The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are off to another impressive start in the 2025 NFL season, with Baker Mayfield showing poise in clutch moments and leading back-to-back game-winning drives. In this in-depth Q&A, Dan Holmi of The Bucs Report sits down with Steve Versnick to break down the biggest storylines surrounding Tampa Bay’s 2-0 start. From Mayfield’s improved command of the offense to rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka’s explosive debut, this conversation covers how the Bucs are building momentum early in the year and what it means for their playoff outlook.We also dive into the injuries shaping Tampa Bay’s roster, including Tristan Wirfs’ absence on the offensive line and Calijah Kancey’s season-ending setback on defense. Steve discusses how the Buccaneers are adjusting in the trenches, the timeline for Chris Godwin’s return, and whether Chase McLaughlin’s early struggles at kicker could force the front office to explore alternatives. Packed with expert insight, this episode gives Buccaneers fans a closer look at the depth, resilience, and emerging stars driving Tampa Bay forward.
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Heading to a Bucs game this season? Or maybe the Rays, Lightning — heck, even a concert in Tampa? Make your life easier with SeatGeek — the only ticket app that rates every deal so you know you're getting the best bang for your buck. And right now, SeatGeek is giving Bucs MinuteCast listeners $20 off your first ticket purchase over $50. Just download the SeatGeek app or visit the link in the show notes — and use promo code: MINUTECAST. That’s MINUTECAST — for 20 bucks off. Your seat starts here. https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/teamseatgeek
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Minicas Media. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Minute Cast starts right.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Now, but something wants to think about.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
It's a Tampa Bay Buccaneers Mini Cast. All right, welcome
into this edition of the Bucks Report podcast. In today's edition,
(00:41):
we have Steve Versnik from the Sports Day Tampa Bay podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Steve, welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Thank you for having me again.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
You know, we take a.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Look at the Buccaneers this season, and I don't think
that injuries we're going to be so drawn into focus.
But really early this season, this team is plagued with
injuries and listening to your podcast this morning, I hear
that Cody Mao is the most recent addition to the
injured list. So a lot for this team to deal
(01:11):
with right out of the gate. But let's talk big picture.
We won't go into the negativity right away. We'll talk
about the Bucks coming off on a great start here
two in zero on the season. Are you surprised with
the early success this team has had.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I wouldn't say I'm surprised by it. I mean, you know,
we know this was a championship contending team coming in.
I mean you saw the offense last year's top five
in the NFL scored twenty eight twenty nine points a game.
You know, Todd Bowles defense is kind of a bend
don't break. They probably gave up a little too much
last year. They don't create enough turnovers. But you added
Hasan Reddick to add to the pass rush, which was
(01:44):
the biggest weakness. You have an Antoine Winfield junior who's healthy.
You've got Savasi a Dennis back which you would hope
for big things and I'm sure we'll get into him
as we go forward. But you know, you thought the
defense would be improved. And you know, this is a
team that's won the division four straight year. So to
say I'm surprised, no, No, that went on the road
and won the first two games, and they did it
in dramatic fashion, and you see that they never give up.
(02:07):
And you didn't know some of the injuries. I mean,
you don't have Tristan Wurfs, which you weren't expecting coming
into the season. Chris Godwin you knew probably wasn't going
to be there initially. But Jayalen McMillan's out, you know,
so some of your weapons on offense were reduced significantly,
But the offensive line has been the biggest story because
of Tristan Wurf's and how they've moved stuff around. I mean,
who thought that gram Barton was going to be playing
left tackle for you, and Ben Bretison was going to
(02:29):
move to center and Michael Jordan, who wasn't even in
training camp to start the season, was going to be
your left guard. You know, we had touted off season
that the whole offense was back all eleven starters, many
of the backups, so that you know, the offense should
only get better other than not knowing what Josh Grizzard
would do. But the factor in all the injuries, and
as we always say, with injuries in the NFL, you're
(02:49):
going to have them, you just can't have them in
the same position, piling up on each other. And that's
what the Bucks have again this year. Last year was
kind of the defensive backs. This year now seems like
the offensive line.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
You know, I listened to your podcast and I heard
that you and Rick talking about that the first game
is a liar, and oftentimes I think that that's what
a loser says, right. Don't read too much into this.
That was just the first game. But the Bucks able
to duplicate that success. So let's talk about the man himself,
Baker Mayfield. Listen, there was quite a vacuum when Tom
(03:23):
Brady departed this team. Who was going to be the
guy to take over? And you know when you listen
to the name Baker Mayfield, it was met with a
lot of Oh that guy, the guy that's bounced around
the league quite a bit here, but he has been
a great addition to this team. And you hear the
players say that it's more like playing with your big
brother than playing with dad, that there is this rapport
(03:43):
with Baker Mayfield with the players on this team. When
you take a look at it, it has come down
to some last minute heroics by Baker Mayfield and the
Bucks that put them in the win column.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Is that what you want? Is that sustainable throughout the season?
Speaker 3 (03:58):
You got to think that they'd like to handle it
a little bit more handily, and like you guys were
talking about on a recent show about if they kind
of just gave them a touchdown towards the end of
the game, tell me a little bit about your thoughts
on the Buccaneers and how it's coming down to the
wire here.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
No, I don't think it's sustainable to have to have
game winning drives every game, but first two games on
the road, a makeshift offensive line, like, you know there's
going to be issues. I mean, that's the Season's a marathon,
not a sprint. And even though there's only seventeen games,
and everyone feels like if you win this week, you're
going to the super Bowl. You lose this week, or
the worst team ever, and that's kind of the ebbs
and flows of the NFL. The sustaining at the end
(04:38):
of the game is not good, but it's good that
you are able to do that, right. I mean, Baker
Mayfield has what twelve touchdowns now and it come back
wins basically since he got to the Bucks, I believe,
or maybe that's his career. But you know, some quarterbacks
have that cool calm can handle that situation. Others don't.
