Interesting research.
Joe has referred several times to how the Bucs ran a dink-and-dunk offense last year, despite that tag irking then-Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen.
The proof was in the pudding. The Bucs almost always threw short, and the offense was one of the best in the league. And Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield had a career year.
Perhaps there was a reason for that?
In research cobbled together by Rich Hribar of _Sharp Football Analysis_, he seems to have found a reason why Coen wanted to throw short so often. It seems as if that’s the passing attack Mayfield thrived with.
> When he threw the ball within 2.5 seconds from the snap, Mayfield completed 77.8% of his passes with 27 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
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> When he held the ball longer than that, he completed 63% of his passes with 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
That’s a pretty big difference. Joe has no idea what that may mean other than Mayfield is more accurate perhaps with short passes?
New Bucs offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard has noted several times while he plans to largely keep the same offense that Coen and Mayfield thrived with, Grizzard also wants to incorporate some longer passes.
Given [how few times](https://www.joebucsfan.com/2025/06/maybe-josh-grizzard-should-tinker-with-bucs-offense/) the Bucs threw long last year and the deep stable of receivers, throwing longer passes stands to reason.
But it will be interesting to Joe how Mayfield produces with longer passes because that generally means he won’t be throwing within 2.5 seconds after the snap.