Making Sense Of The Madness
June 18th, 2026
Analyzing Baker Mayfield.
The subject of Baker Mayfield came up on the Ross Tucker Football Podcast.
Tucker, who has arguably the best series of pure, year-round football podcasts on the interwebs, was talking Mayfield with noted NFL Films X’s and O’s man Greg Cosell.
Joe knows that since the 2025 regular season ended, offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard became the fall guy, the scapegoat. At the time, Joe didn’t fully understand the finger-pointing. No one said a peep about Grizzard when the Bucs’ offense hummed before the bye.
All of a sudden the Bucs lost seven of their last nine games and Grizzard is the culprit when it was the defense that played horrific and lost too many games?
Joe is not excusing Grizzard but it all just seemed odd.
Tucker and Cosell were trying to figure out why Mayfield fell off the cliff after the bye. He went from perhaps being league MVP to giving Bucs fans flashbacks to Casey Weldon.
“It’s always hard to know Ross what’s in a quarterback’s head when he plays,” Cosell began. “But for the first part of the season, Baker Mayfield was as decisive as any quarterback in the league.
“He just seemed to know exactly where he wanted to go with the football. He got it out. He made the right reads, the right throws.”
Cosell didn’t want to use injuries as an excuse. That’s too easy, Cosell said. Of course, better receivers are going to make plays.
Though Cosell didn’t say it, Joe will point out in December that Mayfield had Chris Godwin, Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan back from injuries. Most quarterbacks would salivate to have those three.
“The thing that really stood out to me about Baker, and again, I’m not in his head, but he just was not decisive. And it’s very odd, because he’s a veteran, he’s got experience, it’s a system he’s familiar with. But he just gets stuck too many times in the pocket without delivering the football.
“And you know, when that happens with a quarterback, the entire passing game is totally disrupted.”
Cosell went on to say he thought Mayfield lost confidence, which leads to indecisiveness.
Did Mayfield lose confidence because he was hurt and didn’t think he could make specific throws? Did defenses discover a tell on Mayfield midway through the season, and that defensive adjustment rattled Mayfield and threw him off?
Or was Grizzard unable to adjust?
These questions need to be answered before the Bucs can start dreaming about returning to the playoffs.
June 18th, 2026 at 7:08 am
He was hurt…online was hurt…Evans was hurt…Grizz was over his head…and the defense…well 3-28…there u go
June 18th, 2026 at 7:17 am
The interior OLine was inconsistent, and backup receivers’ reads were inconsistent- affecting Mayfield’s pocket awareness.
When pocket awareness breaks down – reads speed up unnaturally, footwork deteriorates, accuracy declines.
It’s up to the coaching staff to make adjustments to give the QB confidence in the pocket- Mayfield’s performance in 2nd half of last year suggests a Happy Feet QB who was avoiding further injury.
June 18th, 2026 at 7:18 am
A good article Joe. I’m not sure about the confidence, but I saw indecision. I’m guessing teams caught up with Grizz’s scheme and players weren’t as open. Also I think getting Evans and Godwin out there, that Baker was too intent on feeding them. The offense actually seemed to go downhill with Mike out there – not due to Mike’s play, but how Grizz/Bake reacted to the defenses.
June 18th, 2026 at 7:24 am
“All of a sudden the Bucs lost seven of their last nine games and Grizzard is the culprit when it was the defense that played horrific and lost too many games?“
LOL
“And you know, when that happens with a quarterback, the entire passing game is totally disrupted.”
The Egbuka “mystery” is solved
June 18th, 2026 at 7:30 am
It’s hard to run an effective offense without a quarterback. Baker was probably playing hurt the second part of the season. At the same time, his injuries are due to him, not knowing how to slide and run out of bounds and thinking he’s the second coming of Alstott!
June 18th, 2026 at 7:36 am
The only question that needs to be answered is can we field an offensive line that is as good as a Division 1 college football team. We may have the best offensive line in the league, but not unless they are on the field together. But hey, blaming Mayfield works.
June 18th, 2026 at 7:53 am
It looked to me like he got scared, not of contact, but of turnovers. And when a QB starts really thinking about turnovers, they sometimes create more, and that gets them thinking…
I said last season that Baker should see a sports psychologist, and I still think it would be a good idea.
June 18th, 2026 at 8:03 am
the book has been out on baker….
bring pressure up the middle and he chokes up….he cant see over his linemen which causes him to hold the ball longer or run out of the pocket…which in turn creates sacks or Turnovers for the other team….
with that said, Grizz didnt do the offense any favors with his poor play calling and lack of creativity….
GO BUCS!!!!
June 18th, 2026 at 8:17 am
813 is spot on. Plus when the game gets tight and pressure rises, Baker tends to play gittery. Watch his feet in the pocket, they’re always moving. He’s tap dancing when he throws the ball sometimes which hurts his accuracy. So now, even in OTAs and Mini Camp you still see underthrows and overthrows. You rarely see a 40 yard dime dropped in the bucket with the WR running in stride. Almost 10 years in and his mechanics are off and he isn’t working to get better.
