Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today He’s the Comeback Player of the Year this side of Damar Hamlin, and it’s not close. Let’s not forget this was a quarterback on the brink of obscurity, Cleveland to Carolina to L.A. to a Tampa Bay team low on options post-Tom Brady. Nothing was handed to Mayfield in training camp — he needed to beat out Kyle Trask for the job. Maybe this humbling experience all brought the QB back to his gritty college days as a walk-on. Back against the wall, he’s playing the best football of his career with 3,315 yards, 24 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. Mock the NFC South all you want. Mayfield’s winning games his way — with clutch plays late. Intangibles matter at this position. Teammates know he’ll play through any pain. The legend Andy Janovich put it best, of course: “The thing about Baker is he won’t say s—t to anyone about anything. You could cut his d—k off and he wouldn’t f—king say s—t.” Amen, Andy. That’s not including the fact that he headbutts teammates to keep them fired up, which left tackle Tristan Wirfs mentioned is something he has to partake in often. “It ain’t fun,” Wirfs said this week. “I got to do it all game, and he does it pretty hard. He gets fired up and it’s pretty awesome.” Head coach Todd Bowles summed up Mayfield’s playstyle earlier this year when he said that Baker is “a quarterback with an offensive lineman’s mentality.” A mentality similar to another Bucs player featured on this list. Luke Goedeke’s Toughness Has Been On Full Display As Bucs RT This Season Longtime NFL writer Bob McGinn added right tackle Luke Goedeke as one of his top old-school players. Goedeke has been much improved along the offensive line this season, and much of that can be owed to his self-acclaimed “glass eater” personality on the field. He has handled premium pass rushers in stride, and he has played with a level of nastiness in pass protection and the run game like few other tackles in football. When asked after Week 7 who is the nastiest guy on the offensive line, Tristan Wirfs showed no hesitation in naming Luke. “He’s an asshole,” Wirfs said then. “I love him to death, but he is. He’s always had that edge, coming from his path to where he is now gives him that chip on his shoulder.” Don’t just take Wirfs’ word for it, here is a clip of Goedeke absolutely manhandling Cam Jordan earlier this season. Just watch Goedeke (67) on this. LOL… pic.twitter.com/P2b851BXui — JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) October 2, 2023 Here is what McGinn had to add about the second-year offensive lineman. 
Bucs RT Luke Goedeke and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today His background is similar to mine. He played in high school for the Vikings of Valders, the small rural school in eastern Wisconsin that was a member of the Olympian Conference that I covered as a youth sportswriter in the 1970s. Nobody wanted him so he was happy to walk on as a tight end at DIII Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Eventually he matriculated to Central Michigan, where he started at right tackle for two years (2019, ’21) after sitting out all ’20 with a meniscus tear. The Bucs drafted him as a guard, and he blocked for Tom Brady as the starting left guard in Games 1-7 as a rookie. Given his substandard arm length (32 ¼ inches), scouts thought guard would be his best position. Surprisingly, he has played every snap through 14 games at right tackle, and his level of play has perked up substantially. He’s smart (Wonderlic of 31), strong and nasty. With his heavy hands and aggressive temperament, he has been an obstacle for all his opponents. The post 2 Bucs Make All-Old School Team appeared first on Pewter Report. Source: https://www.pewterreport.com/2-bucs-mak ... hool-team/
