Jamal Adams: Jets weren't ready for Browns rookie Baker Mayfield
Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield celebrates during a game against the Jets in Cleveland on Thursday. Credit: AP/David Richard
Jamal Adams said the Jets were not prepared for Baker Mayfield. It showed.
The Jets had a hard time slowing down Mayfield, who led the Browns to a 21-17 victory after Tyrod Taylor left Thursday’s game with a concussion.
“We had to be open to knowing that Baker could come in,” Adams said Tuesday during his weekly spot on WFAN’s “Carlin, Maggie and Bart” show. “But we were prepared for Tyrod. When Baker came in, obviously we didn’t have a game plan for him. But hats off to him. He came in, he definitely played lights out. They gained momentum and we just couldn’t grab it back.”
Those comments probably are not going to sit well with Todd Bowles, and they sure don’t reflect well on the Jets coach or defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers. Bowles also has come under fire for the lack of discipline his team has shown while picking up senseless and costly penalties.
The Jets were outscored 21-3 after Mayfield, the top overall pick, entered late in the first half. They became the first team to lose to the Browns in 635 days. Bowles said the Browns were running the same plays they ran with Taylor. The Jets just couldn’t stop them.
“We knew what the quarterbacks were,” Bowles said. “We knew one ran more than the other. He just did a good job, and we didn’t.”
In the lead-up to the game, the Jets spoke a lot about how difficult it was to stop Taylor because he’s a dual threat, able to beat teams with his arm and his legs. They obviously put all their attention in trying to contain Taylor, and they kept him under wraps. Taylor had a 22-yard run, but he was just 4-for-14 for 19 yards throwing the football. Mayfield was 17-for-23 for 201 yards in his NFL debut.
“We didn’t see it happening,” Adams said of Mayfield coming into the game. “I’m just being honest. Tyrod goes down. I didn’t find out that Tyrod had a concussion until after the game. I thought they took him out. Injuries occur and the next man up. We weren’t prepared for him.
“They’re very similar guys in ways they can move the pocket and throw the football. At the same time, we stuck to our game plan. Baker came in and he played phenomenal. Hats off to him.”
It was apparent that Adams didn’t know Taylor suffered a concussion, because he praised the Browns for having “a hell of a game plan bringing [Mayfield] in and finishing off the ballgame and getting a win.”
It wasn’t by design, because the Browns’ plan at the start of the season was to let Mayfield learn under Taylor. It’s unclear whether Hue Jackson would have gone to Mayfield if Taylor had stayed in the game and continued to be ineffective. The Browns have named Mayfield their starter this week.
Adams’ admission that the Jets were not prepared for Mayfield came shortly after a New York Daily News report that Bowles was taking back some of the play-calling from Rodgers. The report said Bowles, a defensive coordinator with the Eagles and Cardinals, would run the unit in hurry-up situations.
The Jets did not have practice Tuesday, so Bowles could not be reached for comment. They return to practice Wednesday. But Adams was asked about the story, and said he had no knowledge of the change.
“I definitely did not know it,” Adams said. “But at the end of the day we have a hell of a staff, and whoever is going to call the calls is going to call the calls and we’re going to support it and we’re going to go out there and play football.
“All I can do is continue to do my job and get better at it each and every day. I leave that to the coaches.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