You can’t be injured and start every game and use it as an excuse when you play terribly and lose. Then demand a raise. No excuses this season.
June 18th, 2026 at 8:17 am
Posted this many and will continue until blocked, “Baker’s success depends on structure and discipline!” First, discipline falls on Baker but if the others (receivers,rbs and ol) lack the same degree of discipline it disrupts his process (staying in pocket to long or leaving it to early). The structure is formulated by the HC and OC who are also responsible for discipline! In his tenure in the NFL, Baker has only had one HC with discipline/structure and two OC with those same process. If this years OC can establish structure/discipline, Baker could return to the form of 2024.
June 18th, 2026 at 8:24 am
Here’s the thing about Baker Mayfield’s current state of affairs.
Want to have next to no chance at winning a Super Bowl? Pay him!
Was taken aback yesterday when a Joe thought paying Baker 16% of the cap was an ok thing. Why? Because it has only worked with one NFL QB, Patrick Mahomes.
Before Mahomes won by eating 17% the next closest were …
Brady—12.61%
Brady—12.42%
Peyton—12.21%
Eli—11.71% before Brady again at 11.13%
Last year Darnold took up 5.16% and Maye was a mere 2.99% of the cap.
The average SB winner is at around 10%
When QB’s take all the money the team cannot afford to pay the players around, often losing free agents to others. Yeah, Mahomes was the exception, but it finally caught up with KC last year.
So, for all you Baker worshipers out there, remember … you are kissing a Super Bowl goodbye!
This year’s cap is 301 million. If Baker gets 50 mil he eats 16.61% of the cap. 60 million is over 20%.
Think he’s worth it? I sure as HE—— Don’t !
Love or loathe Baker, the math doesn’t lie.
June 18th, 2026 at 8:26 am
He lost confidence playing behind swiss cheese. A once decisive QB started seeing ghosts on those rare occurrences when the protection was actually ok. And once the hits started piling up in the second half of the season he was toast.
June 18th, 2026 at 8:29 am
“All of a sudden the Bucs lost seven of their last nine games and Grizzard is the culprit when it was the defense that played horrific and lost too many games?” As the great Jerry Seinfeld once quipped, “We live in a bizarro world.”
June 18th, 2026 at 8:55 am
Cosell … ‘But he (Mayfield) just gets stuck too many times in the pocket without delivering the football.’
Baker was sacked 36 times in 2025, a tad more than 2 sacks per game average. Going back thru all the 2025 games, Baker was sacked MORE than 2 times per game in 6 games last year … and we ended up with 2 wins but 4 losses in those games.
But I think it’s WHEN those 6 games occurred in the season that’s significant. In the first half of the season, he was sacked 16 times in 8 games, BUT … 11 of those 16 sacks occurred in only 3 games (Texans, Lions, Saints) when he was sacked 3 or more times. Bucs won 2 of those 3 games & ended up with a 6-2 record in those 8 games.
In the next 9 games (after the BYE), Baker was sacked 20 times, BUT … 12 of those sacks came in only 3 games (Rams, Falcons, Panthers) when he was sacked 3 or more times. Bucs LOST ALL 3 of those games & ended up with a 2-7 record in those 9 games.
Two things strike me as PROBABLY being true:
1 – Cosell’s statement that Baker got ‘stuck in the pocket without delivering the football’ probably isn’t accurate since Baker was sacked LESS in 2025 than in 2024 or 2023. What probably is true is that Baker’s passes weren’t as accurate in those last 9 games.
2 – Once Baker was hurt (more apparent after the BYE), LOTS of things about our offensive attack changed. For instance, we soundly thrashed the Saints in the 1st game 23-3 despite Baker getting sacked 3 times, yet lost to them in the 2nd game 24-20 despite Baker not being sacked at all, yet going 14-of-30 for 122 yds in the loss. Whether all that is on Baker or on Grizz is anyone’s guess. Oh wait, I forgot, it surely must’ve been Bowles’ fault. My bad.
June 18th, 2026 at 9:03 am
This I know, when Baker plays injured his play falls off the cliff. We’ve literally watched it happen. If the Bucs are going to lose the game why is Baker playing? If he is that hurt the season is over. Resting him could help. But his backup has to give the Bucs a chance. Do the Bucs have a legit backup Quarterback? That’s Todd Bowles responsibility to find one. While we’ll at it, his Defense needs to step up and fill that void.
June 18th, 2026 at 9:14 am
JA … ‘This year’s cap is 301 million. If Baker gets 50 mil he eats 16.61% of the cap. 60 million is over 20%. Think he’s worth it? I sure as HE—— Don’t !’
