Communication Breakdown
September 17th, 2026
Baker Mayfield’s faulty headset didn’t doom the Bucs.
No, this isn’t about KitKat-eating Bucs coach Todd Bowles’ oft-used excuse for bad defensive play.
(There have been times Joe was this-far from starting a GoFundMe.com page to help the Bucs pay for a sign language interpreter, since Bucs defenders apparently don’t know or can’t talk to one another. There have been so many “communication” issues.)
The Bucs had headset issues in Cincinnati but apparently they were not bad enough to trigger the “equity rule,” where the zebras shut down headsets for both teams.
Bowles was asked yesterday if Mayfield’s headset crash changed the Bucs’ plan.
“Trying to get everything in, that takes a little bit more time,” Bowles said of the malfunctioning headsets. “That takes a little bit more time, trying to run on the field and run back off and get in the huddle and get out.”
AFC North teams often have headset issues ,whether it is an AFC North team on the road or an AFC North team at home. Cincinnati plays in the AFC North. Bowles didn’t think the Bengals were up to any monkey business.
“I mean, it happens,” Bowles said of headsets going haywire. “There’s nothing you can do about it.
“You know, you’ve got to have hand signals, you’ve got to have wristbands, you’ve got to have Plan B and C.
“The game’s not going to stop off of that, and we’re not using that as an excuse.”
The Mayfield’s headset had nothing to do with his three lost fumbles. And since the refs didn’t invoke the equity rule, they must have been minor annoyances.
Even with the headset issues, the Bucs had one of the more productive days in the league moving the ball.
A very young and hungry Led Zeppelin performing “Communication Breakdown” in Paris, 1969.
This was a promotional visit for the band and, as is evident in this clip, Zeppelin was playing at a very high level, to demonstrate what was to be the next dominant force of the 70s. pic.twitter.com/NTGACsCshM
— 🎸 Rock History 🎸 (@historyrock_) June 15, 2024
September 17th, 2026 at 5:34 am
Led Zeppelin was on another level.
September 17th, 2026 at 6:10 am
May not be an excuse, but I think the headset issues got into Baker’s head. He was constantly getting the ball snapped at the very last second, and that has to be unsettling to a QB like Mayfield. Kind of indicates that you’re ‘behind the 8-ball’?
September 17th, 2026 at 6:25 am
Seems likely
September 17th, 2026 at 6:28 am
Baker always has an excuse for everything. Might as well change his name to Mr. X-Man.
September 17th, 2026 at 6:42 am
The only thing that stopped Baker and the Bucs offense Sunday was Baker and the Bucs.
They still almost overcame a three turnover deficit and the penalties.
Going forward, the turnovers and penalties should be the exception, and the productivity of the offense should be the rule.
September 17th, 2026 at 7:06 am
Constantly getting out of the huddle with 6-7 seconds left prevents you from audibles, no time
September 17th, 2026 at 7:20 am
Beej DR . That’s a excuse for Baker again if this was Jamies non of this will be a valid excuse and again I don’t care about Jamies either but I’m showing everyone that people only give excuses for the players they like for other reasons other than they’re play on the field.
September 17th, 2026 at 7:24 am
It was the same for Brady in 2022 when he was throwing balls in the dirt and Byron Leftwich was the scapegoat once AB and Gronk left. Stop with the excuses for Baker we are 2- 8 the last 10 games that’s been played.
September 17th, 2026 at 7:29 am
Beej … ‘Constantly getting out of the huddle with 6-7 seconds left prevents you from audibles, no time’.
Excellent point Beej. Spot on!
September 17th, 2026 at 7:37 am
“Baker, it looks like there was an issue with the communications in the helmet”
“Yes it was cutting in and out early in the game”
Wait for it………
BAKER ALWAYS MAKES EXCUSES!!!!
September 17th, 2026 at 8:04 am
BS EXCUSE!!!!!
baker snapping the ball with seconds left on the clock wasnt the issue…the issue was his lack of his ball security….
and if baker gets “rattled” from the headsets, he needs to work on his mental toughness….
the way AA34 was playing, i guess he had “headset” issues too
GO BUCS!!!!
