DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Odell Beckham Jr.

I just saw a comment from someone else that made a good point on Twitter
"I think Jarvis was more of friend to OBJ then OBJ was to Jarvis"

j/c...

I always bring this up in conversation in telling someone about Chubb . My wife doesn't watch football and I was telling her about Chubb

Why couldnt we work it out? I think because he’s not as good, he’s expensive, he’s injury prone, and he’s a selfish player

Learning that he wanted traded before the season , says a lot. The team was talked about in terms of a superbowl contender, this tells me, that it was never about being on a winner, but being the center of the conversation and personal stats that drove him. Knowing the team had a chance at a championship and still wanting out blows up his "just want to win" narrative.

As for Jarvis, I don't think this will have any effect on him. He is a pro, and a guy who wants to win more than anything. He is probably glad he is not in the middle of a battle between his best friend and his team mates. I don't see this as hurting the team, but actually taking away a distraction.

I always looked at Odell as being a little immature. A woe is me kind of guy. He had a great first couple years, but the Giants had no trouble getting rid of him. IMO, his overblown ego makes him believe that he is special, while in reality, he has not been special in years.

OBJ should/could have been a significant contributor to the Browns. Instead, he contributed very little, so......goodbye!

I think it's against the law to offer Peyton Hillis for a car.

This is a deep cut.

It goes back 11 years when some poster on this board was all bent over us losing Brady Quinn for a "Ham Sandwich" which at the time was Peyton Hillis. I may be the only one who remembers that conversation.

Pretty sure Atl would make a claim with Ridley somewhere on the funny farm.

You are not the only one. Good times.

j/c...

Andrew Berry holding a press conference now...

Sayonara man
Don’t let the door hit you now
Just like when you catch

JMHO, Juice and OBJ are/were best friends, Browns had LOTS of money tied up with the two....I think they were hoping OBJ would run the correct routes. With all his bluster, OBJ isn't very good in our system. He toned down his drama while on the team.....wonder what his comments will be like once a former Brown. He's hurt way to much for the money he demanded- personally, I'm glad he's gone. Give others a shot. One catch for six yards. Hell of a difference maker....NOT. Go Browns!!!

I got it and enjoyed it. akronjoe was the guy.

Obviously I remember it

Let's see us some JoJo Natson.

Odell... I was looking for the lyrics from... "If you leave me now" song by "Chicago". and stupid computers gave me,
lyrics from the song... "Biggest part of me" by "Ambrosia". either way.

ooew ooew ooew no, baby please don't go, We've come too far to let it slip away,
If you leave me now, you'll take away the very heart of me, oooew oooew oooew guy I just want you to stay!

A love like ours doesn't come along every day, how could we let it slip away.
We've come to far, to Leave it all behind,
.. How could we end it all this way! (Freakin Browns)
When tomorrow comes and we will both regret, ---- the things we said today,

A love like ours is alove that's hard to find!
How could we let it slip away

We've come to far to Leave it All Behind!! How could we End it all this wayy-y
When tomorrow comes and we'll both regret the things we said today-y

... I just got to have you by my side!

...
OIC. Only in Cleveland it the Browns have to play against him this year, or this Week!

Sadly I remember the phrase, but I don't remember the poster.

Good riddance.

He was been nothing but a headache.

Now it's time to see if Baker can become the gunslinger he "once" was.

Yeah, but any reason besides that? /s

j/c...

Good read.

The inside story of how the Baker Mayfield-Odell Beckham Jr. on-field Browns relationship fell apart
By Jake Trotter ESPN Staff Writer 1:41 PM ET

BEREA, Ohio -- It was Week 9 of the 2019 season, and Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield dropped back to pass. It was late fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos with 3:23 on the clock. The Browns' season -- one that carried so much hype and hope after the blockbuster trade for Odell Beckham Jr. in the offseason -- was on the line. It was fourth-and-4, and down the sideline, Beckham sprinted past Denver cornerback Chris Harris. OBJ was open.

Mayfield briefly looked his way. But instead of throwing, Mayfield double-clutched. Then, he turned back toward the middle and forced a pass to Jarvis Landry that fell incomplete. The Browns dropped to 2-6, their season effectively over.

Beckham was visibly incensed not to get the ball at such a critical moment. And in the hours and days that followed, Mayfield was relentlessly panned. Why didn't he throw it to Beckham? Especially when OBJ was wide open?