I mean, Tom Brady was the best at it, Peyton
Manning was fantastic at it. You know that they can
(04:59):
kind of calm down and stay calm and patient when
everybody else is hurrying up, when everything else is the
fans are screaming, the players are sprinting around the field
trying to get set and they're able to just ease
everything up, and that's what you want in a quarterback.
Do you want it to come down to the final
drive every game? No, because you're not always going to
have the ball last. You know, we've seen that in
the past where Todd Bowles relies on his defense to
(05:21):
stop it at the end and they haven't been able
to the Rams game in the playoffs a couple of
years ago and others. So, no, you don't want that.
But two wins on the road to start the season
with the makeshift offensive line, you take it. And you know,
at the end of the season, they don't ask how
you won the games, they ask how many you want
and that's who determines whether you make the playoffs. And
what you're seating is.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
So as we take a look at it, is it
all on Baker or our changes up front in the
play calling make those finishes easier?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Well, And that's the other part of this too, is
so new offensive coordinator for the third straight year now,
new play caller. You know, is Josh Gizard been perfect
in the play calls? Probably not. He's going to learn
as he goes along, too. And as you said, your
blind side is not Tristan Worf's over there. Now you've
got Graham Barton who's done well. But that changes everything too.
(06:12):
I mean you've probably seen Baker run a little more
than you'd like to, but he's also been outside with
the one fumble. He hasn't been turning the ball over,
which last year he led the NFL and interceptions, and
he led the NFL and fumbles, I believe too, So
you know that's important too. So he's not been doing
that with that makeshift offensive line. I mean Luke Getecky,
he's not playing a right tackle some you know, now
(06:32):
with Cody maccatt this week, you may have not one
person that you anticipated being in their spot on the
starting on the offensive line to start this games Saturday
or Sunday at home. And that's that's tough. I mean,
that's the one unit on the field that is a
unit like you can replace a you have a receiver
go down, you bring somebody else in, and yes, there's
adjustments and things like that, but when the offensive line
(06:54):
is makeshift like that, that is that's the one unit
that if one guy makes a mistake, everything goes to crap.
And it doesn't matter which guy makes it if one
guy makes a mistake in the read, goes and blocks
the wrong guy, double teams, the wrong person, doesn't pick
up this block, doesn't see this blitzer, like everything goes
to hell on that. And so you know, I give
(07:15):
the Bucks a lot of credit. Like I said, when
you start zero two or two and ohero on the road,
like that's in the NFL. If you go perfect at
home and five hundred on the road, that's twelve or
thirteen wins. That's a great season. So you've got two
road wins, including one at Houston, which is supposed to
be a good team, and then a division rival you
got a road win where last year you lost there.
(07:37):
So and I think Josh Garzard is going to get
better and grow into it and his play calling. But
I also think he's limited right now too.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
So another area of concern is Baker Mayfield. There was
a lot of talk that he didn't get any preseason reps.
I know in the joint practices he did because they
were trying to shield him from injury. Because the trajectory
of this team is going to change dramatically. If it's
Teddy Bridgewater football, he might get you a game or
two there. He is a modern day quarterback in regard
(08:10):
that he has a bit of what I'm gonna call
happy feet. He is not Tom Brady who will sit
in the pocket and wait for the play to develop.
And you know, he has got had some success there, right.
I think it's fair to say that the Bucks may
not have won the last game had he not. You know,
show those off those wheels there. Usually you take a
dive to shield yourself, but in that game you really couldn't.
He was fighting for yardage there. How concerned are you
(08:34):
with Baker Mayfield as he was kind of hobbling around
after the game, you know, and as of right now,
I think that he's going to be good to go.
I guess it's a little bit too early to say.
But what are the perils would you say of being
a quarterback that likes to run a lot? I know
that intrinsically that is who he is. You can't take
the dog out of him, But how detrimental could that
(08:55):
be for the Bucks?
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Well, he's definitely more Brett Father than Tom Brady. He
may have a quite Brett far of gunslinger in that,
but the whole point and Bruce arians was on the
Pat McAfee show this week and talked about you know
the time to run or running, but to make contact.
You know when are you doing that? Is it third
down and you need to get the first down? Is
(09:17):
it the last two minutes of behalf and you're trying
to march down the field or is it the second
possession of the game and you're on your own twenty
and it's first down? Like avoid the like it's knowing
when to to take the contact because you need it,
and when to get rid of it. Tom Brady was
a master, not necessarily with the contact. But I'll just
throw the ball away I get pressure, I'm a question
(09:40):
to throw it away, live to fight another down. It's
the first quarter, it's the second drive, it's we punt
it here, no big deal, Like I'm not going to
make a mistake. Tom Brady was a master at knowing
the situation, when to force something and when not to.
And you need to do the same thing, and Baker,
I think is learning that. But you know, anytime you're
a quarterback who runs, you got a chance to getting hurt.
(10:01):
Although Joe Burrow got hurt sitting in the pocket, like
you know you're gonna get hurt there too, So it's
it's just knowing when to take on that contact, when
to give yourself up. And you know, if it's first
down and you're scrambling, you don't need the first down,
your two yards short, just slide like it's okay, you
got second and third down to get it. If it's
third down, and it's a crucial part of the game, okay,
take on a guy. You know, it's it's hard in
(10:24):
the moment, but it's knowing scoreing situation and that in time,
that's what you really need to know.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
So one of the best additions this season I'm going
to say on the offense is a Mecca Abuka. Listen,
going into the season, we knew that Godwin was going
to miss some time and we had Jalen McMillan penciled in.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Well guess what injuries happened? Uh?
Speaker 3 (10:46):
Teddy Bridgewater kind of airmailed it over him and he
climbed the ladder to catch it, and well, he's going
to be missing some time as well. That if you
take a look at it, Buka, I knew he was
going to be good. Did we know he was going
to be this could now? Listen, Kak or Mayfield has,
you know, sung his praises and he's like, I'm not surprised.
