DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Three Keys to the Season

Not much football talk going on right now, so I decided to post this now instead of later. I have been thinking a lot about the keys to our season because we certainly have enough talent in place. So, I'll share mine and you can comment on them and/or share your own three keys to the season.

1. Coaching: The talent is in place, thus a lot of our success will come down to how well this team is coached. We have a first time HC, a DC w/only 1 year experience in that position, and an OC who has his own question marks.

Freddie was very impressive last year as a play-caller and I think he is a no-nonsense guy. Dorsey really seems to like him and Baker does, too. I think it's important to have a good working relationship between the QB and the coach who is going to be doing the play calling.

I could see this staff doing a good job and I can also see them receive a lot of blame if this team doesn't meet the fan's lofty expectations. Managing the personalities, keeping the team focused, and ignoring the hype are going to be important factors.

2. Quarterback: Baker had a very good rookie season. The question is can he build upon it or will the league catch -up to him? He has the most talented group of offensive weapons in the league at his disposal, so his level of production could end up being off the charts. I have read that he spent time in the weight room this off-season but he chose to not work w/a qb coach on his mechanics. He's been in the media a lot. He might just be one of those guys that can show-up and play. We'll see.

A bigger concern is that I think we're screwed if Baker goes down. I was hoping we would upgrade the back-up qb this off-season and I don't have much faith in the guys who are currently our backups. We have to pray that Baker stays healthy.

3. Chemistry: The team is talented, but it's young and has quite a few dynamic personalities on it. How will they mesh? How quickly will the young guys and new guys develop timing and cohesion on the field? How will they handle adversity? There are questions that will need to be answered in a positive light in order for us to have a successful season.

Well, that's my three biggest keys. Let's hear yours. Btw----can we please keep this to our football opinions and leave all the board personality conflicts out of this thread? I think it's fine for people to disagree. No sense in questioning someone's character because they have a different take on things.

I agree with the Headlines, Coaching, QB and Chemistry..

Not sure I totally understand your thoughts on Monken and Wilks..

I truly haven't followed their careers as well as I bet you have.

So I took a quick look (only quick look, no depth)

Monken: Led the Bucs to third best O in the league in 2018. Passing O was #1 overall O was Third.. That can't be that bad.

Wilks: has coached in two superbowls,,, Last year, as Arizona HC, his D wasn't bad...

I seem to remember that at a place prior, he led a pretty strong D.

As for Freddie, for me, he's the big unknown... Love what he did with the O last season... I do believe he deserved this shot at HC.. we'll see I guess. I should also point out, I watched the "Building the Browns" Segment this past wednesday.. Yikes, I didn't know Freddie was that Firey. Geez he was rough on a couple of players.. They needed and deserved it.

As for the other two Keys,,, no question, I think you've hit it.

Good post.

I better clarify something because my takes might come across as a bit negative. I didn't mean to make it sound that way. I just don't know what will happen w/all three keys. I'm not making any predictions on how successful each of those three keys will be. All three might succeed brilliantly or they may fail miserably. I'm not predicting any of that. I just think those three keys are the most important factors in how successful the team is this season.

To me.. the keys to the season will be the performance of the Defense, and the performance of the Receivers. The Defense has to be able to stop the run without sacrificing pass defense. Last year we were big on turnovers, but actually stopping people, if we didn't get a turnover, things did not go so well. All areas need to improve.

The receivers are key for the offense. Their ability to get open for big gains will open the run game. No more loading the box to stop the Browns. Hitting the receivers for 1st downs and more, as well as the receivers catching the ball ( no drops ) are the key. The more Defensive backs put on the opposition puts on the field to cover the receivers, the better the run game will be.

I know, it sounds simple, but we need to execute. I'm leaving out Baker developing and the offensive line gelling early in the season, but that is all included in hitting the receivers and opening the run game... To me though, the Defense is key to our overall success.

JMHO

Yeah, I knew what you meant., Truth be told, I feel as if we have the best talent we've had since going back to the Bernie Kosar era. With that, expectations are high.. Perhaps too high,, dunno for sure.

But then, do any of us know for sure? probably not

I'll check back later, on the main page it almost looks like it reads " The keys to the Seas" ; so that's all I'm thinking about.

look, ONE of the top 3 KEYS to the Season, could be summarized or summed up in the understanding of a point I'll have a hard time explaining.
Something like.

