The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are back from their bye week and will be looking to attack the second half of the season...and Baker Mayfield will get to talking to offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard for the first time in a week.
The bye week is a time for players to rest and recharge as the brutal nature of NFL football takes its toll, and the Buccaneers, who are at 6-2, have done a superb job offensively to keep things rolling, given the number of injuries Grizzard's unit has had to deal with.
And when asked if he had spoken to Grizzard during the bye week about how the offense has dealt with the host of injuries, Baker had quite the response.
“Didn't talk to him during the bye, blocked his phone number, didn't want to hear anything from him,” Mayfield said with a smirk. “He's handled it well. You talk about guys dropping like flies, and just good play callers always said adjust to what they have on the field. They call it to their player strengths and Josh done a really good job of that and adjusted and continue to do that as we go along the season.”
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Given the lengthy list, the bye week "should" have helped those dealing with issues get back with the team to face the New England Patriots.
But in the case of Bucky Irving, the running back, per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, didn't practice on Wednesday, so his status for Sunday is in doubt.
The same applies to Chris Godwin, who has missed the past couple of games, so Mayfield's weapons could again be depleted, which will put more pressure on others to step up and make plays against a stout Patriots defense.
Granted, Grizzard has done well to keep things on track offensively despite the injuries, and it appears he'll have to work his magic a little longer with Irving and Godwin in serious doubt to take their place on Sunday.
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