We Move up to #2 with Act of God for Baker Mayfield

[jshawaii22]

Wow... simply wow. Baker must of watched Tom Brady last week because he just pulled an identical win out that gave us another boost up the draft pick ladder potential of #2.
It was all Raiders fans in the stadium. It was total silence when Baker threw the winning TD. That's real weird.
Donkeys play KC this Sunday. Not even going to be close.
Russell is the butt of the talking heads right now. You couldn't write up this story last year. NO one would of believed you.

On another note, I have had the chance to watch a lot of college football this year and I'm not really that impressed with the supposed top 2 picks at QB.
I like Bo in the 3rd, like Russell's pick.
We need a stud DE and DT and then finish the O-Line.

[Aseahawkfan]

Cool.

[RiverDog]

Yeah, when I fell asleep, it was 13-3 in the 4th and I thought the game was over as the Rams offense hadn't done squat. Just finished watching it.

As JS noted, this was one of those games that we need to keep an eye on as we head down the stretch as they're critical to Denver's draft slotting. The Bears and Texans are the only two teams that have 3 or fewer wins. If the Broncos win another game, then the Colts, Jags, Panthers, Saints, Cards, and Rams suddenly become relevant to the slotting.

[Hawktawk]

Yeah let Baker Bake Another utterly weird snapshot of the wierdest season ever. The Raiders are the most talented 5 win team in the league by far. Maybe Mcdaniel should be fired for just how much this team has underachieved. The idiot D lineman slapping the ball out of Mayfield's hands is probably the only reason they got it in there. 25 yard swing after the flag.
Ill take it.

I think its fools gold betting on the guy but my guess we see mayfield next time around.

[govandals]

Yeah let Baker Bake .

I darned near spit out my morning coffee over that... That's a good one!

[Hawktawk]

Yeah let Baker Bake .

I darned near spit out my morning coffee over that... That's a good one![/quote]
Every now and then people think I’m quite funny in person , not always online

[NorthHawk]

Don't sell yourself short. We laugh at you all the time!

[RiverDog]

Don't sell yourself short. We laugh at you all the time!

All in good fun!

[NorthHawk]

I was just joking. But the line was out there ready to be crossed and I would have said it to my own mother if that was the conversation.

[RiverDog]

The idiot D lineman slapping the ball out of Mayfield's hands is probably the only reason they got it in there. 25 yard swing after the flag.

Which is why I'm concerned about Metcalf and his propensity to pick up stupid arse unsportsmanlike penalties. We've been lucky so far that none of them has hurt us, but if left unchecked, it's only a matter of time before he picks one up in a situation like what happened to the Raiders last night. Stupid is as stupid does.

[trents]

Yeah, when I fell asleep, it was 13-3 in the 4th and I thought the game was over as the Rams offense hadn't done squat. Just finished watching it.

As JS noted, this was one of those games that we need to keep an eye on as we head down the stretch as they're critical to Denver's draft slotting. The Bears and Texans are the only two teams that have 3 or fewer losses. If the Broncos win another game, then the Colts, Jags, Panthers, Saints, Cards, and Rams suddenly become relevant to the slotting.

Did you mean to say 3 or fewer wins?

[trents]

People have been saying all year that one of the main reasons Stafford was struggling this year was no longer having receivers that can stretch the field. They looked pretty stretchy last night. One of those perfect storm losses for the Raiders. Perfect play by the Ram's offense down the stretch combined with bone head mistakes by the Raiders. But still, I just don't know how you can explain Mayfield flawlessly executing a new system after being with the team for two days. That is just incomprehensible. What can we expect from him after a whole week of practice?

[RiverDog]

Yeah, when I fell asleep, it was 13-3 in the 4th and I thought the game was over as the Rams offense hadn't done squat. Just finished watching it.

As JS noted, this was one of those games that we need to keep an eye on as we head down the stretch as they're critical to Denver's draft slotting. The Bears and Texans are the only two teams that have 3 or fewer losses. If the Broncos win another game, then the Colts, Jags, Panthers, Saints, Cards, and Rams suddenly become relevant to the slotting.

Did you mean to say 3 or fewer wins?

Hehe. Yes, of course. I'll go back and edit it. Thanks for the correction.

