Baker Mayfield: The Good And Bad Against Ravens

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield certainly wasn't the reason the team lost the game against the Baltimore Ravens, but the expectation is he's ready to take a step forward to being a signal caller that can lead his team to wins and he didn't do that either.

Overall, his performance was fine with both positives and negatives to see in his play. Some of the concerns are legitimate entering his third season in the NFL and some are hopefully a product of the shortened offseason and lack of preseason.

Good: Mayfield made a number of impressive throws, especially to David Njoku and Jarvis Landry.

There were a number of plays that were reminiscent of the Mayfield that played in 2018, going down the field and putting receivers in position to succeed.

Bad: Mayfield wasn't as accurate as he can be. There were some passes that simply weren't placed well. Worse, the ball came out of his hand poorly on a number of throws.

While I can't speak to Mayfield's exact issues based simply on tape, my experience is that this tends to happen when quarterbacks tend to try to overthrow with their arm, not utilizing the strength in their lower body and core to generate power on throws.

And most of the time, it's counterintuitive, actually making throw weaker due to the drag caused by the lack of a tight spiral and the revolutions on the ball. Some quarterbacks can fall into a trap where the harder they throw, the worse it gets.

This seems like something that should be corrected and improve immediately, because while it may not be easy to identify in the moment, it's certainly something they can see on tape and evaluate to correct.

Good: Mayfield got out of plays that he simply wouldn't have in 2019. He wasn't inclined to try to make plays work that were already problematic.

Bad: Some of the plays he was getting out of were caused because he didn't make the proper read initially, missing the opportunity to make a play.

There were a number of times where Mayfield simply didn't look comfortable in what he was seeing and reading. His internal clock went off and he got out of the play. With game reps under his belt, this will hopefully improve.

Good: Mayfield's mobility was significantly better than last year. He's far lighter on his feet and quicker.

Bad: The offensive line protected really well and yet Mayfield dropped his eyes on multiple drop backs, looking at the pass rush.

Nothing good happens when a quarterback is looking at the pass rush. My hope is that this was caused by a lack of live reps for Mayfield. I really don't know if Mayfield has taken any hits this offseason before the game against the Ravens.

It almost seemed like he needed a clean lick to get himself accustomed to it and just play the game. Hopefully seeing the tape will help him realize the protection was solid and he can keep his eyes down the field looking for plays, because if that becomes a habit, it will absolutely limit how ceiling.

I don't want to make this game a tipping point one way or the other for Mayfield. This unique offseason impacted multiple quarterbacks that played their first game this season. The fact it's a short week makes it that much more difficult to make lasting judgments.

What I would say is the game against Washington in two weeks is critical for Mayfield. He will have eight quarters under his belt and be accustomed to the start of this year. Mayfield did a number of things well against the Ravens and if he expands on those, he will be an excellent quarterback this year.

If the concerns that might be a symptom of this unique season linger, then it will raise questions about Mayfield's viability for the long haul.

Teams tend to make their biggest improvement from week one to week two and with no preseason, that could be dramatic for teams like the Browns. The short week might make it more likely to be week three in that regard for the Browns, but whatever concerns a team thought they might have, that first game can really put a fine point on them. It's more difficult to live a lie when the team just got mauled 38-6 in the opening game.

My inclination is to believe in Mayfield getting it right. We've seen him play at an incredibly high level in the NFL. He is going to work hard to make those corrections and play better. Nevertheless, the concerns are there and are worth keeping an eye on as the team moves forward.