DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum What will be the effect of THIS new coaching staff...

Thanks! I was wracking my brain and trying to make that acronym say something. Blessings on you, wordsmith! Like it!

I've heard this kind of rhetoric before. Nevermind.

If a game is played - what should we expect to be the 5 starting OL.

Joel Bitonio said the new offensive system is the marriage of the run and pass and similar to what the team ran under Kyle Shanahan with success in his rookie year. "I'm excited to get back in it."
https://twitter.com/FredGreetham/status/1267861863288750083

Joel Bitonio: I'm excited to get back in wide zone scheme. Had success with it in 2014 under OC Kyle Shanahan. Thinks it's a good fit for Baker, will give him another second or 2 for guys to get open.
https://twitter.com/ScottPetrak/status/1267861852798803970

Joe Thomas and Andrew Hawkins always say the best system they ever played in was Kyle Shanahan’s because it was easy to learn and made sense.

I bet that Alex Mack agrees w/Joe T, Hawk, and Bitonio.

Yup. He was a perfect fit. If Stefanski can run the offense even a little bit like Shanahan does we should be pretty well off.

It seems there were a few of us that saw what Shanahan brought to the table when he was here. It seems the players saw that too.

And from Bitonios' comment it seems it will be a balance of run pass which is what I thought it would be. I couldn't see us being runcentric with all of the offensive weapons in the passing game at Stefanski's disposal. That just wouldn't seem like the smart way to use all of the talent at your disposal.

I think we'll find, at the end of each game, that runs and passes will have a balanced # of plays... but when watching the game, it will be the establishment of the run game that makes everything possible. Establishing the run game will lead to chunk pass plays, and to that effect we'll be a run-focused team. The run game is the key.

That jives with the strengths of our offense, and it was that way when Shanny was running his O here.

Establishing the run is not a thing teams need to do.

Balance means getting all players on the field the ball it doesn’t necessarily mean running and passing equally.

I don't care if we are all run or all pass or find some mythical perfect balance between the two that makes everyone happy.... as long as we are effective and competent.

Just win.

Don't care how.

Just win.

That sounds more like distribution than balance.

But it is for Shanny's O. It was well-documented/articulated that once he establishes the run threat in the early parts of the game he can fully unfold his offense. Adding in wrinkles to plays that look the same as earlier ones.

There are times, depending on your opponent, that using the run to open up the pass is a sound strategy. Against other teams using the pass to open up the run is a more sound strategy.

Football has always been a game where exploiting your opponents weaknesses gives you the greatest advantage.

That certainly sounds very positive.

And I'm not trying to rain on your parade. However, every time we get a new coaching staff or FO the press usually gives them a honeymoon period. They talk them up and say lots of positive things. So to this moment, things are par for the course.

As a Browns fan I'm certainly hopeful things will be different tis time. However, I'm waiting on some evidence before I'm willing to buy in.

Not saying it will be the same, but at this point in time it's been like watching a rerun in terms of all the positive vibes.

And that brings up more questions than answers for me as well. Was he running "his system", or was he simply implementing someone elses system? I mean he wasn't the HC. Will he adjust what he does to take full advantage of the roster talent we have on O? I mean how smart would it be to focus on the run game as some have suggested when we have so many great O weapons in the passing game?

And that's a funny thing. He seems very detail oriented from everything I can gather. That's a very positive thing to have in a HC. But as we've seen from watching this game for so long, some can step up from being a coordinator to the HC and do well. Some simply fail terribly when elevated to the HC position. Being a HC is an entire different animal.

I think we agree quite a bit here. I've seen nothing that makes me skeptical or anything to make me feel this will be the final answer for us.

Whenever this comes up, I'm reminded of the OC that took over after Shanny bailed (I think it was Flip(?)). He tried to take what Shanny did, keep the good parts, and fashion a hybrid blocking scheme and/or overall scheme. It failed miserably, and I think a big part of that is because he was chasing parts of an offense that he didn't understand and implement properly.

I hope that KS implements HIS offense. Even if his O isn't a wrinkle of the Kubiak/Shanny O, he'll be better off if he sticks to what he knows.

What about the defense and Stefanski's stamp on that side of the ball.

Yes that's an interesting question ... and since Joe Woods has only been the DC before for one short stint in Denver, it's a bit of an unknown .... my impression of KS overall is that he is a true manager/leader, as opposed to needing to be hands on micro-manager guy. The Kubiak discussion to me highlights that, he wasn't interested in taking the credit for the success of the offense or claiming it as his vs Kubiak ... he was more interested in using whatever means necessary to be successful. Good leaders don't take credit they give it to everyone else... To me that's a glaring difference (so far) between say KS and someone like Hue. So on D - I expect KS to be involved and to set expectations and to communicate well with Joe Woods - but to let Joe run the show and take credit for any successes. Nothing to go on other than opinion - but I expect a holistic approach... we don't need to be a great defense, we just need the defense to give the Offense a chance to put the points up and get the lead. The Offense will need to take some time off the clock to give the D time to recover etc. Again - a makes me think of the Seattle game and Freddie trying to run up the score before the half.... I don't think we'll see that approach. We might see some high scoring through good play and play calls and execution etc ... I just don't see KS as someone who will think the O needs to score 3 times in the last 5 minutes of a half when we are already winning/dominating.