I told you this guy was as good as I
said he is. How surprised are you with the kind
(11:08):
of success he's had early on this season.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
I'm not surprised at success because if you watched him
at Ohio State and you hear the comments from Ohio State,
and even in his last year there, you know, he
ended up being the second best receiver on that team.
But he embraced Jeremiah Smith and helped coach him, and
he's been a student of the game and you know,
studies it and works hard. I'm not surprised by success
this much success, Maybe a little bit, although I wasn't
(11:34):
expecting him to be wide receiver two permanently. You expected
Jayalen McMillan to be beside him. You know a lot
of this success is and it's his work, ethic and everything.
They praise him, but his teams are taking Mike Evans
out and so that leaves a buka open and he's
capitalized on it, which is what you want a wide
receiver too to do. Is you know, when they decide
they're going to double team w r one, Mike Evans
(11:55):
or whether it's Justin Jefferson or anybody in the league.
Your number two receivers got to step up and make plays.
And that's what a book has done, which is exactly
what you want to see. I don't know if I'm
not surprised at success, but maybe I didn't expect three
touchdowns through two games and for him to look as
good as he did. But you know, they've been saying
this praises all preseason. They weren't lying.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
So we take a look at the wide receiver room
and we know at some point Godwin is going to
be back, it's going to be Jalen McMillan, and wow,
this team seems like it is going to be untouchable
in the offense department. Talk to me about kind of
the how the wide receiver room is going to be
laid out when all of those he has all those
weapons at his disposal. Baker Mayfield, who is going to
(12:34):
be the one that's targeted the most? Kind of rate
them in order of where they all fit in.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Well, I think you're always targeting Mike Evans number one.
I mean, on every play, you're looking as Mike Evans
got the coverage I want. Is he in the position
that you know we need it to be. I mean,
he's your Hall of Famer. You know, maybe Abuka becomes
when one day we'll see Chris Godwin is definitely going
to be in the Bucks Ring of Honor. Probably not
Hall of Fame NFL at this point, but you know
we'll see. But he's really good too. But you're always looking,
(13:01):
where's Mike Kevin's you know, what matchup does he got?
Are they is it zone? Is a man? Is it
double team? Is it? You know? Where is he at
and is he is he option one on this play
or is he basically trying to take defense somewhere else?
At this point, I think a buk is probably your
number two over McMillan, And not that McMillan's not capable,
but you know he last year, he had a good year,
(13:22):
got good at the end. But injuries affect you. And
you know also when he comes back week nine to ten,
whatever it is, how is he going to you know,
how healthy is he going to be? You know, much
like we've seen Chris Godwin come back from injuries often,
and it's a different injury than what McMillan has but
you know Godwin was good but not great right away,
and you know injuries on the neck, man, I don't
(13:43):
that's tough, man, you know, I don't you know how
how healthy is he going to be when he comes back?
How scared is he getting hit across the middle? And
you know they're not scared, but it does play in
your mindset. I mean, Hall of famers in any sport.
You know, you tear your knee in that first time
you try to cut on that knee, You're you're thinking
it like, you're not scared? Do you go do it?
But there can be a hesitation of pause, like you know,
(14:05):
I think a Mecca's probably your wide receiver too, But
I also think Joshzar is gonna run a lot of
three receiver sets, so they're all going to be out there.
It's not going to be it's not going to be
like McMillan's sitting on the bench, you know. I think
I think a Mecca is showing he's capable of being
a wide receiver too as a rookie, which is impressive.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
So a lot of options is what they're going to
have there. And now we take a look at the
running back position as well, and kind of an interesting
event there shall we say that Bucky Irving came on
the scene and kind of supplanted Rashad White, But there's more.
Rashad White in the last game showed that he has
a lot more to his game than many people had
projected him as. Talk to me about Rashad White here
(14:45):
for a moment. Is what we saw in the last game.
You know, can we see more of that from him
or do you see it being still primarily Bucky ball.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
I hope we see more of it, you know, because
he was assertive, he was decisive in his runs, and
you know early in his career he would try to
find holes and you're kind of hesitating and looking for
the holes, and one thing Bucky will do is he'll
just go attack a hole. And that's what you saw
Rashad White do more and more. I think last year
he got better at that too, and this year so
(15:14):
far he's shown he's even better. And that's that's what
you know you need running backs is there are time
much like with Baker, we talk about when do you
wait for the hole and when do you just attack
and go? You know, kind of knowing situation what you
need what the down distance, et cetera is, what the
play call is, the blocking scheme all that. You know
you want Rashad to be more so, we know he's
the best blocker in the backfield as far as picking
(15:35):
up blitzes and such such like that, which is why
he's going to continue to get playing time. If he
can continue to run assertively and aggressively like that, he's
going to continue to get playing time too. And then
you get a one two pat punch in the backfield,
which is really ideal unless you've got sa Quon Barkley
Derrick Henry. Like I want two running backs. I want
to wear you down because I've got two good backs
that go at you and and my offensive line just
(15:56):
leaning on you all game. That's that's how you want
to wear them down with the acception of a couple
backs in the NFL, like you need to. And I
like Sean Tucker too. I still want to see him
a little more. But it you know, as Todd Bowles
and Joshkazard have said, it's hard to get three backs
going in all in the same direction of the game.
It's just it's hard. You don't have that many steps.
You don't play two backs in the backfield much anymore,
(16:17):
like you know, twenty years ago you used to. So
it's hard to but I really like what Sean Tucker
gives too.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Yeah, I've said that on my show as well, that
I think that Tucker could be a starter on another team.
It's just that the Bucks have this luxury of wealth
at that position. But let's talk about it. It hasn't been
all smooth sailing for the Bucks. Chase McLoughlin. Yes, a
guy that was the steady eddie at that position. You
could pretty much book it every time that he attempted
(16:43):
that he was going to deliver, but it hasn't been
the case this season. How is concerned should we be
as Bucks fans about Chase McLoughlin and what big picture,
what do the Buccaneers plan to do to rectify this situation?
