DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2018 NFL Season Looking Back: Browns 21 Jets 17 What I saw game 3

I forgot to mention Landry in my previous post. I love how he plays w/an edge. He's always getting after it. Never takes a play off. Fiercely competitive.

While he drop a pass, he more than made up for it w/a couple of beautiful grabs. That one catch down by the goal line was superb.

Callaway's speed is for real. Hope the dude can stay out of trouble. He could be very good for us.

Am i the only one who loved the nine yard rumble by Bitonio? Even tho it was called back ( something about being within the last two minutes?) I thought that was a great heads up play and was impressed. Hmm...maybe a goal line package with Corbett a LG and Bitonio carrying the ball? Kinda joking but maybe not.

If you saw the video in the postgame of Joe Thomas on the sidelines losing his freaking mind when Bitonio was making that play.. it's safe to say, NO, you were not the only one excited by that.. even though it didn't count.

One more thought on Landry. Remember the play he made when Taylor was still in the game. He went past the first down marker, came back for the pass, made a nifty catch, got his feet down, and then jumped freaking sideways w/the ball extended to pick-up the first down.

That was freaking incredible!!!

Great play by Landry.

They also showed a replay of Callaway running wide open down the field on that same play.

Landry's effort can't be diminished, though.

It sounded like Landry was getting a little emotional during his press conference when talking about Baker coming into the game. Love to see that kind of passion from a player.

Not saying he’s a good QB, but the last time I saw a night/day difference in OL execution with a QB switch was the game Charlie Frye was replaced by Derek Anderson. I think it was against Pittsburgh.

Hmmm...I guess they didnt notice the scoreboard either lol

I like to think that Callaway would have been celebrating 6 on that deep pass down the seem ... If Baker would have been on the other end and not TT missing short.

I anticipate seeing that connection in the weeks to come.

j/c
I saw a team play two completely halves, I was at the Saints game last week and if TT could throw a consistent long ball we would have had a commanding lead.
Which leads me into yesterdays game.

Once again TT could not throw the ball down field, as mentioned earlier even his drop back is slow which every milliseconds matters.
He missed Calloway on a post who had the DB beat by two steps

I was screaming at Njoku to make a block, that dude seems to have mental blocks that cost us big time.
Just as I was saying he needs to be benched, comes up with back to back nice catches. Just need to see more consistency.

However, all changed when BM came in the game. The fact of his quick release appeared our receivers were suddenly open.
The seam pass to Laundry was a thing of beauty. I did see Kizer do it ONCE last year, here our rookie did it in his first game.

Callaway has elite speed, I didn't realize until the Saints game and saw it on display again.
What a great throw by BM on the sideline to Callaway, he'll catch it next time!

Higgins had another good game, those are the receivers under the radar that elevate your passing game.
What a great comeback route I think on Bakers first scramble out of the pocket.

Ogunjobi once again impressed me, he had a big impact in the Saints game and again last night. Shelton who?
Have to give Sashi credit on that one!
His pressure up the middle on the second last drive caused that interception.

Speaking of turnovers, is it contagious?
Sure appears they already believe on defense. Once the offense catches up, could be a great combination.

Special teams, Ugg! I can't figure out how we are uprising on offense and defense and continue to struggle mightily on special teams.
Another block punt along w/ field goal ( previous game) giving a short field which Jets capitalized.
We just can't continue to give up bonehead plays on ST's.
Something has to change, is it the ST coach or who plays on the unit?

Baker was calm and decisive, let alone the arm strength and accuracy displayed. Add me to the list screaming during the draft.
However, I researched BM after the draft and was surprisingly impressed across the boards.
He was born to lead and it showed up last night.

Lets hope this carries over and we don't look back. Now we need time together as a team, no changes necessary other than time.

I saw a lot of things in the second half that I couldn't understand.

I saw an oline suddenly learn how to block.
I saw a bunch of WRs suddenly separate from their defenders and catch the ball.

I'm not in the Taylor fan club, nor am I a Baker hated. Quite the opposite, as Baker is our future and it's a huge positive he came in and played well. It just bothers me how differently all the players played when TT went out. I worry about them reverting back when the newness of Mayfield wears off.

skill players respond to the QB who can get them the ball. TT would almost literally not throw downfield, look how NY was unafraid to pressure Tyrod - but they were back peddling when Bake stepped in and did his thing.

