QB Baker Mayfield (12.10.20)

QB Baker Mayfield:

On evaluating his participation in the red-carpet celebration after WR Rashard Higgins’ touchdown last week and his ‘barrel roll’: 

“First of all, it is not a barrel roll. It is just a well-executed slide into the red carpet. I had my credentials on and was able to take some good photos. Flawless.”

On if he can sense the excitement around Cleveland with a potential playoff berth on the line, given the COVID-19 protocols: 

“We are truly singular focused. We know where we stand right now, but we know to get where we want to go, it is one game at a time. Excitement or not, it would not matter. We have to play the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night, and we have to do our job.”

On how the standard for the Browns has changed, given his recent postgame comments: 

“We want to be a winning franchise, a competitive franchise – one that when we step out on the field, we know what we are capable of. It needs to be a winning culture. It is all of the things we have talked about. Everything needs to be about winning.”

On what the Browns learned from the Week 1 loss at Baltimore and how different he and the Browns are since the season opener: 

“We are a completely different team than we were early on – obviously, for the better. We have learned a lot about ourselves scheme-wise, personnel-wise and what we need to be able to do to have that success. We are a very different team, but they are as well. It is different.”

On his connection with Higgins and WR Jarvis Landry in the end zone and red zone and how much of the situation is based on scheme and improvisation: 

“When you are down in the tight zone, it is about winning those one-on-one matchups because you see a lot of man coverage. Teams sometimes do zone it off, but we have been having so much success running the ball down there that teams are not exactly able to play a lot of zone coverage to us. We are trusting those guys to win those one on ones and just find a way to win. Kudos to those guys for being able to make those plays in critical moments.”

On if he gets nervous at all on trick plays, referencing his TD pass to T Kendall Lamm: 

“No, you practice those trick plays. You talk about them. When you call them, you are just ready to execute it. It is always fun to see a big man touchdown. You see all the linemen get excited for each other and see the celebration.”

On the magnitude of this week’s game for both teams, particularly with the situations the Ravens have faced in recent weeks: 

“All AFC games are a little bit more important just because of the implication it has on the end of the season and the postseason. This is a very important one. Teams focus on winning every single home game in the second half of the season. It is just those that you have to have down the stretch. It is about us doing our job. We know they are a great team. They have had a lot of guys out and injured, but they are getting a lot of guys back. We know that just based on our scouting report, but like we have been saying week in and week out, it is about us coming out and executing our game plan and doing it at a very high level.”

On what makes the Ravens defense so effective: 

“They have great personnel for the scheme that they are running. The plays that Wink (Ravens defensive coordinator Don Martindale) calls for them really maximize those guys’ potential, and they make a lot of plays. Obviously, you have some ball hawks in the back end and some great young players that are flying around. Obviously, their front is talented. They play well as a unit. We are expecting them to have guys back, and when they have everybody there, they are a great team.”

On if the next step for the Browns offense is to have another big game against again a top-ranked defense: 

“No, the next step for us is consistency. Whoever we are playing, we have to be able to go out and do our job. It does not matter who, where or when it is, we have to be able to do our job.”

On DE Myles Garrett being named the team’s Walter Payton Man of the Year and Garrett as a person and teammate: 

“Myles is obviously very quiet. He is a different type of leader, but he has stepped up in so many ways vocally this year. He has a great heart, and I think that has been something that if people questioned it because of one action last year then shame on them because you can learn from mistakes, as I personally know very well. Myles is a great guy. He has been doing things for a lot of people around the world for a while. That just shows his character and his heart. He is obviously a great representation of this franchise.”

On if he ever had any question about how Garrett would respond following last year’s events: 

“No, I did not. I do not think anybody in this building did either. I think if there were questions, it was from the outside looking in, which does not matter when we are in this building.”

On the support the organization gave Garrett over the past year and what he believes that support has meant to Garrett: 

“I just think it starts with teammates and everybody that continued to keep that line of communication when he was not able to be here. Just throughout the offseason, just like I said, him being more verbal and vocal leadership wise. Them allowing him to do that I think shows that they believe in him and they were willing to trust him. There are just a lot of things. Myles is who he is. We have moved on past that, and I know he has for a long time now.”

On playing in Cleveland, a town that cares so much about its football team: 

“That feels like home to me. Raised in Texas. Went and played ball in Oklahoma. Just moved onto another football town here in Cleveland. It feels like home to me. That is how it should be. I am a passionate guy, and I try and get everybody else to feel that same passion. I do not have to do that as much here. I think I feed off that and vice versa.”

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