DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Baker Mayfield part IV a New Hope

Who?

I certainly agree with you on one hand. On the other hand having played in competitive sports, anything you can use as motivation to win you should use to your advantage. Anything you can use to throw in the face of your detractors certainly motivates players.

I am fully aware of the standard response by many. "These are grown men who get paid a ton of money and are playing the game they love. If that isn't enough to motivate them then maybe they should be doing something else."

But that isn't the way any of this works. The things that motivate people the most is when someone tells them that aren't capable of doing something or that they simply aren't good enough.

If you don't think that Dabo Swinney saying that OSU was the 11th ranked team in the nation didn't motivate them, then we certainly disagree. There's just something different about athletes that play at a high level. And anything you can do to use as locker room fodder to help motivate them is just another tool in the tool box.

He has improved as a pocket passer. My point is that there is improvement left to do. It's just my eyes and what I see, he still appears to get fidgety even in a clean pocket if he hasn't released the ball in a few seconds. This seems to be when he throws high and also throws passes harder when he is out of rhythm.

It's not a big knock, it's just an area I think he could improve.

It kind of goes hand in hand with Conklin's comments this week that Baker has really improved in not feeling like he has to extend every play and not every play has to be a big play... take what's there, throw it away if you have to, run if you can... Conklin acknowledged that has been a big area of growth for Baker this year and I've seen it too... I just think there is still room to grow.

There absolutely is room to grow. He's trending upward too, overall, which is hopeful. I feel like with most quarterbacks, who improve, the learning curve looks more like a "step pattern" as defenses adjust schemes, and the QB in turn has to adjust.

Toward the mid point of the season, Baker began another huge rise in terms of his learning and I think is starting to hit a leveling off point again. Hopefully with another offseason and some continuity, the curve can continue to rise again and he can improve in some of those areas.

Lord knows he has the drive to do it.

I'll have to add that to my collection with this one from '98, the point conversion pass to Mayfield in the Jets game:

As far as T-shirts go, I still like my favorite T better. "Buckeye on Saturday. Dawg on Sunday."

Haha. My wife wears that one to work here in Fort Wayne. It's nice that it's become a "Victory Monday" ritual.

I think it is foolish to even try to argue not. He is soon to be optioned and extended.

Next topic.

That was a critical run by Mayfield, and he gave himself up to make the 1st down marker, knowing he'd get hit like a RB. Compare that with Ben staring at the ball after the bad snap like it was a turd in his lily pond, instead of trying to recover it. It looked like Ben was making a "business decision" by not falling on it because he saw Myles and his posse coming hard after it.

I thought the same on the "business decision", I bet things slowed down like a car crash as he felt the speed and mass coming towards him lol.

""Mayfield completed 21-of-34 passes for 263 yards and three touchdowns and took zero sacks in a near-perfect outing for the former No. 1 overall pick. He earned a 90.0-plus PFF grade on first review despite logging zero big-time throws. He was consistent with his ball location down the football field, didn’t crumble under pressure from the Steelers’ front seven and avoided costly mistakes.""

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-2020-wild-card-pff-refocused-cleveland-browns-48-pittsburgh-steelers-37

Wonder what all the haters are saying this week? Wonder how they try to frame the argument this week?

We're going to start seeing how we don't stand a chance against a team like KC.

He would have thrown for 300 if our receivers didn't drop any. At least it didn't effect the game outcome.

Good it will give us more incentive and determination.

They inexplicably disappear when Mayfield disappoints them in his play.

It was the defense, it was the turnovers, it was Chubb.. Baker did nothing special except make the plays that any NFL QB should make.

If I was going to hate on him, that's what I would say..

And it's not totally inaccurate but making the routine plays routinely (as Mike Tomlin likes to say) is what was needed. Taking advantage of the opportunities given and not making mistakes. In this game there was no need for him to try to do anything spectacular.

I am happy we found our QB for the next 5-17 years and I'm glad the coaching staff stuck with him

Everything about him is Cleveland.

I will be curious to see when we pick up his 5th-year option (could wait until after the salary cap has been updated)

Of course you pick up the option. It buys you time to make sure he can "run it back" before committing long term and 100 million guaranteed level checks.

For that matter you pick up Ward's 5th year option to see if he can finally stay healthy for a season or two before swallowing that extension.

Then you extend Teller (guards have pretty long careers).

Then you look to Chubb. If it gets too pricey you use the franchise tag to reset his renegotiating leverage (fair or not, if Chubb is franchised in 2022, he then has to negotiate with the weight of going into his year 28 season-2023- and RB's start to rapidly lose leverage the closer they get to 30).

Piece of cake.

Posts like this one are why I return to this place, day after day.
Pure gold.

His confidence is the biggest intangable he brings to our roster.

Every QB we had in the past
(since 99) does crumble under that pressure. Baker didn't. Well done young man.

I also remember Baker trying to throw a block late in the game on a running play. I don't think anyone mentioned it. I said oh no he's going to get hurt!!

I know the exact one you're talking about. Forgot about it, but when I saw him turn and start running upfield I was thinking, "well, this is going to be interesting".

if you watch one of Hunt’s TD runs ... watch Baker subtly “block” the backside rusher .. Hunt won’t score if he doesn’t do that

I remember it. He played it smart and just kind of got in the defender's way so he had to adjust his pursuit. Effective but kept himself from contact.

Hopefully the Baker performance dissecting looking for any possible flaws will begin to diminish. Even though he was the #1 overall and some expect near perfection it is finally nice to have quality play at QB. In the past 20 years, I wonder how many of us would have taken a QB with 16 game regular season of 3500 yards, 62% comp %age, 25 tds & 8 ints.

Exactly and that is what I like in athletes or even co-workers. I have always hated the term "it's not my job" and preached to my staff to do what is necessary, no matter what you feel your job description includes.

Yeah exactly

My former job's motto was "Whatever It Takes." That explains Baker.