Are they going to bring in some other option like
it's been said out there. If there were better options,
chances are they would have a home on another team.
(17:06):
Rate your concern on Chase McLoughlin.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
I'm concerned, but I'm not at the point where you're
panicking it And initially you kind of go, oh, they
got to bring somebody in he's missed, you know, an
extra point and two kicks this year. But the minute
you bring somebody in, you better be ready to cut
Chase and move on. It doesn't mean you will, but
mentally that affects the kicker too. That's the loneliest position
(17:29):
on the field as the kicker, because they're off on
their own doing everything and they only come in two
or three or four times a game. Many times they
have a game winning kick or potential of that, and
that's a lot of pressure in that. And so when
you start bringing that guy in, it can create pressure. Now,
some players will embrace it and it'll end up being better.
Others can fold in that, and it's it's hard to
(17:51):
tell which one Chase is and that so I think
I think the Bucks look at it as, look, he's
missed a couple of kicks. We know how good he is.
We've seen how good he is. He's doing really well
in practice as well. They won the two games, so
he hasn't cost him anything yet, So let's be patient,
Let's see if he can work through this. Because we
think he's the best kicker available of you know, anyone
available or him. We think he's the best. We have time.
(18:14):
If this week he goes out and misses another kick
or too, it may be time to start looking. But
the minute you bring somebody in, you better be willing
to make the change because you may have to at
that point. And so you know what they want to
do there. And it's amazing because we thought kicking was
the strength of this team going in the special teams.
(18:34):
Chase McLachlin, how good he was last year and how
good he's been since the Bucks. And Riley Dixon who
now has a punt blocked. And I my biggest complaint,
although that's a huge complaint, how slow he is to
kick the ball. You know that wasn't on the blockers.
That was on him while he got blocked, but and
he almost had one blocked earlier. But he also all
kick his coverage half the time, Like he set up
the big punt return because I mean, there was one
(18:55):
guy down there. Maybe it was a block in the back.
It was a questionable one. They could have called it.
But after that they're won the guy for twenty yards,
Like I don't care if you can kick it seventy
five yards. If the guy's going to return at fifty,
it doesn't matter. Like, I'd rather get a high punt
that goes forty and they never return it, like that's safe.
That's I know exactly what I'm dealing with when that happens.
When you try to OutKick that coverage, now you've got problems.
(19:19):
And that's when they could take it to the house.
I mean, maybe you stop them and it's a fifty
five yard net. Great, but then you get the opportunity
at the end of the game where Houston got the
big punt return and set that up.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
So so let's next talk about injuries. We talked off
the top of the show there about God when we
knew he was going to miss some time, and then
the most or one of the most unfortunate injuries I
guess I'm gonna say is Tristan works. And that had
kind of a ripple down effect. You saw Graham Barton,
Brettison move around. You had Michael Jordan in there as well,
(19:51):
and I think that some people thought they just kind
of threw it at the wall and thought, well, let's
see if that works. As it turns out, those players
have a history at those positions, and all things considered,
I think perform nearly flawlessly, not perfect, but I think
better than many people had anticipated. It does appear as
though Tristan Wurfs is edging closer to return. How does
(20:13):
that all shake out? What does the lineup look like
with Worf's back in the mix? As we know that
he protects Baker's blindside, how does that all shakeout once
Worf's is back in the mitch in the mix? And
talk about the impact of Tristan Worps on this team.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Well, I mean, he's he may be the best player
on the team period. I mean, he's probably a Hall
of Famer what his career said and done. We'll see
how long he plays and how that goes. But he's
he's going to be your left tackle. Like when he
comes back, he's your left tackle. Now, how you rearrange
everything else? We'll see. Presumably Graham Barton goes back to center,
but if Luke Gettecky is still missing time or misses time,
(20:47):
could Barton swing to right tackle. I don't know if
he's ever played there. Tristan Wurf's it was a big
change when he went from right tackle to left tackle,
and it made he made it look like it was seamless,
but he spent a long time that offseason working on it.
He says, it's like you know you right all your
you know your life with your right hand. Now you're
gonna writ with your left hand. Like that's a huge change.
And how you step, how you're timing, everything goes with it.
(21:09):
So Worfs goes back to left tackle for sure, if
Graham Barton goes back to say, if Luke Geticky is playing,
then Graham Barton's center, Brettison's going to be your left guard.
And now you know your right guard Coding Mauk's out
for the years. He won't have your right guard. But
now you're back to basically your your regular offensive line,
which is ultimately what you want to have. I mean
in a guard not taking any away from Cody malk
(21:29):
or Ben Brettison at left guard, but those are easier
positions to fill than tackles or centers. Those you know,
when in the hierarchy of your offensive line, it's left tackle, center,
right tackle, and the most important your guards are next
because that's a that's a help position more than an
isolation position. So you know, getting Tristan Worf's back, and
you know, I doubt it's this week. It may not
even be next week, you know, when he's ready, great,
(21:51):
And that's the good thing about Worfs. It's not like
not like Cody Malk or Chancy who are out for
the year. You know, you're getting Worfs back, just like
you're going to get Godwin back at some point as well,
you know. So it's just kind of survived the first
part of the season. And the Bucks are two and
zero so far, so they're surviving and doing what they
need to do until they get those reinforcements back.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
So they're going to have to dig deep.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
Hopefully it's either a guy on the practice squad or
maybe Jason Light's going to have to reach out and
phone someone there and fill those gaps.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
But it was a feenie from New England's practice squad,
so and he's he hasn't started in the NFL a
few years, but he's got a lot of experience there too,
which is you know, when you can find a guy
like that to bring in to help in the offensive line,
that that's huge, Like someone who's started and has a
lot of experience. You're not just getting a young rookie
or second year player that's barely played, you know, to
(22:38):
be able to basically be a backup for some positions there.
