Josh Grizzard References “Knucklehead” Baker Mayfield
June 20th, 2025
Joe is a massive Baker Mayfield fan. The Pro Bowl quarterback has done everything asked of him in a Bucs uniform, and he’s delivered at a discount price.
Plus Mayfield is fun to watch. His game is diverse and he’s got flair for the dramatic.
Heck, last year Mayfield threw a whopping 41 touchdowns and led the NFL in interceptions and fumbles. He’s the new Mr. Entertaiment. Mayfield even ran for 378 yards last season, the most by a Bucs quarterback in one season (by a mile) since Josh Freeman ran for 364 yards in 2010.
Still, the Bucs would like to see Mayfield be a little more consistent with his decision-making.
This was a subject rookie Bucs offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard touched on during his May visit to Sports Day Tampa Bay.
“We know he’s tough,” Grizzard said of Mayfield. “We know he’ll grind it out. We know he’s been really good scrambling. But at the end of the day, we don’t want to see him take those hits. We want to see him play every game in the regular season and make a playoff run. That’s been the biggest thing — because he can be a little bit knucklehead when it comes to that.”
To date, the “knucklehead” in Mayfield that Grizzard references has been endearing and successful. But where is the line drawn?
JoeBucsFan.com columnist asked Mayfield last week about coaches wanting him to step off the gas a bit, and Mayfield wasn’t interested.
“The coaches like to talk this time of the year,” Mayfield replied. “They sit around and watch tape. I’m trying to win games.”
“Like I tell you guys, it’s football. There’s a time and place. On third downs and got-to-have-it situations, I’m going to try to do everything I can to get the first down or whatever we need. There’s also a time and place to throw the ball away. I think, when it comes to protecting myself, the biggest thing is the sack number. A lot of that was holding onto the ball…There’s give and take. There’s the scramble element of trying to create explosive plays, but there’s also situations in the game. Where are we at? Are we leading? Are we down? Do we need something? Don’t force it.”
Expect little to change in Mayfield. Not only did he complete 71.4 percent of his passes last season, Mayfield played loose, confident and passionate ball all season. What he’s doing is working.
June 20th, 2025 at 1:52 pm
This article sums up Mayfield perfectly!
Go Bucs ! ! !
June 20th, 2025 at 2:00 pm
So Grizz wants to change Mayfield? This is not going to happen
June 20th, 2025 at 2:06 pm
Still worrying about “holding the ham”? Didn’t Dave Canales mention that in ’23?
June 20th, 2025 at 2:08 pm
Give the boy a little defense. and he won’t have to do as much. Of what you’re talking about.
June 20th, 2025 at 2:08 pm
Griz understands the horror show if Number 2 has to take over. He watches every practice and knows what we have in Number 2. God help us.
June 20th, 2025 at 2:16 pm
Did You Know?
Since joining the Bucs (sum of 2 seasons) Baker ranks #2 in passing yards (Goff #1) and #1 in passing TDs.
Coincidently by the end of his contract, Baker should rank #2 passing yards and #1 passing TDs in Bucs’ franchise history.
(BTW, I consider Baker’s success part of the Mike Evans Experience. Mike is the QB King Maker.)
June 20th, 2025 at 2:25 pm
And if he was costing us too many wins, he’d be outta here with his turnovers, Joe. Mr. Entertainment my arse. We had enough of that with the 1st. “Mr. Entertainment”!
June 20th, 2025 at 2:32 pm
Please cease with the Jaboo boo references.
Thank you, that is all.
June 20th, 2025 at 2:36 pm
I look at the success of Washington & know one these times their QB is going to be injured bad. He Really takes a lot of risk & is a fairly little guy.
June 20th, 2025 at 2:44 pm
By a Mile? 14 yards more than Freeman. Comes to .007 Mile. seems like Joe likes Mayfield so much that there is a lot of stretching done. Joe wrote “since” Josh Freeman, not including Josh Freeman. –Joe
While on the topic of stretching it didn’t look like He did much stretching before stepping back and throwing the ball as far as he could.
Got caught up in the moment and did something really stupid. Now that is something Mayfield that I can believe a lot quicker than 42 feet = 1 Mile.
BTW Watson was 70%+ and 4800 yards the season before a lot of money got thrown at him. Nothing that has ever began or ended in CLV has worked out except for maybe Belechick Will be interesting to see what the Bucs do.
June 20th, 2025 at 3:28 pm
As far as I know, Baker has not thrown a pick 6 in his time here
June 20th, 2025 at 3:36 pm
Get you weight up little boy
June 20th, 2025 at 4:04 pm
Sure wish Joe and the others complaining about Mayfield’s turnover would tell the whole story. Not trying to absolve Mayfield of some of his ‘knucklehead’ throws or decisions, but of BM’s sixteen (16) int’s, I can find 4-6 where the receiver had the ball bounce off his hands, ran the wrong route and weren’t where they should have been, slipped coming out of their break, had the ball wrestled away from them or the defender made an unbelievable athletic play. Also worth mentioning IMO, is the fact is that Mayfield was also tied for the league lead in passes, twenty-five (25) dropped by Bucs receivers. Very possible he could have had another 200+ yds. with another 3-4 TD’s.
