“On a day-to-day basis, you still see the things he does on the field and the way he carries himself,’’ Lindley said Tuesday. “The best part is he’s still young and he’s still growing. You see what that kid’s going to become and what he is and that’s something special.’’
“[Defenses] are mixing up coverages,’’ he said. “It’s something you see with everybody when guys go from their first to second year. Everybody builds a book on different guys scouting report-wise. He’s going to see different looks. People have looked at his tape last year, too, and we’re seeing how people play him differently.
“We’ll continue to see how he can react and adapt to those things and we’ll also change what we do.’’
“He’s seeing things for the first time and people are throwing different looks at him than he’s seen,’’ Lindley said. “We’re learning as we go. We’re in a heckuva lot better place than we were a few weeks ago.’’
He said the biggest thing for Mayfield, who’s sitting out practice during the bye week with his hip injury but will be ready for New England Oct. 27, is to take what defenses are giving him.
“You don’t want to force things,’’ Lindley said. “Especially with where we’re sitting right now, the way Nick Chubb’s playing, we can do that. He’s running the ball well, we’re blocking well up front. Let’s just extend drives and keep things rolling.’’
“He gets all of them,’’ said Lindley. “We don’t put ‘em on anybody else; he’s got all 11 right now.’’
Lindley said the thinking there is, “in our room, you have to think that everybody has to be held accountable for what they’re doing. As coaches you have to do that, too. If I told him to do something that led to one of those interceptions, then it’s on me as well.’’
“You always want to work on your feet, you always want to work on your timing; I think it’s just details right now,’’ he said. “We need to hash some things out and make sure we’re in rhythm. If you want a buzzword, that’s probably it. We’re not all the way there.’’
“Sometimes it’s with his feet, he speeds himself up," he said. "At times he thinks maybe too quickly, his feet follow up and you’re trying to catch up. It’s a variety of different things. Whether it’s his feet, whether it’s his mind at times, we all need to iron it down and get on the same page.’’
“I think we have a good setup, and I’m really not going to comment on anything that we’re doing different now than we were the first part of the year,’’ he said. “I’ll just leave it at that. We have some good coaches here. ... It’s about us going on the field, getting better, and making plays.”
