QB Baker Mayfield (7.31.19)
QB Baker Mayfield:
On if there is a balance to testing limits of his arm and WRs but while also making sound decisions and throws during training camp:
“I think there is a little bit of leeway to both sides to it. I would say that the offseason is a lot for testing stuff and doing things like that. Right now, just being able to go through the reads and if Freddie talks about it and as I talk about it with Ryan Lindley, the QBs coach, it is just make sure I am seeing the right things, and if I am testing stuff out, let them know beforehand so it does not look like we are going out there and playing backyard football. We want to be able to execute and get the ball out and know what we are doing.”
On the state of the offense and progress, despite some negative plays:
“We have to get better each day. What you guys are seeing is there are different things that within the building we need to be able to get on the same page. Situational football is what you guys saw today, and we need to stress that. We need to be a smart football team and be a step ahead of the game because you won’t win if you play dumb. There are little things that we get better at each day, but there are also things that we need to work on. That is why we are at training camp. We are not at the end of the year. We are not in the playoffs. We are working on getting better each day. That is the beauty about training camp. It is not going to be perfect. You always need to have something to work on.”
On if he is more vocal this year than last:
“Yeah, it would be kind of hard for the backup QB in training camp to be very vocal last year so this year is a lot different.”
On K Austin Seibert and missed FGs:
“It is practice. He is going to get it ironed down. That is why he was drafted that high. He is working on it.”
On dealing with increased expectations and the arrival of WR Odell Beckham Jr.:
“It is not just the arrival of Odell. Obviously, he brings his own media fame and everything like that, but it is also the talent level we added with him and all of the defensive players, as well. It is every guy we brought in here to win. You have to raise your expectations within the building. Nothing outside matters. You realize the standard we need to set every day. That is why we brought in guys like Odell and some of the others. They know the need to win, they know what it takes and we need to stress that.”
On seeing other young NFL QBs being successful in the NFL right now:
“I am more worried about doing my stuff, but it is obviously great to see guys like that have success early on. It breaks the mold of having the rookie learning process. Those guys adapt quickly so that puts pressure on other guys, but at the same time, I am still trying to do my own thing.”
On if the standard set by young QBs’ recent success may set too high of an expectation for a second-year QB:
“Absolutely not. There is a reason why those guys got drafted that high. I was drafted that high. People know what to expect, and also, we know what we need to do to accomplish the results we need.”
On if it will take time to develop chemistry with offseason additions:
“Chemistry is definitely the issue now. Getting on the same page and being able to communicate is what we stressed on very early in the process. Now, it is being able to execute. Chemistry is a big part of it, but being able to talk through things and get as game like in situations as possible to where we can realize how we need to throw the ball and where it needs to be thrown, that is what we are stressing.”
On the importance of his leadership in building the chemistry on offense:
“It is very important. It is important for everybody to make sure I am saying the same things and relaying the same messages that (Head Coach) Freddie (Kitchens) is, that our receivers coach (Adam Henry) is and that we are all saying the same thing. We have to be on the same page. That is what some of these guys need to be hearing is the same voice of reason.”
On having the freedom to be himself and if it helps with the chemistry:
“Oh, absolutely. For those guys to see the same guy every day, they know what is expected. They know I am going to push them. I am going to push myself. It is nothing personal when it comes to getting after somebody, and I expect them to hold me accountable as well. That is the beauty of having guys that really want to win.”
On if playing time in preseason is more important this year to help develop chemistry:
“It can go both ways. I would say as many game-like situations you can get are great, but that is why we do situation stuff here because you are not going to get those in the preseason. You are not going to get the two-minute drill where you need to score in preseason with everybody that is going to be in there. That is why we are practicing really hard and harping on these guys to play smart football. We will see how we handle preseason playing time, but that is not my call.”
On if he talks with receivers after practice to help correct mistakes, given he may get onto a player at practice:
“Yeah, I am not a jackass. We have to talk through it. I am going to harp on it and then talk to them. Those guys know that that is a big part of our offense. They know that and it is just the fact that if we get lazy and let things slide. We need to be over-communicating right now. That is what the good teams do. We have to be on the same page.”
On if there a level of appreciation from players like Beckham when being held accountable that way:
“Absolutely, and I think there is an appreciation from my end that he is able to come communicate and talk through things. It is just having that open relationship – obviously, there is a chain of command and what Freddie says goes – but just being able to talk through things and see it from their perspective or mine is really good.”
On developing timing and chemistry with Beckham Jr.:
“It is going along great as expected. Once you verbalize what we need to accomplish and then you get out there, I am able to kind of put it anywhere with him so it is going along great.”
