Shedeur stars in Browns preseason curtain raiser

    Shedeur Sanders was handed an opportunity through circumstance that few young quarterbacks receive — a chance to play an almost complete preseason game to showcase his talents to a live studio audience.

Sanders threw two touchdown passes to Kaden Davis and played into the fourth quarter in the Browns 30-10 win over the Carolina Panthers.

Sanders completed fourteen of twenty-three passes for 138 yards and didn't throw an interception.

I'm not going to get too in-depth on the game because I was watching at work, and I'll review it later this week, but I did want to write about Sanders, who is dueling for a roster spot against fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel.

The Browns may need to find a way to keep both, because after a successful game under these constraints, Cleveland will lose Sanders if they try to slide him through to a practice squad slot.

There's no way he wouldn't be grabbed by another team, so Andrew Berry and the Browns already need to be working on how to keep both rookie quarterbacks, because I don't believe either makes it through waivers.

Sanders threw the ball very well, and both of his scoring throws were on the dime, especially the second, which was an absolute dart to Kaden Davis.

Sanders wasn't perfect, though, as he did have a few struggles against the pass rush.

On two occasions, Sanders managed to avoid the rush but hurried his throws, resulting in incomplete tosses.

Sanders's best throw was his thirty-yard gain to free agent WR Luke Floriea, who stretched out to make the catch, but Sanders put the ball exactly where he needed to -where his receiver could catch and where the defensive back couldn't.

It's hard to place preseason success in its proper perspective.

Shedeur Sanders' debut had to be judged a success, and he showed the field vision and skills to give some optimism.

However, he played two drives against the Panthers' starting defense, completed four of eight passes, and didn't score against them, so his success came against reserves and players who won't be playing in the league in a few weeks.

That's preseason football for most players, so that's not a judgment or a criticism; it's just a fact.

Sanders isn't likely to play nearly this much in the final two exhibition contests.

Joe Flacco will likely need a drive or two for sharpness' sake, and Kenny Pickett, along with Dillon Gabriel, will want their look, assuming their injuries will allow it, which I bet each player will badly want their spotlight time, especially after Sanders' play in this game.

There were good things and reasons to hope after seeing Shedeur Sanders, but Browns fans and media need to keep things in line.

No matter how hard it is to do so.

Browns trade Baker Mayfield

     The Cleveland Browns finally reduced some of the drama around the team. While the DeShaun Watson saga is far from finished, the other side of the coin has been sent away from Northern Ohio as Baker Mayfield was traded to the Carolina Panthers where Mayfield will see the Browns in the opening game in Charlotte.

Cleveland will receive either the fourth or fifth-round draft pick in 2023 from Carolina, depending on if Mayfield plays seventy percent of the Panthers snaps this season, so the Browns will be rooting for Mayfield to at least stay in the lineup.

The Browns will pay ten million of Mayfield's 18.9 million dollar contract for this season, Carolina will pay five million, and Mayfield agreed to a reduction of his contract and gave back 3.5 million to allow the trade to be finalized.

Baker Mayfield leaves Cleveland as arguably the best quarterback for the Browns since their return in 1999, and while anyone who has watched them knows just how incredibly low the bar is for that claim, it still is a correct claim.

Even still, Baker Mayfield wasn't a great quarterback or even a very good quarterback and it's not unreasonable to have expected more from the first overall selection in the draft.

Baker Mayfield was pretty good for most of his rookie season and he was better than average in 2020 but he was really bad in both 2019 and 2021 and that means that Mayfield was never able to string back-to-back good seasons.

Mayfield's combative persona and energy made him a Cleveland favorite almost from the start but the same qualities that made him a favorite also made him a petulant and immature player who sometimes saw everyone blamed for his poor play but himself.

Mayfield defenders point to the playoff win in Pittsburgh, his playing through an injured shoulder, and that he was taking over a team that had won just one game over two seasons of play.

Mayfield detractors argue his below-average completion percentage for a quarterback that was lauded when drafted for his accuracy, his 29-30 overall record, and how defenses took away his moving pocket to the right, crippling his vision of the field and taking away downfield throws.

Baker Mayfield was reputed to be the ultimate locker room leader, yet problems such as the infamous issue with Odell Beckham occurred on his watch.

Baker Mayfield is only the third quarterback taken first overall that lasted less than five seasons with that club, joining Jeff George and JaMarcus Russell but this may have been a self-inflicted wound.

Yes, I know that Jimmy Haslem and Andrew Berry wanted DeShaun Watson. Still, they were resigned to finishing 2022 with Baker Mayfield when Watson eliminated the Browns from the four teams bidding for his services with Houston.

However, when Baker Mayfield couldn't help himself, professed being wronged, and asked for a trade, the Browns knew they would have to pay whatever it cost to bring Watson to Cleveland because they simply couldn't gamble another season on the mercurial Mayfield getting himself together enough to buy into the program.

I still believe that had Mayfield tried to release even the most rudimentary press release that didn't demand a trade Haslem and Berry may not have returned to Houston and given Watson everything but the water in Lake Erie.