That's huge by Jason light.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
So a master class by him.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
Yet again, you take a look at a lot of
the moves, you know, why are you drafting Abuka? As
it turns out thirty thousand foot view of this team,
I think that he has made some truly great decisions. Listen, Steve,
I want to thank you for joining me on this
edition of the Bucks Report, and check him out. If
you don't know the number one sports podcast in Florida,
I think I heard that Sports Day Tampa Bay Rick Stroud,
(23:08):
Steve vers Nick knocking it out of the park with
your Buccaneers news. Listen, I want to thank you for
joining me on this edition of the Bucks Report, and
I'll talk to you again next time.
Minicas Media. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Minute Cast starts right.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Now, but something wants to think about.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
It's a Tampa Bay Buccaneers Mini Cast. All right, welcome
into this edition of the Bucks Report podcast. In today's edition,
(00:41):
we have Steve Versnik from the Sports Day Tampa Bay podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Steve, welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Thank you for having me again.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
You know, we take a.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Look at the Buccaneers this season, and I don't think
that injuries we're going to be so drawn into focus.
But really early this season, this team is plagued with
injuries and listening to your podcast this morning, I hear
that Cody Mao is the most recent addition to the
injured list. So a lot for this team to deal
(01:11):
with right out of the gate. But let's talk big picture.
We won't go into the negativity right away. We'll talk
about the Bucks coming off on a great start here
two in zero on the season. Are you surprised with
the early success this team has had.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I wouldn't say I'm surprised by it. I mean, you know,
we know this was a championship contending team coming in.
I mean you saw the offense last year's top five
in the NFL scored twenty eight twenty nine points a game.
You know, Todd Bowles defense is kind of a bend
don't break. They probably gave up a little too much
last year. They don't create enough turnovers. But you added
Hasan Reddick to add to the pass rush, which was
(01:44):
the biggest weakness. You have an Antoine Winfield junior who's healthy.
You've got Savasi a Dennis back which you would hope
for big things and I'm sure we'll get into him
as we go forward. But you know, you thought the
defense would be improved. And you know, this is a
team that's won the division four straight year. So to
say I'm surprised, no, No, that went on the road
and won the first two games, and they did it
in dramatic fashion, and you see that they never give up.
(02:07):
And you didn't know some of the injuries. I mean,
you don't have Tristan Wurfs, which you weren't expecting coming
into the season. Chris Godwin you knew probably wasn't going
to be there initially. But Jayalen McMillan's out, you know,
so some of your weapons on offense were reduced significantly,
But the offensive line has been the biggest story because
of Tristan Wurf's and how they've moved stuff around. I mean,
who thought that gram Barton was going to be playing
left tackle for you, and Ben Bretison was going to
(02:29):
move to center and Michael Jordan, who wasn't even in
training camp to start the season, was going to be
your left guard. You know, we had touted off season
that the whole offense was back all eleven starters, many
of the backups, so that you know, the offense should
only get better other than not knowing what Josh Grizzard
would do. But the factor in all the injuries, and
as we always say, with injuries in the NFL, you're
(02:49):
going to have them, you just can't have them in
the same position, piling up on each other. And that's
what the Bucks have again this year. Last year was
kind of the defensive backs. This year now seems like
the offensive line.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
You know, I listened to your podcast and I heard
that you and Rick talking about that the first game
is a liar, and oftentimes I think that that's what
a loser says, right. Don't read too much into this.
That was just the first game. But the Bucks able
to duplicate that success. So let's talk about the man himself,
Baker Mayfield. Listen, there was quite a vacuum when Tom
(03:23):
Brady departed this team. Who was going to be the
guy to take over? And you know when you listen
to the name Baker Mayfield, it was met with a
lot of Oh that guy, the guy that's bounced around
the league quite a bit here, but he has been
a great addition to this team. And you hear the
players say that it's more like playing with your big
brother than playing with dad, that there is this rapport
(03:43):
with Baker Mayfield with the players on this team. When
you take a look at it, it has come down
to some last minute heroics by Baker Mayfield and the
Bucks that put them in the win column.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Is that what you want? Is that sustainable throughout the season?
Speaker 3 (03:58):
You got to think that they'd like to handle it
a little bit more handily, and like you guys were
talking about on a recent show about if they kind
of just gave them a touchdown towards the end of
the game, tell me a little bit about your thoughts
on the Buccaneers and how it's coming down to the
wire here.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
No, I don't think it's sustainable to have to have
game winning drives every game, but first two games on
the road, a makeshift offensive line, like, you know there's
going to be issues. I mean, that's the Season's a marathon,
not a sprint. And even though there's only seventeen games,
and everyone feels like if you win this week, you're
going to the super Bowl. You lose this week, or
the worst team ever, and that's kind of the ebbs
and flows of the NFL. The sustaining at the end
(04:38):
of the game is not good, but it's good that
you are able to do that, right. I mean, Baker
Mayfield has what twelve touchdowns now and it come back
wins basically since he got to the Bucks, I believe,
or maybe that's his career. But you know, some quarterbacks
have that cool calm can handle that situation. Others don't.
I mean, Tom Brady was the best at it, Peyton
Manning was fantastic at it. You know that they can
(04:59):
kind of calm down and stay calm and patient when
everybody else is hurrying up, when everything else is the
fans are screaming, the players are sprinting around the field
trying to get set and they're able to just ease
everything up, and that's what you want in a quarterback.
Do you want it to come down to the final
drive every game? No, because you're not always going to
have the ball last. You know, we've seen that in
the past where Todd Bowles relies on his defense to
(05:21):
stop it at the end and they haven't been able
to the Rams game in the playoffs a couple of
years ago and others. So, no, you don't want that.
