Baker Mayfield: Fire The Cannons

[Amherstcavsfan]

Baker did what he was supposed to do today and kept the Browns scoring. The Browns have the luxury of playing like this because of their awesome o-line and running game. I'm sure Baker could put up bigger numbers, but they don't need him to and didn't make him throw to match up.

 

[MGMT]

I get it, but I don't think this is a fair way to look at it. How many times did he have an INT off the hands of a receiver or something that wasn't his fault? No one was questioning the validity of the streak the other way around.

I think Baker played a great game today. There were some bad throws and some other times where he got happy feet in the pocket, but overall it wasn't too bad given the fact that Washington's d-line pretty much dominated our o-line through most of the game until the end.

I mean, that’s a fair point; but I’m not sure I actually care about the streak per se — it’s his tendency to recklessly throw far down the middle of the field. Additionally, I’m not sure Washington’s defensive line “dominated” our offensive line until the end of the game. Sure, it won it’s fair share of fights on the ground game and sacked Baker a couple times but ultimately Chubb averaged over 5 YPC, and Baker had adequate time. I would argue that our OL prevailed; it was expectedly imperfect because its opponent was absolutely elite.

Ultimately I think Mayfield was good enough, it’s just unfortunate to see him be inconsistent on throws on which he was seemingly money as a rookie.

 

[raiders91sc]

I have been a big baker fan since we drafted him. Had no problem with pick except thought we could of dropped down and still gotten him but doesn't really matter.

I am losing some hope of him as a franchise quarterback but not all hope. I like the semi-tractor and trailer philosophy of qb. Is he the tractor pulling the team down the road or the trailer being pulled down the road. For the Browns to win he currently is the trailer. Prescott and Wilson were trailers early in their careers and became the tractors pulling lately so that gives me some hope.

I believe he has just enough athletic ability to be a franchise QB, his arm is a rocket, and guys want to play for him. I think the 3rd one is a lot more important in the nFL then people think--look at Wentz. My 2 biggest concerns are QB intelligence and his touch on throws. I'm just not sold he sees the field presnap well enough and his maturity level still needs to improve. on his throws it seems his accuracy is a little off but will come back to the level he has always shown. it seems he has one speed on his throws and lacks some touch. OBJ talked bout it little last year in a very nice manner. his balls seem hard to catch sometimes.

im stilll hoping we found our guy.

 

[daddywags]

Baker throwing 23 passes vs 34 runs by Chubb/Hunt is our recipe for success.*

Sorry OBJ.

*Not only that but our RBs/FB and TEs had more targets collectively than our WRs.

 

[adam81king]

I was unsure where to put this, but since its about Baker, it made sense. Its also a genuine question, not to start some heated debate.

Many people are seeing Baker as more of a game manager going forward than an MVP candidate we thought he'd be just over a year ago. He's not likely to be Russ Wilson or Drew Brees. He's more likely to be a slightly better Case Keenum...and that's fine (better than anyone else we've had since 1999). That said, should the Browns be proactive about finding a franchise guy? Sit back and see if one stumbles into their lap? Roll with Baker *as* the franchise guy? What would you do? What should the Browns do?

 

[Huber.]

I was unsure where to put this, but since its about Baker, it made sense. Its also a genuine question, not to start some heated debate.

Many people are seeing Baker as more of a game manager going forward than an MVP candidate we thought he'd be just over a year ago. He's not likely to be Russ Wilson or Drew Brees. He's more likely to be a slightly better Case Keenum...and that's fine (better than anyone else we've had since 1999). That said, should the Browns be proactive about finding a franchise guy? Sit back and see if one stumbles into their lap? Roll with Baker *as* the franchise guy? What would you do? What should the Browns do?

What are the FA options? Cam is pretty much a lock for the Pats in 2021 at this point.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

I'm fine with how Baker played today. Short offseason, no preseason in a new offense...it's going to take more than 3 games for his reads to become instinctual, and to sync up with his pass-catchers on the various routes they're running.

 

[Jordan]

I was unsure where to put this, but since its about Baker, it made sense. Its also a genuine question, not to start some heated debate.

Many people are seeing Baker as more of a game manager going forward than an MVP candidate we thought he'd be just over a year ago. He's not likely to be Russ Wilson or Drew Brees. He's more likely to be a slightly better Case Keenum...and that's fine (better than anyone else we've had since 1999). That said, should the Browns be proactive about finding a franchise guy? Sit back and see if one stumbles into their lap? Roll with Baker *as* the franchise guy? What would you do? What should the Browns do?

The statistical likelihood of one of the top-two QBs drafted in any draft being a net-positive QB or better for ten years is about 50%. Finding a QB that becomes a Matt Ryan-level QB or better in one of the top-two in any draft is about 30%. But finding a Wilson/Brady/Mahomes/Manning/Rodgers/etc. is very minuscule.

If Baker really is a net positive game manager then you bite the bullet and stick with him until a clearly better option is available. He’s an incredibly gifted QB who is painfully slow at going through reads and that has footwork issues. But noSo you hope that his ability to read the field and footwork improve as he is a game manager so he evidently can make the turn to a game-winning QB.

I am very critical of Baker. I didn’t think either of the last two weeks were all that great, to be honest. But he did what he had to do. That’s good - if he’s not costing us wins then he can “learn on the job.” It’s the best option we have, and frankly, is overall a pretty good option.

