Things With Baker Will Work Their Way Out.

We have written about this before but it bares repeating. The Cleveland Browns improved their record to 7-3 with a win over the Eagles on Sunday, but people want to keep talking about Baker Mayfield.

For the third consecutive week, Mayfield completed just 12 passes, which seems pedestrian in today’s pass happy NFL. In fact, the former Heisman Trophy winner ranks 26th in the league in passing attempts and completions.

Heck, he’s behind Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson in both categories, and Jackson’s primary function in the Ravens offense is his running ability.

Yes, the weather has been a factor in the last three games. Severe winds caused both teams to avoid the pass in the contests versus Las Vegas and Houston, while Sunday’s game was played in a driving rain.

Kevin Stefanski understands what the strength of his football team is, and that is the running game, in particular, the running back position.

Cleveland ranks third in the NFL in running the ball, and first among teams without a quarterback who greatly adds to the running game (Baltimore with Jackson is first, Arizona with Kyler Murray is second). Why emphasize something that isn’t your strength?

The Baker-centric focus on this team is remarkable. The Browns have won seven games this season, tied for the most in any season since 2007 (2004 and 2018). Mayfield has been the starting QB in two of those seasons.

Is he a top ten signal caller in the NFL right now? No, but obviously he doesn’t have to be for the Browns to win football games.

Should the Browns pay Mayfield big money as the franchise quarterback? Right now, they don’t have to. Our guess is they will pick up the fifth year option on the former first overall pick, meaning they will have two full years with Mayfield in Stefanski’s offense before making that decision.

The more Mayfield plays, the more comfortable in the offense he should be. He hasn’t thrown an interception in the last three games, and since throwing two in back-to-back games against Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, he has thrown just one in the four games succeeding.

In Sunday’s game, he had his best non-Cincinnati game in terms of yards per attempt at 9.27, throwing for 204 yards in the wet conditions.

Is the weight of the offense entirely on his shoulders? No. But in Russell Wilson’s early career, he wasn’t the focus of the offense, LaGarrett Blount was. The same was true in Dallas, where Dak Prescott’s chief job was handing the ball to Zeke Elliott.

There is nothing wrong with that. You do what you have to do to win.

There should be no rush in determining Mayfield’s fate. Barring injury, Stefanski, GM Andrew Berry, and Paul DePodesta will have 22 games to do just that. Besides, it’s not as though that trio has much of a choice.

Is there a better option available to the Browns? With the help Cleveland needs on the defensive side of the ball, you would think early draft picks will be used on that side of the football. And to get one of the best QB prospects, you will have to use draft capital to move up.

There won’t be a top ten pick in the 2021 draft.

Browns fans, be happy with a 7-3 record. Only three teams in the NFL have a better mark at this point. As Stefanski said a couple of weeks ago, these things have a way of working themselves out.

And stop looking for Baker Mayfield to throw for 350 yards on a weekly basis. That’s not who the Browns are right now.

Winning Is Habit Browns Have To Develop

The bye week is over and the Cleveland Browns return to the gridiron rested and ready to go this Sunday.

That’s the good news. The bad news is they play the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, who also happen to be undefeated this season.

The narrative surrounding the Browns seems to change every week, and since they were off last Sunday, the discussion is how can Freddie Kitchens’ team dare compete with the Baltimore Ravens, who sit atop the AFC North standings at 5-2.

After all, the Ravens beat Seattle on the road, a Seahawks team that came into the game at 5-1 after beating the Browns in Cleveland the week before.

Apparently, people have forgotten the Browns’ 40-25 beating of the Ravens in Baltimore just a few weeks before. We guess the Ravens improved by leaps and bounds in that three week span.

We aren’t taking away anything from Baltimore’s win in Seattle, it was damn impressive. However, not overreact to that contest either.

NOTE: We understand because football is played just once per week, there is a natural overemotional reaction to every game.

We were thinking though, what would the Browns’ record be if they had played the schedule Baltimore has played to date?

The Ravens opened up with the Dolphins and Cardinals, the latter in Kyler Murray’s second professional start. It’s easy to project wins in both games for either Baltimore or Cleveland.

Baltimore’s next two games were against the Chiefs and the Browns, so there is one loss in there, and those were followed by division games vs. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Since the Steelers were using their third string QB and the Bengals are bad, it’s not a reach to think that’s two wins for the Browns.

And again, credit to the Ravens for beating Seattle, which the Browns couldn’t do, even at First Energy Stadium.

So, the Browns would be 4-3 at least if they had played Baltimore’s schedule.

However, the biggest thing the fast start did for Baltimore is provide confidence. Winning early in the season breeds confidence. You saw that in the second half of the game in Seattle this past Sunday.

In the same vein, the Browns’ 2-4 start has the players and coaching staff questioning themselves a bit. That plays in close games late.

Remember how the team (and the fans, for that matter) felt last season after Hue Jackson was fired and they started to win. Suddenly, the big plays are made when they are needed.

And no doubt, it helps the Ravens that John Harbaugh is one of the five best coaches in the NFL. That is no slight on Freddie Kitchens.

Yes, the Ravens’ schedule gets tougher. Four of their next five games are against the Patriots, Texans, Rams, and 49ers.

After this Sunday, the Browns will have played three of those teams already, and they don’t have Houston on the slate.

But let’s say Cleveland loses this week to fall to 2-5 (which isn’t a stretch). Yes, they play Denver on the road, which is a winnable game, but it would be coming off a three game losing streak.

That means it will not be easy. It’s more difficult for teams to break losing streaks, particular for a group of players that hasn’t won together, or a franchise that hasn’t had a winning season since 2007.

So, let’s not pencil in a bunch of wins in the second half just yet.

Winning is a learned skill. The early schedule, and the early performance have not helped the Browns education.