Solid analysis JA, but I think BOTH sides in this negotiation have painted themselves into corners. Licht & Bowles insist that we absolutely LOVE Mayfield & can’t live without him. Baker insists that he LOVES Tampa … but wants his money. And in fact, he’s at a critical juncture in his career (this SHOULD be the money contract for him).
Gut feel is that we’ll come to an agreement with him, eventually. Personally I hope though that it’s not until AFTER the 2026 season ends (I want to see how he does under Zach, because I think Zach will be here for at least 2 years as our OC). Plus we’ve got some high-value players who’ll be UFAs after this season (Vea, Robinson, Diaby, Muhammad, Godwin, Mauch, McLaughlin and others). None of those will be cheap.
June 18th, 2026 at 9:15 am
Allen Lofton … ‘That’s Todd Bowles responsibility to find one.’
Hmmm, I was always under the impression that it was the GM’s responsibility to stock the cupboard.
June 18th, 2026 at 9:47 am
He lost confidence in everything around him, not himself. When he was healthier he was able to overcome the errors going on around him. Just recently we heard about the poor separation achieved by the receivers. Was that true or a mirage? If true, maybe it was a problem with the coordinator not being able to adjust. I highly doubt after 8 years in the league, Mayfield becomes discombobulated!
June 18th, 2026 at 9:47 am
D. Rules—
I was set to challenge your assessment of the Baker signing until you broached your preferred time period for this to take place. I couldn’t agree more about waiting until this upcoming season is completed before making this all-important decision. Signing him now to a high dollar contract after last year’s finish makes absolutely no sense.
And that’s exactly why it will happen! However, if Jason proves me wrong I’ll be forced to kick him up a few notches on my GM Ranking Meter. And happily so.
With that in the books, let’s review your sack comments …
Geno Smith: 55 sacks
Cam Ward: 55
Justin Herbert: 54
Maye: 47
Brissett: 43
Lawrence: 41
Josh Allen: 40
Goff: 38
Lamar Jackson: 36
And Mayfield: 36 sacks
Maye, a Super Bowl participant, was thrown to the ground 11 more times than Baker. Meanwhile, Darnold, the SB winner, was eating turf nine times less at 27.
Sacks are drive killers, or they can be if the lost yardage is not made up on subsequent plays. On the surface it appears Maye was able to overcome his sacks where Baker was not. But was he?
I guess point I’m trying to make is this: with both Maye and Darnold at opposite ends of the sack spectrum, the sack count should be more about when they occurred than the sheer number of occurrences.
So unless you’re in the Ward, Smith and Herbert range, I don’t believe the sack counts matter in the least unless the result of each sack is listed thereafter. And who would volunteer to calculate that most unenviable of tasks? Even computers are not autodidactic. Some poor soul would be tasked with feeding it the info.
Nope! Medium range sack counts will remain near meaningless …
June 18th, 2026 at 10:12 am
Ross Marshall Tucker is indeed good…and perhaps a bit arrogant. That’s an Ivy-Leaguer for ya.
Loved the Casey Weldon reference/comp., Joe!
Maybe Mayfield felt the need to force the Ball to Evans…my likely unpopular opinion is that McMillan will have a comparable 2026 season to Evans. He was ascending prior to Teddy Tracy Chapman’s hospital floater in the preseason.
June 18th, 2026 at 10:16 am
Grizzard offense with 21st in 2025(with the injuries) and in 2023 wonder boy Canales offense was 23rd-wirh a healthy OL and EVERY skill player starting all 17 games. The common denominator is ……. And the offense was never humming. We were 5-2 with a negative point differential before that 20-3 Saints win. Enough talk, go big in 2026 or go home..
June 18th, 2026 at 10:31 am
ATLBuc Says:
“…his injuries are due to him, not knowing how to slide and run out of bounds and thinking he’s the second coming of Alstott!”
This narrative is false. Baker has has not once (in 3 years with the Bucs) been “injured” on a scramble/running play where he took a hit downfield that hurt him.
Mayfield’s injuries, as far as I know, have all occurred BEHIND the line of scrimmage.
June 18th, 2026 at 10:33 am
As usual, nothing is directly Baker’s fault. Just like Bowles.
It was injuries, it was the O-Line, it was Evans missing games, it was Grizzard.
He was the MVP candidate, until after the bye. Then the bed had a brown stain on the mattress.
Bowles was able to fire everyone but himself in an effort to cling to his jobs.
After a 2-7 Hindenburg like disaster, Todd was retained and now Baker wants top 5 money and years.
Failing upwards is an understatement.
June 18th, 2026 at 10:33 am
“Once Baker was hurt (more apparent after the BYE), LOTS of things about our offensive attack changed. For instance, we soundly thrashed the Saints in the 1st game 23-3 despite Baker getting sacked
We didn’t “soundly” thrash Saints, our offense was terrible in that game DR and of those 23 points, they scored 16 and scored as many TDs as our defense. One of this sacks was turned into a fumble and took what should’ve been a shutout and spotted New Orleans the ball in FG range. That was the game it took us 9 plays on 2 different drives to score from <5 yards out. If anything the New Orleans was the first game that showed how bad this offense looked w/o Evans on the field manipulating things.
