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Brett Favre: Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes play the way I played


Posted by Michael David Smith on July 21, 2019, 7:46 AM EDT
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Brett Favre likes what he sees from a couple of the NFL’s bright young quarterback stars.

Favre says Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes are the two quarterbacks in the NFL today whose playing styles most remind him of himself.

“There’s no question that the sky is the limit for Baker,” Favre told Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal. “And, yeah, I think his style of play, and I’ve heard the same thing about Mahomes, and I agree with both, that their styles of play — if you had to pick a former player — would certainly match up to my style.”

Favre says he sees Mayfield and Mahomes going beyond how the play was drawn up when the circumstances call for it, and he likes to see that.

“It’s a play-action fake that you’ve never seen before or a flip, underhand pass or diving over three defenders or ducking your head and getting the extra yard,” Favre said. “Those are the type of things that are the unexpected that will become, at some point, maybe expected with a guy like Baker or Mahomes. Playing [quarterback] the way I played and the way Baker and Mahomes play is they just kind of have that added little sixth sense.”

That is high praise from a Hall of Famer, but based on the early returns from Mahomes and Mayfield, that praise is justified.

I agree.

There was a video someone put together that showed Baker’s similarities to Favre ... and it was creepy similar.

Baker’s attitude is like him too

Mitch Trubisky, too,
Nick Foles too,

I think, in the last 2.5 years, there's suddenly a LOT of young talented Qb's who can do a lot of magical things on the football field, so nothings guaranteed.

It's good praise though.

I never really liked Faver in his early playing years, and yet remember in his early playing years he had that one "Chumura that's it" really good tight end he relied so heavily on.
And his running game.

Let's just hope he doesn't cry when he retires. Please leave that to the fans.

Tulsa....

Really? I will provide the tissue for a HOF and one of the greatest QB’s ever. That was not even on my radar when the Farve was mentioned...

Charger....

I’m sure someone will be pleased to know that wasn’t even on your radar and you have extra tissues. What a guy.

He's not even good enough to fetch the paper for Brett no where's near as good as Brett Favre. He looks like an irish troll one ugly sucker. Arm strength not even close to Brett Favre.

And on top of that, where did Dorsey spend most of his career? Green Bay.... Funny how that works

Well you just made yourself a target of device. Only this time it's legitimate.

I'm sorry.... What?

Fantasy Football is ruined for me, because if I can't have Baker, I will take my toys and go home.

You are absolutely lost and void of mind.

That is just my humble opinion.

Brett Favre sees a lot of himself in Browns QB Baker Mayfield

https://www.ohio.com/sports/20190721/brett-favre-sees-lot-of-himself-in-browns-qb-baker-mayfield


By Nate Ulrich

When Brett Favre watches Baker Mayfield play, the Hall of Fame quarterback can’t help but think No. 6 in a Browns uniform resembles what No. 4 used to look like in a Green Bay Packers jersey.

“There’s no question that the sky is the limit for Baker,” Favre told the Beacon Journal/Ohio.com in a recent interview. “And, yeah, I think his style of play, and I’ve heard the same thing about [Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick] Mahomes, and I agree with both, that their styles of play — if you had to pick a former player — would certainly match up to my style.”

Browns General Manager John Dorsey and his top player personnel chiefs also see similarities between Mayfield and Favre. It’s part of the reason why Dorsey and his lieutenants who spent years together in Green Bay when Favre starred for the Packers fell in love with Mayfield in the buildup to drafting him first overall last year.

The comparison has become mainstream since then. New Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. made headlines in the spring by labeling Mayfield the modern-day Favre.

Favre, 49, said he “would 100 percent agree” with the comparison and explained he gets a looking-in-the-mirror feeling from Mayfield and Mahomes because of the “unexpected” nature of their games. Dorsey was the GM of the Chiefs in 2017, when they drafted Mahomes, the reigning NFL Most Valuable Player, 10th overall.

“It’s a play-action fake that you’ve never seen before or a flip, underhand pass or diving over three defenders or ducking your head and getting the extra yard,” Favre said. “Those are the type of things that are the unexpected that will become, at some point, maybe expected with a guy like Baker or Mahomes.

“Playing [quarterback] the way I played and the way Baker and Mahomes play is they just kind of have that added little sixth sense.”

As the GM of the Packers, Hall of Famer Ron Wolf traded a first-round pick to the Atlanta Falcons for Favre in 1992. Favre went on to win three consecutive NFL Most Valuable Player awards (1995-97) and lead the Packers to back-to-back Super Bowls (1996-97 seasons), defeating the New England Patriots 35-21 in the first one and losing to the Denver Broncos 31-24 in the second.

