When it comes to trash talk, Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield has had some classics, and left tackle Tristan Wirfs knows it.
Back in college at Oklahoma, he raised some eyebrows after telling players from Baylor, “You forgot who Daddy is. I’m gonna have to spank you!” He once told the entire Jacksonville Jaguars defensive line, after an elaborate pre-snap shift, “That was f****** cute, guys!”
And just last month, after he stiff-armed his way out of an attempted tackle by Vikings corner Byron Murphy Jr., Mayfield was captured and shared by the Bucs on social media shouting, “Get your f****** weight up little boy! Get that f****** weight up!”
Part of the issue with that, however, is that Mayfield can sometimes run his mouth too much and too long, and can find himself in need of an escort out of sticky situations. That, Wirfs said the other day, is his job.
Baker Mayfield when asked about Tristan Wirfs: “He’s my handler? Is that what he said?”
And you’ll have to excuse my laughter. I too derived much joy from watching Luke Goedeke’s Week 4 tape, as did his buddy Tristan. He enjoyed the “airplane” play too.
“He’s my handler, is that what he said? My self-proclaimed handler?” Mayfield said with a laugh after practice on Wednesday, October 11.
And on Thursday, Wirfs clarified: “I’m not his handler. It’s just if he gets in a situation, I’m going to help him out. He talks a little crap. But I did see that, that was funny yesterday.”
Tristan Wirfs, Baker Mayfield in the Week 6 Spotlight
The spotlight will be on Wirfs on Sunday and that is getting more common these days. That’s because Detroit‘s defense is anchored by fearsome second-year pass-rusher Aidan Hutchinson. Pro Football Focus ranked Hutchinson the No. 4 edge rusher in the league. He has a season grade of 91.4, and already has 4.5 sacks and a league-high 22 quarterback pressures, per ProFootballReference.com.
Wirfs, meanwhile, earned a season grade of 83.0 (88.4 in pass blocking) and ranked the best left tackle in the league. That’s remarkable because, just a few months ago many doubted the wisdom of moving Wirfs from his comfortable right tackle spot over to the more important left side.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” he said, via the Bucs website. “It’s just everyday finding something that I need to work on, that I want to focus on, and not just going out there and flying around with bad technique. [I am] just picking something to get better at that day.
“I’ll have days where I feel really good, like I’m moving good, and everything is super natural. There are some [days] where I feel like I can’t take a set. And I keep telling myself, ‘How did it feel your rookie year doing technique on the right side?’ It’s going to come, and it’s going to get to a point where I feel like I did the past couple of years. You know, I’m feeling great right now.”
Aidan Hutchinson ‘Can Ruin Your Day’
Hutchinson does present a special kind of problem. He moves around on the line so much and does not allow a particular lineman to get too used to his presence. Fortunately, the Bucs have a solid right tackle — Luke Goedeke — to pick him up on the other side.
“He’s one of those guys that can ruin your day – he has that potential and he’s capable of that,” Mayfield said on October 11. “We’ve got to know where he is. They move him around quite a bit – they do a good job of that. The thing that jumps out on tape … is his effort – he never quits, he never stops on a play. Even if you have him blocked for a second, he’s going to find a way to break free.
“Any time you’re stepping up in the pocket, he’s going to be chasing – there’s going to be pursuit. You’ve got to have eyes on him at all times.”
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Baker Mayfield’s ‘Handler’ Tristan Wirfs: ‘He Talks a Little Crap’