Maybe the Car. Panthers, or the Jaguars have a position on Defense, Jags call it the LEO, for a roaming DE, that might do x, or y just by reading the offense,
and the Seahawks 3 years back had at least 1 near the line Db lining up with his sholder pads parallel to the opposite sideline, to watch the play and react.

But those aren't the point, the Point is,

Most teams have things they do, with groups of , with characters , or with a plug and play option of a character that fits a characteristic of a job description they are trying to get done, and it doesn't matter whether they have a "good' player or a not as good player, in that role,

they go out and do job x, with position player x, because that's part of the recipe their team uses to execute a win on gameday,

and I mean, a lot of NFL teams it seems , no matter the personel or talent level they have on their team any given year, have some sort of recipe or plan, wherein

if they do This, this, This, this, and this.... and Stop this... They Win!

And it's part of that teams identity, that they are constantly trying to play the game so those things happen in that way, and that's their style/brand of Football, and after years of repitiion, they know it works.

My point, is one of the top 3 Keys to the Season is,

Do the Browns have that. ^

You think we have some of the best talent since,

I may agree they have talent, but I think general perception is forgetting some of the good talent of years past that didn't work out also,
( I mean, Butch Davis, Butch Davis, Crennel, Crennel, Mangini, coached years)

And I think some of those, had as much, I think some are buying the TV love of the excitement expected from Beckham and Baker, which may not translate to anything but shoot out losses if the defense falls apart,

And it makes me double sure that, if they don't have a focus'd attack to the game on gameday, and stick with it or use in game adjustments,

if they take their eye off the ball, so to speak, and get caught up chasing wild geese by abandoning the winning recipe because of an early game adversity, then they aren't going to get the success everyone is expecting, vs this tougher schedule.

Actually, my opinion was pretty simple.. I think this is the best talent we've had since the Kosar years in the late 80's... I'm going to stick with that..

First let me say I think you're spot on in regards to the three major keys to success. So with that said, I'll delve into my opinion on those three things.

1. Coaching: As you already stated, with this staff there's not some lengthy resume' to look back on at their perspective positions. With Freddie continuing to run the play calling, I'm far less worried with the O side of the ball. But I can't say it is of no concern because being in the position of HC will split his time and give him less time to focus strictly on the O game plan and play calling duties. Monken ran a very potent offense in Tampa Bay so when you combine that with Freddie I'm feeling pretty confident we will have a productive offense.

The D is a different animal all together. You've pointed out the trend of Wilks tendency to play more zone and less man coverage. I think our talent at DB is pretty well suited for man coverage and hope we use that talent to the best of their ability. We have upgraded both the DL and Greedy is what I see as a very talented and rangy DB.

I think we'll be okay in this department but there's certainly no guarantees at this early stage of the process.

Quarterback: I have no doubt that the talent is there. His team mates seem as though they would walk through fire for him. There's a lot to be said for the outcome of a team who believe and follows their leader. The accuracy and fairly consistent footwork are there. Sure there are times when the footwork falters, and much like yourself I would have preferred he work with a QB coach, but he has all the major keys to develop into a great QB.

When you combine that kind of accuracy with two WR's that have some of the best hands in the NFL, that's a recipe for success. Even when looking at our #3 and #4 options at WR, Calloway and Higgins, between the QB and WR's, we're about as stacked, if not more stacked than anyone in the league.

Chemistry: Once again the main question here for me is Wilks and the D. To me that's the biggest unknown in all of this. As it pertains to the offense I think we've already seen a glimpse of what's to come. Freddie will still be running the offense in regards to most of the game planning and play calling. So while Monken may run the day to day, it will be Freddie who actually calls the shots.

When you have a HC who meshes so well with your QB and a QB whom the team will walk through fire for, the chemistry and identity of your team is already being established. We saw a glimpse of that last season.

So while it is true that there will be a lot of new moving parts to the machine, the way the machine functions has some roots that were established last season. With the added talent on the roster we should be able to build on the success we saw from last seasons second half.

Much like yourself, if we run into trouble early, the wheels could fall off. The coaches will certainly take the blame from fans.

But one thing is certainly different this time. For the first time in a long time we have a coaching staff that has been given a very talented roster. With the talent they have, they should find success. They should win. So depending on why they don't win, it may be well deserved criticism if they aren't successful. I would just have to take a long look at the circumstances if that were to occur to make that decision.

funny, I've always thought chemistry was something that happens between to CB's.. Knowing each others moves for instance.

Or between a Center and a QB.. or QB and receiver.

In other words, between teammates in the same unit.

I guess I could be wrong

To me chemistry is a bit overvalued because you can't do much about it except win.

