Dave Canales knew he had his work cut out for him once he took the offensive coordinator position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
After all, Tom Brady is gone and he’s left with 24-year-old Kyle Trask, who’s attempted all of nine passes in the NFL. But in an effort to help Trask transition from backup to starter as seamlessly as possible, Canales said he wants his QB to think and play like a point guard.
"The thing that we’re going to help Kyle continue to build on here is to just be a point guard," Canales told reporters on Saturday. "Point guards don’t have to be the one to score all the points — you just distribute. Play on time, get the ball out of your hands, life is better that way when you do that. You’ve got these bears chasing you and if you don’t like bears chasing you, get rid of the ham — and that’s the football, right? So just teaching him those principles, allowing him to be a distributor."
While Kyle Trask has a legit shot at No. 1 QB job for Buccaneers, I don't think it's even close to a given, despite what's floated out there right now
— Evan Closky (@ECloskyWTSP) February 24, 2023
Listen to Bruce Arians on @RichEisenShow. Team is confident in Trask, but 'you gotta search what's behind Door No. 2.' #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/Fqt2zxi1jD
A second-round pick in 2021, Trask has had the luxury of sitting behind — and learning from — Brady the last two seasons. He also has the added benefit of throwing to one of the top receiver tandems in the NFL — Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
However, Canales doesn’t want to overwhelm Trask with too much too fast. Instead, he stated he wants to make things as familiar as possible for Trask, drawing on his strengths from his days at the University of Florida.
"[Our focus is on] drilling that timing of getting the ball out and then having the balance of the run game," Canales said. "We are always trying to look for a way to put the quarterback in his comfort zone and build from there.”
Some people need reminders of what Kyle Trask did to teams. If he had a defense and they played the full season like other teams, he would’ve won the Heisman. pic.twitter.com/WXQtZiNhIq
— Florida Gators (@gatorsszn) February 24, 2023
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