DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Mayfield Says He "Absolutely" Doubted Himself Last Year

BEREA, Ohio -- Everybody knows this is a big season for Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Despite not having a normal off-season, those who follow the Browns know the offense--for the most part-- will only go as Mayfield goes.

Mayfield and his teammates are taking to the field to actually start practicing football on Friday.

Mayfield said not only is he in much better physical shape, he is in in "a much better mental state" than a year ago.

“In a much better state mentally," Mayfield said on a Zoom call on Friday before practice. "Obviously, physically, I put in the work, like you said. Just ready to roll, attack and get back to where I need to be to be the leader for this team and for this franchise. The reason I got here is because I have been myself and have been able to attack each day with 100 percent effort. Being able to do that and just have the open communication with Coach Kevin Stefanski, (offensive coordinator) Alex Van Pelt and the rest of the staff, we know what we are attacking each and every day. It feels a lot better, and we are taking it one day at a time, as we should.”

As a rookie, he was the NFL runner up for Rookie of the Year to Saquon Barkley, when he surpassed the touchdown totals of Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson in their rookie seasons with 27 touchdowns and a 93.7 rating. He slumped in 2019 to 22 touchdowns and 21 interceptions with a 78.8 rating.

Mayfield was asked if he doubted himself during the roller coaster of the last two years.

“Absolutely. I think that that is one of those things that I talked about with our team is you have to find that belief and you have to find that confidence within yourself," he said. "That is what I have based my whole story on and my whole career on is confidence in myself and taking those chances. There were times, and these guys know that everybody has their moments. You can’t just hold onto yourself. You have to have people to lean on, and we have those guys here.”

Mayfield explained a little bit more on what he meant.

“I wouldn’t say it is a ‘poor me’ type situation," Mayfield said. "Going and having success all through high school and college and having that standard so high and then the past couple years have been a rollercoaster of emotions and not nearly as much success as I am used to. I would say I lost myself not having that success, not finding out what was working. I tried different ways of trying to have that success, and I didn’t find it.

"I lost myself in that, and I wasn’t able to be who I am for these guys on the team," he said. "I have told them that, and I told them that if I am not doing that, hold me accountable. Just finding that and getting back to the basics, establish myself in this new system and attack it."

Jarvis Landry said he's seen a renewed, reinvigorated quarterback.

"He's the leader of our team, will continue to be the leader of our team," Landry said on a Zoom call. "His attitude toward this season is at a heightened level."

Landry hooked up with Mayfield for a deep sideline pass for a touchdown that went for about 60 yards.

Mayfield said he dropped some of the "bad weight" that he was carrying and Andrew Berry said that Mayfield had added four pounds of lean mass. Mayfield admitted he played last season the heaviest of his career.

Mayfield is excited to get on the field and see how the team comes together.

“Absolutely, I think it is an unbelievable opportunity for everybody in this building," he said. "With the moves that we have made, the pieces we brought in and the culture that is being built right now, I think we are really excited to get out there and show that of what we have been building behind the scenes. I am extremely excited about that.

"The doubt and all that, I expect it considering what has been going on with going from Year 1 with having some success to last year of what we thought was going to be and it wasn’t," he said. "It is what it is. It is nothing new to me, and our guys are ready to get out there and prove what we have been doing this offseason because that is all that matters is this year. We have a new team, a new staff and we are ready to roll.”

https://247sports.com/nfl/cleveland-brow...-Now-150278531/

The only way to improve is to recognize the problem, address the problem and move forward. I see this as a very positive sign.

Yeah, Baker is the primary focus .. this is a very important year for him. Obviously the pandemic and another new system is not ideal, BUT he does need to put forth a better performance than last season. He’s a #1 overall pick entering year 3 with GREAT weapons, an improved OL, and a system that will be tailored to him

Blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah.