Mayfield's childish tantrum forced the Browns into red alert, thinking that their quarterback position was suddenly without Watson, possibly without Mayfield and if they did have Mayfield, they would have the petulant version soiling the team, which they simply could not have and expect a playoff return.

I wrote when the Browns drafted Mayfield that they were the victims of an elaborate con game and I still feel that- to an extent.

Baker Mayfield had his good streaks and when he was playing well, he played a little beyond my expectations.

Still, when you pick a player first overall, you expect more than an occasional good streak and more than just an average quarterback.

In the end, that's why Baker Mayfield was an average quarterback and in today's AFC with a conference where for years the Browns will have to get past Mahomes, Allen, Burrow, Herbert, Wilson, etc to reach a Super Bowl- Baker Mayfield just wasn't going to be good enough to get that done.

The Browns need a great quarterback in these times, Baker Mayfield was always going to be a mouthy average one.  

Browns finish Panthers 26-20

The Cleveland Browns might have taken the next step in the growth of their program as they overcame mistakes, penalties and some really sloppy tackling to step up and finish off the Carolina Panthers 26-20 in Cleveland.

Baker Mayfield continued his high-efficiency rate outside the state of Texas in completing 18 of 22 passes for over 200 yards and one score, while Jarvis Landry was the star of the day with fifty-plus yards both rushing and receiving as well as a touchdown via both avenues.
The Browns improved to 5-7-1 and kept their small playoff wishes alive with the victory.
Cleveland travels to Denver next Saturday night against the Broncos, another team with narrow hopes for the postseason.

Brownie Bits

1) Baker Mayfield once again was smart with the football, accurate and showed beautiful touch on deep passes to Breshad Perriman and Jarvis Landry.
I'm starting to come around...

2) Mayfield wasn't perfect though, he missed four passes, although one could claim with a little help, he might have completed them all.

3) Mayfield was only sacked once on a blitz off the corner by Captain Munnerlyn, but he was rushed often and used his feet to avoid the Panther rushers, but

4) Mayfield might have been sacked several times, but the Browns lineman grabbed Panther rushers rather than see Mayfield popped.
Kevin Zeitler and Greg Robinson were each called for holding twice and even though it's good to avoid your young quarterback getting whacked, I'd rather you block your man, especially in the case of Zeitler, who's very highly paid to avoid such matters.

5) Jarvis Landry was the player of the day, catching a 51-yard score, running three yards for another touchdown and running 51 yards on another play.
Landry also almost threw for a score, but his pass for Nick Chubb was broken up at the last second by a Carolina defender.

6) Give Mayfield and offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens credit for setting the go for broke feel for the game by throwing deep to Breshad Perriman for a 66 yard gain on their first offensive play.
Considering that Carolina had taken the kickoff and drove down the field for a touchdown to start the game, the Browns offense established that they weren't going to start slow and allow the Panthers to build a lead.

7) As for  Breshad Perriman, a talented player signed off waivers, the former first-rounder
struggled with injuries with Baltimore and never made an impact there.
Sometimes, players need a change of scenery and Perriman may have been one of those players that needed another chance.

8) It was cold (28 degrees) but not especially windy, but Baker Mayfield passed his first weather test.
Southern passers generally have to prove themselves in the cold, Mayfield will still have to deal with the heavy winds off the lake, but yesterday was a great start with his passes not being handicapped by the weather.

9) The receivers weren't perfect as both Jarvis Landry and Rashad Higgins lost fumbles by not securing the football and Higgins dropped an almost certain score on another play
If the Browns are receiving the type of play with these receivers from Baker Mayfield, imagine what could be with one or two upgrades for 2019.

10) The defense still tackled terribly, but held the Panthers inside the three on downs in the fourth quarter and ended the game when Cam Newton missed Devin Funchess and instead drilled a wide-open Damarious Randall for the interception that ended the game.
Much still needs to be done, but Randall, who Ryan reports was a huge disappointment in Green Bay as a cornerback, has been outstanding in his first season as a Brown at safety.

11) At 5-7-1. the Browns still need to run the table for a winning season and the playoffs even at 8-7-1 would be a remote possibility at most, but next week in Denver against the 6-7 Broncos is winnable.
Denver was beaten at San Francisco (3-10) yesterday, but has been very strong at home and should be an interesting test for the Browns.

12) The victory clinched a winning season at home ( 4-2-1) with the ailing Bengals and Hue Jackson to go.
Developing the ability to defend your home turf is the first step in building a winning program and no matter the final record (although a Bengal win is expected now without Andy Dalton), this is something to feel good about!

13) Finally, no matter the future of Gregg Williams as the eventual head coach. he's been doing a fine job keeping this team interested, playing hard and building the culture as the catchphrase goes.
I'm not sure if I want Williams as the permanent head coach (although when I hear some of the names, I would keep Williams before them), but I certainly want him as part of the staff, if it can be worked out.

Back later with a look at some of the many passings since the last passings post.