By STEVE KING

Oh, boy!

Ohhh, boy!!!!!!!!!

Where are the Browns media relations people when you need them?

Someone has to be able so as to read the temperature of the room to keep the franchise quarterback from jabbing at, and picking a fight with, the fans, as Baker Mayfield did when he finally met with media members on Monday, a day after blowing them off following Sunday’s less-than-stellar 13-10 victory over the Detroit Lions.

Especially when you’re the quarterback and, again, the face of the team and the spokesman of the team, you never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, for any reason, get into a negative back-and-forth with the hometown fans. Period, end of statement. It is public relations and goodwill suicide — the most egregious and permanently damaging kind, in fact.

It’s like Bill Belichick once said in Cleveland when angry Browns fans were coming  after him, “If you answer the fans, pretty soon you’ll be sitting up in the stands with them.”

He’s right. Mayfield is too young to realize that. But the Browns media relations people are old enough to realize it, and as such, then, they have to save him from himself. That they didn’t is a venial sin, for once that line is crossed, you can’t go back.

So, there is a whole new chapter to this Mayfield 2021 saga, and it is definitely not good.

Sigh.

QB Baker Mayfield (11.22.21) Transcript provided by the Browns Media Relations Center

On if missing yesterday’s postgame media session was due to being frustrated:

“Yeah, I was frustrated among other things. I have never dodged any questions or hid away from that. It is not about that. Just frustrated, removed emotions and all that from it. Just decided it was best to wait.”

On priding himself on being accountable and it surprising media that he did not host a postgame press conference:

“Not one part of that is not being accountable. I would be the first to tell you I played like [expletive]. It is not about [accountability], and I do not owe you guys any of that; I owe that to my teammates and I talked to them so that is what matters.”

On what frustrated him most with his performance yesterday:

“For me, decision-making was great. It was the lack of execution. I think there were some plays… I am not going to make every throw – nobody does that – but very, very frustrated with where I was going with the ball compared to how the results were. That is very, very frustrating. I have always been an accurate guy, and that was not the case yesterday. That is extremely frustrating to me when I feel like I let my teammates down. Preparation week, everything leading up to the game was great. Felt like I was in a good position to be able to play and play at a high level, and I did not. That is the very frustrating thing.”

On how much he attributes inaccuracy yesterday to his injuries:

“There is some that between weather and that, but it is not something that I am going to say, ‘Hey, this is why.’ I made a lot of throws yesterday and then I did not make a lot of throws yesterday. There is give and take, but I expect myself to be better. That is how I have always been.”

On if it makes it worse when he sees himself make good throws within the game and then miss others he feels he should make:

“I think so. I think it is some of the harder throws I can make and then some of the easy ones that I have done time and time again that just do not happen, that is very frustrating.”

On clarifying his comment about being ‘frustrated among other things’:

“Just frustrated. We won the game so that is the most important part. Frustrated with my execution and everything. Just trying to internalize. That is how I handle things. Obviously, my body. The same thing over and over again. There is no reason to keep repeating it.”

On if it was wise to finish yesterday’s game, given he limped coming off of the field in the third quarter:

“There was one shot that I took that kind of reaggravated some things, but at that point, we were in four-minute mode and just getting guys lined up and operationally being able to do that.”

On if he and Head Coach Kevin Stefanski are on the same page with the offensive play calls or if they need to spend more time together to get on the same page:
“We are going to take a lovely vacation during the bye together and maybe visit Maldives and spend a lot of time (laughter). No, we are fine. I think we watched the film as an offense, and we watched the whole game together and talked about all of the things that are hurting us. It was one of those meetings where you just own up to your mistakes and own up to the plays where we have to be better. Penalties are a big thing for us. Obviously, I have to take care of the ball. That is very obvious. Penalties, we can’t keep putting ourselves in bad positions. We improved in the red zone yesterday. We were two for two, which was what I have been stressing on. We were a little bit better on third down but still there were some critical errors and some penalties on third downs that hurt us.”

