“A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots on.” – Mark Twain. A fake quote from former Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield blazed through the sports world just a few days ago. The quote – which LWOS will not reprint here – seemed to blast Browns coach Kevin Stefanski for poor coaching. Much like the Twain quote – which Twain did not say- the fake quote got so much traction because it sounded like something Baker Mayfield actually WOULD say. Mayfield, who was run out of Cleveland apparently due to lack of maturity, hasn’t exactly been shy about throwing shade at his former team since he was traded last year.
For a while, it looked like sour grapes from a future NFL draft bust. But five weeks into the NFL season, one has to wonder: Is Baker Mayfield (the real one or the fake one) right?
Baker Mayfield, Josh Dobbs Finding Success Away From Cleveland
In his bye-week quasi “State of the Team” address, Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry preached patience. “Just to our fans, I really want our fans to enjoy and lean into this process of watching this team become fully formed throughout the year,” Berry said towards the end of his prepared remarks. Cleveland fans have heard a similar version of this quote for, more or less, their entire lives.
But while Berry preaches patience, Baker Mayfield has won three of his first four starts down in Tampa Bay. This after Mayfield led the sinking Los Angeles Rams on a 98-yard comeback drive just days after joining the team last year. Moreover, Mayfield’s passer rating with Tampa is 101.5, and with the Rams was 86.4. Both are the high-water marks of his career. As is the nearly 70% completion percentage.
Meanwhile, Mayfield’s replacement, Deshaun Watson, continues to be inconsistent nine games into his Cleveland career. Watson posted his best numbers as a Brown in Week 3 against the Tennesse Titans but struggled the two weeks before.
Baker Mayfield Isn’t The Only Former Brown Finding Success
Joshua Dobbs was one of the quarterbacks that replaced Baker Mayfield in 2022. Dobbs was also the Cleveland Browns backup quarterback until Watson returned from suspension last season. He was supposed to back Watson this season before rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson won the job with a strong preseason.
Thompson-Robinson’s electric performances two months ago made him a near-instant fan favorite… and Dobbs expendable. So, when the Arizona Cardinals called to offer a fifth-round pick, the Browns lept at the chance. But preseason games don’t count for a reason.
Dobbs, who may have been named the Cardinals starter before he even packed his Cleveland locker, has been an overnight success. The Cardinals looked so bad that many thought they were intentionally tanking the season. Naming Dobbs the starter did nothing to change that perception. But Dobbs has thrown eight touchdowns against four picks and kept the Cardinals reasonably competitive. Dobbs was near-perfect against the Dallas Cowboys, leading his team to a huge upset win.
Interestingly, both Baker Mayfield and Joshua Dobbs’ offensive coordinators are in their first years. They are not only in their first years with their respective teams but also in their first years as offensive coordinators – at any level.
Baker Mayfield’s Coach: Tampa Bay Offensive Coordinator Dave Canales
Dave Canales made the huge cross-country move to Tampa Bay after working under Pete Carroll for 13 years with the Seattle Seahawks. Canales was named passing game coordinator in 2020 which, coincidentally or not, is when an unheralded backup quarterback arrived in the Pacific Northwest: Geno Smith.
Under Canales’ tutilage, Smith was named an NFL starter for the first time in nearly a decade last season. The NFL media widely wrote off the Seahawks, but then he started to win. Not only that, but he looked great doing it. He passed for more touchdowns last season than he had in all of his non-Seahawk years put together. He was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year and led his team back to the playoffs. Meanwhile, his predecessor Russell Wilson’s career nearly bottomed out with the Denver Broncos that very same season.
If Mayfield keeps playing the way he has been, Canales might be able to claim he coached back-to-back NFL Comeback Players of the Year, though Damar Hamlin has the inside track for that one in 2023.
Joshua Dobbs’ Coach: Arizona Cardinals Offensive Coordinator Drew Petzing
Interestingly enough, Petzing is well-known to Cleveland and Stefanski both. Stefanski worked with Petzing for nearly a decade, as the two were assistant coaches with the Minnesota Vikings. When Stefanski came to Cleveland, he brought Petzing along. For the first two seasons, Petzing coached tight ends while offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt did double-duty as quarterback coach. Baker Mayfield was a part of these teams as well.
But in 2022, Petzing was moved to quarterbacks coach for reasons unexplained. Van Pelt was “just” the offensive coordinator. That season, the offensive staff was in a tight spot. With their quarter-billion dollar franchise quarterback suspended for 11 games, Petzing, Van Pelt, and Stefanski had to create an offense for a new signal-caller. However, that offense also needed to play to the strengths of Deshaun Watson upon his return.
That quarterback was Jacoby Brissett. Up until then, Brissett was known as a reasonable journeyman backup. Thrust into the starter role, little was expected of him. But he put up career numbers nearly across the board. Brissett’s toughness won him the hearts of Cleveland fans, even as they waited for Watson’s return.
Joshua Dobbs was the other quarterback in that room. Petzing, who couldn’t figure out Colt McCoy in Arizona, clearly knew what Dobbs was capable of and how to get the best out of him.
Meanwhile, Back in Cleveland…
While Baker Mayfield and Joshua Dobbs continue to surprise the NFL, Berry and Stefanski preach patience. But Watson has had one good game as a Brown, and new Cleveland backup quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson was clearly unprepared for last week’s game against Baltimore.
Thompson-Robinson’s gameplan was not designed for him, and Stefanski obviously didn’t bother to adjust his playcalling to account for the rookie. The running game was abandoned long before the game got out of hand. After a bounce-back game against Tennessee, Stefanski also reverted to his long drops and low-percentage routes. Like Watson against Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, Thompson-Robinson seemed to be waiting too long for receivers to open up downfield. With the Browns offensive tackles struggling in pass protection, this was a recipe for disaster.
Cleveland fans would be right to wonder why a pair of first-year coordinators on teams much worse than theirs are getting the most out of quarterbacks the team threw away. All while their supposed quarter-billion dollar savior seems to be perhaps just getting out of neutral 18 months and ten games into his tenure.
But… Why?
Is it coaching dysfunction? After Petzing left, Van Pelt reverted to quarterbacks coach. Bill Musgrave was brought in to take work off of Van Pelt’s plate, but it’s unclear what his duties are. Meanwhile, Van Pelt and Stefanski are both doing offensive double duty.
Is it Watson? Possible. But even in Houston, Watson was part of some terrible teams and still managed to light up the stat sheet as one of the top signal callers in the league.
A little of both? Browns fans on X (formerly Twitter) were up in arms with a supposed conspiracy theory that supposedly shows a split between him and Stefanski after Watson sat out the Baltimore game. This is all because Watson missing the game seemed to come out of nowhere. Never mind that Watson didn’t throw all week, and Stefanski merely stated that he trusted Watons to know what was best for Watson.
Time will tell which it is. But if Baker Mayfield and Joshua Dobbs continue their ascent, it could be either Canales or Petzing coaching the Cleveland Browns next season, while Kevin Stefanski looks to make his own comeback elsewhere.
Main Photo: Matthew Hinton – USA Today Sports
