Originally Posted by Megatron96
From Week 9 through Week 17 of the 2018 season, only Patrick Mahomes, Ben Roethlisberger and Matt Ryan had more touchdown passes than Baker Mayfield’s 19. Only Mahomes, Drew Brees, Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson had a higher Adjusted Yards Per Pass Attempt than Mayfield’s 8.65, and no passing offense was better, per Football Outsiders’ DVOA (opponent-adjusted efficiency metric) than Cleveland’s.
Tempo is another issue. Last season, per Football Outsiders, the Browns ranked fifth in average seconds per offensive play — in other words, using pace to dictate to a defense and to prevent that defense from substituting personnel and creating the situational advantages. This season, the Browns rank 20th, and they’ve gone from 26.99 seconds to 29.05 seconds per offensive play. Adding to the problems, in spite of taking longer to snap the ball, the Browns are using significantly less pre-snap motion, taking away a key to deciphering the defense. The Browns used a lot more pre-snap motion last year, giving Baker a lot more information on the defensive scheme prior to each snap.
The tape backs this up conclusively, as do the stats. Per Pro Football Focus, Mayfield has completed 67.9% of his passes with three touchdowns, two interceptions and a passer rating of 92.3 on pass plays in which he’s in the pocket less than 2.5 seconds. On longer-developing plays in which he’s in the pocket 2.5 seconds or more, he’s thrown for no touchdowns with three interceptions, and he has a passer rating of 48.0. Through the first three games, Mayfield has been involved in longer-developing plays 51.7% of the time.
Bottom line, Baker can be accurate and efficient, IF someone calls the correct plays, IF more pre-snap motion is involved, and IF the OL plays even marginally better.
Those are the facts, Jack...
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