ROBBINS NEST
By Lenn Robbins
There’s more than just a little bit of irony going on here. When the Browns and Cards take the field Sunday in Cleveland, it will feature the No.1 player taken in the 2018 NFL Draft going up against the No.1 player taken in the 2019 draft.
Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield hosts Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray. Sooner vs Sooner.
Oklahoma where the QBs come rushin down the plain.
The irony? Lincoln Riley, the Oklahoma coach who mentored Mayfield and Murray, has a quarterback quandary on his hands.
The seamless transition of Mayfield to Murray to Jalen Hurts has been knocked off its path like Boomer Sooner losing a wagon wheel.
Spencer Rattler seemed to have taken the baton from Hurts but after an understandable average performance as a first-year starter, he didn’t take his game to a higher level. And last week he was replaced by Caleb Williams, who led the greatest comeback win over rival Texas in the history of the Red River Rivalry, which lived up to its moniker.
OU was down 21-0 and Rattler was 8-of-15 for 111 yards and one interception. He also scored one touchdown rushing but carried five times for minus nine yards. Enter Williams and let the shootout begin. He finished 16-of-25 for 212 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions along with four carries for 88 yards and a score. OU won 55-48 and a controversy was born.
Riley hasn’t named the starter for Saturday’s game against TCU but reports out of Norman, Okla., have Williams taking the majority of practice snaps with the first team offense.
After watching their team on Saturday, Sooner Nation will turn to the Browns-Cards game. Because there never is too much football in Oklahoma, which is a very good thing.
Mayfield’s numbers suggest he’s been very good. He’s completed 62.3-percent of his throws and thrown for 79 touchdowns and 45 interceptions. He’s also run for 504 yards and five touchdowns.
But even before he got to the NFL his persona was wearing thin. He tried to transfer from Texas Tech to OU without having to sit out a season, per Big 12 rules, claiming that the rule applied to scholarship players and he was a walkon. He lost.
Video then surfaced of him trying to run from police and getting tackled, impressively, by Arkansas cops. He was charged with public intoxication, disorderly conduct and fleeing and resisting arrest. He pled out but the video made him look the fool.
He arrived in the NFL and in 2019 became a spokesman for Progressive Insurance. A series of annoying commercials, some featuring his wife, have aired ever since:
Baker holding a garage sale. Baker getting locked out of the stadium. Baker cleaning up after guests.
Despite those stats, Mayfield’s play has fluctuated. He was very, very good last week, completing 23-of-32 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. But when the game was on the line, the Browns didn’t trust their quarterback.
Leading 42-21, Cleveland faced a third and nine from its 15. Mayfield was awful the prior week when he completed 15-of-33 passes for 155 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Browns ran the ball. They punted. Justin Herbert lead the Chargers to a 47-42 win.
Murray transferred from Texas A&M to Oklahoma, sitting out one season – without suing. He actually backed up Mayfield for one season before becoming the Sooners starter, throwing 42 TDS and seven picks.
He became the first person ever to be drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft (1st by the Cards) and MLB Draft (9th by the A’s). He chose football and was named the Offensive Rookie of the Year. Mayfield lost out to Saquon Barkley for that honor.
Murray has been nothing short of spectacular this season, completing almost 75-percent of his passes. He’s thrown for 10 touchdowns (against four picks) while rushing for another three.
The Browns (4-1) are going to win the game because they catch the Cards (5-0) at the perfect time. TE Maxx Williams is out with a knee injury as is center Rodney Hudson (ribs). OLB Chandler Jones is doubtful (COVID protocol). Murray is dealing with a shoulder injury.
Take the Browns and the 2.5 points. But take Murray for the long haul.
EAGLES +7 over Buccaneers – Somehow, Tom Brady did the spectacular last week and the reaction was, “Ho-hum.” Ho-hum? Ho-hum!!! The 44-year old threw for more than 400 yards and FIVE touchdowns for the first time in his career. Jalen Hurts is getting there. Brady is there. Hard for Bucs to stay motivated for these games.
