“No, it wasn’t anything like that, you know. If you’re not with us in Cleveland, you’re against us, and you know and we have division rivals and that’s how I feel about it. If you don’t like that then you probably don’t realize what type of game football is, so that’s ok.” (Baker Mayfield on Undisputed with Skip and Shannon)
Baker Mayfield appeared on FS1’s Undisputed with Skip and Shannon Wednesday. When questioned about the interactions with former Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson that is what Mayfield had to say. There is some truth in that statement. The NFL is a results based league and at the end of the day the only thing players should care about is who is in their corner.
Having people in your corner as an athlete can make a huge difference in a player’s performance no matter the sport. Whether it is football, baseball, basketball or soccer. Player’s need to have the coaching staff behind them and ready to support them along the way.
It was quite obvious from the start that Jackson was not in Mayfield’s corner. While Jackson attempted to throw Mayfield under the bus (shocker), the fact of the matter is Mayfield improved once Jackson was sent packing. Jackson did claim that Mayfield was not progressing in a way that he desired. The reality is that Jackson does not know how put together a winning game plan.
Freddie Kitchens backs Baker Mayfield
Newly promoted head coach Freddie Kitchens is in Baker Mayfield’s corner. This is drastically different than the previous regime. Kitchens does everything in his power to put Mayfield and the Browns in position to win. Jackson did not. Jackson was more concerned with how he looked after his inevitable termination. This was quite apparent dating back to last season when he threw player after player under the bus. This is not the case with Kitchens. Kitchens wants to get the best out of his players. This can be filed as being “with us” rather than “against us”. This type of camaraderie can only help the Cleveland Browns and Baker Mayfield as they look to build upon a successful second half of 2018.
