Baker Mayfield Talks “Killer Instinct”
June 10th, 2025
Nine weeks ago Todd Bowles talked about the Bucs lacking “killer instinct.” and players must be the ones to enhance it.
Joe asked Baker Mayfield about that today.
“You know, a lot of times we would start fast, there’s always that lull,” Mayfield said after practice at One Buc Palace. “And I think in the past two years of me being here, overall, if you stand back and look at the beginning of the season to the middle of the season, it’s not getting satisfied. Always hitting the reset button for the next week … But that killer instinct, it doesn’t matter what we’re doing. We’ve got to put teams away when we’re ahead.”
Mayfield added that the Bucs’ killer-instinct fails have nothing to do with preparation. He says they’re just about execution, especially later in seasons when little new is being drawn up week to week.
Joe hopes the Bucs find that secret sauce to be more consistent and, frankly, more badass. A third consecutive roller coaster season would be very rough on Joe’s health.
June 10th, 2025 at 12:04 pm
This has the potential to be one of the best years in Bucs history!
June 10th, 2025 at 12:06 pm
The source of the killer instinct is the head coach. So in this case the Bucs have half a killer instinct.
June 10th, 2025 at 12:27 pm
Go bucs.
June 10th, 2025 at 12:32 pm
first… Baker is gonna be a dog this year. that’s a fact.
second… catapult has gotta find a new design for their data tracker gear. they got bro in a sports bra.
June 10th, 2025 at 12:33 pm
Sweet sports bra, bra.
June 10th, 2025 at 12:38 pm
Bucs lost several games last year due to 4th quarter turnovers and mistakes.
Players who cultivate strong mental habits are typically more resilient when challenges arise.
June 10th, 2025 at 12:51 pm
…is uh…
…is that a sports bra?
June 10th, 2025 at 12:53 pm
Lack of killer instinct wasn’t the issue last year, it was a defense that couldn’t get off of the field. Still believe the Bucs need to sign Pratt and find a way to get Henderson. Then we can talk about killer instinct.
June 10th, 2025 at 12:56 pm
Stop playing ‘not to lose’ but play aggressively to win. Aggressively doesn’t mean reckless though. The aggressive killer attitude needs to start now with the coaches pushing perfection from the vets on every snap in the offseason. The DL and edges need strip sacks, and the DB’s need picks. Bowles, Grizz, and Licht need to look hard at the 4th quarter play and fix it. Stop playing down to the division, destroy the division teams with no mercy and sweep it.
June 10th, 2025 at 1:02 pm
Bakers sports bra certain has that killer instinct look.
June 10th, 2025 at 1:03 pm
Baker showing off those sub-A cups.
Welcome to the IBTC bro….
Some chicks dig small manbreasts. Hopefully your wife is one of them. Word is that the upside of being small chested is your nips are more sensitive….
June 10th, 2025 at 1:06 pm
“We’ve got to put teams away when we’re ahead”.
I think Baker nailed it with that statement.
There’s lots of reasons why they don’t.
I’d lean more toward the defense than the offense, when looking at why.
To me, the team is plenty resilent. It manages to pull itself out of that mid-season slump we’ve been having the past couple of years.
So far, it looks like the team addressed the ballhawk and killer instict issues on defense with the draft.
Hoping it plays out that way once we get into the season.
June 10th, 2025 at 1:17 pm
It’s a sports “Bro”
June 10th, 2025 at 1:20 pm
Does Baker have breasts.
June 10th, 2025 at 1:23 pm
Dang. Baker tryin’ to get a Victoria’s Secret sponsorship?
June 10th, 2025 at 1:31 pm
killer instinct wasnt the issue last year….
it was baker leading the NFL in INTs…a huge chunk of his INTs came in the middle of the season…
fix that, and we’ll be 12wins easy!!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!!
June 10th, 2025 at 1:42 pm
Is Baker wearing that sports bra for Pride month?
June 10th, 2025 at 1:44 pm
Alan, basically your spot on… It’s Literally No More complicated than your statement at the end of the day. Now… With that said….
It comes down to One Thing. ONE! DETERMINATED PASSION! It Rubs Off on the Men, They NEED TO FEEL THE COACHES DESIRE TO “WIN”! We just Don’t seem to feel that passion and the desire tank seems to Always be running low..
ALL TEAMS have a “Gate Keeper” the “Coach”, whom IS RESPONSIBLE for Bringing that “IT” to All the Players AND Staff. There are Only 32 opportunities in the world. And Among other Responsibilities, They are Tasked with BRINGING “IT”!
Where Bowles seems to be missing is he doesn’t seem to work well with others. He seems the type with a short temper because according to All reports he HIDES behind a “Calm Mask”. AKA…. NOT the Genuine Person. He probably stands there stoic because he’s not able to moderate himself. That’s probably Very Close to the TRUTH
It Confuses the players. They may tend to “hold still” so as NOT to upset the parent (coach). This is what the mystery “maybe” as to why they “GET WEIRD” in the middle of a game and or season, and in a sense they “hold still” until the “parent” can gather themselves and regain “perspective”
Just some thoughts but there is a clear trend. Happens every year, approximately at the same time, and unfolds the same way. The Psychology .. Could Be “THE FACTOR”
Only 32 of these jobs available. And there is ONLY One Goal…
There is Always More going on behind the curtain. And with All Due Respect, an Extension hasn’t been offered for “Some Reason”….. Bowles BETTER Bring “IT” With Him This Year!
