Hot Mic Baker Mayfield returning to Bucs

[BillsShredder83]

17 hours ago, Gugny said:

Thanks for reminding me of all of this. 
 

I probably blocked it out because Baker Mayfield is a supreme douche. 
 

Had all of this happened to a decent person, I’d probably have some sympathy. 
 

But Mayfield has been nothing but an ass.hole since college. 
 

And he’s not a very good quarterback. 

I dont disagree, but time has proven in almost all cases you want this in your QB. obv there are exceptions, hey we got lucky with a labrador/dragon hybrid QB, even if hed wound up in MIA somehow i think Josh would still be one of my fav players..... but hes an exception certainly not the rule. i like Josh's leadership style, but think he could benefit from putting some a-hole in his game too. we obv dont see him in the lockerroom, and its very possible he gets on guys in there.

 

i think the 100% positive leadership only leaves some results on the table. 80/20 split of upbeat vs a-hole ratio is the sweetspot.

 

nobody likes 100% a-hole, and eventually they gut tuned out.

100% nice guy can lead, but theres no fear of that personality type.

 

now take for example a close-close friend. not the one that always tells you what you want to hear, but the type of friend who will call you out when you're wrong.... they're your best friend and always upbeat and pulling for you, but when you are doing something to mess up your life, will pull you aside and say WTF ARE YOU DOING?!?!  

 

the 80% is why you love spending time with them, and who you know them as. so when they get on your ass, it really stands out, you know they must be right, and youre going to do what you need to do to get them back to your fav labrador mode.

 

i dont want this being spun as "josh isnt a good leader", just with the minimal access we have to them, im hypothesizing he can still pull that extra 5-10% outta his guys beyond what him and coaches are now

[Beck Water]

21 hours ago, Gugny said:

Not being a smartass here, but how did Cleveland treat him like crap?  
Was it the coaching situation?  Because I feel like they provided him with some talent on the field. 

 

This harkens back to an interview Beane had at one point, talking about drafting a QB.  He expressed that before they drafted Josh, they had discussions about drafting QBs around the league and what factors govern whether they succeed or fail.  Apparently there are a lot of team factors that are correlated with a high draft pick failing - such as turnover in the coaching staff and OC positions, the makeup of the QB room, off-field and off-season support.

 

Mayfield had different HC and OC's his first 3 years in the league.  Part of that was arguably "on him" supposedly lobbying for Kitchens as HC, but also on the Browns if they listened to their QB lobbying.  Then, under Stefanski, he showed he could play capably in his system.  He then played hurt the next season, but rather than rewarding that dedication, the Browns traded him off to a sucky team in favor of pursuing a Bright Shiny Toy with a cloud of personal tarnish.  Said Toy has rewarded the Browns for his big payday by playing 12 out of 34 games for them in the last two seasons and not looking very good when he did.

 

It still seems "Browns gotta Brown".  In this year's episode, Alex Van Pelt nursed the offense to an 11-5 record with Watson playing 6 out of the first 9 games and an unholy gamish of 5th round pick Dorian Thompson-Robinson, PJ Walker, and Joe "Revenant" Flacco only to get his ass unceremoniously fired in favor of fired Bills OC Ken Dorsey - meanwhile Stefanski was calling the plays all season, including their 45-14 drubbing by the Texans in which the defense gave up 356 yds.....meanwhile Jim Schwartz still has a job and was just honored as "Offensive Coach of the Year".  Make it make sense!

 

 

1 minute ago, BillsShredder83 said:

I dont disagree, but time has proven in almost all cases you want this in your QB. obv there are exceptions, hey we got lucky with a labrador/dragon hybrid QB, even if hed wound up in MIA somehow i think Josh would still be one of my fav players..... but hes an exception certainly not the rule. i like Josh's leadership style, but think he could benefit from putting some a-hole in his game too. we obv dont see him in the lockerroom, and its very possible he gets on guys in there.

 

If the reports on the other thread about Diggs getting on Allen relentlessly in the locker room for 'perceived mistakes' is true (not to mention Diggs yelling at Allen on the sideline), Allen would be within rights to "channel his inner #######" a bit and tell Diggs to sit down and shut up, and when he's on the field catch the damned ball when it's thrown to him.

[BigDingus]

22 hours ago, Gugny said:

Not being a smartass here, but how did Cleveland treat him like crap?  
 

Was it the coaching situation?  Because I feel like they provided him with some talent on the field. 

 

Someone probably answered it already, but the "treating him like crap" comes from how they were so willing to toss him aside after one down year... A year in which he was playing through significant injury under pressure to keep his job.

 

Everyone knew Joe Burrow was hurt his first few games this year, so he was cut some slack for his poor performances until he recovered. Baker was treated the opposite. And how was he rewarded for that effort? Abandoned for a sex-offender in all but name, and someone who the Browns gave a monster guaranteed contract to... It just rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

[Beck Water]

17 minutes ago, BigDingus said:

 

Someone probably answered it already, but the "treating him like crap" comes from how they were so willing to toss him aside after one down year... A year in which he was playing through significant injury under pressure to keep his job.

