Baker Mayfield: Fire The Cannons

[Amherstcavsfan]

Was the second INT due to him being hit or a bad throw or both?

He got hit as soon as his arm was going forward, I think it's fair to say that it probably was the hit.

Additionally, I'd like to see how those drives change if Landry catches two, OBJ catches his drop, or Hooper adjusts to the ball correctly.

 

[CBBI]

Was the second INT due to him being hit or a bad throw or both?

The bad throw was definitely the result of the hit.

You could make the argument that he should have had better pocket awareness to avoid the hit, but the hit definitely is what caused the bad throw.

 

[Jack Brickman]

He got hit as soon as his arm was going forward, I think it's fair to say that it probably was the hit.

Additionally, I'd like to see how those drives change if Landry catches two, OBJ catches his drop, or Hooper adjusts to the ball correctly.

That first drop by Landry was absolutely brutal. That was an easy first down. The second drop was equally bad but he might not have made the first down on that one even if he had caught it.

 

[Bob_The_Cat]

This is odd. I've never seen a QB (or anyone for that matter) dangling their arm due to a rib injury. Seems a little fishy.

Hopefully he's OK. Worse case scenario for the FO this year would be not having ample time to evaluate Baker as he's eligible for an extension at the end of the year. Don't want to be caught in limbo not knowing if he's the right guy for the job.

 

[Jack Brickman]

Perhaps the biggest news of the day is that, with this home win, Big Ben is no longer tied for the most QB wins at our stadium since the team returned. That stat is dead!*


*Well, after one more home win.

 

[Lee]

Was the second INT due to him being hit or a bad throw or both?

He was hit at the end of throwing it,....made him throw low and behind.

 

[Zeus69]

 

[Jordan]

I’m sending this from my phone, but people should listen to Baker’s press conference on YouTube. He was extraordinarily disappointed with his performance, which I think is a testament to his desire to improve.

 

[CBBI]

Baker overall played well in the first half. Guys were open and he was finding them.

Things got a little hairy in the second half, the first interception was really bad especially. That said... if Jarvis doesn’t have those two stone cold drops that both probably go for first downs, perhaps the narrative on his second half changes a bit.

I know I’m being hard on the guy, but five games into this season and I’m still just not that confident in his ability to process what happening in front of him quick enough to be an elite QB. Baker’s ability to diagnose what the coverage is and when his guys are going to come open is still just too slow for me. He’s often a half beat or a full beat late on throws which just continues to show a lack of anticipation and trust in his eyes.

I hope it will improve with more experience and comfort in the system, but I’m not super confident in it.

And to be clear, Baker lacking those things doesn’t make him a bad quarterback. Far from it. You can still win games with a QB like that, it just requires good coaching (which the Browns appear to have) and good surrounding pieces (which the Browns definitely have).

I just think the slow processing and lack of anticipation may be what ultimately keeps Baker from breaking into the truly elite Mahomes, Wilson, Rodgers stratosphere.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

Baker overall played well in the first half. Guys were open and he was finding them.

Things got a little hairy in the second half, the first interception was really bad especially. That said... if Jarvis doesn’t have those two stone cold drops that both probably go for first downs, perhaps the narrative on his second half changes a bit.

I know I’m being hard on the guy, but five games into this season and I’m still just not that confident in his ability to process what happening in front of him quick enough to be an elite QB. Baker’s ability to diagnose what the coverage is and when his guys are going to come open is still just too slow for me. He’s often a half beat or a full beat late on throws which just continues to show a lack of anticipation and trust in his eyes.

I hope it will improve with more experience and comfort in the system, but I’m not super confident in it.

And to be clear, Baker lacking those things doesn’t make him a bad quarterback. Far from it. You can still win games with a QB like that, it just requires good coaching (which the Browns appear to have) and good surrounding pieces (which the Browns definitely have).

I just think the slow processing and lack of anticipation may be what ultimately keeps Baker from breaking into the truly elite Mahomes, Wilson, Rodgers stratosphere.

There was a play in the first half that really speaks to what Baker is right now.

He dropped back, worked through his progressions, fought his instincts to bail on the pocket, and eventually found Hooper wide open on the right side of the field.

Last year, Baker would not have hung in the pocket. He would have bailed early. So, this is evidence of growth and improvement.

Where I would like Baker to be is a QB who innately knows that guy is wide open on the other half of the field with nobody around him. The great QB's just by looking at the way the play goes, knows that all of the defenders abandoned that area where one of his options are, and get that ball out quicker than Baker did.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

There was a play in the first half that really speaks to what Baker is right now.

He dropped back, worked through his progressions, fought his instincts to bail on the pocket, and eventually found Hooper wide open on the right side of the field.

Last year, Baker would not have hung in the pocket. He would have bailed early. So, this is evidence of growth and improvement.

Where I would like Baker to be is a QB who innately knows that guy is wide open on the other half of the field with nobody around him. The great QB's just by looking at the way the play goes, knows that all of the defenders abandoned that area where one of his options are, and get that ball out quicker than Baker did.

Most of them also have had a lot more time in an offense than Baker has before being held to that expectation.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

Most of them also have had a lot more time in an offense than Baker has before being held to that expectation.

What expectation? Nobody is saying "He has to do X right now"

I'm simply laying out where he was, where he is, and where he can improve to.

 

[MGMT]

What expectation? Nobody is saying "He has to do X right now"

I'm simply laying out where he was, where he is, and where he can improve to.

In addition to the example you made, I also thought yesterday he was releasing the ball rather quickly in comparison to the first few games of the season. He impressed me on more than a few drop backs. Dude isn’t a finished product so I wasn’t too upset by the interceptions because this is still a process but there were things to criticize but there was also plenty to like.

 

[browniebob]

Baker hasn't been perfect, but seeing him beginning to break some of last year's bad habits is encouraging. I thought he did a nice job of sticking in the pocket when he was asked to yesterday.

What a great feeling it is to have an intelligent coaching staff behind him too. It feels like there's an actual plan to build his confidence back to where it needs to be. I fully trust that staff to find several key areas from the second half for Baker to work on this week.

 

[CBBI]

Most of them also have had a lot more time in an offense than Baker has before being held to that expectation.

My counter to this would be that I’m not convinced more experience in this offense or any offense is going to help Mayfield develop more anticipation.

Basically right now if he doesn’t see it open, he doesn’t throw it.

More experience should absolutely help him better recognize coverages, but anticipation is like accuracy to me - you either have it naturally or you don’t - and Baker just doesn’t really show it.

The great QBs anticipate where their targets are going to come open based on the coverage and throw to those spots accordingly.

Baker doesn’t throw to spots right now. He throws to players once he SEES them come open.