There’s a game this Sunday, the Bengals vs. the Browns and of course, I’m going to watch, it’s the Browns for the last time this season. We all know what happened last week, no use dragging up that depression again. This Sunday will have the feel of a pre-season game, but like I said I’m watching. The interesting battle this week has been Mary Kay Cabot vs. QB Baker Mayfield. Full disclosure, Mary Kay blocked me on Twitter almost two years ago because I called her a “clickbait queen” due to an article I knew wasn’t true. She expressed a strong opinion and presented it as fact. Nope, can’t do that if you’re a member of the media.
This twitter battle royale started with Mary Kay Cabot writing an article alluding to Mayfield and head coach Kevin Stefanski not being able to coexist on the same team. Every Browns fan saw the tension on the sidelines between the two of them, but when your team is losing, I want some tension on the sidelines. Browns Twitter would have exploded if everyone on the sideline was laughing it up during a bad game. After reading the article (someone sent me the link, thus bypassing Mary Kay’s block) I was left with the impression that Mayfield would “possibly consider” a trade if there was tension between, him and Stefanski. Okay, sure, if there is tension, then yeah, he could possibly ask for a trade. Makes sense to me. Basing an article on what might happen if your assertion may be true is not a factual article. Also, the sourcing seems to be suspect. I know she can’t name her sources, however, it appears to be very open-ended.
Round two of this fight started when Baker Mayfield answered with a tweet calling the article untrue and “clickbait.” Clickbait, where have I heard that word before? It then escalated to former Browns quarterbacks taking Mayfield’s side and members of the media taking Mary Kay Cabot’s side. Add the anti-Baker, pro-Baker crowd on Twitter and it’s become a full-blown grudge match. I’m really not a fan of athletes or their family members going on social media to air their dirty laundry, but if there is no problem between Mayfield and Stefanski then I can understand. When both offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt and head coach Kevin Stefanski were asked if there was tension between the two, both didn’t hesitate to say there’s no tension. I find it odd that there’s been no confirmation from people like Adam Schefter, Chris Mortensen, Jake Trotter, Aditi Kinkhabwala, or Mayfield’s favorite insider Jay Glazer. Strange, right?
The current Browns front office does not leak. Two years ago, no one had Jack Conklin and Austin Hooper signing with the Browns. There was some speculation, but no one knew for sure. This year it was John Johnson, III and Troy Hill. The projection was a big-name defensive end would be signed first, not the best available safety and slot corner. This front office always has a plan for every contingency, and they stick to that plan. I trust GM Andrew Berry to make this team better every year. As for the assertion the Browns are back to being a dysfunctional team, I don’t see it. Losing tension, especially when a team and its fan base have high expectations. This season can’t be blamed on one person or one situation. It was a combination of things, injuries, play calling, mental mistakes, stupid mistakes, Covid, etc. The season was an error-filled cocktail.
As for the game on Sunday, as I said earlier it’s going to have the feel of a pre-season game. Some starters and mostly backups. I hope some of the young guys like WR Anthoney Schwartz, RB Demetric Felton, S Richard LeCounte and DT Tommy Togiai play more. Some starters will be playing for their roster spot and their next contract whether it’s with the Browns or some other team. I’ll always root for the Browns to win because that’s the first rule of being a Browns fan. With this front office, draft position doesn’t matter, they’ll find the right player. The one thing I’m certain of, if QB Case Keenum plays lights out, some Cleveland media member will suggest he’s the answer at quarterback for the 2022 season. We all know it’s going to happen. Everyone enjoy the game, the Browns off-season is on the horizon.