No doubt you can have bad apples, but for the most part, teams that win are said to have great chemistry. I think closing out wins is a key factor.

all that was said above is how I feel. Great evaluations.

but to me, the key to the season is......beating Pittsburgh. Until we get over that hump, we will not have arrived.

1. Coaches: I won't talk about the HC, or the O and D coordinators, because that will be talked about enough. I think our ST coach will play a role, because shoddy special teams has been a problem for a few years now. That crap has to be cleaned up. We also need a reliable kicker.

2. The defence. I believe we will wreak havoc with the pass rush, and like, really smash up opposing backfields. Just stop the damn run, and Richardson will come in handy for that.

We have smart, talented guys in the secondary - I loved the play of Demarius Randall last season, and our corners have potential to be really good - who'll give our line more time to get to QBs, and there'll be hell to pay when we get there.

3. Chemistry. It's my biggest worry (aside from injuries hitting us hard). Team chemistry is hard to predict and difficult to find in the first place. But as another poster said, talent can look after chemistry.

Which leads me to the biggest key of all:

Baker Mayfield. If he gets better in his second year (though a repeat of his play in his rookie year would be quite adequate lol), stays healthy, and keeps his eye on the prize, keeps his head down and continues to ball out, most of the rest won't matter.

Coaching:

I think Freddie did an great job last years as the interim OC. I was concerned when he was given the HC gig because I wasn't sure he was ready or had the brains/football smarts to be 'the guy'. I was thinking 'deer in the headlights' when I heard him talk about it after and immediately thought Dorsey made a mistake.

But after listening to him a lot more I really think he has what it takes. He does seem like a no nonsense, do the damn job, and do it better kind of coach. But he also has a personal connection to the players and I think I really like that combo.

I don't know enough about the two coordinators to decide anything but I trust Dorsey, so I think him and Freddie got this regardless of the OC/DC issues, if any.

QB:

First, I don't think the league getting film on Baker will make him any less dangerous. I truly think he will be one of the greats when it's all said and done. But anyone who expects the next couple seasons or even his career altogether to go without hiccups or mistakes is living in a fantasy land.

But at least we have a guy worthy of the ticket price to go watch "Battle" on Sundays.

And I agree 100% on the if he goes down bit. The drop off in talent is astronomical, but it usually is with true franchise QBs until late in their careers. I would have liked to upgrade the depth chart and still think we should. I don't even know who the backup QB will be let alone the 3rd stinger. If I had to call it today, based solely on potential, the rookie Blough would be my pick to be Baker's backup. But highlight reels are deceptive.



The you have Gilbert who was once highly recruited trying to make a comeback at 27. He looks to have the tools to be a backup, but I can't figure out why he never seems to stick. Listening to him, he sounds like a guy whose confidence is all but gone.



And Dorsey named Stanton the backup. He never played a down last year but he was good for Baker from all reports. But is he the guy to back him up or a 3rd stringer mentor clipboard king? At 35 I don't think he's the best 2nd string option.



Chemistry:

I don't think this will be an issue. the team will follow Baker, Freddie doesn't seem like he will allow distractions to get out of hand, and Dorsey has zero issue shipping anybody out... He will make sure everybody knows it's Baker's team.

My personal keys to the Browns being dominate this year are;

O-Line:

This group needs to be solid or our O will struggle. We need to protect Baker and there is a huge question mark here.



D Secondary:

The D secondary has to gel and be very solid. We have a group of monsters up front now, so fast passes will be the response. The secondary LBs and DBs will be tested week in and week out, imho. They have the talent but will need to rise to the occasion.

Good points - my three keys would be, in order:

1. QB/Baker.
He had a sensational rookie season. To be honest I'll take the same guy in year two without much improvement since his last six games he had a QB rating of 115 and winning at a .833 clip.
Very much hoping he continues to work his butt off as he has done his whole life to earn what he has. . . . I don't see teams catching up to him as such - he isn't a one trick pony - but they can scheme for him as he's still on the short side.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20...last-six-games/

2. Defense.
Will the beast be released? With some hardcore support along the DL - is MG and the whole D going to get pressure AND be able to stop the run consistently.

3. Coaching.
Big change from QB coach to OC (using someone else's playbook) to being the big man on campus. A good amount of change all round - how are they going to react and how are they going to perform?