Except, Beckham had run the wrong route. Or, to put it another way, his own route.

"That's why Baker looked confused," as one team source put it. "That's how it was all year, which was frustrating."

Over the following two seasons, Mayfield and Beckham both tried to make their connection work on the field. They spent hours throwing passes together. They took trips together. They even played video games together.

But ultimately, not much changed.

Finally, their fraught connection on the field fractured their relationship off it.

Friday, the Browns announced they would release Beckham.

"After careful consideration, internal discussions and conversations with Odell and his representation, we've determined that it is in the best interest of all parties involved that Odell no longer play for the Cleveland Browns," Browns general manager Andrew Berry said in a statement. "We appreciate all his efforts and contributions while in Cleveland, but we've just reached a point where it is best that we move forward as a team without Odell. We are finalizing the process of granting Odell his release and we wish him well as he continues his career."

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Browns are converting Beckham's base salary into a signing bonus to lower his cap number in an attempt to save money. Once the contract is finalized, Beckham will be released. He can't be claimed on waivers until next week.

Beckham's eminent release caps a whirlwind week in Cleveland, which pitted him against the team's quarterback.

Tuesday, hours before the NFL's trade deadline, Beckham's father posted a video on social media highlighting all the times this season Mayfield didn't throw Beckham's way or missed him when he was open. Odell Beckham Sr. went on to trash Mayfield in the comments, as well.

Odell Beckham Jr. didn't disavow his father's comments publicly. And he didn't call Mayfield privately.

How did a partnership that began with so much promise go so wrong -- and end so badly?

'This has zero to do with anything off the field'

When Beckham arrived at his first Browns training camp, he carried over a tradition from his days with the New York Giants, sitting with different groups of players at each meal in the cafeteria.

"I talk to everybody who's in this locker room, in the weight room, meetings. I talk to everybody," Beckham said then. "You've got to get to know who you are battling with. When the whistle blows, it's just us out there. These are guys. ... you'll forever remember and cherish."

That routine didn't go unnoticed. Nor did other gestures.

Before his first Browns game, Beckham provided every player with a new pair of Nike Air Max 720 sneakers. He did the same for Cleveland's equipment and training staff.

Beckham even invited teammates to his house, a town over from the Browns training facility, to take whatever clothes or shoes they wanted from his closet.

"Odell is cool in that whole room," one NFL source said, referring to the locker room.

The good will Beckham had cultivated over the past two-plus seasons was evident this week, even after his father ripped the team's quarterback.

"I feel like the majority of this locker room would love to have him in this building -- flat-out," safety John Johnson III said Thursday.

That's why this week proved shocking to Mayfield. Not just Beckham Sr.'s video. But also, Beckham Jr.'s silence.

"The craziest part of this whole situation is that they're friends," said one source close to Mayfield. "Maybe it wasn't perfect. But it was never strained."

Only a couple of weeks ago, the two were together playing video games. On Labor Day weekend before the start of the season, Mayfield and Beckham Jr., along with Landry and tight end Austin Hooper, flew to Big Sky, Montana.

Beckham flew to California for Mayfield's wedding in the summer of 2019. And during their first training camp, Mayfield repeatedly sought out Beckham's mother to give her a hug.

"This has zero to do with anything off the field, which is why it's all so perplexing," said another source. "I don't know of one [incident] that's ever [come between] them off the field. ... this is all about the field."

This week, it was no longer just about the field. Beckham's silence said enough.

"I was pretty surprised by the video and the intentions and the feelings behind it. I'd be lying if I said otherwise," Mayfield said Wednesday. "I thought we had a very open line of communication."

'About a quarter of a second off'

The first Saturday of Mayfield and Beckham's first training camp together produced enormous anticipation in Cleveland in 2019. Thousands of Browns fans packed the bleachers encircling the practice fields to watch.

The season before in 2018, Mayfield had broken the NFL rookie record with 27 touchdown passes. Cleveland finally had genuine hope in the flag-planting, trash-talking former Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick.

Then on March 12, then-general manager John Dorsey traded for Beckham in a blockbuster deal with the Giants. The trade for a star player of Beckham's caliber transformed Cleveland's expectations, from playoff maybe to AFC North favorite.

But that first training camp foreshadowed problems ahead.

