Kitchens 2018 Offense Worked. It Wasn't Broke. Why TF Did You "Fix" it? DUH

Geniuses think alike, as Gary Davenport demonstrates.

Gary says that Freddie Kitchens and Baker Mayfield are holding the Browns back.

I'll minimize the reduncificationalizing, but he is right.

Gary did mention how bad the Offensive Line has been in pass protection (*once again, PFF ranks it much higher in pass pro than Pro Football Outsiders--27th---but it looks to me like PFO is closer to the mark*).

But that's the thing!  As Gary reminds you I've restated several times, you have to compensate for that poor protection, and Freddie...

...did it last season, and isn't doing it this season!?!??  We don't get it.

Do you get this? Remember when Freddie took over for Mywayorthehighway Haley last season?  What did he do?

1: "Elephant"/max protect formations, be they 12, 21, or even 13 or 31 groupings (first number is RBs, second is TEs).

2: Short slants and crosses to get the ball out of Baker's hands.

3: Rollouts.

4: Runs, play-action off runs, RPOs.

Remember the wishbone, and Freddie's inverted version of same?

I repeat: Monken Monken Monken. (Question is: WTF happened to all that stuff?)  (Sorry I am redundanationalizing my last couple posts, but nobody seems to get it yet).

This is something Freddie can fix in one week, because all that stuff is in the playbook and everybody except OBJ has run it).

I guess I have to repeat this too: Freddie is probably overdoing the "delegating" thing, and isn't naturally egotistical enough to "interfere" with the more experienced Todd Monken...even when...jeez, right?

Sadly, Gary is right about Mayfield, too.  Jim Miller and other QBs have discussed this: A QB has an internal "clock", and if he is getting slammed (consistently) 2.5 seconds after the snap, alarm bells are going off in his head right then.

He will reflexively leave the pocket and/or throw prematurely.

While Baker and Freddie fight over who should take the blame (good for Baker btw) for this, it really is more on Freddie than Baker.

It's fine to send OBJ or Ratley vertical for 15+ yards before they break, but not the other guys.

I know Jarvis Landry wants to get downfield more, but it's time to use him as a security blanket again, and let Rashard Higgins slant and cross too, and have Chubb peel out into the flats more too.

Baker Mayfield can do everything Brian Sipe did, and it could all work just as well in 2019.

Now then: I'm not sure how exactly the Browns close loss to the Rams was so much worse than the Ravens close loss to the Chiefs, or why so many people think the Browns are doomed.

Lamar Jackson looked like the 2018 version vs the Chiefs, and the Chiefs defense isn't as good as the Browns' (who should have Ward and Randall back).  

The Ravens defense is NOT as good as it was in 2018.  The Ravens played a couple tomato cans the first 2 weeks, then got beat by the Chiefs, as the Browns got beat by the Superbowl Rams, and that adds up to the Ravens massacreing the Browns?

That's bad analysis.  I can see the Ravens being favored (very good defense, unstoppable running game, Jackson the weapon etc), but where does this mismatch crap come from?

If Freddie Kitchens takes his offense back (and gets his head out), the Browns will beat the Ravens.  If Freddie does not, they still have a chance.

Talk about hyperbole... 

Come on, Freddie...