QB - I feel exceedingly good about.
D - I am optimistic that we'll progress, hoping to be a top 12 D.
Coaching - Freddie gives me confidence, and with Dorsey there pulling it together, I am hopeful but this is the area I am least sure of what'll transpire. What happens week 5 when we are 2-3 or 1-4 and under scrutiny? That could easily happen given the schedule and new offense....

My keys to a successful season for the browns are:

1. Our offensive line needs to mesh and function effectively as a unit. O line is an example where the whole can be better than the individual parts. Our new guard needs to be as effective as tretter was and Robinson needs to build on last season to become the tackle he was thought to be when drafted. Our passing game and our running game will be as good as our o line performs.

2. Our defense needs to stop the run. Once we do that and make the opponent one dimensional our excellent pass rushers can be turned loose on the quarterback. If we are getting gouged by the running game then play action will make it tough for our d line to turn it loose.

3. Greedy and our new strong safety need to perform at a high level to give us a quality defensive backfield. You cannot just have one quality corner, you really need three. Hopefully our defensive backfield will perform at a high level.

The key to this season will be staying relatively healthy. All teams have injuries. If we have a normal amount of injuries especially Baker staying healthy, then I fully expect us to make the playoffs.

A lot of people have expressed concern over our run defense. I agree that it has been one of our biggest weaknesses. But I think it is a minor issue. In today's NFL, it seems as if most teams love to pass the ball. Even if they are having success running the ball they are going to go back to the pass. I don't get it but most teams just can't seem to help themselves.

1. QB Play
2. HB Play
3. Run Defense

The 3 keys.

Coaching...the critical factor is to get the team out of the blocks quickly. Then the key is to be a good front runner and finish strong.

Defense...We have to stop the run. I am pretty sure we can pressure the QB and play well in the defensive backfield, but we have to stop gash yards on the ground.

Un-special teams...we have to put the "special" back on to the field.

The jury is still out on Baker Mayfield. We will see how things go, hopefully well because im tired of getting a new QB every year and a half, but im cautiously optimistic. Its not a done deal by any means.

We will see, hopefully we will all be happy about it.

As far as your concern if Baker goes down with an injury or season ending injury:

If any starting QB goes down in the NFL, It's pretty much over.

Including New England.

Usually, but not always.

New England did win 11 games the year Brady was knocked out for the season in week 1. Granted, they missed the playoffs for that year, but missing the playoffs with 11 wins is very uncommon (in comparison, they got a first round bye with 11 wins this season.)

They also went 3-1 during Brady's suspension a few years ago. I seem to remember the Steelers winning more games than they lost when Roeth was out a while back. The Eagles won a Super Bowl a couple years back with Foles playing the entire post-season. They were competitive in the last playoffs. You can even go back to Andy Reid's old Eagles teams who seemed to do fine with whatever QB was in there.

I agree that it's tough though.

j/c

I guess it depends on your expected outcome. It seems many are content with a winning season. The key to that is the QB play. After that, the rest will all fall into place.

I don't necessarily agree that the jury is still out on Baker. I believe we know what he is capable of and he's only going to get better. He has set the bar high and he will exceed expectations. Will he have hiccups like a bad throw here or there, sure, all quarterbacks do. A bad game? Sure, all quarterbacks do. Will he have a bad season? No. I would not expect that at all. Some still underestimate him and that's a-okay.

The key to winning a super bowl will be the offensive line and defense and defensive line as well as the quarterback. If all 3 play well, we will have a better season than even what most are already expecting. Our goal this year is to win the Super Bowl. We may fall short but we will be in the running...

Considering Baker's performance as a rookie, there's no reason to believe he will regress and every reason to believe he will improve. How much is yet to be seen but even the Baker we saw last season is cause enough to say that the jury is not out.

It's always a dilemma for me when I start a topic about the team because it's hard not to include the qb when talking about the team, but people are very protective of Baker and the topic moves from an emphasis on the team to a defense of Baker. The last half dozen or so posts have been about supporting Baker

I really thought this might be a good thread because I thought it was a good topic and it's all football, but it hasn't even garnered as much interest as the one about a rookie punter who may or may not make the team. LOL

I think Baker, just because he occupies such an important position and he's coming into his second season, will always warrant at least some level of watching and monitoring. For me, the way he handled adversity last season tells me a lot about both his skill and mental toughness. He had the same rough patches as he made his way through last season. Past Browns rookie QBs would then fold up for the rest of the season like a cheap tent. Baker didn't. He's still got a way to go, but I think the fact that he bounced back and led the team to some wins is really key for the QB position on this team. Gives me confidence looking back on next season. Lots to work on... sure... but there's real hope there.

