Baker Mayfield: Fire The Cannons

[Jack Brickman]

It's going to be a process getting Baker "back" ...he showed some flashes of 2018 Baker today, but also showed flashes of 2019 Baker. Stefanski is bringing him along slowly and I definitely think that's the right way to approach this. Last year fucked him up bad.

The main thing is that he's playing well enough to keep us in position to win games. He's not winning games by himself, but he's not losing them either.

 

[Phil Mixtape]

Baker was just fine today. We didn’t need him to be the hero and he did not try to be the hero. Stefanski is putting him in situations where he is a game manager, but also, where he is learning and developing to eventually become much more than that.

This is a really good coach and system for Baker, especially after all the bullshit coaching he's been through. For as high of a pick as he was, hopefully he can become more than a "don't screw it up" game manager type guy. Expectations were obviously through the roof after his first year then they totally bonered the coaching hire. It helps having two baller rbs to help you along . . .

 

[Lee]

Baker was just fine today. We didn’t need him to be the hero and he did not try to be the hero. Stefanski is putting him in situations where he is a game manager, but also, where he is learning and developing to eventually become much more than that.

People act like 7 td's and 2 picks is garbage with an over 60% completion. I rather see him at around 68% like i said, but when you run like the Browns have run the last 3 weeks, you dont have your QB throw 40+ times a game. Its called winning football.

But yeah lets take what Dak has done instead, throw for 400+ in losing games. Man have our fellow Browns fan forgot the winning is better than empty stats.

 

[Marcus]

People act like 7 td's and 2 picks is garbage with an over 60% completion. I rather see him at around 68% like i said, but when you run like the Browns have run the last 3 weeks, you dont have your QB throw 40+ times a game. Its called winning football.

But yeah lets take what Dak has done instead, throw for 400+ in losing games. Man have our fellow Browns fan forgot the winning is better than empty stats.

Hell yeah. Give me that lethal running offense any day of the week and twice on Sundays.

We've been starved for a QB so long that we can't see the forest for the trees.

 

[MGMT]

I’m not hating; just stating what I observed a bit today but like I said in contrast he isn’t doing anything foolish, reckless or arrogant with the ball and sometimes you need to start at ground 0. While I think most members of this section recognize the gross incompetence of Freddie kitchens, I think it’s slightly underestimated just how badly he damaged Mayfield in allowing him to formulate terrible habits.

Stefanski is essentially being tasked with starting completely over with him — hitting the reset button is essentially what is going on this season imo. Mayfield is showing he can handle the intermediate throws and “take what’s there.” I’m willing to bet that once he’s conditioned enough within those confines and he exhibits the ability to improve upon some of his habits, Stefanski will make an attempt to gradually unpack some of that buried talent that was so obvious during his 2018 campaign. It’s becoming obvious that Kev sees this as a process and it’s fairly obvious imo.

It’s hard to be upset about anything right now; it’s just a matter of watching the process unfold and see where the team is lead as a result.

 

[Bob_The_Cat]

People act like 7 td's and 2 picks is garbage with an over 60% completion. I rather see him at around 68% like i said, but when you run like the Browns have run the last 3 weeks, you dont have your QB throw 40+ times a game. Its called winning football.

But yeah lets take what Dak has done instead, throw for 400+ in losing games. Man have our fellow Browns fan forgot the winning is better than empty stats.

Is that Dak's fault? We saw how terrible the Cowboys D is first hand. Seems like he's been doing everything he can possibly do to win games this year. Not to knock Baker, but if you dropped Dak in our offense with our line and WR he'd be putting up some crazy numbers.

I'd say it's promising that Baker's not turning the ball over, but if he continues to airball crucial 3rd down passes like that one he missed to a wide-open OBJ that probably goes for a TD, we're going to have to find someone else. I'm pretty much fine with the other stuff he did throughout the game, but those are the throws the Browns absolutely need him to make if they're going to be successful long-term.

It's just not going to be possible for us to run the ball like that against even an average defense. Bengals, Cowboys, and WFT all have pretty crap defenses. The next two weeks should be a better indicator of where the offense is as a whole. I have a feeling the Colts and Steelers will be stacking the box and forcing Baker to beat them, especially if Chubb might be hurt.

Anyway, the line has been exceptional and Stefanski's done a great job of putting Baker and the offense in the right spots. He certainly doesn't need to carry the offense right now, but he has to make those crucial throws especially when a WR is wide open. OBJ didn't even have a chance to try and catch that ball.

 

[Lee]

Is that Dak's fault? We saw how terrible the Cowboys D is first hand. Seems like he's been doing everything he can possibly do to win games this year. Not to knock Baker, but if you dropped Dak in our offense with our line and WR he'd be putting up some crazy numbers.

I'd say it's promising that Baker's not turning the ball over, but if he continues to airball crucial 3rd down passes like that one he missed to a wide-open OBJ that probably goes for a TD, we're going to have to find someone else. I'm pretty much fine with the other stuff he did throughout the game, but those are the throws the Browns absolutely need him to make if they're going to be successful long-term.

It's just not going to be possible for us to run the ball like that against even an average defense. Bengals, Cowboys, and WFT all have pretty crap defenses. The next two weeks should be a better indicator of where the offense is as a whole. I have a feeling the Colts and Steelers will be stacking the box and forcing Baker to beat them, especially if Chubb might be hurt.