That first Saturday, Mayfield scrambled out of the pocket off a busted play with his eyes fixed downfield. But none of his receivers, notably Beckham, turned back to make a move toward him.

"Work the f---ing scramble drill!" Mayfield screamed, spiking the ball in disgust.

The crowd, which had come to see Mayfield throw Beckham touchdowns, reacted in collective stunned silence. After a few seconds, then-Browns linebacker Christian Kirksey finally broke the tension, hollering to the fans, "that's what happens when the defense is winning."

Afterward, both Mayfield and Beckham downplayed the uncomfortable sequence.

"Once we get on the same page," Beckham boasted later that day, "it's gonna be scary."

Browns backup quarterback Case Keenum has marveled at the chemistry that Mayfield and Landry have consistently enjoyed, at times connecting on routes not even in the playbook. Keenum said in Minnesota he also had an immediate rapport with Vikings receiver Adam Thielen, but with All-Pro Stefon Diggs, the chemistry didn't come so easily.

"Some [duos] take a lot more work and communication, and some it's just a little nod and you know what they're going to do and they know what you're going to do," Keenum said this year. "But I really do feel like some of those ones that did take the most time, man, when it did hit, the floodgates just poured and it was like, this was worth the wait.

"With Baker and Odell, I see it coming."

It never did.

Mayfield still couldn't get Beckham the ball. Beckham still couldn't get to the spots Mayfield needed him to be.

That was on full display on the opening highlight of the video that Beckham Sr. posted.

Late in the fourth quarter in Week 4 in Minnesota, the Browns were on the verge of putting away the Vikings. Mayfield thought Beckham would break off his route. Beckham saw the coverage differently. And with nothing but green turf in front of him, he kept running. By then, it was too late. Mayfield had already fired the ball. And the result was an embarrassing underthrow.

"About a quarter of a second off," Mayfield said then, "from me being able to see [what Beckham saw] to give it some air."

Those quarter-second misses have piled up.

Over their time together, Mayfield underthrew or overthrew Beckham on 27% of his attempts, according to ESPN Stats & Information, the third-highest rate of any quarterback-receiving duo in the league.

Mayfield has been far better throwing the ball to literally anyone else. His QBR targeting Beckham over the past three seasons is 58 (scale 0-to-100). But to every other Browns wide receiver, it is a combined 85.2.

"Odell is in his head, and [Mayfield] is pressing every time [Beckham] is around," one former Browns team source said. "Odell throws him off . ... and it gets all f---ed up from there because Baker becomes indecisive."

That Denver game in 2019 was just one of many flashpoints.

The play had called for Beckham to cross paths with Landry over the middle of the field, a mesh concept that potentially would free one of them for the first down. Unsure where Beckham was going, Mayfield turned away.

Maybe with another quarterback, Beckham freelancing his own route down the sideline would've delivered the game-winning touchdown. Maybe with another receiver, Mayfield could've converted the first down.

Their final passing play together Sunday proved entirely emblematic.

Trailing the Pittsburgh Steelers with 2:57 to play, Mayfield locked in on Beckham dashing down the right hash toward the end zone. But Mayfield hesitated, then double-clutched. This time, he threw the ball to Beckham anyway. But the pass was off target. Beckham put only one arm into the air. And the ball dropped incomplete.

Another failed play. Effectively ending a relationship.

Better apart

Beckham and Mayfield may have cost each other millions of dollars.

The next time he hits the market, Beckham likely won't command a huge contract following three lackluster seasons in Cleveland. The Browns were unsuccessful in trying to trade him before Tuesday's trade deadline for a reason.

Mayfield, meanwhile, has yet to receive an extension offer from the Browns, according to sources, though he is under contract through the 2022 season.

Now separated, perhaps the two can start to rebuild their careers.

Last year, immediately following Beckham's season-ending knee injury, Mayfield took off.

The same Week 7 game Beckham was injured, Mayfield went on to complete a franchise-record 21 straight passes, while tossing five touchdown passes, including the game-winner with 15 seconds remaining to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals. From that game to Week 15, he ranked third in the league in QBR, trailing only back-to-back MVPs Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers.

Mayfield went on to lead the Browns to their first playoff victory in 26 years.

Despite Beckham's lack of production, he's shown he can still get open. He'll soon have an opportunity to find an offensive system that better suits his skill set; one not so reliant on multiple tight ends and spreading the ball around.