Of course when they start playing meaningful football - all plans and strategy can get tossed out the window quickly if we aren't executing or can't execute ...

As a new head coach, it will probably be more Joe Woods stamp. New head coaches usually stay more in their lane the first few years.

It's just too early to be able to tell. I think one stamp he values is speed on D. The LB Phillips has tremendous range. The DT from Missouri is very quick for a big guy.

KS hasn't run a single practice on grass yet. He's motivated, smart, and organized. I've seen to many regimes....I'm from Missouri from now on....show me, STATE. LOVE our QB stated don't talk about it, get it done.....seems our current head coach has guys together enough not to mouth off......Go Browns!!!

I’ve said this before, but I’m not as concerned with how well KS can scheme an offense as I am with how well he can lead a team to ensure we are fully prepared, everyone buys in, we adequately game plan, and that the coordinators are fully enabled to effectively run their aspect of the game. That is - to me - the most important aspect of the game. One example is Mike Tomlin. When he came to the Steelers, they didn’t switch to the Tampa 2. He let LeBeau do his thing and he just did his best to ensure wholistic success.

That being said, I am a little interested to see how this offense works. Who will call plays? If it’s Van Pelt, how much experience does he have in the zone stretch? I’m curious to see how well this works.

They key for me is if KS can instill a healthy dose of mental and emotional maturity. If he has our guys locked on and serious about what they do, I'll be less worried about how far off season factors set us behind. We may not have a very sophisticated game plan the first couple weeks, but with the requisite mental toughness, I think we have the talent to boil it all down to beating your man.

No doubt we have been snookered to a degree with the lack of hands on, in camp training. Teams with new coaches are give a few extra weeks to work through things and we won't get that. That isn't going to help. Teams are given that for a reason.

Stefanski is razor sharp IMO. You can see it in his eyes. He has hawk eyes. Not much is going to escape him. I don't see him as one who is going do well with players who don't focus.

That should settle it then. That's probably what drew Depo to him as well.

Good, we agree. It's settled.

Sorry I brought it up....but pretty funny stuff


How about Jack Elam eyes?

Thought I would revisit this thread. We are 1/4 of the way through the season. Still early...but interesting to compare.

For me, my opinion has changed...

I am even more convinced that the Coaching staff was the biggest Upgrade this offseason.

The growth I see in this team from week to week has been a joy to watch. And while it is subjective...I can only attribute it to the coaching staff beginning with Stefanski. We are currently seeing the "anti-Browns" as we have known the Browns the past 20 years. They are handling situations in a very non-Browns fashion. Butch Davis's Teams had a little success...but those teams did not have to deal with the length of failure this team has had to. Coach after Coach have come through here and although we have felt good about some of the results from time to time. I have never had the confidence that we have finally found our coach until this season. I saw signs they could be...but never had that "feeling" that we could really punch through the ineptness.

Yes. it is still early. only 4 games in. And we have some big challenges ahead. The Colts have one of the best D's in football. We have an extremely tough Division. But the notion I have to this point is that we can overcome those challenges. I don't feel it is a certainty...nothing is. But I feel better about taking on those challenges than at any other time since our return.

How about you...How have your opinions changed (if at all) about the affect this Coaching staff has on this team???

I was thinking to myself around the middle of the game about the complete lack of head-scratching mistakes that usually plague Browns teams. Those procedural penalties that make you question of Browns players had ever played the game before (not lining up correctly, shifting, delay of game on first downs and after timeouts, etc). We've seen them over the years, but not this year with a rookie HC and basically no offseason.

Oh yeah, and we're playing well. The offense looks more put together and cohesive than it did at any point last season.

How about only 5 Penalties for 40 yards, we are not committing stupid penalties this year as in the past, thats discipline from the Coaching staff ...

I put this in the post game thread.

I was skeptical about Stefanski when we hired him, but I have to say this:

I have been impressed w/his overall play calling and schemes. I think he has a good run scheme and is taking advantage of a strength.

I have been impressed w/how he has been able to cut down on Baker's responsibility and subsequent mistakes. I also like how he has rolled Baker out at times which makes his reads easier.

I also have been impressed w/the team's overall discipline and preparedness. We are not nearly as sloppy as last year and are playing more focused.

I want to throw out another shout-out to Callahan. This OL has been absolutely fantastic. He almost certainly been a huge factor in that. I also have always loved the ZBS. It's more complicated than man blocking, but I think it is very effective. You need smart players to run it well and it appears we have that.

Evaluating the coaching staff is an ongoing thing, but I am pleasantly pleased w/what I have seen thus far.

I wouldn't say my opinion has changed because I didn't really have one. I did have a set of what I expected/hoped to see and so far this team under his leadership is largely meeting those expectations.

I echo the Callahan shout out. The OL is a huge part of our success so far. It didn't matter who toted the rock yesterday, everyone had room to run.

Wills is further along than I figured he would be. And Teller. Geez. I love how he punishes people. When he ends up with no one to block, well, someone is going down.

I think maybe Stump Mitchell deserves a little credit, too. Granted, a lot of RB coaches would love to have the group he has to work with.