As for Baker’s 13 fumbles, he lost only two (2). I can live with those numbers all day long.
June 20th, 2025 at 4:11 pm
Baker, as he said, realizes there is a time and a place for things. If it’s late and we need a first and he’s close he’ll try to get it. If it’s too much he let’s it go. All these area’s are situational, he knows that and said the coach’s know it too, that is why I trust him to know when to get down and when to put the shoulder down. He’s not a china doll, he’s a football player and the QB’s get a ton of protection from the ref’s and the defense’s know that too. And nobody on any defense wants Wirfs AND Goedeke coming after them for a cheap shot
June 20th, 2025 at 4:11 pm
Knuckleheads are us. If we had 22 guys on the field all day with the mentality of Baker, we’d never lose a game. Back off Grizz. Get your Oline to block better, your receivers to catch better and the defense to defend better before you start messing with the knucklehead.
June 20th, 2025 at 4:17 pm
What he’s doing is working.
June 20th, 2025 at 4:26 pm
And keep avoiding the qb slide… ankles and knees too vulnerable..baker does it right. Plow into a defender ala Walter Payton.
June 20th, 2025 at 4:42 pm
Joe … ‘Last year Mayfield threw a whopping 41 touchdowns and led the NFL in interceptions and fumbles.
Joe … ‘Expect little to change in Mayfield. Not only did he complete 71.4 percent of his passes last season, Mayfield played loose, confident and passionate ball all season. What he’s doing is working.
Hmmm, seems like a bit of a contradiction, doesn’t it Joe?
No contradiction. –Joe
Baker is Baker. Actually, I’m thinking that he’s kinda the second coming of Brett Favre. They’re both gunslingers who loved to make things happen. The similarities are eerie in some respects. Both have identical TD percentages over their careers: 5.0%. Baker’s INT percentage (2.7%) is a little lower than Brett’s (3.3%) but neither is exactly low. Baker fumbled 57 times in 7 seasons (roughly 8 fumbles per year average), while Brett fumbled 166 times in 20 years (about the same 8 times per year average). Baker’s Sack percentage (6.86%) is higher than Brett’s (4.91%), but neither is exactly low.
Yup, gunslingers. Lots of similarities. They make the game exciting, that’s for sure.
June 20th, 2025 at 4:44 pm
Last year he had a few too many ints. Year before he had 10 which is not bad. I like the entertainment part. I especially liked when rolled out to the sideline holding hands with Bosa like they where dancing or something and whipped that ball out there anyway for a first down. JayMiss had a few brilliant plays like that too, but now that guy threw a heck of a lot more ints than Baker. More fumbles too.
June 20th, 2025 at 4:45 pm
Great comparison, DR.
June 20th, 2025 at 5:01 pm
i’ll take the yards and td’s the way baker delivers them. the defense needs to step up their game and the bucs will be fine.
dont make baker play down to some lesser level. thats a knucklehead idea by a rookie OC.
June 20th, 2025 at 5:29 pm
The knuckleheads are on defense. Baker is doing whatever he can to win. If the Bucs didn’t have a knucklehead DC, then maybe Baker wouldn’t have to “be so inconsistent” with his decision making.
What’s crazy is that you don’t see the coaches complain about our POS defense and some of the terrible players. If anything sinks the Bucs this season it will be the lackluster defense.
June 20th, 2025 at 5:30 pm
Baker will be Baker lol. But yeah, like the rest, i just dont want to see him get hurt with an unnecessary risk. He knows his body though.
June 20th, 2025 at 7:29 pm
This is not difficult. He is now 30. You cannot keep taking hits like this. You will get hurt.
Learning to play smarter is a requirement for a great qb….which he is.
June 20th, 2025 at 7:47 pm
I’m only here because of Baker
Gotta agree with The Grizz on this one
June 20th, 2025 at 7:53 pm
Aqualung Says:
June 20th, 2025 at 2:08 pm
Griz understands the horror show if Number 2 has to take over. He watches every practice and knows what we have in Number 2. God help us.
——
Sad but true, brother. Even as a Gators fan I was never really on board with this pick. Heck of good player in when he started in G-ville. But his game never translated. Kind of sad to think that they have a 2nd round pick and what 4 years invested in him. Would love to see the guy come out and really make things happen but I think we agree that is just not going to happen. Which is why it is so important that Baker not get injured, the prospect of Trask being the starter for anything more than maybe 3-4 games will likely end up inna fairly bleak situation .
Cross Eyed Mary FTW.
June 20th, 2025 at 7:58 pm
It’s obvious that, due to the obvious dissension brewing between offensive coordinator and said knucklehead QB, that the Glazers must fire Todd Bowles and replace Jason Licht.
Or something.
(Too soon?)
June 20th, 2025 at 8:32 pm
I suspect Baker takes coaching better than Jameis did. We shall see. The “quarterback whisperer” could not get through to Winston and gave up on him. I was disappointed by him. I don’t expect to have a similar feeling with Mayfield when all is said and done. He is a different cat.
Go Bucs!!