September 17th, 2026 at 8:04 am
Would the Baker haters be satisfied if he threw the ball away every time there was rush pressure or a busted play and they still lost? There would be no fumbles or interceptions that way. The answer is no, they would still find a reason to blame him. Quarterbacks always get the glory or the shame but it takes all 11 offense players to successfully run plays.
September 17th, 2026 at 8:08 am
Communication breakdowns are a staple of a Bowles coached team even when the headsets work! Just have to coach it better, play it better,and we’ll be fine.
September 17th, 2026 at 8:09 am
I thought the really good offensive coordinators often scripted the first 15 plays of a game and ran those plays regardless of down and distance to see what works so they know what to call the rest of the game.
September 17th, 2026 at 8:20 am
A headset problem did not cause Baker to horribly under throw a wide azz open Emeka Egbuka on the 2nd play of the game 45 yards downfield.
If Baker does his job and hits Egbuka it is 7-0 Bucs after the 2nd play of the game. BTW Baker was not hurried in any way on this throw. Would that have changed things-we will never know.
September 17th, 2026 at 8:33 am
The excuses will continue as long as the media coddles this team.
Basically little to no accountability for anything in Tampa.
Licht has created a culture of paying players and coaches big money with zero expectations.
Just listen to their excuses. They don’t want to talk about Cincy because it’s a continuation of 2025.
We waited six months for more of the same putrid slop that Bowles and Baker serve up.
September 17th, 2026 at 8:43 am
It was a communication issue for Baker
It was Anzalone cleats, it was Bucky shoulder
Vita Vea was rusty, Wirfs isn’t a 100%
These petty excuses don’t help the cause
We’re 2-8 in our last ten games
And all the fans get are more excuses
Last season it was the injuries
Now they’re starting the new season with more pathetic excuses
This don’t fly in Lakeland
September 17th, 2026 at 8:49 am
You work on cleaning up the mistakes ,heading into wk 2… simple
September 17th, 2026 at 9:05 am
It is a good thing that the Bucs play one of the worst teams in the NFL Sunday. Then all the preseason hopium will return for a week. Bucs are a 8 point favorite. Another loss will be devastating.
September 17th, 2026 at 9:07 am
Headset issues absolutely relate to fumbles, penalties, pass protection breakdowns…
Headset broken–>Play comes in late–>rushed at the line–>no time to read defense and adjust protections–> passpro breakdowns–> assignments missed–>QB hit from behind while scrambling, players internal clocks mistimed, block angles incorrect allow unexpected backside pressure or unmissed second order blocks –>three uncharacteristic fumbles, false starts, missed protections
Football is a game of interlocking-systems.
September 17th, 2026 at 9:08 am
Headset issues absolutely relate to fumbles, penalties, pass protection breakdowns…
Headset broken–>Play comes in late–>rushed at the line–>no time to read defense and adjust protections–> passpro breakdowns–> assignments missed–>QB hit from behind while scrambling, players internal clocks mistimed, block angles incorrect allow unexpected backside pressure or missed second order blocks –>three uncharacteristic fumbles, false starts, missed protections
Football is a game of interlocking-systems.
September 17th, 2026 at 9:10 am
Great clip I’ve never seen Joe! Awesome
September 17th, 2026 at 9:11 am
It’s weird how people baby baker like he’sa little kid or something. He’s been in the league nine years and still ain’t figured it out. Licht Bowles and baker need to go, and then we need a gm who knows how to scout and develop players and he definitely needs to know how to find a franchise qb.
September 17th, 2026 at 9:13 am
This wasn’t just an issue Sunday. It was happening in the preseason as well. It was also an issue in games last year. I remember watching a few games with friends last year and we were all saying why does Baker seem to always get out of the huddle so late? By the time you get guys in motion, there is no time to check into other plays.
Brady would always be up at the line with plenty of time to look over the defense and change plays as needed.
This wasn’t a “last Sunday” issue, this has been an issue and needs to be fixed, especially at home. No more fing excuses!
Put up or shut time for this team and coaching staff.
September 17th, 2026 at 9:14 am
turn overs = losses
cut down turnovers = more wins
September 17th, 2026 at 9:43 am
The crowd in the Zeppelin video is clearly very deep into it. lol
September 17th, 2026 at 10:28 am
Marty, that’s what I thought the first time I watched it. And the second, haha. They would be the biggest band in the world in less than 2 years and this crowd looks like it’s watching a ballet.
