CLEVELAND, Ohio — If you’ve been watching the Browns for the last five games and believe Baker Mayfield has been doing a hard count before the snap more, that’s because he has.
Their 38-7 loss to the Steelers in Week 6 revealed issues on offense and defense. But one specific to Mayfield was the appearance that the Steelers had timed up Mayfield’s snap count multiple times.
It has clearly become a point of emphasis since then.
Prior to Week 6, the opposing defense had either been flagged for offside or neutral zone infraction five times. Four were on hard counts. The fifth came against the Steelers when T.J. Watt jumped before Mayfield even called for the snap.
In the five games since, opponents have been flagged 10 times. Nine came via the hard count, including five in the last two games. Mayfield drew a defender offside multiple times in four of the five games. The only time he didn’t prompt an offside was in Week 10 vs. the Texans.
Here’s a look at one of the times where the hard count worked.
This was against the Raiders, one of three successful hard counts. On this play, Mayfield not only gets defensive tackle Maliek Collins to bite, but also draws him far enough where he knocks Chris Hubbard down.
He did it again on the following play, drawing safety Johnathan Abram off. Mayfield took a sack on the play, but the penalty led to a first down.
Several times, we’ve seen Mayfield not only execute the hard count, but make the heads-up play to take a shot down the field. Here’s another example where he tries this against the Jaguars.
Here, Mayfield gets Jaguars defensive end Aaron Lynch to jump. That gave Mayfield a free play, and he used it to try and find Harrison Bryant deep. It fell incomplete, but there’s no downside in the attempt. The other thing you can see is that because Lynch jumped offside and then tried to get back onside before the snap, he loses his momentum and Jedrick Wills Jr. easily blocks him.
That’s a little thing that matters a lot depending on the opponent. Here’s an example from the Steelers game in which Mayfield didn’t use a hard count and it cost him.
T.J. Watt times the snap count perfectly and rushes at Hubbard at full speed. Even though Devin Bush comes up with the sack, Watt comes back into the pocket and is nearby as Mayfield goes down.
It was a second and 2 on the edge of field-goal range. The sack cost 7 yards and ended the scoring threat. If Mayfield can take advantage of Watt’s aggressiveness, even if he doesn’t get the offside, Watt loses a lot of the momentum he generated from getting into a sprint 3 yards from the line of scrimmage.
Maybe the result of the play doesn’t change. But again, little things matter. If there’s a penalty, the drive continues and the Browns might get back into the game.
Ten successful hard count penalties in five games proves Mayfield is trying to find ways to gain free yards.
It may not come as easily against the Titans and Ravens. But it’s clearly a bigger part of his game.
-
New Browns face masks for sale: Here’s where you can buy Cleveland Browns-themed face coverings for coronavirus protection for adults and youth, including a single mask ($14.99) and a 3-pack ($24.99). All NFL proceeds donated to CDC Foundation.
More Browns coverage
Harrison gets cold shoulder from Mother Nature the day he finds out he’s out 4-6 weeks
Mayfield: I can’t miss ‘passes that should be made in my sleep’
Stefanski hopeful Harrison can make it back this season; no surgery required
Browns reopen facility after staffer tests positive for COVID-19; only Denzel Ward idle
Browns will find it difficult to replace Ronnie Harrison
Stefanski found his rhythm on Browns’ second drive: Rewatch observations
Chargers QB Taylor reportedly won’t file grievance over punctured lung: NFL roundup
Mayfield discusses Nick Chubb, consistency in conference call
Stefanski discusses Derrick Henry, Baker Mayfield in conference call
The Link LonkDecember 03, 2020 at 11:27PM
https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2020/12/how-effective-has-baker-mayfields-hard-count-been-since-the-browns-week-6-loss-to-steelers.html
Baker Mayfield’s hard snap count has been getting the Browns more free yards since the Week 6 loss to Steelers - cleveland.com
https://news.google.com/search?q=hard&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
No comments:
Post a Comment