Chubb needs to get serious about blocking and not just in pass protection.

He barely tried on the punt block play, poor effort.

I think you are looking at this entirely incorrectly.

When one factor changed (the QB) - and the result was positive everywhere else.... your take is that everyone else flipped a switch and played or tried harder/better ?? My take is that BM elevated everyone else by having better, quicker decisions - getting the ball out faster and being more accurate with it. That made the OL better - it prevented the D from loading 8 and 9 men in the box - heck even the play calling looked better coz the plays were executed.

I think you are short changing what BM brought to the equation, not sure if that's coz you don't like him and are one of the guys that thought he was too short and condemned his antics ?

I'll respond to that last part first. Not at all. I'm not a Baker hater. The draft is ancient history at this point. He's a Brown, and a key Brown for our future. I'm glad that our future franchise QB had a good game.

I'm just skeptical about the whole "Baker Effect" we saw in the game. I'm worried how that will work over the long term. Taylor wasn't doing the line many favors, but seemed like they were giving up lots of quick pressure as well. Baker came in and that seemed to get cleaned up. Perhaps you CAN put all of that on Baker not holding the ball as much as TT. TT was innaccurate as heck, but many of Baker's throws were a little off as well, but the receivers came up with the catch.

Again, I'm not down on the guy's game at all. I just worry that we're going to end up seeing up another young QB by putting him out there too early.

Little off?? Maybe....Jes maaaaybe a LITTLE off. He was pretty darn accurate on the vast majority of his throws. What set his receivers and OL up for success was his decision making and getting the ball out quickly, on target and to the correct read.
Was it perfect? Nope
Was it light years coming out quicker and more accurate? You bet your rear end it was.

I have watched that play at least a dozen times. It was an incredible example of individual will. Landry simply had superior "Want to" on that play.

For years, the Browns have always been one or two 'momentum moment' plays away from at least consistent .500 seasons. Here's what I mean:

Since 1999, how many Browns games were decided on the basis of a scant handful of plays? Plays like Landry's? Yeah, we suffered our share of soul-crushing blowouts, but really: how many Browns losses have been decided by 3-10 points or less? And how many times in those games did we lose our moxie because the other team made a play like Jarvis Landry's?

TONS of times is the correct answer...
...and plays like Landry's were the backbreakers that killed us, more often than not.

Dude made a circus move to extend the ball with .1 second reaction time... and he advanced the chains. At a very pivotal point in the game.

"FIRST DOWN: CLE Browns."

In a 'game of inches,' that play was massive. It helped to extend a drive that the Browns absolutely needed- just to stay in the game.

Landry has as much claim to POTG (Player of the Game) as Baker Mayfield, IMHO. He consistently produced on the receiving end of 2 QB's in the course of the game.


Oh, Oh, Oh.... and Dawg: How about that post route that Baker arced to Jarvis that landed us on the 1 yard line?

Jarvis had to grab it at The Highest Point, control the catch (with the Jets' DB extending to break up the reception), spin away from the pressure, land on the turf separated from the ball- and regain/retain possession during a back roll...

He does this stuff 2-3 times/game.
That kind of presence changes a team's culture.

Dawg, this dude was a MASSIVE FA pickup... on a team that has been famous for overpaying for middling investment returns.

Clemdawg be loving himself some Jarvis Landry.

I agree w/all of that. We have lost a ton of games due to a play here or there. Even last year, there were several games we could have won if just a few more plays were made.

I also agree that Landry is a difference maker. He is physically gifted, but he is also tough. He is helping Hue to change the culture in the locker room. Think about the video you posted where Hue was giving out game balls. The last one went to Jarvis. Think about Hard Knocks where Landry gave that speech in the WR room or when Hue had that grin on his face when Landry was starting some stuff w/his aggressive attitude.

I truly believe that Hue has asked Landry to be that guy who brings toughness and 'tude to the team. Baker has a lot of swag, too. Myles, is more of an intellectual, but you can tell he knows he is better than everyone else. LOL And my guy Ward plays w/supreme confidence.

This team is different, bro. We aren't there quite yet, but we are certainly on an ascending path.

