No one ever said football fans were rational, and supporters of the Cleveland Browns are no different.
The Browns’ season ended just two weeks ago and the amount of discussion on the quarterback position in both the media and on sports talk radio is to the point of saturation. We think in the next few weeks there will be condemnation of what Baker Mayfield eats for breakfast, what beer he drinks, and probably his brand of underwear.
We get it. Browns’ fans are disappointed by the 8-9 record after last year’s playoff appearance. We would bet the organization is also not happy by the finish, but they won’t go out and make crazy moves.
And we want to make it clear we don’t consider ourselves a “Baker Bro”. Our stance is simple. if you can find someone that plays the position better than Baker Mayfield, and the cost to get that guy is not prohibitive, then go get him.
If it makes the Cleveland Browns better, then so be it.
Keep in mind that we are currently in the playoffs, so these are the best teams in the league for this season, and it would figure the signal callers for those teams are among the better ones in the NFL.
This should be remembered if your QB preference for next season’s edition of the Browns is just someone not named Baker Mayfield. There are plenty of guys in the league who it can be debated would not be any different to Mayfield if they were under center next year in Cleveland.
Do you really want Carson Wentz, Teddy Bridgewater, Jared Goff, or Ryan Tannehill? If you do, fine. But we don’t see much of a difference or upgrade over Mayfield. You would just be making change for change sake, and you can’t ignore how #6 played in the second half of last season or the first few games of this season.
We have even seen talking heads saying the watching the games over the weekend shows how far away the Browns really are. Really? Remember the Bengals were 4-11-1 a year ago and Sunday they will play for a chance to go the Super Bowl.
And this happens in the NFL all the time. Teams improve, get a couple of breaks and they make the playoffs. Heck, you can make an argument (and a solid one) that Kevin Stefanski’s crew could have easily been 10-7 instead of how they finished.
We also wince when we hear “statistically” Mayfield was the worst quarterback in the NFL this season. First of all, it’s not true, Sam Darnold was worse among the non-rookies, but this determination is done by looking at the league’s passing efficiency statistic.
Just playing with these numbers, if Mayfield’s last pass of the season, which was picked off in Pittsburgh was simply incomplete, his rating goes up a full point.
We also know once the Browns get inside the red zone, they like to run the football. So, let’s say you add five touchdown throws. His rating goes up by five points.
By the way, the only team with more rushing touchdowns than Cleveland and that had over 30 touchdown passes was Buffalo, and although we didn’t endorse drafting Josh Allen the year he and Mayfield were in the draft, we would freely admit Allen is the better player.
Being dissatisfied with the play at quarterback is one thing, finding a better alternative is a different matter all together. Besides it’s not like Mayfield has never played well. It’s a matter of finding consistency.
Can that happen in 2022? The best option for the Browns’ front office might just be to find out.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 