What I hear about Baker, offense and defense reimagined – Terry’s Talkin ‘Browns

CLEVELAND, Ohio – There’s so much talk about the Browns, especially Baker Mayfield. So here’s what I heard from NFL sources:

ABOUT MAYFIELD

1. Mayfield has a tear in the labrum of his left shoulder. It’s not a complete tear. It’s frayed, which happens when your shoulder pops out and you push it back in. Many athletes have partial labral tears. It can hurt. It’s not funny. But it’s not always a serious injury.

2. Former NFL QB, Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said, “It’s just a discomfort. If you play long enough in this league you’re going to have labrum issues at some point.

3. Mayfield and the Browns insist that his poor performance in the 14-7 win at Minnesota was just that – a bad game. His sore left (non-pitcher) shoulder isn’t the reason he missed a wide-open Demetric Felton for a first down early in the third quarter. Instead, Mayfield was sacked and partially landed on his left shoulder. It was one of Mayfield’s many bad decisions.

4. When coach Kevin Stefanski said he had to “do a better job” calling plays for Mayfield, he was right. As Van Pelt said, “These are comfortable games, concepts you have, easy games and easy throws for him. This is something that we always try to do as a staff to find easy endings.

5. Last week they should have tried harder. Or maybe those games got canceled, but Mayfield was looking for the biggest payout. If so, put yourself on Mayfield’s ear and tell him to get in shape and play smarter.

6. The Browns can be a great play-action team. Whenever it looks like the ball will be in the hands of Kareem Hunt or Nick Chubb, defenses need to be careful. This gives Mayfield more time to throw – and more open receivers.

7. A sore shoulder is no excuse Mayfield for holding the ball too long. This is not just my opinion. Van Pelt explained: “There was a sack attributed to the offensive line. Bake had two on his own where the ball had to come out. … I think [the offensive line is] protect well.

8. I have admired the Van Pelt franchise since his first press conference in 2020. Van Pelt discussed the need for Mayfield to change his footwork. Now he’s challenging Mayfield to see the field better, to throw smarter shots. When Mayfield was at his lowest point in the middle of last season, Van Pelt proclaimed “the arrow is pointing up.” He was right.

9. Stefanski said: “We want to be better at the passing game. We want to be more explosive in the passing game. We will have opportunities to improve. That’s what this week is for, to make sure we’re on the same page.

10. Conclusion: There is no reason to panic or have major doubts about Mayfield. He’s a good QB who has already led this team to the playoffs and can start over. Almost every QB gets screwed and has games where his confidence is a bit shaken. The real challenge is how it bounces back.

BROWNS

1. The front office and coaching staff viewed last week’s 14-7 victory in Minnesota as a “game-changer.” They won with Mayfield having one of his worst games. Usually when a QB is horrible his team loses. It happened in Green Bay and Buffalo at the start of the season. But the Browns still managed to win.

2. A year ago, Andrew Berry’s front office pumped a lot of money into the offense and signed one-year contracts with many veterans in the hopes of not having an embarrassing defense. The plan for 2020 was to implement a massive attack and win high scoring matches.

3. You can say that the defense has won the last two games, starting with a 26-6 victory over Justin Fields and the Bears, and then victory over Minnesota. The Browns have allowed just one touchdown in two games. While the Lions are a lousy team, Fields led Chicago to a 24-14 victory and the Bears scored three touchdowns.

4. The reshuffled defensive line with Jadeveon Clowney and the two Maliks (Jackson and McDowell) joining Myles Garrett had an impact. You can see the increased speed with rookie linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (JOK), Grant Delpit (playing his freshman), John Johnson III, Greg Newsome II and Greedy Williams (finally healthy).

5. These ratings are always subjective, but Profootballfocus (PFF) ranks the Browns’ defense 2nd – behind Buffalo. Football Outsiders ranks them third – behind Buffalo and New Orleans. The LA Chargers will be a huge test, but there’s reason to believe the improvement is real.

6. The Browns want to “win games in many ways.” Special teams are now part of it with Chase McLaughlin scoring long distance goals in the clutch. Most kickers can suddenly turn cold. But fans have always appreciated the kickers sometimes more than the team’s front office.

7. McLaughlin has already scored three goals from at least 50 yards. The last kicker to do so was the great Phil Dawson, who hit 15 of 16 for over 50 yards between 2011-12.

8. The Browns try to contain their enthusiasm for JOK, but he continues to gain more playing time each week. His speed at linebacker is something the team was looking for. I’m told Odell Beckham Jr. has been very good in attitude and willingness to make the offense work.

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