But two wins on the road to start the season
with the makeshift offensive line, you take it. And you know,
at the end of the season, they don't ask how
you won the games, they ask how many you want
and that's who determines whether you make the playoffs. And
what you're seating is.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
So as we take a look at it, is it
all on Baker or our changes up front in the
play calling make those finishes easier?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Well, And that's the other part of this too, is
so new offensive coordinator for the third straight year now,
new play caller. You know, is Josh Gizard been perfect
in the play calls? Probably not. He's going to learn
as he goes along, too. And as you said, your
blind side is not Tristan Worf's over there. Now you've
got Graham Barton who's done well. But that changes everything too.
(06:12):
I mean you've probably seen Baker run a little more
than you'd like to, but he's also been outside with
the one fumble. He hasn't been turning the ball over,
which last year he led the NFL and interceptions, and
he led the NFL and fumbles, I believe too, So
you know that's important too. So he's not been doing
that with that makeshift offensive line. I mean Luke Getecky,
he's not playing a right tackle some you know, now
(06:32):
with Cody maccatt this week, you may have not one
person that you anticipated being in their spot on the
starting on the offensive line to start this games Saturday
or Sunday at home. And that's that's tough. I mean,
that's the one unit on the field that is a
unit like you can replace a you have a receiver
go down, you bring somebody else in, and yes, there's
adjustments and things like that, but when the offensive line
(06:54):
is makeshift like that, that is that's the one unit
that if one guy makes a mistake, everything goes to crap.
And it doesn't matter which guy makes it if one
guy makes a mistake in the read, goes and blocks
the wrong guy, double teams, the wrong person, doesn't pick
up this block, doesn't see this blitzer, like everything goes
to hell on that. And so you know, I give
(07:15):
the Bucks a lot of credit. Like I said, when
you start zero two or two and ohero on the road,
like that's in the NFL. If you go perfect at
home and five hundred on the road, that's twelve or
thirteen wins. That's a great season. So you've got two
road wins, including one at Houston, which is supposed to
be a good team, and then a division rival you
got a road win where last year you lost there.
(07:37):
So and I think Josh Garzard is going to get
better and grow into it and his play calling. But
I also think he's limited right now too.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
So another area of concern is Baker Mayfield. There was
a lot of talk that he didn't get any preseason reps.
I know in the joint practices he did because they
were trying to shield him from injury. Because the trajectory
of this team is going to change dramatically. If it's
Teddy Bridgewater football, he might get you a game or
two there. He is a modern day quarterback in regard
(08:10):
that he has a bit of what I'm gonna call
happy feet. He is not Tom Brady who will sit
in the pocket and wait for the play to develop.
And you know, he has got had some success there, right.
I think it's fair to say that the Bucks may
not have won the last game had he not. You know,
show those off those wheels there. Usually you take a
dive to shield yourself, but in that game you really couldn't.
He was fighting for yardage there. How concerned are you
(08:34):
with Baker Mayfield as he was kind of hobbling around
after the game, you know, and as of right now,
I think that he's going to be good to go.
I guess it's a little bit too early to say.
But what are the perils would you say of being
a quarterback that likes to run a lot? I know
that intrinsically that is who he is. You can't take
the dog out of him, But how detrimental could that
(08:55):
be for the Bucks?
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Well, he's definitely more Brett Father than Tom Brady. He
may have a quite Brett far of gunslinger in that,
but the whole point and Bruce arians was on the
Pat McAfee show this week and talked about you know
the time to run or running, but to make contact.
You know when are you doing that? Is it third
down and you need to get the first down? Is
(09:17):
it the last two minutes of behalf and you're trying
to march down the field or is it the second
possession of the game and you're on your own twenty
and it's first down? Like avoid the like it's knowing
when to to take the contact because you need it,
and when to get rid of it. Tom Brady was
a master, not necessarily with the contact. But I'll just
throw the ball away I get pressure, I'm a question
(09:40):
to throw it away, live to fight another down. It's
the first quarter, it's the second drive, it's we punt
it here, no big deal, Like I'm not going to
make a mistake. Tom Brady was a master at knowing
the situation, when to force something and when not to.
And you need to do the same thing, and Baker,
I think is learning that. But you know, anytime you're
a quarterback who runs, you got a chance to getting hurt.
(10:01):
Although Joe Burrow got hurt sitting in the pocket, like
you know you're gonna get hurt there too, So it's
it's just knowing when to take on that contact, when
to give yourself up. And you know, if it's first
down and you're scrambling, you don't need the first down,
your two yards short, just slide like it's okay, you
got second and third down to get it. If it's
third down, and it's a crucial part of the game, okay,
take on a guy. You know, it's it's hard in
(10:24):
the moment, but it's knowing scoreing situation and that in time,
that's what you really need to know.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
So one of the best additions this season I'm going
to say on the offense is a Mecca Abuka. Listen,
going into the season, we knew that Godwin was going
to miss some time and we had Jalen McMillan penciled in.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Well guess what injuries happened? Uh?
Speaker 3 (10:46):
Teddy Bridgewater kind of airmailed it over him and he
climbed the ladder to catch it, and well, he's going
to be missing some time as well. That if you
take a look at it, Buka, I knew he was
going to be good. Did we know he was going
to be this could now? Listen, Kak or Mayfield has,
you know, sung his praises and he's like, I'm not surprised.
I told you this guy was as good as I
said he is. How surprised are you with the kind
(11:08):
of success he's had early on this season.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
I'm not surprised at success because if you watched him
at Ohio State and you hear the comments from Ohio State,
and even in his last year there, you know, he
ended up being the second best receiver on that team.
But he embraced Jeremiah Smith and helped coach him, and
he's been a student of the game and you know,
studies it and works hard. I'm not surprised by success
this much success, Maybe a little bit, although I wasn't
(11:34):
expecting him to be wide receiver two permanently. You expected
Jayalen McMillan to be beside him. You know a lot
of this success is and it's his work, ethic and everything.
