Baker Mayfield 2020 | Barking Hard

Baker Mayfield 2020

Shep

Shep

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First, this is such a great article, as is any that features Greg Cosell.

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/20...el-qb-in-20-says-nfl-analyst-greg-cosell.html

I think he used the word "quick" about 50 times here about Mayfield, talking about both his feet and that absurd release. He sees what we see: 4 amazing years in a row, one of the best CFB runs ever, one of the best NFL rookie years ever...

And then the shit. But it lines up as the anomaly, we know all the conditions.

We also read today via PFF that only 2 pretty decent QBs (Pat and Russ) have had more "Big Time Throws" than Baker over the past two seasons. He's third at the peak category, the "whoa throws." Boy does that match up, the reason you watched Baker last year and still knew how good he really is, even with all the issues.

Monson (PFF) says everybody's predicting greatness for Baker and it makes him just a little nervous. He says he saw stuff that's broken other QB careers. I don't buy it. I see what Cosell sees, a very young QB mired in a mess and feeling very, very uncomfortable on multiple levels.

I expect what Cosell expects: "10, 11, 12 wins," and a great year for Baker. He'll be back to being at worst a top 10 QB, and probably better (again, per Cosell).
 
Here is what I see regarding 2019...........

Baker was 24 years old with more money than God.
He was now a married man to a beautiful woman.
He had achieved good success that came quickly at the highest level of his chosen profession.
He had the whole fanbase telling him he was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

I think that all adds up to being a normal 24 year old.

I also think that Baker is far from normal. In retrospect, I am glad he struggled last year. He has an incredible work ethic. He will use those struggles of 2019 as ultra motivation for 2020.

With the upgraded talent and improved coaching this year, I think we will all be breathing easier by mid October, knowing that 2019 is safely in the rear view mirror.
 
I think he has some culpability on the A-side... but once he walked into the facility, things were already off the rails.

I agree with you on what he did in the offseason and where his head might have been. He sort of hit a plateau that might have felt a bit like a peak: Arguably the best 3-year run in CFB history, got drafted first overall at 6' (nobody believed it would happen), and then came off the bench to post one of the best rookie years ever (27 TDs).

Like you said, then he married his sweetheart and showed off Manning-esque marketing presence. He ate a beer, can and all, in front of 27,000 people, who cheered him like their king.

When you're 24? All plateaus seem like peaks, but Baker's was extreme, started with disrespect. Would it have gone differently if he'd walked in more focused? Honestly? No, I don't believe so.
 
A QB with a "very, very accurate" arm just doesn't forget how to complete passes. I expect him to come back to top 10, maybe even better, type of QB. With a renewed emphasis on the run game and a legitimate TE in Hooper he should not ever feel uncomfortable ever again.
 
He's just a flat-out elite thrower, all the way around. He's gonna be just fine, but only for about 15 years.
 
When I look at the age of this team... and the talent... and how the cap is being managed (#1 in the league for flexibility)...

There's no other team I'd rather be following right now, at this moment, looking forward. I think we're teed up to not just win but win for a sustained period, become of one of those franchises.
 
jaydog said:
A QB with a "very, very accurate" arm just doesn't forget how to complete passes.
Click to expand...
I forgot to put that in my post and you jumped all over the opportunity jay........

I see how you are, jay. LOL

Seriously, it's not like he forgot how to play football in 2019. Kitchens did him NO FAVORS with his wtf playcalling. To Baker's credit, for the good of the team, he did not lead a public mutiny against the good ole boy.
 
Stefanski is mature, yet edgy when needed, yet comical at times as well. All those things can be said of Baker too. They might "get" each other more than any of us know.

===

BTW, have the Browns as an organization weathered 2020 well so far or what? CoVid is one thing, and then add the racial unrest, and we look as good as a team can.

Jim Brown of the 1960's continues to put his stamp on our organization.
Plenty of front office and coaching staff diversity, currently and historically.

In a very important way, I've never been prouder to be a Browns fan.
 
Ocon, I could not agree more on how I feel about the team I follow. Football is often a strange bedfellow for me, psychographically speaking. I know that's why I've always rhapsodized over the Walsh 49ers teams. I dig this team in that same way.

I'm also amazed by and proud of Goodell saying, "We got it wrong." Because they absolutely did. Feels like big, global, tectonic shifts are happening.

But back to Baker: I 100% know that kid is highly intelligent, like 150s. From the very first time I saw him talk. Also, the ability to act (and he can) is reflective of high intelligence. He's quick witted and articulate, has the lively smart-dude eyes like he's playing another game of chess on the side.

I guarantee you, when he said, "That guy's an idiot," about Freddie? Wasn't entirely just buddy movie dialogue. That relationship didn't pass the smell test after the happy-happy-joy-joy elephant dick stuff.
 
CBD pointing out Baker has a winning record in the division, 6-5, despite heading into year #3 with head coach #4.

Man is this season soooooo on Stefanski.
 
Although some saying, Stefanski, and his system, is good, so it's on Baker.

So, there you have it, since the return, it's still about the right HC + QB combo, and then you go from there.
 
1,400 signatures (including Baker's and many others) to end immunity for cops. That's mindblowing. Following Goodell's still stunning apology ("We got it wrong," meaning on Kaep) and Rivera saying he'll support his players' choice to kneel...

The guys here who don't like this new regime are unlikely to like the new NFL, to put it mildly. They've seen the light (almost certainly polls, passed the tipping point) and will now stand with their players, like 70% black.

Might need a new verse for "Change is Gonna Come." It's here.
 
I think the Browns will be lucky to win 8.. Realistically I see 6 to 7 wins.. The real question is.. can Jimmy keep anybody in the building longer than 5 minutes... That's the big question...
 
I should know better... but it FEELS different this time, like a bigger commitment and dare I say some listening? The aligned organization is already humming so smoothly, I have to think Haslam can see that and know the difference.

I really, truly like this group and believe in them. They all seem very smart (der), very grownup (hate that I have to type it), and also like a bunch of decent humans who dig each other. You put those kind of people together, it tends to work.

The table is objectively set. We're really young, really talented, and really flexible, financially speaking. Can it somehow crater? Sure. But I feel extremely bullish based on what we've seen so far. It feels like the beginning of something.
 
I know it's well-trod territory but:

- Schedule matters. John Clayton has shown it over and over. From one of the hardest to one of the softest, even with precisely last year's team? Should add 2 victories, which puts us at 8.

- I think at this point we can fairly safely assume we'll be better coached, for all that means... but mostly, we won't be a hot fucking mess. Coaching matters. Bad coaching might matter the most. Has to be 2 more victories. That would put us at 10.

- We also improved the roster, especially the OL but we also rounded out the skill group (Higgins back, DPJ, and of course Hooper and the FB). We also upgraded at safety and the DL. We get Myles Garrett back. We're a better football team... at least 2 wins better.

That would be 12 wins. I know it's not that didactic in real life... but it's logical.
 
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