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CLEVELAND, Ohio – Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt knew Baker Mayfield was serious the moment he set foot in the indoor training facility on Wednesday afternoon.
“When I walked in, [Mayfield was in] a little brooding and just a different day so I could tell he was locked up and ready to go, ” Van Pelt said Thursday as the Browns waited for their facility to reopen after another COVID-shutdown. 19 so that they can practice again. “He was very lively. He was laser focused. He tore up every bullet he threw and bounced one off a helmet that had just been shot. He was locked up. ”
Van Pelt, a former NFL quarterback, said the session – closed to media when moved indoors – was incredible.
“He threw the ball with extreme precision,” he said. “Everything was perfect. I think he had the perfect day of practice. We didn’t have a long practice, but he was perfect, and yes, statistically, yes.
Van Pelt said he expected Mayfield to rebound on Sunday in the ‘win-win’ game against the Steelers after groping three times in the 23-16 loss to the Jets, twice on tape and once over a quarter-and-inch sneak the 16 of the Jets with 1:18 to play. After the game, Mayfield said “I failed on the team” and left his press conference after answering a question.
“Obviously, expect him to bounce back,” Van Pelt said. “It probably wasn’t his best game – he would be the first to tell you. Obviously he’s kicking himself for the fumble there at the end. He’s a guy who resists. He has had his back to the wall several times during his career and he comes out swaying.
“This is what we expect from him. He was great in the meetings. We had some really good meetings, a little longer than normal at this point, just to make sure everything is detailed and that we could not meet until later yesterday. ”
Mayfield’s mockery continued in his press conference on Wednesday, when asked if he would channel his anger at himself to the Steelers.
“No I thought I was probably going to use it as a disadvantage and maybe drop the ball four more times, I don’t know,” Mayfield said sarcastically.
Mayfield may be in a better mood later Thursday when his top four receivers return to COVID-19 reserve roster training: Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones and KhaDarel Hodge, who were all close contacts linebacker BJ Goodson and never tested positive.
For Landry, it was his first failed game of his career after 110 straight games, some of which he played in excruciating pain. This season alone, he came back early from hip surgery and played through two broken tears suffered in the victory over the Colts in Week 5.
“I’m sure it killed him,” Van Pelt said. “It’s tough as a player and you’re a competitive guy like him and what he means to this team. For him not to be there personally, I’m sure it was difficult for him. It was really hard not to have him there as an offense as well. Really happy to bring him back to the building.
Mayfield got more good news on Thursday when a report surfaced that Steelers Pro Bowl defensemen TJ Watt and Cam Heyward would not be in the game.
“It’s part of the deal this time of year, but it’s not really about them,” Van Pelt said. “It’s about us and our focus on our job and what we need to accomplish. It’s a decision they’ve made – we’ll see – but at the same time, not really focused on who won’t be in there. We’re really focused on who we are, what we’re going to do, what we’re trying to accomplish.
Van Pelt noted that the Steelers are deeply defensive and sound schematic even without Watt and Heyward.
“Obviously, they’re a very talented group,” he said. “You take two first-round players out of the mix, and you still have a group of first-round players on that defense. Again, it’s about us. It’s about improving our technique, our fundamentals, protecting the quarterback and getting the ball out, the pace and the time, and all of those things play a role.
Van Pelt wasn’t the only one who noticed that Mayfield got a scowl at the Steelers at first.
“He was locked up,” running back Nick Chubb said. “He was focused. He didn’t say much. He was going there, training hard and guiding us. It is more or less that.”
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