They praise him, but his teams are taking Mike Evans
out and so that leaves a buka open and he's
capitalized on it, which is what you want a wide
receiver too to do. Is you know, when they decide
they're going to double team w r one, Mike Evans
(11:55):
or whether it's Justin Jefferson or anybody in the league.
Your number two receivers got to step up and make plays.
And that's what a book has done, which is exactly
what you want to see. I don't know if I'm
not surprised at success, but maybe I didn't expect three
touchdowns through two games and for him to look as
good as he did. But you know, they've been saying
this praises all preseason. They weren't lying.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
So we take a look at the wide receiver room
and we know at some point Godwin is going to
be back, it's going to be Jalen McMillan, and wow,
this team seems like it is going to be untouchable
in the offense department. Talk to me about kind of
the how the wide receiver room is going to be
laid out when all of those he has all those
weapons at his disposal. Baker Mayfield, who is going to
(12:34):
be the one that's targeted the most? Kind of rate
them in order of where they all fit in.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Well, I think you're always targeting Mike Evans number one.
I mean, on every play, you're looking as Mike Evans
got the coverage I want. Is he in the position
that you know we need it to be. I mean,
he's your Hall of Famer. You know, maybe Abuka becomes
when one day we'll see Chris Godwin is definitely going
to be in the Bucks Ring of Honor. Probably not
Hall of Fame NFL at this point, but you know
we'll see. But he's really good too. But you're always looking,
(13:01):
where's Mike Kevin's you know, what matchup does he got?
Are they is it zone? Is a man? Is it
double team? Is it? You know? Where is he at
and is he is he option one on this play
or is he basically trying to take defense somewhere else?
At this point, I think a buk is probably your
number two over McMillan, And not that McMillan's not capable,
but you know he last year, he had a good year,
(13:22):
got good at the end. But injuries affect you. And
you know also when he comes back week nine to ten,
whatever it is, how is he going to you know,
how healthy is he going to be? You know, much
like we've seen Chris Godwin come back from injuries often,
and it's a different injury than what McMillan has but
you know Godwin was good but not great right away,
and you know injuries on the neck, man, I don't
(13:43):
that's tough, man, you know, I don't you know how
how healthy is he going to be when he comes back?
How scared is he getting hit across the middle? And
you know they're not scared, but it does play in
your mindset. I mean, Hall of famers in any sport.
You know, you tear your knee in that first time
you try to cut on that knee, You're you're thinking
it like, you're not scared? Do you go do it?
But there can be a hesitation of pause, like you know,
(14:05):
I think a Mecca's probably your wide receiver too, But
I also think Joshzar is gonna run a lot of
three receiver sets, so they're all going to be out there.
It's not going to be it's not going to be
like McMillan's sitting on the bench, you know. I think
I think a Mecca is showing he's capable of being
a wide receiver too as a rookie, which is impressive.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
So a lot of options is what they're going to
have there. And now we take a look at the
running back position as well, and kind of an interesting
event there shall we say that Bucky Irving came on
the scene and kind of supplanted Rashad White, But there's more.
Rashad White in the last game showed that he has
a lot more to his game than many people had
projected him as. Talk to me about Rashad White here
(14:45):
for a moment. Is what we saw in the last game.
You know, can we see more of that from him
or do you see it being still primarily Bucky ball.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
I hope we see more of it, you know, because
he was assertive, he was decisive in his runs, and
you know early in his career he would try to
find holes and you're kind of hesitating and looking for
the holes, and one thing Bucky will do is he'll
just go attack a hole. And that's what you saw
Rashad White do more and more. I think last year
he got better at that too, and this year so
(15:14):
far he's shown he's even better. And that's that's what
you know you need running backs is there are time
much like with Baker, we talk about when do you
wait for the hole and when do you just attack
and go? You know, kind of knowing situation what you
need what the down distance, et cetera is, what the
play call is, the blocking scheme all that. You know
you want Rashad to be more so, we know he's
the best blocker in the backfield as far as picking
(15:35):
up blitzes and such such like that, which is why
he's going to continue to get playing time. If he
can continue to run assertively and aggressively like that, he's
going to continue to get playing time too. And then
you get a one two pat punch in the backfield,
which is really ideal unless you've got sa Quon Barkley
Derrick Henry. Like I want two running backs. I want
to wear you down because I've got two good backs
that go at you and and my offensive line just
(15:56):
leaning on you all game. That's that's how you want
to wear them down with the acception of a couple
backs in the NFL, like you need to. And I
like Sean Tucker too. I still want to see him
a little more. But it you know, as Todd Bowles
and Joshkazard have said, it's hard to get three backs
going in all in the same direction of the game.
It's just it's hard. You don't have that many steps.
You don't play two backs in the backfield much anymore,
(16:17):
like you know, twenty years ago you used to. So
it's hard to but I really like what Sean Tucker
gives too.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Yeah, I've said that on my show as well, that
I think that Tucker could be a starter on another team.
It's just that the Bucks have this luxury of wealth
at that position. But let's talk about it. It hasn't been
all smooth sailing for the Bucks. Chase McLoughlin. Yes, a
guy that was the steady eddie at that position. You
could pretty much book it every time that he attempted
(16:43):
that he was going to deliver, but it hasn't been
the case this season. How is concerned should we be
as Bucks fans about Chase McLoughlin and what big picture,
what do the Buccaneers plan to do to rectify this situation?
Are they going to bring in some other option like
it's been said out there. If there were better options,
chances are they would have a home on another team.
(17:06):
Rate your concern on Chase McLoughlin.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
I'm concerned, but I'm not at the point where you're
panicking it And initially you kind of go, oh, they
got to bring somebody in he's missed, you know, an
extra point and two kicks this year. But the minute
you bring somebody in, you better be ready to cut
Chase and move on. It doesn't mean you will, but
mentally that affects the kicker too. That's the loneliest position
(17:29):
on the field as the kicker, because they're off on
their own doing everything and they only come in two
or three or four times a game. Many times they
have a game winning kick or potential of that, and
that's a lot of pressure in that. And so when
you start bringing that guy in, it can create pressure. Now,
some players will embrace it and it'll end up being better.
