![](\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_7776,h_4374\/c_fill,w_2160,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Fbrowns_digest%2F01kb642rdhpb1n5612fy.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
As Shedeur Sanders gears up for his second pro start, it\u2019s natural to feel a ton of optimism going forward for a franchise with such a poor track record at the position.<\/p>\n
But even with a perfect 1-0 record as an NFL starter, not everything was peachy for Sanders during the Browns\u2019 24-10 win over the Raiders.<\/p>\n
Here are the three aspects that the fifth-round rookie out of Colorado must work on the most in his start, if he expects to be considered a viable long-term option for a team with two first round picks next April:<\/p>\n
Sanders\u2019 two best passes came when rolling to his right on a broken down play. One was a 52 yard completion to Isiah Bond out of an empty shotgun formation in the first quarter, which helped set up Quinshon Judkins first wildcat touchdown of the game, and the other one came out of the shotgun formation where he faked a handoff before taking off and directing Jerry Jewudy to the ball.<\/p>\n
This would end up as one of the worst lost fumbles of the season, but that\u2019s not on Sanders.<\/p>\n
What is on Sanders was the number of times where he rolled out of the pocket or drifted backwards unnecessarily, instead of planting himself and throwing.<\/p>\n
Several of his incompletions turned into sideline throwaways because, while on the move, Sanders shrunk the field in front of him by moving prematurely. Cleveland did a good job overall protecting Sanders throughout the game, but the rookie was impatient. He missed multiple throwing windows when receivers were coming out of their brakes because he was either already on the move and not ready to throw the ball, or because he had taken one half of the field away from himself by running towards the sideline, not seeing receivers becoming open on the other side.<\/p>\n
This one has to do with some of what we mentioned earlier, where Sanders often wasn\u2019t ready to throw the ball anticipating a receiver getting open on his break because he had already taken off, but there were a few other misfires where he either didn\u2019t see the throwing window opening, or he didn\u2019t trust himself to make the throw.<\/p>\n
Two plays before Dylan Sampson put the game away with his 66 yard catch and run for a touchdown on a screen, Sanders missed a huge one to Jeudy, after the Raiders\u2019 defense bit hard on a run fake from the shotgun.<\/p>\n
Jeudy ran a deep comeback on the left sideline with the cornerback turned away from Sanders, no safety in sight, and Sanders either didn\u2019t see him one-on-one or didn\u2019t trust his arm to throw it while rolling to the left. Instead of planting his foot to come back and look up for the ball, all Jeudy saw was Sanders running towards the sideline with the ball, before throwing it short and out of bounds.<\/p>\n
Sanders didn\u2019t really move any linebackers or safeties out of throwing lanes, because he either stared down and threw to his primary receiver, or just didn\u2019t get rid of the ball on time. Either way, a pump fake with the ball or a head nod here and there are always useful for holding defenders and helping create spaces for the receivers. We saw none of that against Las Vegas. This should come with experience.<\/p>\n
Of course, there are other things that Cleveland, as a team, needs to clean up for Sanders. For example, there were a number of instances where routes just took too long to develop, adding to Sanders’ impatience and leaving the pocket prematurely.<\/p>\n
And by my count, Sanders only attempted two passes out of 12 plays where he took the ball under center. All other 18 attempts came out of the shotgun. While we know playing under center has become a lost art at the high school and collegiate level, not being able to run more pass plays under center is very limiting. That needs to change, as well.<\/p>\n
Robert Saleh\u2019s defense will be a challenge on a whole \u2018nother level once the 49ers step into Huntington Bank Field on Sunday, in a game where the weather could become a factor too, for quarterbacks. Sanders did an OK job against the Raiders, but there\u2019s still a long path in front of him before he can confidently state he\u2019s \u201cwho they’ve [the Browns] been looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n The rookie took a win in his debut as a starter, but his game was far from perfect against the Raiders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cleveland-browns"],"yoast_head":"\n