Rookie first-overall draft pick Baker Mayfield just scored the first W for a Cleveland Browns quarterback since Robert Griffin III defeated the San Diego Chargers on December 24, 2016. The Chargers don’t even play in San Diego anymore, and Griffin wasn’t even in the NFL in 2017. That’s how long ago it was that a Browns quarterback probably felt this good.
As you have likely seen or at least heard about by now, the rookie quarterback appeared on Colin Cowherd’s radio show, who previously called Mayfield undraftable. The host proceeded to interrogate him, including using video evidence.
.@bakermayfield defends himself against @ColinCowherd‘s two main criticisms of him pic.twitter.com/pWQqwf8jSJ
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) June 21, 2018
The first clip that he showed detailed a touchdown that he threw against Ohio State. As he got up from being tackled as he threw the ball, he ran in the opposite direction of the player to whom he threw the touchdown, so Cowherd wanted to know why he wasn’t celebration with his teammates.
“Our band is over there; our student section’s right there”, Mayfield responded. “And then straight back to our sideline. Did you watch the rest of the game? So you saw me celebrate with my teammates three touchdowns before that too?”.
He was right to point out the absurdity of Cowherd attempting to use this five-second clip of a spur of the moment action as some for of indictment about Mayfield’s ability to succeed as a quarterback at the NFL level, which evidently was his intention.
“You put the one clip of me running right there to our fans, and people that traveled well, first of all, and then you didn’t show the rest of the clip of me going to our sideline?”, Mayfield shot back at the host. “You’re acting like I just ran away from everybody.
As Cowherd continued to push the issue and make it some sort of evidence of whatever it is he was hoping to accomplish, he tried to get to heart of the host’s concerns. “I feel like you’re going for the fact that I’m not a team guy, that I’m selfish. Is that what you’re shooting for or what?”, he queried.
Cowherd quickly backpedaled and attempted to explain that the fact that he ran in the direction of the band and the fans and his sideline instead of toward his teammates to celebrate the fact that they had scored on that particular play is a sign that he might not have the processing speed and power to make tight-window throws, or something equally asinine and irrelevant.
“I think your judgement is sometimes just a tad off, and I think the NFL is a judgement league…I don’t love that decision”, Cowherd said. “The celebration?”, Mayfield responded. “Do you see what people do in the league now, celebration-wise?”.
These are the sorts of questions that people who are paid to talk and write about sports ask professional athletes when they are given the chance. This is supposedly somebody who has insight worth broadcasting to millions. But what do I know? I’m just a blogger. I’d probably run away too.
