SI- The interview schedule includes a room number—not a team name—but prospects at the scouting combine are given a map of which team would be in which room for the 15-minute sessions. So by the time Baker Mayfield arrived for his interview with the Browns, he was prepared to meet head coach Hue Jackson and GM John Dorsey. He just wasn’t anticipating what happened next. Right off the bat, before the handshakes and intros, and before the Heisman trophy winner sat down, Dorsey in his booming Southern Maryland drawl fired one across the bow. “So you like food trucks?” Early last year, Mayfield was arrested after fleeing while being questioned by the police over a fight that occurred amidst a cluster of food trucks in Fayetteville, Ark. With Dorsey’s jab, everyone had a nice laugh at Mayfield’s expense, Mayfield included. Then they got down to business. ------- You know what, I actually like this move. That may run slightly contrary to what I said here, but - seeing as he didn't get caught drunkenly blowing a dude behind a dumpster the night prior to a game - there was really no basis for wondering where Derrius Guice fell on the scale of sexual fluidity. The same can't be said for Baker Mayfield's apparent proclivity for eating on the move, since a congregation of food trucks served as the audience for the fight he eventually failed miserably to flee.. So, while I'd prefer NFL teams err on the side of asking relevant questions to the players they are trying to mentally dissect, I'm totally cool with them asking a seemingly irrelevant one if it's intended at both introducing the elephant into the room and giving it a seat at the table. I am a little surprised it came from an organization like the Browns, that's provided no shortage of equally embarrassing ammo with their long, decorated history of quarterback flops and follies. Still, all things considered, using a rhetorical question (everyone loves food trucks) was a fairly clever way to reference a very valid concern. Not sure why it's such a rarity for teams to address prospective employees in a relatable manner that encourages them to open up, as opposed to addressing them in a confrontational manner that pushes them into a corner where they are liable to start protecting their image. Oh well, credit to the one organization that's figured out how counterproductive that can be...even if it's because said organization is all too familiar with running counter to productive.
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