Sack rate has nothing to do with win probablity. Justin Herbert was the most pressured QB in all the NFL last year, Chargers still won 11 games. Herbert was pressured on 29.8% of his dropbacks last year compared, Baker being pressured on ONLY 14.8% of dropbacks. Herbert outproduced Baker in pretty much any metric shared facing twice as much pressure on dropbacks.
It’s well known, Mayfields’ sometimey footwork discipline does several things. One, it makes for bad platforms to deliver passes from which muddles his ability to be consistently accurate, and two will make his pocket/protection look worse because he drifts shortening the distance between he and rushers/blitzers.
Attached is a film breakdown from Ed Reed, always good to hear from football minds what they see as he praises Baker but also points out some flaws in the 2 plays he critiques to explain why the plays turned out the way they did. Check it out
June 18th, 2026 at 10:39 am
Baker knew he had to make plays and score 30 EVERY game because he knew the 328 defense could not hold the opposition to less than that. THAT is pressure!
June 18th, 2026 at 10:48 am
JA. Reasons to sign Mayfield early. 1) shows commitment 2) prevents another team from offering him 200 million guaranteed for 3 years 9 months from now and why then would he even consider giving Tampa a discount when 9 months earlier they wouldn’t commit to him? He’d sign right now for a fair offer. If he doesn’t get a fair offer then this team will catapult his worth. Anybody out there that doesn’t think we’re gonna win many games with our offensive line healthy and our weapons is crazy. 3) It’ll save us money
Those fans who are saying wait and see are betting we have a bad year. If we have a great year, Baker Mayfield does have an agent. And I will bet his phone would be ringing off the hook. With some offers that’ll probably dwarf what we could sign him for today.
June 18th, 2026 at 10:52 am
Folks, it’s real simple..
Mayfield was hung out to dry by his OC and Head Coach, not to mention his Bluechip Teammates standing on the sidelines in street clothes for a majority of the year.. Add a Defense who couldn’t stop a nose bleed, and it was easy to predict a significant falloff when Baker got injured!!
It was coaching malpractice to let Baker keep playing after his initial injury.. Not one coach in the NFL lets their franchise QB play as injured as Baker was..
The answer to this riddle of the Sphinx is very simple.. Baker carried the team playing hero ball during the first half of the season.. After he was injured and allowed to play, Grizzard did nothing to protect Baker, nor did any of his teammates standing on the sidelines in street clothes, nor did his pathetic defense. So Baker was no longer unable to play hero..
Now he gets to endure this nonsense about his value and ability to lead a franchise..
Well I have news for the Bucs.. If you let Baker walk out the door, you will find out how valuable he is.. There are probably 15-20 Teams who would gladly pay him for his services..
Stop this nonsense and pay the man. He has proven his ability to lead your Franchise.
June 18th, 2026 at 10:58 am
“For instance, we soundly thrashed the Saints in the 1st game 23-3 despite Baker getting sacked 3 times, yet lost to them in the 2nd game 24-20 despite Baker not being sacked at all, yet going 14-of-30 for 122 yds in the loss.”
No sir, we did not “soundly thrash” the Saints in that first matchup as Baker went 15-24 for 152 yards and ZERO TDs. Offensively we didn’t score a solitary point in the entire first half and of our 4 offensive possession in the 1st half only 1 drive lasted >5 plays. Net yardage on those same possession was 81 YARDS of production, that’s it. Nelly put the first official points on the board and scored as many TDs as our entire offense. No sir, let’s not revise history. That Saints game right BEFORE the bye was a sign of things that came after the bye.
Sacks don’t have much bearing on your ability to win football games, at least not as much as turnovers and how they immediately impact an offenses ability or inability to score points. Sacks aren’t what did it down the stretch, and injuries are just a cop out, but a fact that cannot be overlooked is turning the ball over twice as much in 9 games as you did in your first 8 games.
The whole post dances around that.
Justin Herbert was the most pressured QB in the entire NFL last season, being pressured on 29.8% of his dropbacks compared to Bakers being pressured on 14.8% which is well below the league avg of 21% pressure. Herbert not only finished with a higher pressure rate, but he also got sacked 18 more times than Mayfield at 55 sacks which was 3rd most in the league, still won 11 games.
So no, sack rate has nothing to do with a QBs ability to play winning football also Herbert finished the last month of the season w/a splint on his left hand. This fan base has a problem being honest with itself, and being able to call a spade a spade because of the tribalism over our differing opinions on Baker and his ability as an NFL QB. It’s everybody else’s fault, until the tape comes on.
June 18th, 2026 at 11:04 am
Baker showed his true colors during that 2-7 run. Amazing coaching gave the team all the preparation they needed for excellent gameplans, brilliant in game adjustments, and of course stellar defense and special teams.
