Look, Jets: How do you prepare for Baker Mayfield as opposed to Tyrod Taylor anyway?
You really can't. Tyrod, you overwhelm, because you know he's not going to find the right guy in time very often. Do you think that will work on Mayfield?
Is your answer to drop seven and try to cover everybody? Send four guys after him? Hell, he can hit a flea in the ass at twenty yards! Yeah just try that!
Try to make him throw to his left, or to his right? Get him "off his mark"?
I keep telling you this: Baker Mayfield doesn't have any exploitable tendancies or weaknesses. PFF can't find any. John Gruden can't either (well okay John never met a quarterback he didn't like, but his critique of Mayfield was merely accurate).
About all the Raiders can do vs Mayfield in particular is screw up and re-route his receivers. A sneaky safety can always take a deliberately false step to get a rookie to throw it where he wants; stuff like that.
But blitzing corners and safeties, like the Jets did to Tyrod? Well, you might make him eat it a couple times yeah, but he'll also burn you a couple times. And pick the receiver; any of them could turn that into a touchdown because your fast guys are in the backfield.
The Browns offensive line has had protection issues, but it's kind of understandable with an undrafted raw rookie left tackle.
I read one critique which knocked JC Tretter and Darren Fells for some of these problems.
I respect this analyst. But Fells is trying to protect Harrison's edge, and the Jets blitzes came mainly through the a-gaps and from the strong side, and (as I mentioned) they were little fast people.
I'm not sure if a center can call a safety "the mike", or if in Haley's offense the quarterback makes that call anyway...
But this analyst studies films and knows his stuff, so I might be wrong.
Regardless, these issues should get resolved as communication and integration improves. Clearly, the Browns offensive line wasn't ready for six-man rushes with two back end players coming (over and over again).
...ok I just can't leave it there: The running back is responsible for "leakage" or safeties or cornerbacks, see? The Big Uglies have the front seven guys.
There are normally four or five BIG people trying to nail the quarterback, and most defensive lines have at least one defensive lineman who requires double-teams.
Hell, Fells has been playing as much as he has to "funnel" the "edge" at or inside Harrison, so that...too deep sorry--but anyway I can't blame Tretter (or the running back) for not picking up TWO lilipution back end blitzers, down after down!
Jim Miller would tell you: "That's on the quarterback. They're taking two back end guys out of coverage, so you've got single coverage everywhere, and if it's a cornerback, that receiver is your hot read, and you see it right away. You have to hit your hot guy if you don't have time for anything else."
The timing of the Mayfield Era is pretty good, as Ogbah and Kirksey should be ready for the Raiders.
As Mary Kay notes, seven of Jarvis Landry's eight receptions (in slightly over one HALF) were from Mayfield.
How will the Raiders defend that? Double cover Landry? You mean leave Callaway one on one?
You got issues, Raiders: The Mayfield effect:
It's not just his superior (and possibly unprecedented) accuracy, but the response of the players around him.
I'll BET you Njoku stops dropping passes (and that Mayfield will HIT him; giving him a chance to redeem himself---see that's part of the magic: "I know you can do it. I want to lean on you. Just catch it before you do anything else" (helmet-slap)).
Every player on this team wants in on this. Hyde and Chubb probably want to be Beast-Mode. Duke Johnsom wants to be David Johnson.
The whole defense has to be fired up. They're leading the league in turnovers, and have seen all those converted into...ten points!?!
With all due respect to Tyrod Taylor, "that shit's over now! He gonna score!"
Permabashers will of course urge us all to pump our brakes. They will remind us that Mayfield is short. They'll point out his almost-interception and his strip (well the last two are legit).
They'll remind us of all the failed Browns quarterbacks and the annual optimism followed by crashes on the rocks.
It's all bullshit:
The 2018 Browns, quarterbacked by Tyrod Taylor, would have beat the Steelers and the Saints (in New Orleans) had their kicker not screwed up.
Beating the 2018 Jets was not a major achievement, but coming back from 14 points down was.
2017, and everything preceding that, is irrelevant.
My pal E, during the Jets game (after Mayfield had taken over and screwed up (but lucked out), said "I've got that old feeling again."
I said "You mean that Kardiak Kidz feeling?"
The Cleveland Browns are not cursed. There's no "loser-juice" in the water. The coaches are about 40% new and the players are at least 35% new and the new GM...well he's John Dorsey. Heard of him?
And if you think Baker Mayfield isn't the best quarterback in the last several drafts, you don't get it.
The 2018 Browns should whup the 2018 Raiders handily with Mayfield at quarterback, obviously.
More importantly, they should SWEEP THE AFC NORTH (*well if this new kicker doesn't get rediculously bad*).
Ah, shaddap!
1: The 2018 Browns are the most talented team in this Division. That's my opinion, and is debatable, but I say there are NO holes in this roster, and depth everywhere, and a preponderance of young/ascending players, with exactly zero overrated over-the-hill players.
2: Baker Mayfield (you'll have to trust me on this one) might be a "short" rookie, but he already can/will go toe-to-toe with Dalton/Flacco/Roethsenberger right tf NOW.
3: Todd Haley made Big Ben, Antonio Brown, and Ebineezer Bell who they WERE.
The Steelers just outshot the Bucs at home, so they're still scary (hat-tip to their coordinators), but my point on Haley is that he can do for the Browns what he did for the Steelers (and the Greatest Show on Turf)
4: If you think this Gregg Williams defense is a "mirage" or something, you're mentally impaired. I don't think Gregg Williams ever had this much talent before in his carreer.
DEAL with it! Hell, he's got too MANY players he wants on the field! He can run any defense he wants down-by-down, and he doesn't have to blitze so much for once!
I'll avoid the weeds here, but the guys who have bashed Williams for backing Garrett into coverage occasionally don't get it...ok nevermind...
5: See WHO THEY went 1-1-1 against! With which quarterbacks!
Think with your BRAIN.
I HAVE SPOKEN.
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