WILLIAMS HAS CONFIDENCE IN BAKER’S CONFIDENCE
By STEVE KING
You’ve read here before any number of times that I am impressed as much by Browns rookie Baker Mayfield’s comments as I am by his passes.
Yes, he has a lot of cool, insightful things to say.
And his head coach, Gregg Williams, has a lot of cool, insightful things to say about his rookie quarterback.
It came on Monday day as the players had the day off before beginning their preparation for Saturday’s nationally-televised game against the Denver Broncos at Broncos Stadium at Mile High.
Williams was asked during a conference call with the Cleveland media about how much of theBrowns’ confidence derives from Mayfield.
“I think a lot of it does. I do,” the coach said. “There are guys on the defensive side of the ball, too. There are guys on special teams, too. I think an awful lot of it does come from him.
“That would not happen if it was phony. It only happens when everybody sees it being sincere.
“One of the things that we have talked about for a long timeis that leadership comes by example first and voice second. Your body language speaks so loudly that you can’t hear anything else that anybody else says that comes out of their mouth. He does a really good job with that. I think it starts to bleed or come down to move the team that way. I think it is good.”
Yes, it is good all right.
The quarterback – any quarterback who is entrenched as the starter – is the face of the franchise, and in a lot of ways, he is also the mouth of the franchise. He stands for everybody, and he speaks for everybody.
Then he keeps backing up his comments – whatever they are – out on the field.
That, in a nutshell, is Baker Mayfield of the Cleveland Browns.
Browns move up in SI Rankings
The Browns aren’t quite into the top half of the NFL in sportsillustrated.com’s NFL power rankings, but they’re getting close.
With their 26-20 win over the Carolina Panthers last Sunday, the Browns climbed seven places to No. 19 this week. And if they keep winning, then they’re only going to continue to move up the ladder.
Interestingly enough, the Denver Broncos (6-7), who host the Browns (5-7-1) on Saturday night in a nationally-televised game at Broncos Stadium at Mile High, are right behind Cleveland at No. 20. Denver fell three spots after last Sunday’s crushing 20-14 upset defeat to the lowly Sam Francisco 49ers.
And strangely enough, the team right ahead of the Browns at No. 18 is Carolina, which has dropped five in a row. Hmmm. That doesn’t make sense, does it?
On a better note, the Browns are way ahead of the Hue Jackson-led Cincinnati Bengals, who are tied for 27th place with the Buffalo Bills. And did we mention that the Bengals (5-8) are in last place in the AFC North. That’s another big benefit of having ol’ what’s-his-name.
As for the other two teams in the division, the first-place – barely, and fading fast — Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5-1) are ninth and the runner-up Baltimore Ravens (7-6), who trail by just a half-game and are but 1½ games ahead of the Browns, are 13th.
The New Orleans Saints kept hold of No. 1, while the Kansas City Chiefs jumped two spots to No. 2. The Los Angeles Rams are third, the New England Patriots fourth, the Chicago Bears fifth, the Los Angeles Chargers sixth, the Seattle Seahawks eighth and the Houston Texans 10th.
The second 10, in addition to the Browns, Baltimore, Carolina and Denver, has the Minnesota Vikings 11th, the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles 12th, the Indianapolis Colts 14th, the Tennessee Titans 15th, the MiamiDolphins 16th and the Green Bay Packers 17th.
The rest of the teams are ranked like this:
New York Giants (21st), Atlanta Falcons (22nd), Detroit Lions (23rd), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (24th), Jacksonville Jaguars (25th), New York Jets (26th), Oakland Raiders (29th), San Francisco (30th), Washington Redskins (31st) and Arizona Cardinals (32nd).
EVEN DORSEY HAS TO BE STUNNED BY SUCCESS OF WILLIAMS
If Gregg Williams ends up getting named the permanent head coach of the Browns, then it will be one of the shocking stories in team history.
Really.
When Hue Jackson was fired midway through the season, allowing the genius head coach to do his Benedict Arnold act and help bolster the juggernaut that is the CincinnatiBengals, Browns General Manager John Dorsey was asked at the press conference if Gregg Williams, who was named head coach on an interim basis, would be considered for the job permanently.
It was the question you knew was coming because it is always asked in these kinds of situations. Whether or not the guy in question has any chance in the world of being hired, he is granted an interview as a reward for taking the job for the rest of the season.
But as I always tell you, the trick is to not necessarily focus on what these GMs, coaches and players say, but rather how the say it. And the inflection in Dorsey’s voice – his total lack of enthusiasm – made it crystal clear that the interview of Williams would be merely a courtesy. Dorsey couldn’t get it over with fast enough so he could get back to looking for those coaches who actually had a chance to get hired.
But, as well all know now, a funny thing happened on the way to the end of the season – that is, Williams got the Browns turned around. He is 3-2 with three games left, the first of which will come Saturday night when they play the Denver Broncos at Broncos Stadium at Mile High.
Williams might already be a serious candidate regardless of what happens the rest of the year, but if he keeps winning, then that will be a certainly.
That’s amazing. That’s utterly amazing and it will be even more so – much more so, actually– if Williams ends up getting hired.
And that could happen.
Not even Dorsey, in his heart of hearts, saw that possibility coming.
BROWNS GET TO SHOW OFF ON NATIONAL TV
The last time the entire nation saw the Browns for an extended period of time, they put forth a great show, coming from behind to defeat the New York Jets 21-17 before a raucous crowd at FirstEnergy Stadium on Thursday Night Football.
It was Browns rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield’s coming-out party.
But that was back on Sept. 20 — nearly four months ago – and a lot has happened to the Browns since then.
That win was looked upon as kind of a novelty, as it was their first since 2016.
Now when the Browns win, though, it’s not a surprise. It’s simply another chapter in their rebuilding effort, one that has been so good this year that it has put them into the AFC playoff picture with three games left.
Imagine that?
They’re a real longshot, to be sure, as they are just 5-7-2, and they are going to have to have some help. Nonetheless, they’re still playing for something so late in the season, and that … well, means something.
Now the Browns will get to show everyone how good they’ve become when they play the Denver Broncos(6-7) at 8:20 p.m. Saturday at Broncos Stadium at Mile High. It is the second half of a special Saturday NFL nationally-televised double-header, following the Houston Texans’ game against the host New York Jets at 4:30.
The Browns think they belong in this playoff chase. In fact, they’re confident they can win out, finish 8-7-1 and give themselves a fighting chance.
That confidence comes from Mayfield. While the nation will be watching the Browns overall – this resurgence makes them one of the league’s top feel-good stories this season – viewers will have a laser-focus on the guy who is proving he was worthy of being taken at No. 1 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.
A quarterback is always the face of the franchise, and the Browns feel real good about their face.
They hope that by late Saturday night, the rest of the country will see why.