There’s only one guy who oversaw all three phases of that lithium battery plant blaze, and fortunately he’s still overseeing all three phases.
June 18th, 2026 at 11:13 am
So ” if” he has a good year and “if” we win 12-13 games and ” if” we get to a minimum NFC title game, the Bucs will have to pay a ransom to retain his services ” if” they don’t franchise him. What a novel ideal paying for results. As Glazer said, ” you would love to cut that check” in that scenario. As they said in THE WIRE ” dat be dem good problems”…..BUT it would be far more disastrous to pay him 50-55M and he plays like he has 7/8 years in the league. Negotiations were so poor he had to run like a diva to the media s few weeks ago. What’s going to happen from now to September? Kirk Cousins (ended up being a bad deal) was 36 and tore his Achilles halfway thru the season and got 4/180M back in 2024. You’ll see how much other teams want him and willing to pay. WATCH. What came out last week? Tampa thinks they will give him his highest offer. BOOM!!! Sorry, a new HC isn’t going to want any version of Faker WillFail let alone at 32 and let alone at 50M. The hypocrisy for Baker is sickening. He and Dak are the same because they both have 2 post season wins (lol) but Baker is as good as Purdy,Hurts and Goff and playoff success don’t matter because they are on loaded teams. Detroit was 3-14 Goff first year and Philly was 4-12 Hurts rookie year. If QB is just 1/22 why does Baker who won’t make the NFL top 100 ALREADY paid more then ANY non QB in the NFL for 2026? But it’s just 1/22 starting positions huh?
June 18th, 2026 at 11:28 am
I still would like a Baker enthusiast to explain how the 21st ranked offense had to cover for the 19th ranked defense? 19 is lower then 21 right? Or how the Bears in the NFC north went 11-6 and wins playoff game with the 29th ranked defense. The 49ers defense was 20th. One spot below ours and they went 12-5 and won a playoff game. I know you guys gonna say ” injuries, Grizz”. Ok. But in 2023 with wonder boy Canales as OC, every skill player starting all 17 and a healthy OL, the offense was …..23rd. Can’t blame the defense that year because we were 7th in points allowed. Even that low impact 2024 we were 10-7 and didn’t clinch this division until week 18 lol. Washington with a worse defense and a rookie QB in a tougher division went 12-5 and went to the NFC title game. With a defense that allowed OVER 35 PPG in the playoffs. Btw, we best the Saints 20-3 to go to 6-2. Entering that game we were 5-2 with a negative point differential. So much for that ” we were 6-2 humming on all cylinders”. No, we weren’t.
June 18th, 2026 at 11:42 am
You Baker fans aren’t slick. You want hi extended so bad because you have no clue how he will play and he’s been mediocre/bad most of his career. Unlike a Stafford, Brees,Favre who he gets compared to (LOL!!!) his game will not age well. You know this roster and putrid division props him up to be a average QB. If he is cast aside here it’s officially over. If he gets extended he gets one more season/bite of the apple. Myself and other educated,objective BUCS FANS already know he can be here 100 years and not sniff a SB. But it gives you blind loyalist hope he can pull a Darnold – even tho he’s over 2 years older lol. It’s wasted time. Any business owners on here are familiar with the term ” opportunity cost”. Please guys, tell me the 15-20 teams (LOL) that are lined up to throw money at the feet of Baker Mayfield……WHO? What FO looks at him, his player profile, his resume and thinks, yeah we better clear some space for SB trophies. In 3 years the guys is under .500 outside the NFC south. SB? He’s only been to the playoffs 3/8 seasons and ALL THREE times it came down to the last game of the season. I liked it up. 2020 vs the Steelers. Pittsburgh sat alot of starters and Cleveland barely won that final game to get in. 2023 here, beat the Panthers 9-0. Remember that year AWJ turned into prime Ed Reed for us to sneak into the playoffs? And in 2024 going to the last game it was still up in the air..LOL. This 4 year stretch in the NFC south is the worse by far since the 2002 realignment. His 2 playoff wins in 8 years? Both wildcards against teams coming in on historic losing streaks ..see the 2020 Steelers and 2023 Eagles. It’s literally a waste of time having him here.
June 18th, 2026 at 12:04 pm
“No one said a peep about Grizzard when the Bucs’ offense hummed before the bye.”
————
Have to disagree on that one, I saw tons of people, including myself, saying the offense was a mess, and the play calling made no sense.
Also Baker had already fallen off a cliff before the bye.
June 18th, 2026 at 12:21 pm
“No one said a peep about Grizzard when the Bucs’ offense hummed before the bye.”
“Warren Brooks Lynch Says:
September 19th, 2025 at 7:52 am
“But given the injuries on the offensive line, Joe can understand why Bucs offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard didn’t go full-blown ground-and-pound.“
Given the injuries on the OL that’s exactly why you keep pounding the rock.