Compare that to some other areas of the team, and I worry more there. I tend to worry more when there's an unknown in play. Freddie stepping into a HC role is worrisome for me. I'm just not sure he'll be able to handle the duties of a play-calling head coach as a rookie. I continue to worry about the oline with the departure of Zeitler. I also worry about our tackles. Robinson's career arc makes me believe he's going to fall back to Earth, and Hubbard was absolutely dreadful for a good chunk of last season. I know that Baker's quicker release makes many of those issues go away, but it's still a worry of mine.

Our DC insisting we run cover schemes instead of man schemes with the starting DBs we have would be such a Browns thing to do. It's been our MO for how long now? That discussion started on here and I just groaned.

The expectations for the offense straight out the gate will be unreasonable. I think it will end up showing more about the leadership and emotional toughness we have on that side of the ball instead of coaching or talent. We will need time to gel that we simply won't be given by the media and fanbase. How we respond will say a lot.

Just so you know, my intent wasn't to make a thread about worrying. It was about "keys to the season." Thus, the keys can be either positive or negative. I never meant to imply that I was worried about any of the keys.

For example, I think if Baker lights it up this year, the team will have a great chance of winning in the playoffs. If he plays like he did last season, we should have a winning record. If teams figure him, things could get dicey.

I also mentioned coaching and chemistry. The coaches could turn out to be great, good, mediocre, poor, or a disaster. Chemistry is a tricky thing and it's unknown how all of these young and new pieces will fit together.

So again, I am not saying that I am worried about any of them. I just think those are three keys to the season. I also think that there are other keys, such as the overall defense, stopping the run, the OL, injuries, etc.

the jury is still out. Baker Mayfield had a TON of variable in his favor last year that he won't have this year.

1. No one knew anything of what type of O Freddie Kitchens would run nor his play calling tendencies. Kitchen's passing O was very different from the system Todd Haley used. Kitchens was also calling a very loose game with nothing lose just hoping some other team would be willing to give him a position at the end of the year. He never thought he would become Head Coach.

2. Lack of Film on Mayfield. Looking at Mayfield's film from college is useless because no one plays defense in that conference. Guys are open by 5-7 yards all the time.I think Mayfield is better than Murray, but look how that division made the midget Murry look who couldn't even beat out Mayfield for the job.

If you look at things historically, It takes between 7-9 games in an NFL Offense before DC start getting a feel for your tendacies, what your do, how you throw, etc. Mayfield just hit that point last year. I wager he will have a far more difficult time of things this year. It won't be anywhere near as easy.

I seen holes in Bakers game last year such as:

too many batted balls
Throws off his back foot too much
Gets happy feet in the pocket

His ability to scramble is the only thing that made his happy feet not a complete negative. However, NFL DC definitely took note if I did.

Mayfield should have went to the QB camps to work on improving his mechanics and honing his craft with guys like Brady, Brees, etc, instead he choose to just work out thinking he knows everything, that he has the world licked.

I won't be one bit surprised if he isn't in for one **** of a sophomore slump, and I personally think the kid needs to be humbled before he is going to take the next step and being a great QB. I think he has the potential to be great, but his arrogance can and will hold him back if things stay like they are.

As i said, im cautiously optimistic, but im not ready to crown him just yet. Mayfield career is really just beginning, he hasn't won anything of note yet in the NFL...so the jury is still out on him IMO.

If Baker weren't a well rounded QB I could see your point. But you can't just "figure out" how to stop a QB who can throw short, throw deep, hit in the middle and the edges of the field and scramble when he has to. We have more weapons than any secondary in the league can cover and a QB who can hit them in stride. And we have a very good RB. You can figure out we have all of that. You just can't figure out how to stop it.

Such a shame we drafted Baker and not Mason Rudolph...

I just tried saying this isn't a Baker thread. It's a thread about Keys to the Season. Baker can be one of those "keys," but this was not intended to be a Baker only thread.

Oh well.......screw it.

Yep ... like Hue Jackson. Like no first team reps till he had to start ... like losing his OC ...

And you know what's funny - when you say no-one had film on rookie Baker .... I'm going to go out on a limb here, and suggest it's entirely possible no teams had any film on any rookie QB ... don't hold me to that, i'm just throwing it out there as a possibility.

How many balls did he had batted down last year? 1?

Since you have your problems as per usual with posters and their posts in your thread...

I'm all in favor of the moderator deleting your thread.

I'd be in favor of it, too.