CONFIDENCE IN THE RIGHT PEOPLE 

By STEVE KING

Confidence is everything in sports.

It is the difference between a winner and a loser, a star and a bench-warmer.

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It’s what Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield had at Oklahoma and in the second half of that whirlwind finish as a rookie in Cleveland during that hopeful, promising and exciting season of 2018, And it’s what he didn’t have in that fitful, aggravating, disgusting and disappointing 2019 season.

The results of those seasons, especially the ones in Cleveland — not just for Mayfield, but for the team overall since, of course, the play of the quarterback determines and, in essence, is, the play of the team — speak for themselves.

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And that that trend continued last Sunday in the 38-6 season-opening drubbing administered the Browns by the Baltimore Ravens, with Mayfield really struggling along with the team, is hardly a surprise. It’s just the way things work in football, particularly the NFL.

That brings us to the Browns’ home opener against the Cincinnati Bengals at FirstEnergy Stadium on Thursday Night Football. The Browns really, desperately, obviously need a win, and Mayfield really, desperately, obviously needs a win — a winning performance — for losing on the road is one thing, but doing so at home, even if it’s in front of just a smattering of fans, and in front of a national TV audience, is another thing altogether. It’s unacceptable.

I think — no, I fully expect — he will get it, that he will come up with one and the Browns will beat Cincinnati to even their record at 1-1, because I have confidence in him.

And because I have confidence in his head coach, Kevin Stefanski.

Those — the quarterback and the head coach — are the two most important people in any NFL organization, so to have confidence in Mayfield and Stefanski is, to me at least, a good sign going forward.

Why, you ask, the confidence in these men now, at this low-ebb of a time?

Because, in Mayfield’s case, I have seen him do it both professionally and in college, and because in Stefanski’s case, he was outstanding as an offensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings and he has the perfect personality to be a head coach in that he is well-organized, thorough, smart, innovative and doesn’t fly off the handle when things go haywire, as they did in Baltimore. He keeps a level head about him, which allows him to rationally think through problems instead of acting and reacting on emotions.

Look, I get it in that voicing confidence in Mayfield and Stefanski at this point in time is not something you’re going to read, or hear, anywhere else. That’s one of the premises of this site. And so is honesty, which is why I need to point out that I’m not doing this to be different and attract an audience. I’m doing it because I really, truly believe it.

But at the same time, Baker Mayfield and Kevin Stefanski have to show that on game days, when it counts. They have to be better than they were last Sunday, which won’t be hard. Another one-sided, non-competitive defeat won’t cut it.

Only a win will.