JAGUARS +3.5 over Dolphins – It’s not as easy as reasoning the Jaguars have to win one some Sunday. The Dolphins have no running game. Which means the QB, the brittle Tua Tagovailoa, who is making his first return after a three week absence because of broken ribs, has to be spectacular. Miami wins the game. Barely.
Chiefs -7 over WASHINGTON – Patrick Mahomes is in re-evaluation mode. Clyde Edwards-Helaire is out. The defense is on life support. Perfect opportunity for the Washington Football Team. Except that defense has turned out to be awful and QB Taylor Heinicke is a gritty competitor but not an NFL starter.
+Rams -10.5 over GIANTS – Note to bettors: The early line was -6.5. It’s p to 10.5 as of this writing. It can go to 14.5 Doesn’t matter. The Giants are so banged up there isn’t an auto body shop around Citi Field that will take them. Daniel Jones has been cleared to play. We are part pleased for the young QB and part petrofied he’ll take another headshot.
COLTS -9.5 over Texans – Houston coach David Culley says the Texans have been their own worst enemy. He must have been referring to former coach Bill O’Brien, who left the biggest mess in recent NFL history. Colts crush at home.
Bengals -3.5 over LIONS – QB Joe Burrow is looking like a charter member of the NFL Young Guns Club along with Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott, Kyler Murray and that Mahomes guy in K.C. Lions QB Jared Goff was in that club but was asked to leave.
BEARS +4.5 over Packers – The Packers struggled big-time on the road last week in Cincy. Could have been all that green chili. The deep-dish pizza does them in in Chitown where that defense is relentless.
RAVENS -3 over Chargers – After a decade of use, the term “Quarterback Whisperer,” has disappeared along with Adam Gase’s head coaching career. We’re offering a special dispensation for Baltimore QB coach James Urban, who has masterfully brought out the talent known as Lamar Jackson.
PANTHERS -1 over Vikes – Is Sam Darnold the second coming of Kirk Cousins? We hope not. We believe not. But if Darnold turns in another clunker, the comparisons might start. Or did they? One difference. Darnold is incredibly likeable.
+BROWNS +2.5 over Cards – What happened to that vaunted Browns defense last week? Baker “The Commercial Maker” Mayfield played about as well as he’s capable of in last week’s loss to the Chargers. Kyler “Money” Murray is the most fascinating QB ever – a 5-10 (actually 5-9), a whirling dervish with a light sword for an arm.
BRONCOS -3.5 over Raiders – Whenever there’s a coaching change midseason it seems to go one of two ways for the interim coach: The team plays its best game of the season the first time out or said team gets its doors blown off. Just when it seemed as if the Raiders were climbing out of their Dark Hole of Dysfunction the Jon Gruden Email Fiasco drops on Raider Nation.
PATRIOTS +4 over Cowboys – Yours truly is a Dallas Cowboys fanatic and a Mike McCarthy super skeptic. Which is why when America’s Team, which is vastly more talented than the Patriots on offense, plays against the best coaching mind in history, we see a New England upset coming.
STEELERS -5 over Seahawks –There is a really sad story adding chapters in the great Northwest. Russell Wilson plays as well as any QB the first half of the season. Then he gets battered and bruised and the Hawks crash into the Pacific. Fun fact: If the deceased Big Ben and Steelers win, they could be in a three-way tie for 2nd in the AFC North.
TITANS +5.5 over Bills – We picked the Rams and Bills as our Super Bowl participants and Buffalo certainly has played like the best team in the AFC since that bizarre season-opening loss to the Steelers. But Tennessee has this guy named the Designated Hitter – Derrick Henry and he plays keep away better than anyone.
+ Best bets.
Last Week: 6-10; Best Bet: 1-0.
Season, 38-38-3; 4-1.