The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Mayfield a great backup plan
Takeaways from the preseason game between the Browns and Lions on Aug. 30 at Ford Field in Detroit:
• It was only a preseason game, and the Browns’ backups were playing against the Lions’ backups, but two words illustrate how much better the Browns are with Baker Mayfield as the backup quarterback: Cody Kessler.
Mayfield started for the Browns because first team quarterback Tyrod Taylor and most of the other starters had the night off.
There never has been a ques- tion about Mayfield’s arm. What has been most impressive about the way he played in the first three preseason games, and again when facing the Lions, is the way he was always in control.
Kessler, a third-round pick in 2016, was the backup to rookie DeShone Kizer. Kessler always played as though he was looking for the fire exit and couldn’t find it.
Mayfield came out gunning against the Lions and connected with tight end Devon Cajuste for a 41-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage. He put 17 points on the board on his first three possessions.
General Manager John Dorsey, when explaining what he liked about Mayfield as a college quarterback at Oklahoma, pointed out how Mayfield always kept his eyes downfield when the pass protection broke down.
Mayfield has demonstrated that trait every time in each preseason game.
Mayfield completed 9 of 16 passes for 138 yards against the Lions. He did not throw a touchdown pass or interception and he wasn’t sacked. He ran only once and gained two yards. Barring injury to Taylor, Mayfield won’t see the field in a game in the regular season if Coach Hue Jackson holds to his plan to start Taylor throughout 2018.
• Tim Couch completed his first summer as the analyst for Browns preseason games when the clock in Ford Field read 0:00. I thought he was much better than his predecessor, Solomon Wilcots, though not as good as Bernie Kosar
when Kosar had the analyst role.
Couch, the first pick of the 1999 draft by the Browns, played five seasons for them at the beginning of the expansion era. He saw the game against the Lions through Mayfield’s eyes and Taylor’s eyes without talking about himself. How refreshing. Couch wasn’t bashful about criticizing the Browns when they deserved it.
• Did anyone else think referee Alex Kemp resembles Jimmy Kimmel?
• The pressure on bubble players in the final preseason game is immeasurable. Some rise above it and some are crushed by it.
Matthew Dayes, trying to earn a job as the fourth running back, caught one pass for 30 yards and
rushed five times for 70 yards with Mayfield at quarterback. He broke through a hole in the middle of the line for a 42yard touchdown.
Dayes also made a tackle on a punt by Britton Colquitt after a one-yard return by the Lions.
• Cajuste is another bubble player. He caught one other pass (seven yards) in the first half to go with his 41-yard reception, but he also dropped a pass he got both hands on. He is competing with Seth DeValve for a roster spot. DeValve has battled a quadriceps injury most of the preseason.
DeValve caught 33 passes last season after catching 10 as a rookie in 2016. Fans have taken a liking to Cajuste because he was featured on an episode
of “Hard Knocks.” But that won’t mean a thing when Dorsey cuts the roster to 53 on Sept. 1.
• Rookie left guard Austin Corbett worked more than any other Browns player in preseason. He played 77 percent of the offensive snaps against the Giants, all 62 snaps against the Bills and all 71 snaps against the Eagles. He put in another long night against the Lions.
Head coach Hue Jackson and offensive line coach Bob Wylie must believe Corbett needs the heavy workload to be ready to face the Steelers in the season opener Sept. 9 at FirstEnergy Stadium.