June 10th, 2025 at 1:48 pm
Lots of questions about top dress attire for Baker. Joe do you have a comment off the top so to speak
June 10th, 2025 at 1:49 pm
Killer instinct also includes keeping the offense on the field in certain situations. ESP if the def isn’t getting off the field.
Hopefully we’ll see both issues improved this season.
June 10th, 2025 at 1:52 pm
I mean LOOK AT WHAT BOWLS IS MAKING BAKER WEAR! Something Has To get figured out with this guy! Cross Dressing DOESN’T Win Games Mr. Bowles! (That I know of)
Then again if it works……..
June 10th, 2025 at 2:03 pm
Starts with Todd
Go for it on 4th downs
Trust your best unit
Stop trusting your awful pass defense to get stops
Go for TD’s not FG’s
Coach like Dan Quinn did in the playoffs, coach to win
Trusting the soft D too much against good teams is what prevents this team from being better
Be better Todd, your players feed off it
June 10th, 2025 at 2:12 pm
I think Bowles has said all the right things to his players, that THEY have to have the killer instinct, THEY have to be on their game, THEY have to bring it cause the coach’s don’t play, the players do. He told them they better show up to do their jobs cause NOW they have some people behind them that can unseat them, didn’t have that before. And I’ve heard the players agree with that, not rocket surgery.
June 10th, 2025 at 2:15 pm
it would be nice if bowles looked in the mirror on the topic of killer instinct…
June 10th, 2025 at 2:17 pm
I have seen people use those catapult vests aka “sports bra.” “… football players wear vests during training and games to track and measure their performance on the field. They are wearing a GPS vest that just happens to look like a sports bra. The vest is designed to hold a pod between the shoulder blades that contains a 10Hz GPS, an accelerometer and a magnetometer. These GPS devices are able to capture over 1250 data points per second to measure how much and how hard the players are working, and players and coaches are able to analyze data such as total distance, top speed, number of sprints, sprint distance, power, load, intensity, and more.”
June 10th, 2025 at 2:23 pm
The key word is , “instinct”, either you are born with it or you’re not , no matter how deeply it was buried within an individual, by his upbringing , family , friends or circumstance, if he’s got it , it can be resurrected, if not , no amount of trying will bring it out if it’s not there. That’s why not everyone can be successful first responders, soldiers, astronauts, or athletes. The sad part is it cannot really be seen until things turn critical, that’s why the elite train to the breaking point, and that’s what separates Super Bowl contenders from pretenders, among other things.
June 10th, 2025 at 2:46 pm
I don’t think Mayfield wants to bury teams the way Brady did. I think he prefers the challenge of coming back. That’s why we’d go up 10 or so and then hit the doldrums. Baker loses interest in those games it appears to me.
June 10th, 2025 at 3:03 pm
Quarter 2 slumps and sloppy play through most of the year. The second quarter of the year the last several years have been sloppy. Clean that up and put teams away is right.
June 10th, 2025 at 3:03 pm
I was shocked that Todd even knew the phrase “Killer Instinct” dude is so passive and entrenched in the 80’s mindset of football that his ceiling is 9-10 wins. Guy can’t wrap his mind around the modern game.
Collecting timeouts like they are stocks
Dedicated to stopping the run but allowing any QB to complete 90% of their passes
Slow to make adjustments
Slow to bench underperforming players
Trusting one of the worst pass defenses in the league to protect a lead
Hopefully only 17 more weeks of his loser mindset brand of football
June 10th, 2025 at 4:42 pm
It would seem that a performance data device for male athletes could be designed to look like….anything else…….but a sports bra.
June 10th, 2025 at 5:09 pm
We were 16th in scoring defense that’s not bab but it can improve the scoring defense is the only stat that really counts in the NFL. Show me where a team is ranked in scoring defense that will tell if you have a good defense or. The Patriots won 6 rings go look at where they’re scoring defense was ranked top 5 and all those Superbowls .
June 10th, 2025 at 6:02 pm
Baker is sporting the Manzier!
June 10th, 2025 at 6:12 pm
I will assert that one major component of the “secret sauce” is the “gotta wanna! element. Since football is a team sport it is obvious that the players together have to want to “stomp” the other team. Twas ever thus.
June 10th, 2025 at 6:14 pm
“gotta wanna!”element
June 10th, 2025 at 8:05 pm
All players wear that. It’s the GPS/body vitals (heartbeat, body temperature, etc.) that they wear.
It’s also the same apparatus where NextGen Stats gets its data from.
Yeah, sure wish they designed a T-shirt with the GPS stuff in it instead.
June 10th, 2025 at 11:21 pm
I agree with SB LV
June 11th, 2025 at 7:14 am
I Really,Really think these players wearing bras is a ridiculous look. Should put on the space guardian cap to complete the ensemble. that would show real killer instinct.
Go Bucs!
June 11th, 2025 at 7:16 am
Really miss Jensen JPP and Suh!
Go Bucs!
June 11th, 2025 at 1:56 pm
Gotta agree with many of the points that others are making regarding Bowles mindset being stuck in the past regarding his in game approach.
However to give him credit, this offseason he does seem to be addressing some of these head-on with the hiring of an in-game consultant and talking about not playing our corners 12 yards deep. He also seems to do a terrific job of building the culture.
But eventually you have to stop those mid season slumps and get to 11-13 wins with a roster and a division that supports that type of win total.
Hopefully he progresses this year and gets there. If not, it’s time to pivot.