Baker Mayfield posting W’s but not stats

What is wrong with scoring on the ground?

As long as the team is scoring more than the opposition, why are some fans upset that not enough touchdowns are coming through the air? Why not use the most reliable athlete you have available for the situation.

Years ago, the Dallas Cowboys had an extreme situation with Troy Aikman. He made six straight Pro Bowls, and ultimately the Hall of Fame. He has the second-lowest interception percentage in history, which is extremely important. However, he never threw more than 23 touchdown passes in a single season. The main reason is that he had Emmitt Smith who had a tremendous ability to score touchdowns in the red zone for the Cowboys. So Troy Aikman was famous for being a lousy fantasy football quarterback.

Smith scored 73 TDs on the ground in the four year period when the Cowboys were the Cowboys and brought home three World Championships. Later, the team went into decline as Jerry Jones decided to mold the team in his own image and they played at a much lower level — occasionally brilliant, but also stupid sometimes.

Speaking of stupid, sometimes fans question Aikman’s inclusion in the Hall of Fame. Other quarterbacks not in the Hall of Fame have more impressive numbers. If the idea of the Hall of Fame is to accumulate statistics, if it is truly a Hall of Stats, then yeah, he does not belong. But if the idea of football is to guide a team to win the Championship, that is what the quarterback is supposed to do, and he excelled at it like few others have.

If the quarterback leads the team to three Super Bowl victories, maintains a very low interception percentage, manages a great running game, and makes the big play when called upon, that pretty much defines what the quarterback is supposed to do, does it not? As they say in Texas, you are darn tootin’ he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame! There’s nothing wrong with handing the ball off to Emmitt Smith near the goal line.

Similarly, there’s nothing wrong with giving the ball to Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. They’re stars, so give them the ball. Don’t worry about Mayfield’s stats, just draft some other quarterback for your fantasy team.

This isn’t to say that Mayfield is at the level of Troy Aikman. No, no, that is not the point. It’s to say, however, that if Aikman did not put up giant numbers, Mayfield might not either, but that does not prove that he is doing a terrible job. The job of the quarterback is to lead the team, and if it means leading a running team instead of a run and shoot team, so be it. The dreams of compiling big stats should be set aside.

Football is not about stats, it should be about beating your opponent. If Mayfield can lead the Browns to the playoffs, and especially if he can beat the Steelers and Ravens, they should name a street after him. After so many losing seasons, who cares what style they use to win? To borrow a line from Al Davis, but just win, baby. Any way that works is fine.

If this needs to be a running team, that is awesome. If someone’s fantasy team suffers because of it, well, go draft another fantasy quarterback.