By Wednesday it seemed clear that Beckham's time in Cleveland was finished. Still, Mayfield left the door open for a reconciliation.

"I'm prepared to do whatever," he said. "If he's back, then we'll work through it and do whatever it takes. I can put my ego and pride to the side to win because that's all I care about is winning."

But the two had already proven they couldn't win together.

Maybe now they can apart.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id...-jr-field-browns-relationship-fell-apart

Great read. Thanks MM.

Politics 101.
Someone has to be the fall guy.Crap coaching,crap QB'ing,cut the wide receiver.
That fixes everything.

let the door hit you on the way out

I think anybody that was here then remembers Akronjoe. He ended up getting the last laugh, though he didn't stick around to rub our noses in it.

I think now, more than ever, we all need to take the time to think about how great Nick Chubb is.

Peyton Hillis will forever be "The Ham Sandwich" #40.

Also, the Browns always find ways to win when least expected. The expectation is they're going to get blasted this Sunday against a really good Bengals team while playing with an injured Baker and no OBJ. My guess is, now that we've moved on from the OBJ madness, we probably play our best game of the year.

That quote about OBJ throwing Baker off is exactly what I see too

j/c:

We tried to fit a square peg into a round hole long enough... it just didn't work out. Such is life sometimes.

-Go Browns!!!

OBJ free lance
I am not surprised at all
Leeroy Jenkins ball

Uh the Trotter article makes me so angry, but I am not surprised in the least. I've had to bite my tongue on this board and beat around the bush, not saying what I really thought.

OBJ is a low character, me-first person. He is not a good teammate and never has been, at the Giants or in Cleveland. Gettleman totally duped the Browns. I believe since the end of the 2019 season OBJ has been trying to exit.

The reason OBJ and Baker did not have "chemistry" is a combination of OBJ being a freelancing disruptor of the offense and his skill set diminishing. No wonder we were better without him. It's not magic. In 2019 I believe it was more the freelancing and he did not care to study the play book. All during the 2019 season he was lining up incorrectly and apparently running the wrong routes too. I think this year some of the wrong route running etc. has been on purpose, to bring the situation to a crescendo.

And I don't buy the shoe stuff either, just a rich guy manipulating others with his money. He played Cleveland like a fiddle. Nearly wrecked Baker's career, made people doubt Stefanski, and nearly killed our season. Good riddance and I pity whoever signs him. He is nothing more than a washed up jerk and that will be apparent soon, with no Baker to blame. Oh and the "I watched a 22 video and OBJ was open all day" crowd (sure running the wrong routes), need to have a plate of crow and apologize to Baker and Stefanski.

Let's go DPJ and Higgins, both are more talented than OBJ at this point anyways.

So you think the guy who hasn't wanted to be on the team since the offseason is not part of the problem? Interesting

Classic Browns.

The Orange and Brown podcast broke down all the fluky injuries/scheduling/covid/coaching etc that led to Baker and OBJ never really having a chance to play properly together.

I'd be fine if he was just bad and we move on, but that's not what's happening. Just another Browns bad luck story. Hopefully he doesn't sign with the Ravens and win a Super Bowl.

He would never survive in Baltimore. He wants to be the star, Lamar is the star. IMO, he would be the same player he was here. I truly believe he thinks he is the best thing on the field, and that has not even been close to the truth for years.

I am glad that cat is gone. He has not wanted to be here since the beginning. I lost all interest when he pulled some custom shoes for Tomb Brady and "come get me". Good riddance. That is all.

Browns did not officially waive Odell Beckham on Friday

Posted by Charean Williams on November 5, 2021, 5:57 PM EDT
link

The Browns announced Friday they are waiving receiver Odell Beckham. But the team did not waive Beckham on Friday.

The NFL’s official transactions do not list Beckham’s departure.

If the Browns cut Beckham before 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, the claiming deadline will come at 4 p.m. Monday. Because the transaction is occurring after the trade deadline, Beckham must pass through waivers.

If he goes unclaimed, the three-time Pro Bowler will become a free agent.

The Giants traded Beckham to the Browns in March 2019, and he ended up playing 29 games for Cleveland, making 114 receptions for 1,586 yards and seven touchdowns. Beckham also rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown on eight carries with Cleveland.

His last 1,000-yard season came in 2019 and his last Pro Bowl season was in 2016.