Mayfield went 6-7 as a rookie starter last season and helped the Browns finish 7-8-1 after they went 1-31 in the previous two years.

″[Mayfield] reminds me a little bit of Brett Favre. Sure does,” Ron Wolf, the father of Browns assistant GM Eliot Wolf, told the Beacon Journal/Ohio.com. “He has a similar throwing style. He seems to display an awful lot of confidence about his ability to be able to make things happen and come on in and win you a game, and he’s done that. Imagine if they started playing him at the beginning [of last season]. They might have had a winning record.”

Perfect mindset

The Browns decided Mayfield, 24, would begin his NFL career on the bench while veteran Tyrod Taylor started at quarterback. But after Taylor suffered a concussion late in the first half of a Week 3 “Thursday Night Football” showdown against the New York Jets, Mayfield willed the Browns back from a 14-0 deficit and spearheaded the slaying of their 19-game winless streak with a 21-17 victory. He started the rest of the year, and, in just 13 1/2 games, set a single-season NFL record for touchdown passes by a rookie with 27.

“I think his demeanor and instincts and so on and so forth are really what will change the face of the Cleveland Browns,” Favre said.

Mayfield is the 30th starting quarterback of the Browns since their expansion era began in 1999. They haven’t reached the postseason since 2002.

When Favre joined the Packers in 1992, they were suffering from a long playoff drought of their own. They qualified for the playoffs in the strike-shortened 1982 season but hadn’t done so during a full season since 1972.

“I was so naive I didn’t realize how difficult it is, nor did I really care,” said Favre, who guided the Packers to the playoffs in 1993, his first full season as their starter. “I just was like, ‘Hey, now’s the time to have fun. I’ve got nothing to lose.’ I get the sense that Baker has that mentality, and that’s exactly what you need in this situation.

“He’s the best [fit for the Browns] just like I was the best fit — and you don’t know this at the time — but I was the best fit for Green Bay at the time because I had this aw-shucks attitude.”

Mayfield grew up idolizing Favre and honored him before last year’s draft. With the assistance of family and friends, Mayfield re-created a classic photograph of Favre talking on the phone during the 1991 draft, when the Falcons selected him 33rd overall.

“I thought it was super creative,” Favre said. “I got a real kick out of it, a big laugh.”

Favre and Mayfield have never met, but they formed a relationship over the phone a couple of years ago. Favre said Mayfield has an open invitation to work out and study film with him.

Special traits

Favre believes Mayfield’s intangibles allow him to thrive despite his lack of prototypical size for an NFL quarterback at 6-foot 5/8.

“What matters is can the guy win, will the guys love him, will they rally around him?” Favre said. “And Baker certainly will score highest in something that is paid the least amount of attention to when it should be the first and most important thing that you’re judged and graded on.

“Baker Mayfield is one of those guys that, barring some freak injury, will have a long and illustrious career and will make people forget about Cleveland being in the doldrums for so long. I think he will be the reason that we don’t look at Cleveland like we’ve looked at Cleveland.”

Expectations for the Browns are as high as they’ve been in decades with Mayfield looking the part of a franchise quarterback and Dorsey pulling off a blockbuster trade in March to acquire Beckham from the New York Giants.

“You have to be thinking, ‘Man, they sure have surrounded Baker, who is a star player, with weapons,’ ” Favre said. “Now, from the outside looking in, it all looks good. You never know. The chemistry doesn’t always add up, but there’s no way to know until you put them on the field and see how they work together.

“There’s probably some apprehension — will this guy fit well? Odell Beckham, will he work well with Jarvis Landry? Will he bitch or complain when Baker throws it to Landry and he’s wide open? Maybe, but I do think Baker can handle that and is a really good fit.”

For the Browns to live up to the hype, Mayfield will need to take the next step in his development.

“I think he just needs to stay who he is, not overthink things, not overpress,” Favre said. “Now, it’s his style. He’s going to make plays where you go, ‘Where in the hell did that come from? Oh, my God. That was unbelievable.’ And then there’s going to be some of those [where you say], ‘Oh, boy. You probably should have used a little more restraint.’

“But that’s who he is, and if I were his coach, I would say, ‘Be who you are. Be smart. And as you get older, seasoned, wiser, the other things will come. But we want you to be who you are because that’s good enough to help this team win and get to where we want to be.’ ”

Good to get the praise. Needs a pile of wins and solid O, but the chippy kind of grit and edge he brings to the field is much like Favre. Fast company. Great to get some love coming into camp. And to have it be well deserved.