As for the actual communication breakdown with the team, there are excuses and then there are reasons. Sometimes the word excuse can and should be replaced with the word reason. It’s not an excuse to say that the headset issue was problematic. The reason some of the plays took most of the clock is yes, due to those problems. It’s not an excuse to say that. It’s a small thing but it’s annoying when I hear that. Don’t get me wrong, the reason we lost that game was due to poor ball security. Point blank. We fix that and we’ll win a lot more games than we lose.
September 17th, 2026 at 10:48 am
Brady! Brady! Brady! I got a tear in my beer! Using mike evans brand tissues!! Get over it! STFU!!!
September 17th, 2026 at 10:51 am
Final straw..How bout a brand new offense?? Again! maybe just maybe that was a contributing factor?? Joe Bucs Einstein’s Ugh!!
September 17th, 2026 at 10:57 am
If you look at the old Zeppelin videos from when they first started, the crowds clearly didn’t know what to make of what they were seeing/hearing.
This was the height of the flower power/bubble gum, La… La… La… La… era. Led Zeppelin, and maybe a year later, Black Sabbath, were absolutely radical music to the general public. Nothing like them had ever been heard before. Like blues on acid.
The crowds were certainly like, “WTF is this???” LOL
September 17th, 2026 at 11:49 am
Yeah, those folks in the audience had no idea what they were seeing. Sitting there like stiffs.
September 17th, 2026 at 12:46 pm
Oneilbuc,
Everyone can clearly see that you have a racial agenda. Why not just accept fan criticism for what it is?
September 17th, 2026 at 2:06 pm
Gipper. First of all you’re not even a real bucs fan that’s number 1. Number 2 you will be gone as soon as Baker leaves. And 3 I’ve never been or have a race agenda I have nephews and nieces that are half black and white who i love dearly. So you can miss me with your race card and yes facts are facts regardless of the race of the quarterback.
September 17th, 2026 at 2:11 pm
Baker got his contract so there is no excuses for what happened on Sunday you Baker fans come up with every excuse in the book. He played bad just say he had a bad day and one of those fumbles was not his fault. I don’t blame strip sack fumble on quarterbacks when they’re trying to throw or less they held on to the ball to long like when he was in the pocket. That’s on him but the first fumble was not on him.
September 17th, 2026 at 2:13 pm
Usually if one team headsets go out the refs take the other teams off until its fixed. Equity rule. Seems like that didn’t happen.
September 17th, 2026 at 2:40 pm
Merci Joseph – for the ’69 Zep clip….
I listen to a lot of live music – and can tell you that ALL shows from that era in Europe are the same….
European audiences at that time always appeared/sounded ‘passive’. I believe it was a form of respect – to not make noise during the song and to politely golf clap at the conclusion.
But yea – also, there was almost certainly a degree of shock and wonderment at these ‘new sounds’ being heard for the very first time in a live setting. Jimi Hendrix had very much ++ the same effect on basically EVERYBODY two years before this….
September 17th, 2026 at 4:43 pm
Oneilbuc,
Do you doubt Mayfield was trying Sunday? Why was he running and trying to extend plays? Because the O line was lousy including All Pro, Tristan Wirfs.
By the way what is “ a real Bucs fan”? If you are a real Bucs fan, how can we tell?
September 17th, 2026 at 6:01 pm
@Gipper
what’s funny about O’Neil is that you can tell as i could by his pasts posts he plays the race card,however its not called a race card its called being “woke”.Thats all good whatever floats your boat,however again ,he doesn’t celebrate independence day which he admitted ,but with him sharing his independence with his thoughts/ freedom of speech,he absolutely makes no sense to me not celebrating his independence of being ” woke”…
September 17th, 2026 at 10:44 pm
Steve V. You are right I don’t celebrate the 4th of July because again my people were slaves . Just like you don’t celebrate June teenth or the year they actually ended slavery in 1865. That’s not woke that’s facts !! Lol 😆 😆
September 17th, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Gipper. I’ve been a bucs fan over 30 years and yes I’m sick of you fake fans coming on my team for one guy . But Sunday is a win win for you because when the bucs win you can celebrate Baker and if some strange reason Cleveland wins you will be on the Browns site celebrating just like the Brady fans/ Patriots fans.