 

[The Wizard of Moz]

I was unsure where to put this, but since its about Baker, it made sense. Its also a genuine question, not to start some heated debate.

Many people are seeing Baker as more of a game manager going forward than an MVP candidate we thought he'd be just over a year ago. He's not likely to be Russ Wilson or Drew Brees. He's more likely to be a slightly better Case Keenum...and that's fine (better than anyone else we've had since 1999). That said, should the Browns be proactive about finding a franchise guy? Sit back and see if one stumbles into their lap? Roll with Baker *as* the franchise guy? What would you do? What should the Browns do?

It’s interesting Wilson was mentioned because he is a guy who had a great running back and defense early in his career that made it so that he didn’t need to play hero ball

and then each year they progressively put more and more on him and he continued to improve to the absolute elite level he is at today

Wilson’s attempts per year, first 5 years:
393
407
452
483
546

mayfield went from 486 to 534

Wilson wasn’t an MVP candidate his 3rd year. (But he was damn good and better than Baker is now) he wasn’t being asked to be an MVP. He was a young QB still learning the craft and they leaned on an elite running game

I know it literally never works for the Browns because we always ask for hero ball from day 1 because we have never had even a decent supporting cast until recently, but if you look around the league the Mahommes and Jackson’s are the anomalies. A lot of QBs take a lot of development before getting to their high performance levels. Let’s let Baker learn while we aren’t asking him to throw 540 times in a season

 

[The Wizard of Moz]

The statistical likelihood of one of the top-two QBs drafted in any draft being a net-positive QB or better for ten years is about 50%. Finding a QB that becomes a Matt Ryan-level QB or better in one of the top-two in any draft is about 30%. But finding a Wilson/Brady/Mahomes/Manning/Rodgers/etc. is very minuscule.

If Baker really is a net positive game manager then you bite the bullet and stick with him until a clearly better option is available. He’s an incredibly gifted QB who is painfully slow at going through reads and that has footwork issues. But noSo you hope that his ability to read the field and footwork improve as he is a game manager so he evidently can make the turn to a game-winning QB.

I am very critical of Baker. I didn’t think either of the last two weeks were all that great, to be honest. But he did what he had to do. That’s good - if he’s not costing us wins then he can “learn on the job.” It’s the best option we have, and frankly, is overall a pretty good option.

Great post. And honestly in the last decade we have seen non elite QBs win super bowls

Peyton was AWFUL in Denver’s super bowl run. Flacco and Foles are backup level guys who got hot at the right time. Eli is not out of range of what Baker can do

would we rather have a Mahommes? Yeah, everyone would. Do you NEED one to win? No

 

[Jordan]

Great post. And honestly in the last decade we have seen non elite QBs win super bowls

Peyton was AWFUL in Denver’s super bowl run. Flacco and Foles are backup level guys who got hot at the right time. Eli is not out of range of what Baker can do

would we rather have a Mahommes? Yeah, everyone would. Do you NEED one to win? No

Wilson was very good, but not great when they won. Tom Brady was ass the last year the Pats won. It’s not an infrequent outcome. I agree with you completely!

 

[Jack Brickman]

Wilson was very good, but not great when they won. Tom Brady was ass the last year the Pats won. It’s not an infrequent outcome. I agree with you completely!

Hell, even Peyton Manning's corpse won a ring.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

It’s interesting Wilson was mentioned because he is a guy who had a great running back and defense early in his career that made it so that he didn’t need to play hero ball

and then each year they progressively put more and more on him and he continued to improve to the absolute elite level he is at today

I feel compelled to point out that, in addition to the players surrounding him, Russell Wilson has had the same coach for all 9 of his seasons in the NFL, and the same offensive coordinator for his first 6.

What does Russell Wilson look like when coached by Hue Jackson and Freddie Kitchens in his first two seasons? None of us knows the answer to that, but I think we must take into account the coaching/offensive systems under which Baker spent his first two seasons, and freaking Covid this offseason, when considering his performance/development.

 

[The Wizard of Moz]

I feel compelled to point out that Russell Wilson has had the same coach for all 9 of his seasons in the NFL, and the same offensive coordinator for his first 6.

What does Russell Wilson look like when coached by Hue Jackson and Freddie Kitchens in his first two seasons? None of us knows the answer to that, but I think we must take into account the coaching/offensive systems under which Baker spent his first two seasons, and freaking Covid this offseason, when considering his performance/development.

Another good point. And I think you can see this paying dividends in Buffalo currently as well. Josh Allen was as far from a finished product as you’re going to get. I have little to no doubt we would be demanding to move on from him if he was here in 4 systems in 3 years. Now he is leading the NFL in passing

 

[CBBI]

I don’t think Baker played nearly as well as his box score numbers would indicate. He missed some throws. He still struggles so badly with any kind of pressure and he should have had another mind numbingly bad interception that OBJ basically bailed him out on.

But at the end of the day it’s hard to be *that* upset with nearly 70% completions and 2 touchdowns to 0 turnovers.

I read on Twitter, I think it may have been Jake Burns who said it, but it’s becoming clear that the Browns with this pair of running backs, this offensive line and Stefanski’s scheme can win games *with* Baker Mayfield, but it’s not clear if they can win games *because* of Baker Mayfield yet.

Will be really interesting to see how he continues to progress as the year unfolds.