On if this year’s training camp is more physical than last year’s training camp:
“Absolutely. We are expected to when we need to run the ball, run the ball, and the defense, when they need to stop the run, they need to stop it. That is what this division is about. I know everybody talks about the receivers we bought in and what kind of offense we could be, but we still have the same offensive line and we still have (RB) Nick Chubb in that backfield. We have to be able to run the ball physically, put the tight ends in there, put (TE) Orson (Charles) in there and be a downhill team when we need to.”
On Kitchens this year as head coach running his first training camp:
“The best part about Freddie is how honest he is, his communication, he is himself and he brings that same energy every day. He is the same guy every day, and guys need to see that. We knew that offensively just because we dealt with him the back half of the year, but then the defense seeing that every day is very important.”
On what WR Antonio Callaway needs to do to get more reps with the first team:
“What we ask of everybody is consistency. We do not want to be a roller coaster team. You do not want to be up and down. I am not saying that Callaway is doing that every day, but we have to be able to have guys that rotate and play different spots. We are working him at a couple different spots. We are expecting a lot out of those guys. That is the great part about it right now. Callaway is progressing very nicely.”
On WR Jarvis Landry having his close friend Beckham in Cleveland, along with Landry ‘taking a backseat with Beckham in the spotlight’:
“He has not taken a backseat. I think that is the thing that is very misunderstood or confused on the outside is you guys make it a bigger deal that Odell is here. Within the building, those two guys are best friends, they are brothers and they both want to win. It is not about the media. It is about winning. That the best part is none of that matters on the outside – they do not give a damn.”
On if he is aware of the new ‘Woke Up Feeling Dangerous’ mural in Downtown Cleveland:
“I am. I did know that. You put some of the 3-D glasses on, it says my name on the back.”
On if the Browns may ‘take on some of his moxie’:
“I would never ask anybody to change, but to bring the same energy every day, the positive and a winning attitude, that is different. We want guys to be resilient, determined, persistent and just never quit on it. Those are the things that I would ask, and I do not think that I am the only one that does that whatsoever.”
On if he sets individual goals, in addition to the team’s goal to win:
“Fewer turnover. Putting us in the best position to win more often, which means less negative plays and definitely less sacks the first half of the year. I know we kind of ironed it out as the year went on. Just really commanding the offense and putting us in the best spot to win. More wins, individually that is the best goal I can have.”
On his reaction to his placement in the NFL Top 100:
“It is quite the honor since we vote on that – the players do. That is a peer thing. It is quite the honor, but that is a long way to the top, and we have a long way to win. That is true.”
On the significance of the starting RG not being solidified:
“(T) Greg (Robinson) did not play until whatever week it was last year. We just want to have consistency, being on the same page. Like I said earlier with the receivers, it is the same thing up front. Whatever guy is going to be the most physical and get his job done and be the best fit for us up front is going to win that job. We have a great offensive line coach (James Campen), and we are grinding right now. We are trusting that competition will work itself out.”
On his relationship with QBs Garrett Gilbert and Drew Stanton as an on-field asset:
“It is a phenomenal asset to have that I think goes to one of the most undervalued things within the building, for me at least. Being able to talk through things and having an open forum when meetings hit. Freddie will come in there. Obviously, his responsibility is a little bit more now, but when he sits down in there we are still having conversations. It is just talking through things of how Drew ran it in Arizona and how Freddie taught it there. Also, Garrett has kind of bounced around a little bit and been in a bunch of different offenses. Just different things, different pointers and they are able to see things that me in Year 2 that it is a new thing for me. It is very beneficial to be able to actually just listen to them and not take it as criticism but just seeing that I do not have the experience that they have.”
On looking up to Gilbert at Lake Travis High School and now playing on the same NFL team:
“I have always looked up to Garrett so now it is so surreal to have him on the same team. Just being able to look at him and just who he is, he is the type of guy that you want to model your game after. You want to be the same leader that he is. We are different leaders, but he is a leader in his own way. I have always looked up to him so it is great having a friend on the team.”
On the best thing he has seen this far at practice:
“The competitive nature that we are bringing every day is great. The day off came at a great time just because we went five days in a row. Just the same energy that we bring every day and guys really wanting to work for it.”
On if there is a story behind the new mustache:
“Maybe you will find out. Maybe you won’t. I do not know. That is the elegance of having a mustache. You just do not know what is going to happen.”
On if he has the new mustache because of a bet:
“It is like the quarterback RV – you guys just do not know.”