[RiverDog]

People have been saying all year that one of the main reasons Stafford was struggling this year was no longer having receivers that can stretch the field. They looked pretty stretchy last night. One of those perfect storm losses for the Raiders. Perfect play by the Ram's offense down the stretch combined with bone head mistakes by the Raiders. But still, I just don't know how you can explain Mayfield flawlessly executing a new system after being with the team for two days. That is just incomprehensible. What can we expect from him after a whole week of practice?

I've never seen a performance such as what we saw from Mayfield last night. I thought that they were crazy bringing him in last night. I guess the closest I can come to is Kirk Gibson's walk off homer in the World Series or Willis Reed's performance in the NBA Finals, but those involved overcoming physical injuries, not mental preparedness.

[NorthHawk]

It was impressive for sure but he’s seen the concepts before so he wasn’t totally unfamiliar with the plays.
What was really impressive was his accuracy with receivers he’s never practiced with. We know he can throw the ball
but his touch was really good. As well, McVays Offense is quite QB friendly and I’m pretty sure he scaled it back some, too.
Nonetheless it was an unexpected positive result for the Rams.

What a way to introduce yourself to your new teammates.

[RiverDog]

It was impressive for sure but he’s seen the concepts before so he wasn’t totally unfamiliar with the plays.
What was really impressive was his accuracy with receivers he’s never practiced with. We know he can throw the ball
but his touch was really good. As well, McVays Offense is quite QB friendly and I’m pretty sure he scaled it back some, too.
Nonetheless it was an unexpected positive result for the Rams.

What a way to introduce yourself to your new teammates.

Understanding concepts is one thing, but being the quarterback that reads and calls the plays in the huddle with just seconds to digest it is a completely different monster. And in addition to the touch that you mentioned, Mayfield was on the same page as his receivers for most of the game. There wasn't any critical mistakes due to a receiver zigging when the QB thought he was zagging.

I can't recall anything even remotely similar with comparable results.

[trents]

How much did it cost the Rams to sign Mayfield? Anybody hear?

[Aseahawkfan]

I'm glad the 49ers did not get Mayfield. He may not be great, but he's better than what they have now.

[RiverDog]

How much did it cost the Rams to sign Mayfield? Anybody hear?

$1.35 million for the rest of the season. He was picked up off waivers, so he's a free agent.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2 ... n-waivers/

[RiverDog]

I'm glad the 49ers did not get Mayfield. He may not be great, but he's better than what they have now.

Hindsight is always 20/20, but I'm betting that Shanny is kicking himself in the fanny for not jumping on him. The Niners would have been a much more desirable destination looking at it from Mayfield's POV.

[Stream Hawk]

My biggest fear this week was that the 49ers would grab Baker. The dude has talent. Also this system is perfect for him. So yes, Shanahan is kicking himself!

[NorthHawk]

I think the Rams have a choice before any team with a better record like SF. Even so, it was reported that the Rams were the only team to make a claim. Maybe SF thought he would pass through waivers and then they could sign him, but who knows.

[RiverDog]

My biggest fear this week was that the 49ers would grab Baker. The dude has talent. Also this system is perfect for him. So yes, Shanahan is kicking himself!

I'm not a huge Baker Mayfield fan, but given the circumstances, he sure looked like gold last night. I'm not sure if I'd want to hitch my wagon to him long term, though.

[jshawaii22]

The Rams clubhouse video after the game looked like they just won a playoff game. That's nuts for a 4-7 team, but we'll see if Baker can continue that magic, especially in Game #17 in a few weeks.

What I can't fathom is today we have a comment from Cleveland about how it takes time to "ramp-up" their $230million Deshawn @QB, who after coming in, practicing for a few weeks looked like do-do last Sunday.

[NorthHawk]

There’s a difference in not playing for 2 years and not playing for a half season.
Watson may or may not be a good QB in Cleveland but it’s going to take a while to get acclimated.

[RiverDog]

There’s a difference in not playing for 2 years and not playing for a half season.
Watson may or may not be a good QB in Cleveland but it’s going to take a while to get acclimated.

Yeah, and at least Mayfield was able to practice with a team, something that Watson was prohibited from doing. It's probably not a fair comparison.

[Hawktawk]

It’s the biggest overreaction to a drive I’ve ever seen. He looked like crap for 55 minutes and benefitted from 2 huge penalties . Raiders played a terrible defensive scheme for the situation . It says more about McDaniels then Mayfield. I bragged on the 98 yards Geno went vs a healthy Rams D a year ago and got killed .Whatever . I hope the Rams hitch their wagon to Mayfield . I wish the 9ers had . Reality will set it soon for the fervent Mayfield possee . I’d rather face mayfield then Purdy.

