About Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold and without disappointment – Browns Pregame Scribbles

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Write in my notebook while 10-4 Browns face 1-13 New York Jets:

1. Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold were the first two QBs chosen in the 2018 draft. Mayfield was No. 1 for the Browns, Darnold was No. 3 chosen by the Jets. I forgot that the New York Giants chose Saquon Barkley as No. 2. The running back played just two games before suffering a knee injury at the end of the season.

2. After three years, there are big doubts about Darnold as an NFL QB holder. The Jets are 12-24 in the games where he started. He completed 60 percent of his passes, 42 TDs against 37 interceptions … a rating of 78.4 QB.

3. The alarming part of the story for Jets fans is how Darnold regressed. In 2019, the Jets had a record of 7-6 when he started. He had 19 TD passes against 13 interceptions. The Jets were 6-2 in the second half of the 2019 season. This is similar to what happened to Mayfield in the second half of his debut year (2018), when the Browns were 5-3.

4. But in 2020, the Jets are 1-9 with Darnold as the starter. He only has 6 TD passes against 9 interceptions. Meanwhile, Mayfield is on the rise in his third season: a record of 10-4, 25 TDs against 8 interceptions. He is completing 64 percent of his passes, his career record.

5. Sometimes it is a matter of coaching. Kevin Stefanski and Offensive Coordinator Alex Van Pelt changed some of Mayfield’s throwing mechanics. They built a strong offensive line and racing game.

6. Van Pelt on Mayfield and the coaches: “It takes time … the more open he is to coaching, the more we coaches are open to his ideas … If there is constant communication, (it produces) constant trust. This can happen now … Baker is really on the same page as the coaching staff … He’s performing at a high level. “

7. I was talking to an NFL executive about Ryan Tannehill improving dramatically in Tennessee in almost the same attack that the Browns now use. The executive said, “That was a factor, but it didn’t hurt to be away from Adam Gase.”

8. Now the Jets’ coach, Gase was the head coach in Miami for part of Tannehill’s time with the Dolphins. Over the years, Gase has been mentioned for the position of head coach of the Browns. He refused interviews twice. He made his reputation by working with Peyton Manning. As a coach, he had a winning season (10-6 in 2016) and that’s it. His overall record is 31-47.

9. To be fair to Gase, Tannehill was under the command of Joe Philbin (2012-15) and Gase (2016-18). His overall record in Miami was 42-46 compared to 17-7 with the Titans. But, to Van Pelt’s point, good communication and trust between coaches and QB, combined with the right system, is like finding out if QB is the right guy.

10. Because of all the coaching and impatience changes at the front office / property with the Browns, it was difficult for any QB to develop confidence. Last week, I wrote a column about how Mayfield mentioned his first discussions with GM Andrew Berry and Stefanski, and how the two men were on the same page. Mayfield said, “This was new to me.”

11. The Browns and their fans are in a position to evaluate Mayfield. That was not the case during the chaotic 2019 season. Stefanski is Mayfield’s fourth coach in three NFL seasons. Together with Berry, Stefanski and his team brought a sense of peace and purpose to the team. Darnold did not have that in New York.

12. Gase in Mayfield: “What helped him is the fact that their racing game is as good as it has been this season. He’s doing a phenomenal job in the action and play game. I think he and Jarvis (Landry) have a really good connection going on now … They did a good job trying to get everyone in the mix … These game and action passes are brutal for defenders to try to defend. “

13. Meanwhile, Darnold was written by GM Mike Maccagnan and trainer Todd Bowles. Both were fired after Darnold’s rookie. Gase hired, and supposedly he was not a big fan of Darnold in the draft. I am not sure if this is true, but these rumors happen when they are training changes, etc.

14. I wasn’t drugged with Darnold in the 2018 draft. But then again, I loved Josh Rosen. Here are my first five QBs in order: 1) Rosen. 2) Josh Allen. 3) Mayfield. 4) Darnold. 5) Lamar Jackson. Rosen has just been removed from the Tampa Bay training team by San Francisco. He was the worst of the five, which shows what I know.

15. Stefanski on Darnold: “He’s very, very athletic, he can play on the move and he can do all the moves for all areas of the field. He has a very good skill set when out of pocket, either by design or on the scrambling drill and difficult to reach the ground. Again, a very good athlete. “

16. The Jets were 0-13 before beating the Rams, 23-20. Darnold had a solid game, 22 of 31 passes for 207 yards. He had a TD pass, zero interceptions. The Jets have former Brown Breshad Perriman, who has 27 receptions for an average of 15.6 yards, three TDs.

17. Stefanski put together a videotape with some good moves from that victory over the Rams. That’s why Stefanski is praising Darnold and the Jets. The Browns have not had a game of “disappointment” throughout the season. Their four losses were against teams with record-breaking victories. This is a sign of the team’s maturity.

18. My original choice for the game was Browns 27, Jets 11. So the list of “close contacts” revealed that the Browns would not have four receivers: Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, KhaDarel Hodge and Donovan Peoples-Jones. They are also without linebackers BJ Goodson and Jacob Phillips. I have no idea how to choose.

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