Late in the 3rd quarter on that drive Chase missed the 38 yarder, Chaad had 4 carries in a row for 38 yards from our own 43 to Houstons’ 19 yard line.”
What’d Grizz do? He went empty with a banged up OL, only trusting 5 guys to hold the pocket just for Mayfield to toss 2 incompletions and our Kicker to bungle a chip shot. That’s settling leading to failing. Run the ball Joshua.”
“Warren Brooks Lynch Says:
October 3rd, 2025 at 11:24 am
Well run the damn ball then, coach.
Be more worried about the 67 points Seattle has allowed through 4 games.
Seattle has finished their first 4 games allowing 17 in their first two games, 13 week 3 and 20 this past week. That’s already something we’ve struggled to do against teams with varied differences in talent in the same span.
We’ll see what the gameplan is looking like this week, but I for one have strained faith in a guy who’ll call something gimmicky like a flea flicker, before he tries to work in play action”
June 18th, 2026 at 12:27 pm
Joe,
Grizzard had a plan for the team he started the season with. And, that plan worked well enough until the injuries became overwhelming. Then, he failed to adapt.
I posted analysis of the games in the latter part of the season, and it was clear that drive failures increased in direct proportion to passes per set of downs, passes on third downs, and passes on fourth downs.
It was even worse for two point conversions where the Bucs had a long streak of pass attempts with a 100% failure rate during the streak.
The Bucs were decent when they mixed the run in on all three downs and on two point conversions. The second and third string O-Line could get the job done well enough when the defense faced some uncertainty.
But, for the most part, the Bucs were so predictable passing on second and long, third and long, fourth and long, and two point conversions, that they may as well have just shouted out the play call to the opposing defense.
And, leading in close games with time running down, consecutive failed passes that gave the other team the ball back with time to score was inexcusable. Yes, you want the defense to hold in those situations. In the NFL, at the end of the fourth quarter, you cannot count on that. The Bucs offense time and again failed to run the clock down at the end of games to protect a narrow lead.
That is on Grizzard or on whoever was pulling his strings if he was not really running the offense.
June 18th, 2026 at 12:43 pm
Cosell Says: “But he just gets stuck too many times in the pocket without delivering the football.”
Ding-Ding-Ding. THIS is what I have said all along. It was just too easy to see (if you’re NOT a Baker Bois looking for any excuse you can invent). There was just way too many times, where he had all the time in the WORLD, and he just for whatever reasons, HELD ONTO THE BALL TOO LONG. And, we just wasn’t seeing-it or recognizing-it PRE-Snap. His play was just HORRENDOUS. Looked like a lost Rookie. He had as much “TIME” to throw as anyone. And, it’s still NOT an excuse even IF he didn’t. Cause, then it’s ON YOU to get rid of if QUICKER.
June 18th, 2026 at 12:44 pm
We can continue the blame-game, but I think that we’re all going to see a positive, re-affirming change with Zac as O.C. and a now-healthy offensive line — much closer to our ’24 offense versus last year’s.
And bringing in new/young blood to our defense has the potential to really improve the overall motivation of the entire team.
June 18th, 2026 at 1:01 pm
Sign Baker. Then let’s watch the offense this year with the entire offensive line having the ability returned to run the football. It makes everything so much easier.
June 18th, 2026 at 1:04 pm
Well if you all remember last Years second half disaster was do to yes you guessed it fat frog TB immersed himself in the offense and started calling the plays because he had no confidence in grizz and you see what that did the offense was just as bad as the defense Joe wrote about it several times so expect everything he touches turns to garbage can’t wait until this dude is gone but then again the nfl these days are about being soft and money start with getting a new commisioner and bringing back old school football that we all loved!
June 18th, 2026 at 1:18 pm
Baker first 3 games:61/99 for 615 yards,6td(good) and 0 int (elite). Our offense was ranked low and we won 3 games by a total of 6 points against teams that were a combined 1-8 after 3 weeks. Baker was not turning the ball over, he was not exceptional. He often engineered come for behind wins after he and the offense was bad most of the game. Eagles game were were down 24-6 at halftime. He was 12/22 for 65 yards,0 TD and a int. He did his usual stat pad when the game was over. We loss 31-25 because Chase hit a 70 yd FG,66 Kenton) and Philly took a safety on the last play of the game. First half against Detroit he okayed JUST like he did first half vs the Rams and needed 50 attempts to get 228 yards LOL. Most of those coming ….you guessed it, in the 4th when the game was over. Baker had under ,50 yards at half. This is the game ,#13 got hurt from hospital ball bake. Funny, the week before he got ” hurt” vs the Rams he ran head first in the end zone vs Buffalo got a TD. You know that terrible I jury that was so bad we never saw it and he never needed a surgery or procedure for? The key so bad he was showing off in the weight room 6 weeks after the season ended? Yeah, that one. Well he used that injury card a year too early. Because if he gets ” hurt’ ago the I jury ltone label will follow him and that doesn’t improve with age.
