Mid-week thoughts

Just one very big one today . . . 

The surprising news that Baker Mayfield has played the last two games with a partially turn labrum in his left shoulder seems to be treated rather cavalierly by the Browns.

The injury, originally incurred while attempting to make a tackle in the Houston victory a few weeks ago, appears to have had a negative effect on his ability to throw a football if the statistics of the last two games are any indication. He disagrees.

It's almost as though the club's approach to the situation seems to downplay the fact Mayfield has worn a shoulder harness in those games to protect his non-throwing shoulder and there's nothing here about which to be concerned. 

Originally it was reported and confirmed Mayfield late in the second quarter had suffered a dislocated shoulder that was quickly popped back into place and all was well. He finished the game, but head coach/playcaller Kevin Stefanski called fewer pass plays seemingly to protect him.

The defense came alive in the next two games to take the pressure off an offense that sputtered, especially in the passing game. Mayfield completed an uncharacteristic 51.5% of his passes for a paltry, for him, 401 yards.

Medically speaking, a shoulder labrum is a thick piece of tissue (cartilage) attached to the rim of the shoulder socket that keeps the ball of the socket in place, according to hopkinsmedicine.org. That it's not a complete tear is the only good news, if you can call it that.

Never mind it's the non-throwing shoulder. If the tear was complete, Mayfield most likely would have needed surgery. There I go again practicing medicine without a license, but a torn labrum, no matter which side, is surgery waiting to happen.

If it wasn't for an NFL Network report by Ian Rapoport Thursday revealing the partial tear, the public, particularly members of Browns Nation, might never have known the extent of his injuries.

Mayfield was asked about whether the harness would affect his throwing. His answer was interesting, but concerning. "It shouldn't, no," he replied. Not "isn't" or "won''t,", causing suspicion on my part that it already has.

Again, the aforementioned statistics do not lie. Something is wrong. As the risk of repeating myself, this Baker Mayfield in no way resembles the one who opened the regular season a month ago with a spectacular game even though the Browns lost.

It is hard to believe he will experience no problems in running a pretty good offense, one that relies heavily on him to be effective. The ground game right now is the only aspect of the offense that is saving the Browns.

From a physical standpoint, the shoulder harness has to, at least a little, affect normal movement of a quarterback from snap to snap. The trick is to avoid thinking about it and concentrate on the play called. That's easier said than done.

The snap itself, especially when Mayfield is under center, has to feel somewhat jarring to the arms and shoulders as it arrives briskly in his hands as he moves his feet to execute the called play. 

Knowing he is not completely healthy and that his production has fallen off dramatically, it won't be long before opposing defenses start crowding the line of scrimmage in an attempt to take away the run game and challenge him to throw.

Mayfield has the right attitude, which helps tremendously. He has identified the problem and seems to be singularly focused on rectifying the situation. That's his MO. He takes setbacks like this and turns them into personal challenges. Just another chip on his amply-chipped shoulder. 

As a remedy, he might consider changing one aspect of delivering the ball. For some reason lately, he seems to get his hand too much under the ball on most on his field-stretching throws and they sail well past wide open targets. When he gets behind the ball and steps into a pass, he is much more accurate.

Stefanski and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt do not seem worried while working on preparations for the Los Angeles Chargers game Sunday on the west coast. "I see him throwing it accurately in practice, so I don't attribute that to the injury as much as just having an off day," said Van Pelt.

Considering the Cleveland offensive line is no longer among the best in the National Football League at protecting the quarterback (Mayfield has been dropped 12 times already), it would behoove Stefanski and Van Pelt to design pass plays that develop quickly in order to protect the non-throwing shoulder.

Either that or utilize more bootleg rollouts against the grain that freeze defenses and enables Mayfield to escape the pass rush and deliver passes without being physically challenged. They were notably absent against Minnesota last Sunday.

In the meantime, have you noticed all that early Super Bowl talk involving the Browns has quieted down with Mayfield operating at less than peak efficiency? The next two games against teams with terrific young quarterbacks and defenses that meet regularly at the quarterback present significant challenges for the Browns with their star quarterback well shy of 100%.