Tyrod Taylor is what he has always been

Tyrod Taylor is the best bridge quarterback the Cleveland Browns have employed since Gary Danielson in 1985.

The Tyrod Taylor that was on the field Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium is also likely going to be the Tyrod Taylor that Browns fans will see all season, which doesn’t negate the opening sentence.

While the weather certainly played a factor as Taylor completed just 37.5 percent of his passes (15-of-40), that shouldn’t make fans believe that a different Taylor will line up under center next week against the New Orleans Saints.

Taylor under threw several passes against the Pittsburgh Steelers, was hesitant to take chances down the field and looked to run rather than wait for a play to develop. And when he did wait, he often waited too long, which helped contribute to him taking seven sacks on the day. (Not to give the offensive line a pass, but you can’t hang all those sacks on those guys.)

But Taylor also showed his toughness and, despite things not going the Browns way, never gave up. That may not sound like much, but when his teammates see Taylor pick himself up and keep attacking, that is contagious. It is also part of being a leader at the quarterback position.

That leadership was on display following the game as Taylor did not blame the weather or point fingers for his struggles (a lesson his head coach could learn from), according to clevelandbrowns.com:

“That is something that you have to battle with. I understand that the weather can be a little bit of everything here in Cleveland. You have to be able to be weather-proof. At times, we were. At times, we were not. Did a good job of protecting the ball other than the one time – the interception down the sideline. Ultimately, we put ourselves into a position to win. It was not pretty by any means, but we put ourselves into a position to win and did not finish. It is something that we have to be better at as a team. On offense, that starts with me.”

Basically, in just his first regular season game with the team, Taylor gave Browns fans a view of everything he is and is not as a quarterback. His numbers, most notably his completion percentage, will rise in the coming weeks, but he will still take sacks and still not take chances with the ball.

Taylor has been in the NFL for eight years now, and at this point in his career he is what he is as a quarterback.

To expect him to be anything else is not being realistic.