The featured running and play-action game would be wasted if the WRs and TEs ran many short slants and crosses.
Thielen (slot) and Diggs didn't in 2019. What's more, if you look at Baker Mayfield at Oklahoma, he hit guys downfield, with the highest yards per-attempt in his draft class.
This is why some call him a "gunslinger": Baker Mayfield wasn't another popgun checkdown charlie whose 70% completion percentage was infated by dumpoffs and screen passes. He was one of the most bloodthirsty slingers in football.
That's why I expect Stefanski and Van Pelt not to duplicate the 2019 Vikings offense here: Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield are very different.
So was the Vikings offense, as I've posted: the 2020 Browns look deeper in passcatching Tight Ends and at Running Back. Dalvin Cook was also different than Chubb/Hunt, and was an integral receiver.
The 2020 Browns are actually more physical than the 2019 Vikings, with a 3rd Tight End, 2nd (BIG) Running Back, and two Offensive Tackles custom-built for the Wide Zone scheme.
As I've posted repeatedly, Between Kareem Hunt and the "other" 2 Tight Ends, the third WR is an endangered species here.
In Minnesota, Kevin had one awesome Running Back, one top-notch veteran and one Njoku-like rookie Tight End, and then Thielen and Diggs.
He also had a prototypical West Coast Quarterback with decent athleticism.
That script pretty much wrote itself.
In 2020, poor Kevin and Alex have too much skill talent, and have to bench at least one star Tight End or Running Back on each and every offensive snap (TWO if Jankowski is used)!
Everybody assumes that OBJ and Landry are splinter-proof, but they're not.
Van Pelt and Stefanski, if they take my humble advice, can get extremely creative and exotic with this crew, and screw the rest of the NFL up:
As a defense, how do you stop a Browns' "elephant" offense? Ok that's any offense with only one true Wide Receiver, so it usually means 2 RBs and 2 TEs (at least with this roster).
The Elephant obstensibly forces a defense past it's base and turns a DB into a Linebacker.
Not here:
3rd or 4th and inches aside, the 2020 Browns' "elephant" includes Njoku, Hooper, and Kareem Hunt (with OBJ or Landry).
The run threat is obvious, and the defense has to respect it first (even 5 yards from the marker).
Still with me here? Ok well with only one WR, most defenses will replace one Cornerback with a Safetybacker or Strong Safety (vs THIS offense).
Ok well they still have to stack the box against the run. They can man-up on the lone WR if they have a true shut-down guy, if not they need to play zone or keep a safety deep, because if a WR catches anything deeper than that stacked box, nobody can catch him.
Meanwhile, Kareem Hunt can line up anywhere, and so can Njoku, so once the huddle breaks, you (the defense) could be trying to deal with up to/including a 4-wide spread, with Nick Chubb at RB.
I can't break it all down as well as I'd like (and Stefanski might say the same thing), but if he eschews the mandatory 2 WR rule maybe 20% of the time, he can mess up the rest of the NFL and win a couple more games than he would have otherwise.
Look at how the Ravens' offense has everybody scrambling for a solution to-date!
Lamar Jackson is one of a kind, and I can't say that Stefanski/Van Pelt can be that revolutionary in 2020, but (if he takes my humble advice) can screw up opposing defenses about 70% as much if he uses elephant offenses 15+% of the time.
I have to admit that I want things to be fair, so everybody "gets to play" here, but I'm also being extremely pragmatic:
I love Nick Chubb and root for Home-boy Hunt to redeem himself. I've come to like OBJ a lot, and always liked Jarvis Landry. David Njoku is getting dissed ignorantly, and--
Oknevermind: The Browns need to win first and foremost.
Bullshit aside, the 2020 Browns roster isn't stacked with selfish divas, and if they win, OBJ and the other "big egos" won't be bitching about personal stats.
OBJ never did, in this reality. Nor did Landry. You people with your "big ego" crap--polly wanna cracker?)
No comments:
Post a Comment