Others can fold in that, and it's it's hard to
(17:51):
tell which one Chase is and that so I think
I think the Bucks look at it as, look, he's
missed a couple of kicks. We know how good he is.
We've seen how good he is. He's doing really well
in practice as well. They won the two games, so
he hasn't cost him anything yet, So let's be patient,
Let's see if he can work through this. Because we
think he's the best kicker available of you know, anyone
available or him. We think he's the best. We have time.
(18:14):
If this week he goes out and misses another kick
or too, it may be time to start looking. But
the minute you bring somebody in, you better be willing
to make the change because you may have to at
that point. And so you know what they want to
do there. And it's amazing because we thought kicking was
the strength of this team going in the special teams.
(18:34):
Chase McLachlin, how good he was last year and how
good he's been since the Bucks. And Riley Dixon who
now has a punt blocked. And I my biggest complaint,
although that's a huge complaint, how slow he is to
kick the ball. You know that wasn't on the blockers.
That was on him while he got blocked, but and
he almost had one blocked earlier. But he also all
kick his coverage half the time, Like he set up
the big punt return because I mean, there was one
(18:55):
guy down there. Maybe it was a block in the back.
It was a questionable one. They could have called it.
But after that they're won the guy for twenty yards,
Like I don't care if you can kick it seventy
five yards. If the guy's going to return at fifty,
it doesn't matter. Like, I'd rather get a high punt
that goes forty and they never return it, like that's safe.
That's I know exactly what I'm dealing with when that happens.
When you try to OutKick that coverage, now you've got problems.
(19:19):
And that's when they could take it to the house.
I mean, maybe you stop them and it's a fifty
five yard net. Great, but then you get the opportunity
at the end of the game where Houston got the
big punt return and set that up.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
So so let's next talk about injuries. We talked off
the top of the show there about God when we
knew he was going to miss some time, and then
the most or one of the most unfortunate injuries I
guess I'm gonna say is Tristan works. And that had
kind of a ripple down effect. You saw Graham Barton,
Brettison move around. You had Michael Jordan in there as well,
(19:51):
and I think that some people thought they just kind
of threw it at the wall and thought, well, let's
see if that works. As it turns out, those players
have a history at those positions, and all things considered,
I think perform nearly flawlessly, not perfect, but I think
better than many people had anticipated. It does appear as
though Tristan Wurfs is edging closer to return. How does
(20:13):
that all shake out? What does the lineup look like
with Worf's back in the mix? As we know that
he protects Baker's blindside, how does that all shakeout once
Worf's is back in the mitch in the mix? And
talk about the impact of Tristan Worps on this team.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Well, I mean, he's he may be the best player
on the team period. I mean, he's probably a Hall
of Famer what his career said and done. We'll see
how long he plays and how that goes. But he's
he's going to be your left tackle. Like when he
comes back, he's your left tackle. Now, how you rearrange
everything else? We'll see. Presumably Graham Barton goes back to center,
but if Luke Gettecky is still missing time or misses time,
(20:47):
could Barton swing to right tackle. I don't know if
he's ever played there. Tristan Wurf's it was a big
change when he went from right tackle to left tackle,
and it made he made it look like it was seamless,
but he spent a long time that offseason working on it.
He says, it's like you know you right all your
you know your life with your right hand. Now you're
gonna writ with your left hand. Like that's a huge change.
And how you step, how you're timing, everything goes with it.
(21:09):
So Worfs goes back to left tackle for sure, if
Graham Barton goes back to say, if Luke Geticky is playing,
then Graham Barton's center, Brettison's going to be your left guard.
And now you know your right guard Coding Mauk's out
for the years. He won't have your right guard. But
now you're back to basically your your regular offensive line,
which is ultimately what you want to have. I mean
in a guard not taking any away from Cody malk
(21:29):
or Ben Brettison at left guard, but those are easier
positions to fill than tackles or centers. Those you know,
when in the hierarchy of your offensive line, it's left tackle, center,
right tackle, and the most important your guards are next
because that's a that's a help position more than an
isolation position. So you know, getting Tristan Worf's back, and
you know, I doubt it's this week. It may not
even be next week, you know, when he's ready, great,
(21:51):
And that's the good thing about Worfs. It's not like
not like Cody Malk or Chancy who are out for
the year. You know, you're getting Worfs back, just like
you're going to get Godwin back at some point as well,
you know. So it's just kind of survived the first
part of the season. And the Bucks are two and
zero so far, so they're surviving and doing what they
need to do until they get those reinforcements back.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
So they're going to have to dig deep.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
Hopefully it's either a guy on the practice squad or
maybe Jason Light's going to have to reach out and
phone someone there and fill those gaps.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
But it was a feenie from New England's practice squad,
so and he's he hasn't started in the NFL a
few years, but he's got a lot of experience there too,
which is you know, when you can find a guy
like that to bring in to help in the offensive line,
that that's huge, Like someone who's started and has a
lot of experience. You're not just getting a young rookie
or second year player that's barely played, you know, to
(22:38):
be able to basically be a backup for some positions there.
That's huge by Jason light.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
So a master class by him.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
Yet again, you take a look at a lot of
the moves, you know, why are you drafting Abuka? As
it turns out thirty thousand foot view of this team,
I think that he has made some truly great decisions. Listen, Steve,
I want to thank you for joining me on this
edition of the Bucks Report, and check him out. If
you don't know the number one sports podcast in Florida,
I think I heard that Sports Day Tampa Bay Rick Stroud,
(23:08):
Steve vers Nick knocking it out of the park with
your Buccaneers news. Listen, I want to thank you for
joining me on this edition of the Bucks Report, and
I'll talk to you again next time.
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