Is The QB Position De-emphasized In Dave Canales’ Offense?

Because of that, it’s not as vital that the Bucs name a starting quarterback entering training camp and can allow a protracted QB competition to play out as long as necessary to find the right guy. As Dave Canales states, Tampa Bay already has plenty of leaders on offense and defense.

“This team is not waiting around for us to pick a starting quarterback to get going,” Canales said on the No Off Days Podcast with Fox 13’s Scott Smith. “This is an established defense. This is a team that has some real pieces on the offensive side. The system is the most important thing right now. It’s not like everyone’s kind of waiting for this quarterback to take charge and, you know, lead us into you know what we’re going to be doing this year.”

The biggest thing is that neither Mayfield nor Trask will have to carry the burden of being the focal point in the Bucs new offense. Being a “system quarterback” is just fine, and throwing for around 300 yards each game is not vital for success with Canales.

Last year, Seattle had the 13th-ranked offense in the league, averaging 350.4 yards per game. Tampa Bay wasn’t far behind, averaging 348.9 yards per game, which ranked 15th. But how each team got to around 350 yards was far different.

The Seahawks had the league’s 18th-ranked rushing attack in 2022, averaging 119.2 yards per game. The Bucs’ ground game ranked dead last, averaging just 75.6 yards per game. That’s nearly 45 yards less than Seattle gained running the ball.

Tampa Bay had the league’s second-ranked passing attack, averaging 273.3 yards per game. But Seattle was still in the upper half of the league, averaging 231.2 yards per game. Even though he threw for more yards, Brady didn’t make the Pro Bowl, while Geno Smith did for the Seahawks, which averaged three more points per game than the Bucs did in 2022.

Dave Canales Is In No Rush To Pick Bucs’ Starting QB

Seattle’s quarterback competition between Geno Smith and Drew Lock went all the way until the third preseason game before Smith was announced as the starter. Canales doesn’t have any timetable in Tampa Bay for picking between Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask.

“You know I don’t really have a plan for that, and obviously there are people that I answer to, too,” Canales said on the No Off Days Podcast with Fox 13’s Scott Smith. “So I think that for me it’s really just kind of approaching the training camp situation and into the preseason to get the full evaluation. But what’s the fun in just naming somebody right now so everyone can settle in and say, ‘Hey, this is our guy?”

So there is no rush to anoint Mayfield or Trask as the starter – nor should there be. This a brand new offense with both quarterbacks throwing the ball to a host of new receivers, tight ends and running backs. The process of finding the right starting QB should take time under these circumstances.

“If you say, this is a competition, we’re going to allow us to go into the preseason and let them show us that they can manage to get us into the right play, they can take care of the ball,” Canales said at a previous press conference. “That’s going to be the determining factor, really, who takes care of the ball. The bonus is who pushes it down the field. If we can play great defense, run it, and take care of the ball – we’re going to be a great team. The guy who can show that is going to win the job.”

That’s all the Bucs need at quarterback – the right guy to do a little of the heavy lifting here and there.

Not necessarily a superhero to carry the burden of an entire offense.