On his reactions to fans appearing to boo him in the second half:

“Those are probably the same fans that will not be quiet while we are on offense and trying to operate. Do not really care.”

On the significance of this week’s game at Baltimore as the team has all of its goals ahead of it despite an up and down first half of the season:

“This is a huge, huge game for us because it is the next one and it is a division opponent. Big-picture wise, everybody wants to act like the world is falling. No, we have not played to our potential, and we know that more than anybody because we sit there and watch the film and we know what we are supposed to do. We have six wins, and the Ravens are leading the division with seven. We know what is at stake. We know what we need to do, and that is how we are going to handle it this week.”

On if he is more banged up now than he was entering last week:

“No. Woke up. The sun is shining. Getting better. Getting treatment. Be ready to roll.”

On if one injury is bothering him more than the others:

“It is all just kind of there.”

On how to help jumpstart the Browns offense:

“It is about putting it all together. When we do our job and we do it well, we are a really good team. That takes converting on third downs, finishing in the red zone and then not hurting yourselves in the middle of drives to where you have to overcome long-yardage situations. It is being consistent within every single drive and having a singular focus on the task at hand within those drives and knowing that those critical downs we have to convert and we have to do well. Late in the game yesterday, some of those third down runs, we did, and that is why we were able to finish that game out. We definitely emphasized that in the film room today, watching it and making sure the guys know these critical situations we just have to be better. I think it is a lot of things, but we just have to put it all together. We have shown flashes. Like I said, we improved in the red zone, but we have to put it all together.”

On if he can get his lower body healthier during the season:

“Yep, I will be able to do that. I think that is one of the more frustrating things that I have had is I was able to take off one time yesterday or twice and make a couple of plays, but I think the past weeks, I was not able to do that. I think those plays are there to be made by me so have to keep improving. Keep improving until Sunday and then I have a week to rest, and that is the important part. I have to handle business this week.”

On needing all 11 players on offense to do everything right in order to have success:

“Football is the ultimate, ultimate team game. It really is. It does truly take all 11 guys doing their job and achieving that. Is it going to be perfect? No, there are going to be plays where some guys mess up, but when you have players like we do who make up for it, make guys miss in the hole and all of that, it can make up for it, but it is all about trying to do your 1/11th when you are out there on the field, whether it is offense, defense or special teams. That is the most important part. If you try and worry about doing too much, then bad things happen. Do your job and try and do it at a high level and quickly, good things happen. That is where we are, and that is why we keep saying we have to be better on these critical downs. That is little details, knowing your job and knowing where to line up and all of the minute things that you might think it is not a big deal but it does come out to be a big deal when you talk about having 11 different people trying to achieve the same goal.”

On if he feels limited in his skillset as the game progresses after taking hits:

“There are definitely ebbs and flows of the game. Not every game is going to be perfect. For the most part yesterday, I felt great. There was one little awkward landing and things like that aggravate it, but no major setbacks by any means. That is why I feel positive about moving forward with everything that I have been doing within the week for treatment, rehab and whatnot. Looking forward to another great week and being able to play a division opponent.”

On if he expects be healthy enough to play against the Ravens:

“I do. I do expect to be in better condition than I have in the past weeks. Like I just said, no major setbacks by any means. You are going to be sore on a Monday. That is just the nature of this game. Yeah, I feel good about our plan of attack, everybody being on the same page and where we are right now. I feel positive about everything that we are doing.”

On if it sends a mixed message that he walked off of the field after Sunday’s win without celebrating on the field postgame:

“To our guys, no. To you guys, maybe. It depends on how you guys want to take it. You are going to write your stories regardless. My guys know that all I care about is winning, but I am going to be frustrated if I do stuff to make It harder on us, and I did yesterday. That is just flat out where it was. I am never going to take winning for granted. That is something that is very hard to do in this league. It had not been a very common thing around here for a long time. I am just frustrated with how I played, and that is how I have always been. They know I am going not come back and attack this week, and that is how I have always been.”