TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales is calling plays for the first time in his 14-year NFL career.
He admits that there have been some hiccups during the first two games of the preseason, but they had nothing to do with the plays themselves.
"The receiver that you have on your belt, there’s a button that you have on the side, and there’s a button on the top that allows you to just talk to the staff. I pressed that one a couple times, and Baker [Mayfield] has his arms out like this [gestures], and I was like, ‘Oh, shoot, other one.’ I had to get used to the mechanics, the mechanism of calling it," an upbeat Canales said while explaining the communication process. "I’ve had a lot of good mentors, and they’re like, ‘Hey, don’t overthink it, just call the next one. You liked all these plays going into it, you’ve repped it, the guys know what they’re doing, just call the next one.'"
Canales is working with quarterback Baker Mayfield, who was named the starter on Tuesday. Mayfield's on his fourth team in six NFL seasons, and he's faced criticism at every stop. But Canales said he doesn't listen to the outside noise, and he doesn't think Mayfield listens either.
"What is this play, and where does the ball go first? That’s all I care about," Canales added. "For me, I feel a level of comfort with [Mayfield] handling the offense. Hopefully, he's not listening and feeling like he has to prove anything to anybody but himself."
"I expect to be the starter. I know how talented I am. I know what type of leader I am," Mayfield said when asked about his football journey. "Now, it’s just time for the real thing. We’re about to have the real games, and everybody is excited here."
Head coach Todd Bowles said his starters will play the first half, and his back-ups will play the second half in the preseason finale. The Bucs haven't shown much of their playbook on the field this preseason, but Mayfield's confident their current scheme will lead to success.
"You do the simple, little things right, and then you get to add in the fun stuff on top of that. I think what we’ve done is great at the pace we’ve done it – the way [Offensive Coordinator] Dave [Canales] set it up to get everybody on the same page, executing, and then you add in the wrinkles from there," Mayfield said.
The Bucs host the Baltimore Ravens tomorrow at 7 p.m.
