion, and not their heads, prevail.
The coaching needs a little work. But players and coaches can only work with what management gives them.
Kudos to you!