 

Everyone knew Joe Burrow was hurt his first few games this year, so he was cut some slack for his poor performances until he recovered. Baker was treated the opposite. And how was he rewarded for that effort? Abandoned for a sex-offender in all but name, and someone who the Browns gave a monster guaranteed contract to... It just rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

 

I see what you did there

[starrymessenger]

Baker's not by any means elite and he has yet to prove himself a franchise guy but he's a good starting calibre NFL QB who you can definitely win with. That's actually saying a lot because there aren't many of them and it's not easy to do. I wish him all the best (except when we are in Tampa or he is in Blo).

[stuvian]

Baker should have won Comeback Player of the Year. Flacco played only 5 games. I love Damar and his story but he really didn't play much football this year. Mayfield put the Bucs on his back and carried them farther than their talent should have. 

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

On 2/8/2024 at 2:02 PM, Gugny said:

Not being a smartass here, but how did Cleveland treat him like crap?  
 

Was it the coaching situation?  Because I feel like they provided him with some talent on the field. 

 

Sending him packing in favor of a rapist?

 

[Augie]

42 minutes ago, stuvian said:

Baker should have won Comeback Player of the Year. Flacco played only 5 games. I love Damar and his story but he really didn't play much football this year. Mayfield put the Bucs on his back and carried them farther than their talent should have. 

 

Maybe he didn’t come FAR ENOUGH back, because Flacco feels like he played when I was in middle school.  

[Gugny]

44 minutes ago, Pine Barrens Mafia said:

 

Sending him packing in favor of a rapist?

 

That happens when you suck. Browns are scummy for the Watson deal, I agree. 
 

But if their goal was to upgrade, they did it. 

[Augie]

19 minutes ago, Gugny said:

That happens when you suck. Browns are scummy for the Watson deal, I agree. 
 

But if their goal was to upgrade, they did it. 

 

But……did they? 

 

Honestly, I couldn’t guess what their numbers looked like, but I don’t remember hearing a lot of WOW about Watson. I could be wrong. 

[Gugny]

2 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

But……did they? 

 

Honestly, I couldn’t guess what their numbers looked like, but I don’t remember hearing a lot of WOW about Watson. I could be wrong. 

Watson was out most of the season, but I would still say he’s an upgrade on the field. Less of an upgrade off the field. 

[Augie]

2 minutes ago, Gugny said:

Watson was out most of the season, but I would still say he’s an upgrade on the field. Less of an upgrade off the field. 

 

I knew he was unavailable (not a plus), but I thought he was just mediocre when he was playing. Again, just a general impression so I won’t press it. 

 

What happens with Baker and a contract has me very curious. 

[Beck Water]

4 hours ago, Gugny said:

That happens when you suck. Browns are scummy for the Watson deal, I agree. 
 

But if their goal was to upgrade, they did it. 

 

2022 off-season:
Baker: "No, Coach, I don't suck.  I didn't suck in 2020 when the team went 11-5, won a playoff game, and I threw 26 TD and 8 INT.  I'm playing hurt - because you asked me to take one for the team and play hurt in 2021."

Stefanski: "The organization has decided to make an upgrade, we're trading you to Carolina and signing a real franchise guy, Deshaun Watson"

Baker: "FML"

 

2024 off-season:

Baker: "Hi Coach, I started 17 games, 28 TD, 10 picks, 64% completions, 238 ypg this past season in Tampa.  Playoff win, and I'm hungry to come back and show I can do better.  How are you liking your upgrade?  12 games started in 2 years, 59.8% completions, 14 TD and 9 INT, and 185 ypg must make your life sweet as a coach."

Stefanski: "FML"

 

3 hours ago, Augie said:

I knew he was unavailable (not a plus), but I thought he was just mediocre when he was playing. Again, just a general impression so I won’t press it.

 

You thought that because he HAS been mediocre for most of the 12 starts in 2 years he had with the Browns. 

 

He's shown occasional flashes of the QB he was back in 2020 - something like 3 games (of 12) where Browns fans got their hopes up - but that's all he's shown so far.

Edited February 10 by Beck Water

[Warcodered]

23 hours ago, Beck Water said:

 

2022 off-season:
Baker: "No, Coach, I don't suck.  I didn't suck in 2020 when the team went 11-5, won a playoff game, and I threw 26 TD and 8 INT.  I'm playing hurt - because you asked me to take one for the team and play hurt in 2021."

Stefanski: "The organization has decided to make an upgrade, we're trading you to Carolina and signing a real franchise guy, Deshaun Watson"

Baker: "FML"

 

2024 off-season:

Baker: "Hi Coach, I started 17 games, 28 TD, 10 picks, 64% completions, 238 ypg this past season in Tampa.  Playoff win, and I'm hungry to come back and show I can do better.  How are you liking your upgrade?  12 games started in 2 years, 59.8% completions, 14 TD and 9 INT, and 185 ypg must make your life sweet as a coach."

Stefanski: "FML"

 

 

You thought that because he HAS been mediocre for most of the 12 starts in 2 years he had with the Browns. 

 

He's shown occasional flashes of the QB he was back in 2020 - something like 3 games (of 12) where Browns fans got their hopes up - but that's all he's shown so far.

It's weird being put in a position to defend Baker Mayfield, but yeah things to remember he had to develop in the ***** Browns organization, then after they broke him and traded for a sex offender they traded him to the Panthers who somehow might actually be worse, like that team is bad bad, and that owner is Dan Snyder level special.

 

So I'll give Baker some credit going through all that and playing as well as he did this year.