QB Baker Mayfield (12.18.19)

QB Baker Mayfield:

On what was working in the second half of the Ravens game that has not carried through the season:

“I just think the big plays in the run game, we broke a few off and had good down field blocking. That is something we hit on earlier today. Everybody was finishing those runs and everybody was a part of that. Obviously, our guys were breaking tackles. (RB) Nick (Chubb), a really big game, but we were great up front and big run plays.”

 

On if he felt like everything was coming together following Week 4:

“I think we had a lot of success right there and tried to build off that, but the inconsistency of everybody not doing their job every play is clearly the reason for that.”

 

On differences in the Ravens defense since Week 4:

“Obviously (Ravens CB) Marcus Peters bringing him in, a big change and then (Ravens CB) Jimmy Smith is healthy again so it allows (Ravens CB) Marlon Humphrey to play in the nickel and then to do different things. Just some different linebackers playing right now, brought in a couple of guys. They are different scheme wise because of personnel. It is not the same team at all, but it is the same mindset for us. It is the division opponent. We have to be the most physical team. That is their mantra so we have to do that, as well.”

 

On if he could have seen the Ravens winning 10 consecutive games after Week 4:

“They are putting all of the pieces together, playing good on all three phases of the ball, complementary football. They are putting pressure on teams. They are scoring fast, and you can see defensively, they are able to play really aggressively because their offense is having so much success.”

 

On Ravens QB Lamar Jackson’s season:

“He is killing it, obviously. The MVP chants are well deserved. It is very obvious. It is a test [to the season] he is having.”

 

On ability to improve accuracy and Jackson’s development, given some people don’t see accuracy as a teachable trait:

“I think there are little things fundamentally you can do and just the raw talent that he has, all it takes is him working at his craft. He has had a lot of improvement in the passing game, but it still starts with their run game and up front. They are the most physical team. They believe when they step out on the field and they establish the run game and allow the play-action shots and stuff to open up. It starts with the run game, but obviously, he has worked very hard to get to where he is and he continues to improve, and that is why he is having a good season.”

 

On if he agrees with RB Kareem Hunt’s comment that some Browns players did not give their 110 percent on every play this past Sunday:

“In regards to Kareem’s comments, Kareem has been in a place in Kansas City that knows how to win so his level and his standard of accountability for everybody to do their job is very high. That is the type of guy you want to bring in here. I do not think it was anything personal to anybody, but Kareem, bringing him in was huge part for us raising the standards. We want that. We want guys to be able to have accountability. It does not need to just come from me all the time. Having a guy like that and Nick Chubb is our silent assassin so having Kareem being a vocal leader is important for us.”

 

On his comments last year of ‘if you are not with us, you are against us’:

“We are seeing exactly who is in it for the right reasons. There is still that small slim chance that we can make it. We have to have a lot of help, but we are playing to get better. We have to. We are playing to finish this thing out the right way and the way the people that have worked so long for this season – it has been a long grueling season – but people around here deserve for us to finish the right way.”

 

On if it is tougher to keep the locker room together after not meeting high expectations:

“No, I think we have had a bunch of guys step up. That is the one thing that I would say is this locker room has stuck together. We have not had the success on the field so it is very frustrating for us, but within the locker room, very proud of how these guys have handled it, how they have stuck together and kept the same mindset each week. Then it comes to really just translating what we are supposed to do onto the field.”

 

On NFL Network Mike Silver’s report that Landry told Cardinals players to ‘come get me’:

“If anybody knows Jarvis, they know he is not doing that. I can’t speak on his behalf, but I know how he is and who he is. People want to talk and say a bunch of things, but they are not here. They do not know. If they are saying that, then they do not know who Jarvis is. It is what it is. That is just drama on the outside.”

 

On if he had a conversation with Landry before Landry said to Head Coach Freddie Kitchens that he wanted more opportunities against the Cardinals:

“You can sense his frustration within things like that. It was more about taking advantage of matchups and doing what we are best at. We have a bunch of guys so how are you going to cover us and we needed to exploit that. That is where his frustration came from, and we were not having that success that we wanted to. Very understandable. It is an emotional game, but we trust Jarvis and we love hearing his opinion.”

