Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield usually evokes totally different sorts of emotion when introduced up in discussions. His profession relationship again to his faculty days at Oklahoma all the best way to his first season with Tampa Bay has been a real curler coaster of leisure.
After being counted out in his skilled profession, solely to get again on high with a redemption season in Tampa Bay, Baker Mayfield is again within the dialog for the correct causes. As we simply look again at Baker Mayfield’s 2023 season by itself advantage, how good was it?
And higher but, what can he do for an encore act?
On final Thursday’s episode of the Pewter Report Podcast we had been joined by NFL Movies senior producer, Greg Cosell, who gave his response to the query. Cosell is taken into account top-of-the-line soccer analysts within the historical past of the sport due to his movie breakdowns, so his opinion holds extra weight than most.
Can Baker Mayfield Maintain His Degree Of Play?
Greg Cosell shared what he thinks of Baker Mayfield as a quarterback and the way he finest features in Tampa Bay’s offense.
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Picture by: USA At the moment
“I don’t assume there’s loads of thriller to Baker Mayfield in the best way through which he has to play to achieve success,” Cosell stated. “And I feel everyone is aware of that. I discuss to coaches over time not particularly about him, however coaches who’ve been on the workers when Baker is the quarterback.
“So I’ve had conversations and I don’t assume there’s loads of thriller. I feel Baker at his core, and I really thought this once I watched his tape popping out of Oklahoma, he’s basically a timing rhythm participant and he’s smaller, so he must be protected. I bear in mind the one yr in Cleveland when it type of went downhill.”
Cosell continued his summarization of Mayfield.
“They had been caught in third-and-long so many occasions,” Cosell stated. “And, you understand, clearly no quarterback desires to be in that state of affairs. Some can deal with it higher than others. That’s not his deal. Whereas he’s not a statue or completely motionless, he’s probably not a playmaker. Proper, in that sense. So he’s a timing rhythm participant. And I feel Dave Canales understood that basically properly.”
There’s no query that Canales, Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator final yr, helped Baker Mayfield get again on monitor. Canales is the Panthers coach now, so it’s time as soon as once more for the Bucs quarterback to work with one more coordinator. Fortunately he has familiarity with Liam Coen from their time collectively in Los Angeles.
“Now they’ve Liam Coen and given his background, I’d anticipate that Baker Mayfield would like this offense and would like all of the ideas,” Cosell stated. “It’s the Rams stuff, so it’s loads of movement. There’s no motive to consider that he can’t play properly inside the system now. He nonetheless must be protected. He’s a smaller man. He’s not essentially nice when there are our bodies round him. Some want it greater than others in an effort to succeed. I feel that this offense, fairly frankly, is a extremely good match for nearly any quarterback and positively for a Baker Mayfield type of quarterback.”
Defining Baker Mayfield
It could be powerful to argue that Baker Mayfield is a High 10 quarterback within the league. However is he within the High 15 or a High 20 QB?
What’s one of the best ways to outline what sort of quarterback Mayfield is? Cosell took an try at it.
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Picture by: Cliff Welch/PR
“How would I outline him? I imply we began this with the concept that there’s to me, there’s not loads of thriller as to what he’s, if he’s protected,” Cosell stated. “And we talked concerning the inside of the O-line and the run sport may be higher. It doesn’t should be one of the best within the league, nevertheless it’s an element. I feel Baker can operate at a fairly excessive degree. Now once more, we’re not going to speak about Baker Mayfield the identical method we discuss Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow or Josh Allen.”
Cosell stated that Mayfield really has a fairly excessive ceiling. And he even in contrast him to one of many higher quarterbacks in in the present day’s NFL.
“However Baker – and I don’t need followers to assume I’m making a direct comparability as a result of I’m not – however I feel Baker can play stylistically extra like a Joe Burrow. Like that might be his type of play – the place he works from the pocket at a reasonably excessive degree. Burrow has higher motion, however Baker would have sufficient motion that he’s not a statue.
“There are different elements that should be in play for Baker to try this each single week. And if these elements usually are not in play, like if the protection had been to be unhealthy, if the run sport was nonexistent once more, you understand, there are numerous elements that might make it troublesome for Baker.”
With tons of variables for each participant, particularly at quarterback, it is sensible as to why Baker Mayfield had his peaks and valleys throughout the season earlier than happening a pleasant run on the finish of the yr. One other yr in Tampa Bay working with the identical group can hopefully obtain higher outcomes.
Take a look at the total episode of the Pewter Report Podcast – energized by Celsius – with Greg Cosell and our dialog with him concerning the Bucs.
