Baker Mayfield clearly isn’t backing down from how he plays the game of football and he shouldn’t as long as he’s doing the right things
One of the best aspects of Baker Mayfield’s game is his aggressiveness and willingness to put the Buccaneers on his shoulders in order to make a play. That’s not going to change and it shouldn’t as long as he’s acting responsibly.
We’re talking about Baker Mayfield’s three fumbles against the Cincinnati Bengals one last time simply because he was asked about them again on Wednesday when he spoke with reporters.
The question revolved around whether or not Sunday’s three-fumble performance would deter Mayfield from his aggressive tendencies and the Buccaneers quarterback made his intentions rather clear.
“I don’t think it had anything to do with the risk of running,” Mayfield told reporters. “You know, that was a decision. They dropped into coverage [and] covered the scheme well. And so for me in the red zone, [the] legs have to come alive. The scramble drill has to be a thing down there. But yeah, at that point, I don’t have to score. I had the first down yardage. Now make sure I have the ball and get down or get in the end zone…
“… It truly came down to fundamentals at that point on the goal line, or near the goal line, of risk being below the elbow. If I had it and I was trying to get the offhand to cover it up, but it was too low. And so when the guy gets an arm in there, it pops out. So, it truly comes back to the fundamentals.”
Baker Mayfield is right – he shouldn’t change his style of his play
He just needs to be more responsible. Now, obviously, actions speak louder than words in this instance and we won’t know the exact amount of emphasis Mayfield puts on protecting the ball until he’s in more situations like we saw in Week 1.
“The fumbles are something I can get fixed,” said Mayfield. “If it was something that wasn’t fixable, I’d probably be in a different spot. It’s something that I can personally get fixed to not put our team in that spot. And it’s also Week 1, it’s game one, and it’s like I always say, football teaches you life lessons. It’s how you handle adversity, how you get better, how you move forward…
“… And so, for me, focusing on that, harping on the details, ball security, and going forward.”
But it’s still considered progress to hear the accountability on Mayfield’s end. There are plenty of quarterbacks (check Deshaun Watson for instance) that won’t go into the detail, nor have the level of accountability, that Mayfield has gone into over the last few days. He knows what needs to be done and is more than willing to make it happen.
This is not about a “tiger changing its stripes” per se, nor should it represent any kind of course correction. Mayfield’s style of play, while it comes with potential negatives, often leads to big plays more than errors and it’s weighed heavily in the games the Buccaneers have won over the last few seasons.
We’re going to have to wait and see what the final outcome is, but the vibe is a good one and it should lead to more responsible playmaking opportunities for both Mayfield and the Buccaneers offense.