[RiverDog]

It’s the biggest overreaction to a drive I’ve ever seen. He looked like crap for 55 minutes and benefitted from 2 huge penalties . Raiders played a terrible defensive scheme for the situation . It says more about McDaniels then Mayfield. I bragged on the 98 yards Geno went vs a healthy Rams D a year ago and got killed .Whatever . I hope the Rams hitch their wagon to Mayfield . I wish the 9ers had . Reality will set it soon for the fervent Mayfield possee . I’d rather face mayfield then Purdy.

It wasn't just 'a' drive. Mayfield led the Rams on two long scoring drives in the 4th quarter, the first a 17 play, 75 yard drive and the last one 98 yards in 8 plays. Obviously, penalties played a huge roll in them, but considering that Mayfield had just 48 hours to familiarize himself with the playbook and threw about 20 7-on-7 passes to his new receiving corps, it was an amazing feat that I've never seen an equivalent of.

We'll see how well he does as the last of the season plays out. Like you, I'm a long way from being on his bandwagon, but you can't help but be impressed with his results last Thursday.

[Hawktawk]

I’d call it surprising , not amazing . Mayfield is streaky . He was in a zero pressure situation . But he’s thrown 7 TDs in a college game . It’s between the ears

[RiverDog]

I’d call it surprising , not amazing . Mayfield is streaky . He was in a zero pressure situation . But he’s thrown 7 TDs in a college game . It’s between the ears

You can call it what you like, but in my book, when someone does something that is unprecedented, I call it amazing.

[trents]

I’d call it surprising , not amazing . Mayfield is streaky . He was in a zero pressure situation . But he’s thrown 7 TDs in a college game . It’s between the ears

I totally agree. Historically, he hasn't been able to sustain that same level of focus and effort over the course of a season that we saw Thursday night.

One of the play by play announcers made an interesting observation in the fourth quarter of that Thursday night game. He said something like it looks as though Baker was not trying to think too much but just reacting to what he was seeing such that it freed him up to be the play maker he can be. I think he might have something there. I think that could be said about Russ Wilson as well.

[RiverDog]

One of the play by play announcers made an interesting observation in the fourth quarter of that Thursday night game. He said something like it looks as though Baker was not trying to think too much but just reacting to what he was seeing such that it freed him up to be the play maker he can be. I think he might have something there. I think that could be said about Russ Wilson as well.

I had a similar thought. Perhaps the game isn't as complicated as we all think it is. Are they trying to re-invent the wheel? Have these offenses been over-engineered as if they're in a Rube Goldberg contest? Sure, Mayfield obviously has a good knowledge background to draw from, but I got the impression that he was playing playground football, just winging it.

The Rams get 11 days off before their next game vs. the Packers. It will be interesting to see how Mayfield performs with a little more familiarity with the playbook and his teammates.

[trents]

I had a similar thought. Perhaps the game isn't as complicated as we all think it is. Are they trying to re-invent the wheel? Have these offenses been over-engineered as if they're in a Rube Goldberg contest? Sure, Mayfield obviously has a good knowledge background to draw from, but I got the impression that he was playing playground football, just winging it.

Makes you wonder, doesn't it. The Rube Goldberg, highly tuned, highly nuanced offensive schemes being deployed by most NFL teams might work fine for the cerebral types like Brady but not for the intuitive play-maker types like Mayfield. Maybe one size doesn't fit all.

[NorthHawk]

What McVay and Shanahan type Offenses do is have a lot of glitter going on but simple plays. That makes it a QB friendly Offense as the QB is keying on only a few things while a whole lot of distraction is going on.
If a QB has played in an Offense from that tree then the basic idea of how they are going to attack a Defense is familiar but the verbiage is or can be a lot different. This is where I give Mayfield a lot of credit. He
had to learn a whole new language quickly and be able to convey it in the huddle. I'm not sure how he did the protection packages, but I suspect his Center was a big help.
But when the play is called, all he really had to do was determine the best matchup and take a shot. The winning TD was just like that - the Defense went to a Man Defense and it left his WR one on one with a rookie DB.
When the Safety shaded away from that side of the field all Mayfield had to do was make the throw. He said as much after the game and it's obvious when you see the replay. And it's what he did all game long.
What it does suggest is the DC in LV did not have a good game calling the Defenses, but again, credit to the Rams and Mayfield for taking advantage of it.

