The Football Brainiacs

Image via ESPN

Watching film on Baker Mayfield from the Tennessee game, the main things that stood out was his decision making and command of the offense. I did not see one bad decision the entire game or a single time that he forced a ball into tight coverage. At times he was even making pre-snap checks on his own without looking at the sideline. He did a nice job not locking on to receivers, going through his reads, even if he missed an open receiver a time or two.

Early on, other than the throw to Westbrook that ended in an interception, Mayfield was money on intermediate throws. The OU signal caller showed strong mechanics in the pocket but when he did leave the pocket, Mayfield showed he can make accurate throws on the run. Love his quick trigger. Once he makes a decision on where he wants to go with the ball, it is gone. There is no wind up/hitch in his release. The ball is high & tight; compact release, doesn’t extend the ball behind his head and you don’t see it drop in his motion, which also helps with a fast trigger.

On quick pop passes he is able to take the snap, set his feet, and fire the rock in a hurry. This can make a big difference in receivers getting more yards after the catch. He looked good setting up in the pocket with a solid base underneath him, not too wide or narrow. Torqued his hips and transferred his weight on his follow through. This, along with his footwork, helped him make accurate throws throughout the game.

One of Mayfield’s more impressive passes came in the 1st quarter on a 3rd & 6 when he delivered a bullet into Durron Neal’s chest that would have resulted (the ball was dropped) in a 20-yard gain. Even though it will ultimately go down as an incompletion, the throw really showed off Mayfield’s arm strength. A couple of his other big throws were on a roll out, one where he hit Shepard on a big 3rd down in the 4th on the sideline and the second on that fade (also to Shepard) to tie the game. Both of which were big time throws.

Where Mayfield did have some issues, however, was on the deep ball. He had Jarvis Baxter down the seam on one play that should have been a TD, but Mayfield just put too much on it where he needed more touch on the throw. Another time he had Westbrook breaking down the sideline but throwing it from the opposite hash, Mayfield again put too much on it and the ball sailed out of bounds.

Granted, the pressure Mayfield faced most of the night certainly caused a number of his throws to be rushed. In watching the film, there were more than a few times where he left the pocket early when he didn’t need to. Presumably, of course, because the pressure he’d been facing hurried the clock in this head. Additionally, there were some instances in which he was trying to throw fastballs on the short-to-intermediate routes which caused an inaccurate throw.

Mayfield was a magician, though, getting out of trouble and fleeing the pocket, refusing to go down, showing great feet, balance & determination. He did a great job keeping his eyes down field and hurt the Volunteers, at times, in this scenario finding open receivers. Through three quarters, he was 8-25 (with a number of drops) for 84 yards and 2 interceptions. However, he finished 11-14 for 103 yards and 2 touchdowns in the 4th quarter and overtime.