The odds are against him
Is there too much dysfunction in the NFL for Baker Mayfield to succeed?
Baker Mayfield talks brave.
He’s always talked that way. Lake Travis. Texas Tech. Oklahoma. Now Cleveland. Doesn’t matter. Mayfield talks a big stick.
So when Mayfield sat in front of Cleveland cameras last Friday, as the newest Brown messiah, he didn’t have to fake it. Didn’t have to try to sound convincing when saying his NFL appointment is exactly what he wanted.
Not Denver, with a world-class defense. Not the Jets, with Broadway. Not Miami, with South Beach and a decent roster.
Cleveland. The Browns are as good a pick as any as the worst American sports franchise of the 21st century. Make the Browns winners, and Mayfield will be worthy of another film, to go with the pre-draft nonsense already out on video.
“I did genuinely want to come here,” Mayfield said, probably with 100 percent honesty. “This is a franchise that traditionally is great. They have a great history, and these fans deserve a team that has success. You want to be the guy to lead that. The bigger the challenge for me, the better for me.”
Who doubts Mayfield’s sincerity? You think he wanted Sam Darnold or Josh Rosen to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft? You think Mayfield wanted someone else in the spotlight? The neon lights of Broadway are bright. But not as bright as overall No. 1.
And Mayfield is right. Lead the Browns to respectability, much less championship contention, and he’ll be a hero for the ages. And not just around Lake Erie.
Only one problem. Odds are long against Mayfield, and it’s mostly out of his control.
The Browns are an inept, dysfunctional organization showing no signs of figuring it out. Cleveland famously is 4-49 in its last 53 games, but the only reason we so easily go back to 2014 is that those Browns somehow got off to a 7-4 start before cratering. Aside from that uprising, Cleveland is 31-118 in the last 10 years.
The Browns are bad for the best of reasons. Horrible ownership. Jimmy Haslam bought the franchise in 2012. That’s six seasons. Haslam has fired his general manager four times. John Dorsey, the man who picked Mayfield, was hired last December. No Haslam GM has lasted longer than two seasons.
General manager changes lead to coaching changes. The Browns have had a bunch of those, too. Hue Jackson is about to begin his third year as Cleveland’s head coach. If he makes it to September — you never
know with the Browns — he’ll be the Browns’ longest-serving coach since Romeo Crennel was fired after the 2008 season. Under Haslam, Mike Pettine lasted two years (2014-15), Rod Chudzinski one (2013), Pat Shurmur two (2011-12).
The Browns have shown no commitment. No continuity. No resolve.
Same at quarterback. Mayfield referenced the Browns’ history and
tradition. This is the Browns’ tradition. In the last 16 years, 14 different quarterbacks have led Cleveland in passing. Only Colt McCoy (201011) and Derek Anderson (2007-08) have done so twice.
Take a deep breath and read the Brown passing leaders during that time: Tim Couch, Kelly Holcomb, Jeff Garcia, Trent Dilfer, Charlie Frye, Anderson, Anderson, Brady Quinn, McCoy, McCoy, Brandon Weeden, Jason Campbell, Brian Hoyer, Josh McCown, Cody Kessler, DeShone Kizer and, presumably, Tyrod Taylor
in 2018. With Mayfield perhaps poised to take in 2019 and make it 16 passing leaders in 18 years.
Tradition? History? The Browns formed in 1946 and were formidable through 1969. But that’s almost half a century ago. In those nearly 50 years, two versions of Cleveland football (the original Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996; the expansion Browns began play in 1999) have combined for three AFC title game appearances and no Super Bowls. Only Detroit can equal that lack of NFL postseason success.
Saying the Browns have tradition and history is
like saying Army football or the Sacramento Kings have tradition and history. Doc Blanchard and Oscar Robertson are long gone. And so are Otto Graham and Jim Brown.
This is not Lake Travis, which won before Mayfield and kept winning after. This is not Oklahoma. This is not even Tech, which had a great quarterback tradition before and after Mayfield, and he got a shot as a true freshman through peculiar circumstances.
This is Cleveland, where quarterback careers go to die or never get off the ground.
If Mayfield bucks that
trend, he will be a LeBron-like hero in northeast Ohio.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Bill Livingston dubbed Mayfield “Johnny Flag Football,” in reference to the Manziel similarities and Mayfield’s famous flag-planting downstate in Ohio Stadium last September. But if Mayfield leads the Browns back from the abyss, much of Ohio will let him plant his flag wherever he wishes.
“I think they will definitely embrace Baker because he is a competitor and he loves to win,” said Ohio State cornerback Denzel Ward, also
a first-round draft pick by the Browns last week. “Once we start winning, of course they will embrace him.”
The embracing is the easy part. The winning, not so much. The Browns do indeed have tradition and history. But the wrong kind. That’s what Mayfield has to overcome.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at (405) 760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM98.1. You can also view his personality page at newsok. com/berrytramel.