All eyes are on No. 13 as Odell Beckham Jr. makes his first game appearance since tearing his left ACL on Oct. 25 against the Bengals. (Cleveland Browns)
With OBJ in and Jarvis Landry out, has Baker Mayfield’s job gotten a little harder?
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Four downs on Browns (1-1) v. Chicago Bears (1-1)
First down: From Juice to OBJ.
The Browns’ offense changed this week. And we are about to see whether that change is subtle or seismic. Jarvis Landry is out for a minimum of three weeks with a sprained MCL in his left knee. At the same time, Odell Beckham Jr. is back from ACL surgery for the first time in 10 ½ months. This isn’t exactly replacing one $15 million receiver with another, even though they are teammates and best friends. For the first time, Baker Mayfield is about to find out what life is like without Landry. The trust they had for each other was special. Trust between Mayfield and Beckham has been non-existent in their 23 games together. Can trust be established instantly? Of course not. Beckham’s return is the headline of this game, and everyone is excited about it. But Myles Garrett said something that is at the forefront of the minds of all the decision-makers in CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. Garrett said, “Now we just have to see that chemistry out there that we were missing last year.” The job just a got a little harder for Mayfield, I think.
Second down: Roll out the red carpet.
Mayfield and Beckham spent a lot of time in training camp trying to forge some chemistry together. But the fact is, it just hasn’t been there in live games. Beckham’s catch percentage is significantly lower in 23 games with Mayfield (55.1 percent) than in 59 games with the Giants (62.7 percent). Until the Mayfield-Beckham combo clicks more efficiently, Mayfield is going to need a “go to” guy with Landry out. Somebody to count on to make the catch on third-and-8. Nobody is more qualified for that role than Rashard (Hollywood) Higgins. After Beckham’s knee injury in Game 7 last year, Higgins came on and re-established his special bond with Mayfield. Higgins’ catch percentage of 71.2 was just a fraction below that of Landry’s 71.3. Further, Higgins’ catches made first downs 70.2 percent of the time, compared to Landry’s 63.8. This week, coordinator Alex Van Pelt said, “I think Higgins … would be a guy that they obviously have faith in from the quarterback position. They have played a lot together, and they have a good feel for each other, yes.”
Third down: Myles throws it down.
Garrett, aka the $125 million man, voiced frustration this week about his slow start. Garrett has one sack and doesn’t even show up on the first page of the leaderboard in sacks. He complained this week about getting shut out by Houston because of relentless double-teaming and constant chipping and not getting adequate support from teammates on the defensive front. “For me, it’s tough watching my teammates not being able to make a play because when I see the offense keying on me with chips and stuff like that, I’m like well, they’re taking a player out of play to stop me, so we have a one-on-one,’' Garrett said on Friday. “And to see that they’re not making the play, it’s kind of frustrating because I want to see them go out there and make big plays and we’ve got to get there. I’m trying to take two or three men, however many, to take out of the pass or the run, so we have to take advantage of that. And I know that they’re not always going to do that [chip and double] me. They’re going to do that for other players as soon as they step up and start making big plays, but right now, we all have to make plays. We all have to earn that respect.” Garrett isn’t wrong, of course. It's also incumbent on coordinator Joe Woods to scheme around the double teams. “Games, stunts, blitzes, just trying to mix up the front so they can’t just get a key on me on one side or the other,” Garrett said. “Because no matter whether it’s the left or the right, they were having someone sitting waiting for me.”
Fourth down: Not in this house.
Former Ohio State star quarterback Justin Fields makes his NFL starting debut for the Chicago Bears. Bears fans think the assignment is two games overdue. Given truth serum, the Browns may say they’d prefer to have faced veteran Andy Dalton, the ex-Bengal, who suffered a bone bruise in his last game against his former team. Fields’ athleticism and ability to prolong plays with his legs add an element that has been effective so far against Woods’ defense. Both Patrick Mahomes and Tyrod Taylor scored rushing touchdowns in two games against the Browns – each without having been touched – and were able to make plays after evading the Browns’ rush. “They are probably trying to get him out on the perimeter a little bit. We are going to have to plaster in coverage because there are going to be times [Fields] is going to scramble,” Woods said. “They are not going to let him sit back and let us pass rush the whole day,” Garett said. “Even if they do let us try and get after him – which after we have stopped the run and we have kept him in the pocket not allowing him to do spring outs, boots and RPOs and all that – once we do our best to lockdown all of that and make him a drop-back passer, then we will have a chance to get after him. Until then, we have some work to do because they are not going toss him right into the fire off of the jump.” Safety John Johnson admitted there is “an unwritten rule” in defensive rooms not to let a rookie quarterback win his first start – especially on the defense’s home field. For the record, rookie quarterbacks have a record of 11-20-1 in their first NFL starts since 2011. Arizona’s Kyler Murray had the tie. Among the losers were Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson, Dak Prescott, DeShaun Watson, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, along with Mayfield. Winners? Dalton, Robert Griffin III, E.J. Manuel, Geno Smith, Drew Lock, Jalen Hurts, and Tua Tagovailoa.
The pick: Browns 24, Bears 13.
My record: 1-1.