One would certainly hope that a first time HC would tailor his system around the talent he has to work with. But being as how Stefanski is a first time HC who has worked under other coaches, I'm not sure we actually know what "his system" is. From the limited information and interviews I have on Stefanski, let's say I'm optimistic about the possibilities.

But I feel the need to wait until I've actually seen the evidence on the field to go any further than that.

Yeah, we wont know until we see it. If his comments ring true about the Texans of 09 and Shanahan, that’s a hint at least

Let’s go Bake!!!

#Browns left guard Joel Bitonio said Baker Mayfield has told teammates he didn't do enough to help team win last year and he felt bad about it, he really took necessary steps this offseason, he understands he sets the standard as the quarterback of the team

Nate Ulrich
@ByNateUlrich

Good, keep that mindset

Getting rid of Freddie was the 1st step in getting BM better

That seems to be a popular theme around here but obviously Baker takes the responsibility. Maybe if the posters around here held him as accountable as he seems to be they wouldn't be trying to shift the blame. I'm pretty sure Freddie didn't tell him to show up to camp out of shape last year.

As a whole Freddie certainly didn't do him any favors. But it seems like Baker is stepping up and taking responsibility for his part in all of that. It's a shame some fans won't even take his word for it.

I agree with you. Kitchens came into 2019 and was plain lazy in his approach.
He didnt have the tennis balls to stand up to BM and OBJ. Oh yeah he tried to act like a disciplinarian with Higgins and Njoku come off like he was a real whip cracker

Freddie saw BM break Mannings record thus he went
Into the off season and let BM do anything he wanted. BM comes in not committed out of shape
Kitchens did nothing about it.

Freddie was more intrested in being a buddy buddy to the marquee guys.
He created a country club atmosphere.And it showed vs the Titans.
The Browns were not prepared on Sundays cause Kitchens was not prepared

He was a worse coach than Jackson
I've seen a lot of bad NFL HCS in my life.
Rich Kotite...Monte Clarke...Steve Spurrier..Homer Rice .....
Kitchens is the worst

So Baker is lying? Alrighty then.

Even when it comes from the horses mouth you try and deflect.

Your right ... there was 100% a lack of leadership from my boy last year .... 100%, no doubt about it ...

So thats an excuse for Bake to show up looking like he pounded brews on the beach all off season? ... who else came back with an entirely different bad body shape? ...

Blaming Freddie for Bake’s conditioning is a JOKE BRO and u know it ... did Bake forget that hard work and a major commitment is what lead to his success in hs,college and his rookie season ...

Bake’s rookie year clearly went to his head and his ego took over ... he GOT LAZY and thats on him not Freddie ...

Ang I guarantee U even if we didn’t hire a HC this off season Bake would have put the work in cause he embarrassed himself last year ... and thats not a shot at Kev as I’m sure he played a role but Bake had plenty of self motivation after last years debacle ...

I’m expecting huge things from Bake this year and it looks like he put the work in to make that a distinct possibility ...

The kids not perfect tab ... he messed up last off season and it showed during the season ... he corrected it this off season ... and thats all that matters at this point .. good on him ....

Freddie has to shoulder his share of the blame BUT NOT ALL OF IT ... PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY plays a big part also and that’s 100% on Bake ...

LETS GOOOOOOOO

And Ryan Lindley.

That picture on the boat last winter was probably the best thing that happened to 6...

Am I the only one who thinks Baker’s body type has nothing to do with his success?

I guess that would depend on if one is looking at it as a singular issue or a sign of ones overall dedication to his craft.

When you have played football your entire life, you know how important being in shape is. So to an extent, coming in out of shape does say a lot about where your head is at in terms of your dedication to your craft.

Even Mayfield called it "bad weight". So even he realized it was an issue at least to some degree.

Well put. I'm one that absolutely subscribes to the theory that subtracting Freddie from the team is the first step to getting Baker back on track... but I thought a lot more of Baker's drive to believe he would let himself go after a little bit of success. Honestly, I thought he would be one of the last people that would allow that to happen.

