Bucs Report – Special to Sports Talk Florida – Throughout the offseason, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and quarterback Baker Mayfield faced intense scrutiny from critics who doubted the team’s potential heading into the 2024 season.

Following a breakout 2023 campaign that earned him a Pro Bowl selection and a division title, skeptics wondered if Mayfield’s success was a fleeting phenomenon. However, Mayfield silenced his doubters by elevating his game to new heights in 2024.

Mayfield achieved impressive statistics in 2024, throwing for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns, while also setting a new career-high with a 71.4% completion rate. Notably, despite his outstanding performance, he was overlooked for a Pro Bowl selection.

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Although Mayfield has received limited accolades over the past two years, Pro Football Focus (PFF) has taken notice of his impressive performance. In their annual ranking of the top 101 players from the 2024 season, PFF slotted Mayfield at No. 63, recognizing him as one of the league’s elite quarterbacks alongside just six others.

“Under yet another new offensive play-caller, Mayfield earned an 85.9 overall grade this season, which represents a new career-high for him and ranked him sixth in the NFL. Including the postseason, his 43 passing touchdowns tied him for second-most in the league. His signature performance came in Week 18 with an NFC South title on the line, as he posted a career-best 94.8 overall grade.”

This ranking serves as a well-deserved acknowledgment of Mayfield’s skills, notably placing him ahead of fellow quarterback Jalen Hurts (91).

As he prepares to adapt to his third offensive coordinator in as many years, the spotlight will once again be on Mayfield to prove his consistency and replicate his success.

Fortunately, Josh Grizzard’s promotion from passing game coordinator to offensive coordinator ensures a measure of continuity, which should facilitate a smoother transition.

After two consecutive Pro Bowl-caliber seasons, Mayfield has finally garnered recognition from the broader NFL community. Now, as the 2025 season approaches, all eyes will be on him, eagerly anticipating whether he can sustain his exceptional performance.

Given his impressive track record, it’s reasonable to expect that Mayfield and the Buccaneers will make another playoff appearance in 2025.

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You better be at .500 or better.

Want A New Stadium In Chicago, Win Games

February 24, 2025

Here is proposed legislation in Illinois that is going to go nowhere. Before Illinois taxpayers have to fork up money to build a football stadium in Chicago or Arlington Heights,  House member Bob Morgan wants to link the National Football League’s Chicago Bears franchise’s win-loss record to the allocation of money. Morgan’s proposed bill is called Da Bears Stadium Oversight Act. Morgan’s legislation stipulates in order for a franchise to become eligible for public financing, a professional sports team must have achieved a .500 record in at least three out of the last five previous regular seasons. At this point, the McCaskey family’s Bears business would not meet Morgan’s threshold. The team’s last .500 season was in 2020 when the team won eight and lost eight. In the last four seasons, the team went six and 11, three and 14, seven and ten and in 2024, five and 12. Under the terms of the Morgan proposal, the McCaskey family’s business would need to win more games than lose in 2025, 2026 and 2027. The McCaskey family has been told no state money will be available for their project from the Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker.

Morgan’s bill would also apply to Chicago’s other pro sports franchises including Major League Baseball’s Chicago White Sox franchise and Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire FC franchise. Those two franchise owners are seeking to build new stadiums using taxpayers money. Jerry Reinsdorf’s White Sox business actually would qualify for Morgan’s legislation despite the fact that the team has lost 222 of its last 324 games. The Fire FC team has had five straight losing seasons. The McCaskey family wants to build a stadium-village in the south parking lot of Chicago’s Soldier Field and wants about $2 billion in public subsidies. The stadium game continues in Chicago.

Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191

Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com

Illinois House member Bob Morgan

The team could use the stadium until 2038 with additional extensions.

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has one less franchise stadium issue to worry about. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim owner Arte Moreno has extended his lease by three years to use the city of Anaheim’s stadium until 2032. Manfred is retiring in 2029. It will be up to Manfred’s successor to deal with an Anaheim stadium issue. Moreno, who is 78 years old, might allow someone else to deal with the lease. Angels’ franchise ownership can extend the lease through 2038.  When we last left Moreno, he had struck out in his attempt to take over the Anaheim stadium and the land surrounding it. Moreno wanted to build a stadium-village. The city of Anaheim released a terse statement about the lease extension. “The extension is not the result of any long-term discussions between the team and the city, and there are no long-term lease or other talks underway.” The Anaheim stadium is 59 years old and has undergone extensive renovations.

In the past Moreno has looked at sites in Los Angeles, Carson, Irvine and Tustin as a possible replacement for the Anaheim stadium. In March 2022, Long Beach, California officials claimed they were ready to provide Moreno with a stadium site. Long Beach, which is about 23 miles from Anaheim, had offered Moreno a chance to look at the city’s waterfront area for a stadium in 2019 when Moreno was exploring various areas to relocate his business. There was no concrete proposal for a Long Beach stadium, there was no money plan, just a notion that Moreno could be in a position to develop the waterfront property with the ballpark as the centerpiece. Moreno then had a deal with Anaheim to create a stadium-village which fell through. Moreno is out of the stadium game in Anaheim for the foreseeable future.  

Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191

Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com

Anaheim Stadium