Anyway, the line has been exceptional and Stefanski's done a great job of putting Baker and the offense in the right spots. He certainly doesn't need to carry the offense right now, but he has to make those crucial throws especially when a WR is wide open. OBJ didn't even have a chance to try and catch that ball.

Wahington has a pretty good defense, Bangels arent bad, just not a good defense. One thing this early in the season, the fact we ran all over teams for 3 weeks straight skew their defensive numbers because its early, but we are a legit top 3 running team, only thing we are missing is a running qb, but i am not a huge fan of those. A few exceptions like Wilson or Mahommes, who are not really running QB's, but passing qb's that happen to be able to run....i am talking more about Jackson or Josh Allen.

 

[daddywags]

I’m not hating; just stating what I observed a bit today but like I said in contrast he isn’t doing anything foolish, reckless or arrogant with the ball and sometimes you need to start at ground 0. While I think most members of this section recognize the gross incompetence of Freddie kitchens, I think it’s slightly underestimated just how badly he damaged Mayfield in allowing him to formulate terrible habits.

Stefanski is essentially being tasked with starting completely over with him — hitting the reset button is essentially what is going on this season imo. Mayfield is showing he can handle the intermediate throws and “take what’s there.” I’m willing to bet that once he’s conditioned enough within those confines and he exhibits the ability to improve upon some of his habits, Stefanski will make an attempt to gradually unpack some of that buried talent that was so obvious during his 2018 campaign. It’s becoming obvious that Kev sees this as a process and it’s fairly obvious imo.

It’s hard to be upset about anything right now; it’s just a matter of watching the process unfold and see where the team is lead as a result.

I give you a like even though you said "process."

 

[JDailey23]

All I know is that I’ve gone 2 weeks without drinking during the game. I knew at half time that Dak was gonna pound the stats and make the game closer than it really was. Wasn’t wrong.
Let’s pray that Chubb is okay and not out for the remainder of the season.

 

[DJTJ]

He’s a game manager.

Missing OBJ down the sideline was vomit inducing. And watching him get happy feet with a clean pocket made me want to cut my wrists.

 

[Amherstcavsfan]

I'd look at the Goff trajectory for what the Baker plan is currently unfolding. Major improvement after his disaster year, then the offensive staff opens it up starting in year 2.

 

[scredhawk]

Is that Dak's fault? We saw how terrible the Cowboys D is first hand. Seems like he's been doing everything he can possibly do to win games this year. Not to knock Baker, but if you dropped Dak in our offense with our line and WR he'd be putting up some crazy numbers.

I'd say it's promising that Baker's not turning the ball over, but if he continues to airball crucial 3rd down passes like that one he missed to a wide-open OBJ that probably goes for a TD, we're going to have to find someone else. I'm pretty much fine with the other stuff he did throughout the game, but those are the throws the Browns absolutely need him to make if they're going to be successful long-term.

It's just not going to be possible for us to run the ball like that against even an average defense. Bengals, Cowboys, and WFT all have pretty crap defenses. The next two weeks should be a better indicator of where the offense is as a whole. I have a feeling the Colts and Steelers will be stacking the box and forcing Baker to beat them, especially if Chubb might be hurt.

Anyway, the line has been exceptional and Stefanski's done a great job of putting Baker and the offense in the right spots. He certainly doesn't need to carry the offense right now, but he has to make those crucial throws especially when a WR is wide open. OBJ didn't even have a chance to try and catch that ball.

im not giving up on him yet but you’re right. Steelers and Colts will be better measuring sticks I feel. Let’s hope his pocket awareness improves. I’m glad he’s not throwing pick after pick, but 62% and 5.3 Ypa with this line, receiving Corp to me is pretty damn bad. But I’ll be patient

 

[DJTJ]

im not giving up on him yet but you’re right. Steelers and Colts will be better measuring sticks I feel. Let’s hope his pocket awareness improves. I’m glad he’s not throwing pick after pick, but 62% and 5.3 Ypa with this line, receiving Corp to me is pretty damn bad. But I’ll be patient

The advanced metrics weren’t good...

Time to throw was 3.16. His CAY was 7.1, which is fine.

The problem? With all the time, 30% of his passes were to people with a defender within one yard, and his xComp was sub 50. Dude has time and is just making bad decisions. The happy feet give him shit accuracy in clean ass fucking pockets.

 

[spydy13]

The critics need to keep in mind that we didn’t have a real offseason this year, so the reps to build muscle memory are happening on the fly. I think we can expect to see a big jump next year if things go back to normal by then.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

I see growth, which is good. He's starting to gamble a little bit more and being confident that he can make throws. He had one to the left sideline that was over Jaylon Smith (think it was to Hooper) that was a great Baker play. Another one to Landry with the DB jumping on his back. He's finding that line where he can allow his playmakers to make plays. That's good growth.

He still has a poor feel for the pocket, and once there's a little bit of pressure and he has to move, his eyes are no longer downfield. Once he starts moving, the only time he's going to throw is if he escapes the pocket and can clearly see the field again.

I think he's trying to work on it. The time he climbed the pocket instead of escaping out the back like he always does, was a nice change. But, he had receivers open, and turned it into an ugly little scramble that turned out to be a "sack" for the DB at the sideline.

This isn't a weakness that's going to sink a team. We can play around it and still be successful. It's just a place where he can grow. Remember--the objective is to build a team that can win multiple championships.