And that's the odd part of it. With Freddie as his OC he was playing great and the team was productive. That would lead one to believe that he would have had extra reasoning for coming back in top shape.

So while Freddie certainly did him no favors, Bakers issues started before any of that.

Baker has made it clear that a lot of these issues were his own. That he was the one who needed to address them and make them better. I'm glad he saw this and is taking the needed steps to improve.

I'm not going to claim he's a liar and use something else as an excuse for the very things he himself has taken ownership of.

It takes a lot to man up, accept responsibility and move forward for someone in the public eye. I commend him for that.

Body shape/type or physical condition?

The better condition people are in the better they feel and perform. The better they feel and perform the more confident they are. The more confident they are the better they play. I guess I can keep going.

I mean if your point is that maybe Baker just sucks so none of that will matter, but I wouldn't be in the camp that Baker sucks.

So yes, I think his condition matters.

Sometimes in football. The coach and QB mirror each other in certain aspects. A QB can be a mere extension of the coach.
Case in point.
Baker felt like he could just show up and light up the scoreboard
Freddie felt like he could just show up and
Call plays and orchestrate points.
Freddie was fat
Baker got fat.
Baker had a lack of work ethic
Freddie thought he had it all figured out.

Look at history the great QB HC tandems

Fouts Coreyell.
Brady Belichek
Graham Brown
Esiason Wyche
Mahomes Reid
Brees Peyton
Stabler Madden

A complete of mindset drive desire to win
Etc

Oh dear Lord. lmao

In that case Mahomes should have come in weighing 300#.



You just refuse to take Bakers word for it don't you? So is Baker lying?

j/c:

Glad he is in shape. Now, I hope he has worked on his footwork and can suddenly know how to read coverages.

Hey Vers, I don’t know if any improvement will be made on his coverage reading, but I’ve checked out his footwork a little bit during the plays. I haven’t seen a ton, but from what I’ve noticed, his initial drop-back with his new initial stance does appear to make his release and timing more “efficient” so to speak. Where I get concerned is his follow-through with his weight distribution. He still throws too much off his back foot and his passes are still going high. I don’t know where he developed this, but I assume it was last year because I don’t recall sailed passes being a problem in ‘18. Hope he tunes that up because that’s a big INT liability.

Thanks for the info, 05. Did you happen to notice his lead [left] foot while you were watching. Is it pointed toward the intended target or is he opening up too much? Do you know what I mean by "opening up?" That's stepping too far out to the left of the target. He did that in both years and it was one of the things I said I hoped he worked on after his rookie season. It's a big reason I wanted him to work w/a qb coach. Anyway.........opening up too much affects the arm angle and subsequently, the release point. It's the single biggest reason for high throws in any sport.

Is he in shape?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGdUl_pkWYQ

I think he has a lot to go still, specially compared to how fit he was when he was a rookie.

But most alarming is Kase Keenum, he looks like a sea lion

Tom Brady camp comparison video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EPG0KQO-T8

When compared to the rookies and his rookie season, yes I am.

I already questioned the way he looked last season. He does not look specially fit to me...better than last year though

lol using Brady as a benchmark..lol, he's built like a 7th grade power forward. If you actually watch anything from Baker this year, he's in 10x better shape. Whether that transfers on the field remains to be seen, but his footwork def looks cleaner so far in camp

Baker looks slimmer than his rookie year to me.

That’s great question. I can’t tell from the angles I’ve seen. Has anyone else been able to observe?

This sounds confrontational. It's all over the place. And I think you are misunderstanding what reading coverages means. Believe what you will. I don't care.

Btw..........you should read this. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/2938...eport-browns-qb

I think Baker is a BUST.

I thought we finally found the One in 2018. I was on the Baker train.

BUT

Baker got fat on bad teams and garbage time production in 2018.

Decent NFL defenses figured him out last year as a 1 read QB.

He is short, slow and not that intelligent.

And now he plans to knee the flag.

The future is Case Keenum...