Per MKC, Breshard Perriman (and Robinson, and Higgins) attribute most of their recent carreer revivals to Mayfield's "confidence" in them.
I've been a boss a lot in my life, and I might add a very good one. Without going into detail, I was good at not being an asshole, and getting my peeps to cooperate (and ostracize those who didn't).
But Mayfield is special. That's the "charisma" part. Tell me: Why did Perriman stop dropping passes? Why did Robinson suddenly become a servicable left tackle?
How did Higgins become a deep threat? How did Callaway remember how to catch (and learn to run precise short patterns)?
Freddie Kitchens deserves a lot of credit for scheming guys open and strategic stuff, but I have to give Punkfield credit for a lot of this.
No listen: It's almost trancendental. Baker taps these guys with his magic wand and they get better!
"He has confidence in me"...somehow, that's all it takes!
Well it's a little deeper than that: The standards are raised, along with expectations. Nobody wants to get left behind.
Callaway just saw Coleman dumped--then Gordon.
Punkfield is exploiting this. I said he was childish and classless, but I never said he wasn't smart.
Punker is not just throwing pinpoint passes and salvaging broken plays, but he's also making the rest of the team better.
Make no mistake: Nick Chubb is a stud, but Punker Punkfield is THE one player who has turned this team around.
Greg Robinson is better than he was, but Punker makes him look better as he evades passrushers that beat him. He makes Higgins and Perriman look better because he sees the whole field and his only favorite receiver is the open reciever (the deeper the better).
Punker gave Perriman a chance. He caught the pass. So he threw to him again.
It's not that complicated! Punker will throw to people who don't drop passes! He likes underdogs, because he was one himself.
"Bring me your poor, your weak, your first round busts and no-names, and I will win with them."
When Jackson and Dorsey were fired, the bar was immediately raised.
Credit Kitchens with running a common sense offense and unleashing Punkfield, but it was Punker who took it from there.
They see his decisive pinpoint passes. They see him evade pressure, buy extra time, and as often as not pull off a big play when things break down.
This is the "uncharted" part of a quarterback's influence on a team:
The linemen don't have to protect him all day, and see how he bails them out when they're beaten. The receivers see how nearly every pass is on the money and on-time.
The least they can do is their jobs, right? And more!?! This is how a great quarterback elevates all the players around him: He raises the bar.
I look forward to the eventual adult version of Punker Punkfield. He'll be even better once his teammates aren't getting emarrassed by him, and the guys on NFL Radio can talk about how good he is instead of what a punk he is.
Solomon Wilcotts said it: He'd like to talk about all the great stuff Baker Mayfield has done, and he's forced to talk about this childish "stare-down" in particular, and his abuse of Hue Jackson in general.
Solly never said it, but I heard it: GROW UP.
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