This campaign will be the Elf's Quest for the playoffs.

I wouldn’t put Foles anywhere near that argument ... I’d say that Mahomes, Baker, Watson, Wentz are above him

Trubisky is like favre, like Baker is like favre also, because even if he's not as successful Trubisky seems to spread the ball around to a lot of different receiving options and shows an ability to make things happen in unconventional ways,
therefore he is a threat, to takeover a game on his arm and heart, like Favre and Baker, so he belongs

Foles, is, it's true of Foles to say almost everything I just said about Trubisky, but Foles shows an ability to get the ball out while under pressure, that I'd say rivals all the Quarterbacks mentioned, He's won playoff games on this alone,
Foles is maybe the best young quarterback in this league, he's won a Superbowl from beginning as a backup role
He can spread the ball around, (that may be the thing he does least often compared to the others)
But he can get the ball to his primary receivers, he is really good under a collapsing pocket, he has a quick release, as quick as any if need be, he can take over a game on his own abilities,

So yeah, like Baker and Favre and Pat, and Trubisky he belongs.

I may be wrong but didn’t Foles leave PHI and not perform well? I’d be afraid he’s a system QB there ... but we’ll see this year

I'm simply not accepting Foles unless you meant Wentz. Foles is already 30 and I don't consider him a "young quarterback." At least not coupled with the guys we're talking about who are 5-6 years younger.

I don't agree with Trubisky, either, but I wouldn't make you exclude him from your list. Maybe after this season... But Foles just isn't right for inclusion on this list. If he was anywhere near Favre, and I get he has won a Super Bowl, he would have been a bona fide starter since he was drafted and not a 7-yr journeyman.

I'd put Wentz on the list way before Foles.

J/c

We’ll learn an awful lot bout my boy Mitch this year ... his rookie year he was handcuffed by Fox ... last year he was inconsistent in a new system or is he just not that good ... this year will tell us a lot about him ...

j/c

I could be wrong, but I seem to recall Favre talking about not knowing the playbook, that he would call whatever the coach sent in, then throw to whoever was open. Didn't he famously sleep through team meetings?

Baker knows the playbook, he is a first in the building, last out QB. When he entered the Jets game, he ran 3 plays out of his first huddle, running up to the line after the first play holding 3 fingers in the air, followed by 1 finger after the second. You can draw similarities between Farve and Mayfield when it comes to improvisation once a play breaks down, but until that moment, Baker is in command of the strategy where Favre was winging it from the snap of the ball.

It's also fair to point out that Dorsey left Green Bay to go to Seattle for a year with Holmgren but then returned....

Watching Trubisky, he seems to be a bit of an awkward/inconsistent thrower. Kinda like a good version of Tebow ... If I were a Bears fan I’d still be weary of him

I agree, Mitch either lights it up, or its time the bears think about replacing him. With the talent they have on that team, they cant be waiting around hoping for mitch to be the guy.

Just curious ...

What talent is that? ...

Mitch will be judged based off what he does this year ... no problems there ... i just don’t see a ton of talent on that O ... i may have missed something(s) ...

The have a formable duo in Clinton-Dix and Prince, not to mention the best LB in the game, and a generation pass rusher in Mack.

That Cohen is a defensive matchup nightmare. hes tyreek Hill 2.0.

They also have Taylor Gabrial - solid wr. Allen Robinson isn't a bum, and after a season in the offense, he will feel more comfortable.

I am not sure they have any questions marks other than QB actually.

you don't go 12-4 without some talent. And it wasn't 12-4 because of Mitch.

I’m with u on the D ...

Cohen is no where’s near Hill .. cohen is a nightmare but not even close to hill ...

I think there O talent isn’t bad and won’t hinder Mitch but its not even slightly above average ...

Oh let him have his say... Mayfield and Favre had very similar numbers in their first year (was Favre's second year as he didn't play his first year in Atlanta).. Mayfield was better in almost every category but just a bit..

Favre got significantly worse in his second year, comp % dropped, INTs went up a lot, rating down a lot, Y/A went down..

Let's see how Baker does in year 2.

Popped my head in thinking I would see something like "Mahomes is a better comparison due to the ridiculous arm strength".

Saw Mitch Trubisky, Nick Foles and fetching a paper.....

Baker is a better comparison because he always wants to thread the needle. That can be a good thing some games and a bad thing some games, just like it was for Brett.