Cleveland Browns at New York Giants - Takeaways

My alarm rang at 11:45pm on Thursday night, signalling me to get up as it was time to see the Giants kick off the pre-season facing off against the Browns.

There were so many takeaways from this game, and I’m just going to talk about the ones that caught my eye.

Tyrod Taylor looked good – Taylor has always been underrated in my eyes, and last night he showed what he could do with the ball in his hand. He worked through his progressions well, he took his time in the pocket, he extended plays with his feet as and when he needed to and not every snap. He commanded his offense well and moved the ball as he needed to. There is no doubt he will start the season for the Browns.

Saquon Barkley’s first run – Eli’s under center, the ball is snapped, he turns and hands it off to Barkley. Barkley looks like he has nowhere to go. He waits patiently behind his offensive line, sees a hole and takes it. Hr runs for 39 yards on his first ever NFL carry. Yes, there will be plenty of hype about this run, as there is about Barkley in general. But I think there should be. He’s an immense talent. Seeing Barkley benched for the majority of the game, really solidified, in my eyes, what emphasis the Giants are putting on establishing a running game in 2018 and how big a piece Barkley really is.

Davis Webb has a lot to work on – Webb is listed as Mannings backup at Quarterback. However, seeing him in action last night, I wouldn’t want that at this stage. The Giants played 4 Quarterbacks last night, and in my eyes, other than Manning, Lauletta looked the best. I genuinely wouldn’t have Webb as my back-up QB as he looked last night. But, perspective is needed, it was pre-season week one, so let’s not get too carried away.

Baker Mayfield was everything I wanted him to be – Mayfield stepped onto the field and I knew what I wanted to see from him. That exciting style of play that made him such a talked about figure during his time at Oklahoma. He didn’t disappoint. He extended plays, he made difficult throws, he commanded the offense well and didn’t draw any flags. There was one play where he ran out of the pocket to the right and threw it across his body towards the side-line trying to reach Callaway. Callaway caught it, dragged his feet and after review, the catch was given.

Callaway just needs to stay out of trouble – Antonio has struggled to keep his nose clean and stay out of handcuffs. But, let’s look at how he played last night. One way to describe it, lights out. He made contested catches, he made up monumental yards after the catch and he made one of the nicest catches we saw in the first round of pre-season week one. He slipped in the draft due to his off-field issues, but, if the Browns can make him focus and keep him out of trouble, they could of potentially gotten a steal, because he is one hell of a receiver.