 

On him being mentioned with and compared to Jackson over the next several years as division rivals and members o the same draft class:

“For me, any divisional opponent, it needs to be the best game that we have each week. I love playing against Lamar just because I am so familiar with him and his family. I enjoy playing against him, but when it comes down to it, we are playing against defense and I have to do my job and try and out-compete them.”

 

On if it ever crosses his mind to want to know why Jackson was not initially mentioned with some of the top QBs prior to being picked in the 2018 NFL Draft:

“I think people pinned him as a non-throwing QB so it was more of ‘does he fit in our system’ type of ideas. That is why they are having success is they are building around him and calling plays for him. They are doing a really good job of that.”

 

On how to promote high standards and expectations of winning when the Browns have not done so recently:

“Guys doing their job every single play. It does not matter who we are playing or what the situation is – like we are saying, we have a lot of help on the outside to make the playoffs – you better be giving 100 percent effort each play. You better be doing your job without a doubt, doing the work during the week so you get out there on Sunday and you do not hesitate. That is where Kareem is coming from and I respect that a lot.”

 

On if he feels the responsibility to send that message to the team as a leader:

“Absolutely. I appreciate that message, like I said, but it is about finishing out the right way. How we are going to finish this thing out? If we are not doing it the right way, it is a waste of time. We do not need to be wasting our time right now. You only get so many opportunities to go out there and show what you can do. We need to get better.”

 

On if the Browns have done the same thing for him that the Ravens have done for Jackson in terms of supporting him and providing him everything he needs to be successful:

“I think it is two different scenarios. Where we were coming from and from where Baltimore was coming from building on a defense, they had already had a bunch of veterans there and we bought in a lot of new pieces so it is just about the process. They are doing a good job offensively of how they are calling it. It is two different scenarios.

 

On how Head Coach Freddie Kitchens has handled off-field noise and distractions as a first-year head coach:

“I think a lot of Freddie’s words are twisted like the sound clip or headline that you say he does not care about his future. You have to listen to the whole clip. That is the problem that I have with media. If you listen to that, he is trying to say he is worried about the present right now about winning. He is not focused on, ‘Oh, do I need never to cover my own ass for my own job or am I going to coach these guys and give these guys what they deserve?’ It can be taken out of context, but we are worried about the Ravens right now and that is the most important thing.”

 

On potential internal drama impacting the team this year and if it has hindered the team’s ability to reach higher levels of success:

“Moving forward, the place where I am coming from, everybody needs to be on the same page. The most important thing needs to always be winning throughout this building, and that is the standard with everybody. You have to put players first. There have to be sacrifices made on every part within the organization, within players. You have to put the time in and do your work. It is about consistently doing your job every day, showing up and being about winning, whether it is off the field or on the field  That needs to be the standard moving forward.”

 

On how far away the Browns are from reaching those levels of success:

“I think we are close. I think we are very close, but that is the frustrating part is we are not there yet. We are almost there.”

 

On if the Browns’ 40-25 win over the Ravens in Week 4 was an example of reaching their best potential or if it was a fluke in retrospect:

“I would not say it is a fluke whatsoever – that is not very kind of you. We have shown flashes where we could be great, but we were consistent that game. That is what football is all about. It is about putting all three phases of the ball – offense, defense and special teams – together. When you are on the road and start fast, which we did that game and putting them behind the chains, which our defense did, we had a lot of sacks, we won the turnover battle and we had more yards. It is just about being consistent, and we have not been as consistent as of recently.”

 

On where the locker room stands in terms of support for Kitchens:

“I can’t speak on everyone’s behalf, but I know what he is about right now and he is about winning and that is what everyone’s mindset needs to be like right now. It does not need to be any selfish motives. It is what you can do for this team and this organization to help us get to the right place.”

 

On if he feels like he did everything he could have possibly done in the offseason to prepare this year or if he can take it to another level this offseason:

“I think I can crank it up a notch within OTAs, and that goes for everyone that is here. When it is OTAs, the voluntary minicamps and stuff like that, it needs to be driven towards stuff that is actually going to help us in the year. You do not need to waste reps and you do not need your time when we are here in the spring. That time is valuable to nail down what we are going to do offensively to where when we come back for training camp, you hit it running. It is just about efficiently doing your work in the offseason. I feel like I did that. It is just a matter of then translating it come fall.”

 

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