June 18th, 2026 at 1:25 pm
@ Kenton Smith Says: “And I will bet his phone would be ringing off the hook. With some offers that’ll probably dwarf what we could sign him for today.”
It will not be anywhere NEAR $200-MIL Fully-Guaranteed. Now, THAT I can guarantee YOU. And, “JA” is 💯 CORRECT. I’ve been saying it. Just LOOK at last season’s Quarterbacks who made the Playoffs, & those who missed-out ENTIRELY. Then, look at the QB’s who actually WON a Playoffs Game, AND who was still left playing in the Conference Championship Games. The very best route for long serious continuous success for being true legit Contenders, is to have and maintain a damn STRONG ROSTER. You can say, “well, Lamar, Burrow, and Mahomes (and Baker LoL) were ALL HURT/INJURED.” Then, I will say… Well, Yeah, THAT’S the MAJOR PART of the PROBLEM. It is THE NFL. Players get hurt. $50-MILLION Players ALSO, get hurt. Not playing-out this season under his current contract, is a REAL DUMB move by the Bucs. It. Makes. NO. SENSE. They have absolutely NOTHING to lose. They have EVERYTHING TO LOSE by extending ‘HIM’ NOW, and when they don’t even have to.
June 18th, 2026 at 1:32 pm
Strong HC (who is a strong play-caller). Strong ‘Aggressive’ GM. Strong ROSTER. QB’s on the CHEAP (bridge or rookie-deals), UNTIL you find a ‘generational type’ who is SPECIAL, and can carry a TEAM on his back. That’s the way moving forward today, in this modern day NFL.
June 18th, 2026 at 1:42 pm
Stpetematt Says:
June 18th, 2026 at 1:01 pm
Sign Baker.
———-
You’ll be happy to hear that he’s already under contract, so we don’t need to sign him.
June 18th, 2026 at 1:45 pm
@ Stpetematt Says: “Sign Baker.”
Ummmm, Believe HE IS.
June 18th, 2026 at 1:45 pm
Munch – HaHa. You know what they say about “Great Minds.”
June 18th, 2026 at 1:55 pm
@ Smitty (lol) Says: “There are probably 15-20 Teams who would gladly pay him for his services..”
That’s just NOT true. It’s not even CLOSE to being true. It is either from being DELUSIONAL, or it’s just a flat out LIE. There will not even be HALF of that number, who will even be kicking the TIRES. And, that’s a FACT. Ever heard of anything called the 2027 NFL DRAFT before, OR that there are about 25-TEAMS that already HAVE their current “QB-situation” (and future plans) set in-place!?
June 18th, 2026 at 2:00 pm
Bye Baker Bye Bowles – has been ALL OVER IT for the past couple of days, spittin’ FACTS. 💯
June 18th, 2026 at 2:03 pm
“You Baker fans aren’t slick. You want hi extended so bad because you have no clue how he will play and he’s been mediocre/bad most of his career.”
It’s because they don’t care about the TEAM FIRST. They are not real BUCS Fans.
June 18th, 2026 at 2:16 pm
“Grizzard had a plan for the team he started the season with. And, that plan worked well enough until the injuries became overwhelming. Then, he failed to adapt.“
Nope, the plan was sketchy from the rip, the best statistical efforts before the bye were Seattle & SF.
The ATL, HOU games weren’t “smooth” by any means
Jets game, the offense had a hard time getting out of its way in both halves and the Eagles game was the first taste we got of our post bye offense. Absolutely terrible week 7 & 8.
You tell me any team gets 22 total possessions combined in back to back games and only scraped together 25 points, you’d think something was wrong. Whether it’s the Bucs or not. Defense between those two games allowed 27 lol
We walked the razors edge all season as a team, this reimagining of our offense being some competent unit is bizarre to read. Especially considering the 2 defensive TDs we score were necessary to win, but that’s not a sustainable way to generate points which our offense was consistently inconsistent doing.
June 18th, 2026 at 2:49 pm
Which teams would want Baker at $50M+ a year… this is first time doing this, so I don’t know the results… And yes, this is a legit effort…
AFC East
Buffalo — Josh Allen (N)
Miami — Malik Willis (N – complete rebuild)
New England — Drake Maye (N)
New York — Geno Smith (Y)
AFC North
Baltimore — Lamar Jackson (N)
Cincinnati — Joe Burrow (N)
Cleveland — Deshaun Watson / Shedeur Sanders (Y)
Pittsburgh — Aaron Rodgers (Y)
AFC South
Houston — C.J. Stroud (N)
Indianapolis — Daniel Jones (?)