I think the #1 thing from BM that helped the OL was timing. Getting the ball out faster and more decisively. Not only in terms of how long they have to sustain blocks - but while I have not watched the game again yet - but while TT was in I noticed how often Jets stacked the line and stifled the run. When BM was in and threw a couple of bam bam quick hits, that stacked box was way less dense. And of course that then has a positive impact on the Run game.

I'm not expecting miracles moving forward - but I don' believe the team weren't trying for TT. I think what you saw was what happens when better talent executes.

You're overlooking the effect that success has on motivation. When TT was in there, there was no positive feedback for extra effort or performing well on offense...and the desire to do so probably fizzled quickly after seeing the failures on the field. When Baker came in, we were successfully executing plays, and that's contagious. It's not just the novelty of a shiny new toy.

I saw in Mayfield something that's been rare and fleeting since the days of Kozar. We have a qb that's capable of throwing to the man who will be open, instead of always throwing to the man that is open. We have not had a qb capable of consistantly doing that in a very long time.

The defense is good enough to carry this team if the offense is only decent against most teams. If the offense improves with Mayfield in the pocket, we'll win more than any one expects.

Calloway has alligator arms. Taylor was right in telling him to reach for the ball. He does not fight for contested balls. The coaches need to fix this now, or he'll wind up useless.

Glad we "wasted" a first pick on that Garret guy. Rothlisburger's elbow probably hurts every time he thinks of him. 4 sacks and 2 forced fumbles in 3 games.

That Ward kid will be special. He's a natural ball hawk.

Two things that really stood out to me at the time (and have previously been mentioned) are:

- Higgins alertness in recovering Johnson's fumble and,

- Hue's decision not to kick a 50+ yard field goal near game-end but punt instead.

Both could have been potential game changers...

At least one of those throws that was a 'little off' was to Higgins. The throw forced Higgins to basically sit down to make the catch. Seemed like a 'little off' until you see where the S was in that coverage. He would have crushed Higgins had the throw not been a 'little off'. Now...bid Baker do that on purpose or was the throw really a 'little off'?

Vice grips would not be returning punts if I had anything to do with it ... not worth the RISK ..

IF it was due to Peppers going down and theres someone else out there next week thats fine ... if its late in the game and we need a good return i’m Fine with it ...

If we send him back there its only a matter of time before he gets hurt ... its a DANGEROUS JOB and not worth theRISK IMO ...

And hes not a danger to take it to the house ... hes not anything special on returns ...

If we keep sending him back for punts ... its gonna end badly for us ..

LOVE the fact he stepped up ... not thrilled at all with the prospect of him doing it all year on every punt ...

I was listening to the podcast on the Plain Dealer's site, and the 3 Browns writers were talking, obviously, about Baker.

They said that before he went into the game, he was watching every single play, intently, mentally into every single play.

He was talking to Zampese, Stanton, and watching replays on the tablet on the sidelines while the defense was on the field. He was mentally locked into everything happening with the Browns offense, and the Jets defense.

Everyone says that he has been an absolute sponge this preseason and regular season. The reporters said that he may have benefited from watching that 1st half, because he was able to process and evaluate things before going in. That kinda makes sense.

I suspect that Higgins is Baker's best friend on the team. They have spent so much time together, even working extended periods together after sessions in training camp.

Hue made two decisions that helped to lead to a win IMO:

- It was 14-3 and we had a 4th and 4 at their 45 yard line .. about 10 mins to go in the 3rd quarter. We punted ... pinned them back, which led to Ward's strip.

- It was 21-17 and we had a 4th and 1 at their 35 yard line with 1 minute left ... we punted again, pinned them back again.

We may not have won had we done anything else.

Amen to that. Risk/ reward so lopsided it's stupid. I think Peppers should be back there and we just live with the results. Can't risk injury to one of the most important parts of our offense, locker room and team identity.

I've said it many times, but I'd be okay with having no returns at all. Only fair catches and touchbacks. Don't even block and risk penalty/injury/turnovers

I wonder if Damion Ratley or Derrick Willies could be a guy to learn that spot.

I don't think that either guy returned kicks in college, but maybe they look in that direction.

I am actually kind of surprised that we brought in Streater, who has done next to nothing for several years now, and who doesn't play special teams. Maybe he's here to be a mentor for the young guys. Who knows? It seems like bringing in a guy who can return kicks, instead, might have been a good idea.