[RiverDog]

What McVay and Shanahan type Offenses do is have a lot of glitter going on but simple plays. That makes it a QB friendly Offense as the QB is keying on only a few things while a whole lot of distraction is going on.

Did you guys see the interview with Cooper Kupp last season asking him to break down the route he ran on a TD pass that went viral for his highly technical and very detailed answer? If not, here it is:

https://twitter.com/TL_LARams/status/14 ... defense%2F

Is it possible that McVay's offense relies more on receivers making the reads and the quarterback just reading the receiver, in other words, that the receivers are the ones that do all the thinking?

[NorthHawk]

Receivers have multiple options depending on what the defenders do. From simple things like if the defender takes an inside position the WR runs an out, but if he takes an outside position he goes in.
What Kupp said was basically that point. He saw what the Defense was doing and ran the play to take advantage of that. It's important that the QB and WR be on the same page and is why sometimes we see QBs throwing to
defenders with no WR in sight - one player saw one type of Defense and the other player saw it differently. Which makes it impressive that Mayfield made so few mistakes.

[jshawaii22]

There’s a difference in not playing for 2 years and not playing for a half season.
Watson may or may not be a good QB in Cleveland but it’s going to take a while to get acclimated.

Yeah, and at least Mayfield was able to practice with a team, something that Watson was prohibited from doing. It's probably not a fair comparison.

That's not 100% true in either case.
Nothing stopped him from working out on his own, throwing, running, conditioning, etc. He chose not to.

He was allowed to practice with the team throughout pre-season before his actual suspension started and then he had the last 2 or 3 weeks to practice with the team ahead of coming out of suspension. That's a lot more time then 48 hours for Baker.

Personally, it says more of the 2 men. Baker seems to view this as his 'last chance' and with $230m in his pocket, Watson doesn't need to care. Who put more effort into the first chance to play?

[RiverDog]

There’s a difference in not playing for 2 years and not playing for a half season.
Watson may or may not be a good QB in Cleveland but it’s going to take a while to get acclimated.

Yeah, and at least Mayfield was able to practice with a team, something that Watson was prohibited from doing. It's probably not a fair comparison.

That's not 100% true in either case.
Nothing stopped him from working out on his own, throwing, running, conditioning, etc. He chose not to.

He was allowed to practice with the team throughout pre-season before his actual suspension started and then he had the last 2 or 3 weeks to practice with the team ahead of coming out of suspension. That's a lot more time then 48 hours for Baker.

Personally, it says more of the 2 men. Baker seems to view this as his 'last chance' and with $230m in his pocket, Watson doesn't need to care. Who put more effort into the first chance to play?

OK, fair enough. But I still don't think it's a good comparison.

IMO both players, Watson and Mayfield, have something to play for besides money. Both have suffered from a fall from grace not too much different in scale than what we're seeing from Russell.

[Hawktawk]

Russ working hard is a myth . When you spend the off season in a lear jet , skip
Preseason , hang out at your condo in Cabo tweeting “ keep working “on bye week . He’s done and he doesn’t seem to care . Why should he ? 160 million reasons not to care .
I don’t know much about Watsons work ethic . I know he’s a creep that was enabled by the Texans for years . Kind of like I had a “sense” about issues in Seattles locker room and a sense russ might REALLY struggle in Denver I feel the same about Watson . I think he’s a cockroach with a flashlight on him . and if I’m right I’ll be much happier than I’ve been about Russ . Watson should be gone . It’s evil the man has a quarter billion . I hope he makes Cleveland look far worse than Denver . They already do in lots of ways . Say what you will there weren’t moral issues with Russ .
I gotta see a little more of let Baker Bake . Looking forward to seeing Brock Purdy vs Tom Brady . I suspect we may have a 3rd feel good story at qb In the division .

[c_hawkbob]

Russ working hard is a myth

I've been trying to stay away from your blatant Russ hate but this is just a lie. Nobody that Russ has ever played with or for has ever said that he was anything but one of the hardest working players they'd ever been associated with. He may well have hit his wall (though I doubt it) but this is just makin' sh!t up. Kicking a man while he's down is bad enough, but lying to make the kick that much harder is just embarrassing. I'd say you're better than that but the way you've acted this year I'm not so sure that you are anymore.