Jacksonville — Trevor Lawrence (N)
Tennessee — Cam Ward (N)
AFC West
Denver — Bo Nix (N)
Kansas City — Patrick Mahomes (N)
Las Vegas — Fernando Mendoza (N)
Los Angeles — Justin Herbert (N)
NFC East
Dallas — Dak Prescott (N)
New York — Jaxson Dart (N)
Philadelphia — Jalen Hurts (N)
Washington — Jayden Daniels (N)
NFC North
Chicago — Caleb Williams (N)
Detroit — Jared Goff (N)
Green Bay — Jordan Love (N)
Minnesota — Kyler Murray / J.J. McCarthy (Y)
NFC South
Atlanta — Michael Penix Jr. / Tua Tagovailoa (Y)
Carolina — Bryce Young (?)
New Orleans — Tyler Shough (N)
Tampa Bay — Baker Mayfield (?)
NFC West
Arizona — Jacoby Brissett (Y)
Los Angeles — Matthew Stafford (N)
San Francisco — Brock Purdy (N)
Seattle — Sam Darnold (N)
So by my count, there’s 6 clear ‘yes’ votes.
I also have two that I’m not sure about – that being Indy and Carolina.
With Indy, they really loved Daniel Jones last year – but… I’ll change it to yes. So that’s 7.
In Carolina… yes, they’d rather have Mayfield over Young, but the question is would they want Mayfield and lose over $40M in cap space over Young – and I don’t think so. Plus they already had Baker there, and literally cut him. So this is a No.
So by my count, you got 7 teams that would want Baker – a very very far cry from the 15-20 claim.
One note, on Dallas, some people might think they’d rather have Baker, and they might, but I’m doing this within the constraints of the estimated cap for next season. Dak is the better QB, but they’re also frustrated with him, so I think if there was no cap to consider they’d make the swap. As a Bucs fans, I’d gladly make that swap.
Other teams, like NO, they were very happy with their QB play last year, regardless of what you think, they’d rather stick with the cheap QB who outplayed Baker head-to-head when the Bucs playoff hopes were on the line.
June 18th, 2026 at 3:12 pm
R Munch-
I disagree about Houston not wanting Mayfield.
The Texans are hesitant to extend Stroud and Mayfield is from Texas-he probably wouldn’t object to playing for a team with a dominant defense.
June 18th, 2026 at 3:14 pm
Rod Munch – Yeah, BUT… The Jets will be DRAFTING their next QB. They’ve already planned-it all out. They’ve stockpiled all those PICKS (I believe they have 3-MORE ‘1st-Round’ PICKS AGAIN, in 2027), and are in all-out TANK mode now!!!! And, Cleveland is kinda still in the same boat… IF both Sanders & Watson continue to struggle. They’ll definitely be looking towards the DRAFT AGAIN. Possibly Pittsburgh too, IF they have a really bad season, AND they don’t snag Sorsby! Who knows about the Vikings with Kyler… If HE tears it up this season and Jefferson is HAPPY, then they lock him TF UP.
June 18th, 2026 at 3:18 pm
Which, will leave only about 2-3 teams including the Bucs, with ANY ‘interest’ whatsoever. Just exactly like his last go around, a couple of years ago. AND, there will be other FA QB’s on the market for CHEAP, including Mac Jones.
June 18th, 2026 at 3:21 pm
R Munch-
I think Houston would be interested in Mayfield.
The Texans are in no hurry to extend Stroud and Mayfield is from Texas- he probably wouldn’t mind playing on a team with a dominant Defense.
June 18th, 2026 at 3:26 pm
There are just NOT going to be very many teams ‘lining up’ to hand BAKER $50-MIL+ and fully guaranteeing-it LONGTERM, right now. Actually, that number would probably be at ZERO right now, BEFORE ‘seeing him’ play-out this season FIRST. Definitely, not after ‘seeing him’ LAST Season.
June 18th, 2026 at 3:32 pm
BBBB and Rod M, wish I had half the time that you two post about Baker on this site! If I didn’t know better I would say you both suffer from BDS, but I do enjoy reading your post! One gets the full menu, comedy, drama, satire and mystery. When not if when Baker leaves, will you seal to post about him or follow him? Better get back to work, the boss said finish this field before dark
June 18th, 2026 at 3:33 pm
Arizona could be a ‘potential’ landing spot for Baker (tho the Bucs still have that pesky little ‘franchise tag’ LoL). And, even that is dependent on what kind of season Jocoby Brissett has!!!! They really seem to like him there. He put up some great numbers there I think, during the last half of he season. He should be pretty good and solid this season with Jeremiah Love, Marv Harrison Jr. and a brand new ‘offensive-minded’ HC (LaFleur).
June 18th, 2026 at 3:37 pm
IMHO, It was a combo of bad ST, bad/lazy D, and BM6 holding on to the ball too long/ him being indecisive. I’m sure some bad play calling played a role in that. Perhaps a return to Liam Coen’s type of short pass game will help this season!! Bring on September!
June 18th, 2026 at 4:29 pm
We will make the playoffs and that’s when I want to see what BAKER do.