John Dorsey got it right when he drafted Baker Mayfield.
Browns QB Baker Mayfield – (Image: David Richard/AP)
The Dawg Pound and I have been excited about what we’ve seen from the Cleveland Browns over the last two weeks.
But we knew going into Houston to play the Texans was going to be a good measuring stick for where the Browns are as a team.
With Dashaun Watson playing lights out and the Texans riding an eight-game winning streak, this would be a good test for the Browns. Unfortunately, they failed that test, losing to the Texans.
The sad part is we don’t really know if they failed because the Texans beat them; or because the Browns beat themselves.
The first half was Baker Mayfield’s worse performance as a pro. He threw for less than 50 yards and three interceptions. One of those interceptions was a pick-six. The Browns former Head Coach Romeo Crennel, who is now the Defensive Coordinator for the Texans, devised a great game plan. It seemed to confuse Mayfield, forcing him to make some throws that I’m sure he wanted back.
The offense as a whole didn’t seem to be able to get a rhythm going in the first half. This was Mayfield’s worst half of his short NFL career. But the Browns defense did a good job at limiting the Texans to just one offensive touchdown. They also held them to field goals the rest of the way.
Birth Of A Leader
The biggest positive that I, and probably most Browns fans, took away from this game is the way Mayfield came out in the second half. He put all the questions of should the Browns have picked him as the number one overall pick to bed. Not because he brought the team back to win the game; but because he didn’t go into a shell like most rookie quarterbacks would’ve after throwing three interceptions in one quarter.
On the contrary Dawg Pound! Baker came out in the second half and went to work. He completed his first 10 passes and threw for 351 yards and a touchdown. He also had an 80-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Callaway called back due to a holding penalty.
Mayfield hit Callaway again downfield and he broke a tackle and raced for the end zone. This time he was stripped of the football inside the 5-yard line and the Texans recovered it.
That play could be viewed as the last opportunity the Browns had to mount a serious come back. It was what happened after that play, however, that’s given the city of Cleveland hope for the Browns’ future.
Callaway laid face down in the end zone with his hands on his helmet. Mayfield runs the length of the field to meet him as he rises to his feet. He goes facemask to facemask with Callaway, pats him on the helmet, and walks with him to the sideline.
Callaway was feeling like he had just fumbled away a chance for the Browns to come back, which he would later confirm, his quarterback offered nothing but support and took that moment to build his confidence. Those attributes have not been seen in a Browns quarterback in quite some time.
Browns Finally Found One
So Dawg Pound, even in the mist of Mayfield’s worse half of football to date and then the best performance in a half by a rookie quarterback in NFL history (351 yards passing in a half), we witnessed the birth of a leader.
The Browns can now do something in next year’s draft they haven’t been able to do since 1999…not look for a quarterback. We can honestly say, “Buddy Boy, John Dorsey got it right” when he drafted Baker Mayfield. The future looks bright. So in the words of my fellow Dawg Pounders, HERE WE GO BROWNIES, HERE WE GO, WOOF WOOF!!!
Anthony D. Stevenson is not only our latest addition to the Baseline Perspective team, he’s born and bred from the “HARDLAND OF AMERICA”, Cleveland, Ohio! Anthony’s passion for football has always been there as far back as he can remember and so has his love for the Cleveland Browns.
While in the U.S. Air Force, Anthony played cornerback for the Bitburg Barons CSC football team in Europe. He then played cornerback for the Tri-Country Gamecocks semi-pro football team, in South Carolina.
Anthony offers not only his insight, having played, but also his passion as a fan! It’s only right then that a “dawg pounder for life” gives you his weekly FANS PERSPECTIVE on the 2018-19 season for the Cleveland Browns.
