Some of the comments on here crack me up. "Mayfield is afraid to throw." The dude has been changed into a game manager. Game managers don't take risks. Baker is not going to throw to guys who have not gotten separation. Watch the damn game - our receivers were never open. When Baker does throw he gets dropped passes - 5 by my count last night.
Now to Stefanski - when a team is putting 8 in the box to stop the run you have to make them pay by passing the ball. When you play 3 TE's all basically in the box or close to it you now have 10 defensive players in the box with 1 on 1 with your only WR. Your QB has no option for an audible and the TE's are now in such heavy traffic they couldn't get separation if they wanted to. Slants are out, hooks are out, screens are out and your QB now has about 2 secs to throw because it's a constant rush of 6 outmanning the o-line. A high school coach knows that to make the defense play honest you must spread the field and make them pay for putting 6 in the box. Putting only 1 WR on the field proved to the Ravens the Browns wouldn't spread to make them change. JOK can be a threat but he still has catching issues and is a waste on short must need routes and separation. Does Baker have some fault - absolutely but he's also running the scheme Stefanski has instilled which is a game manager QB. If you're going to scheme a run heavy offense, you better be able to keep the defense honest by passing and making them pay if they cheat on the run. Hey dummy, you can't do that by lining up your offense that allows the defense to have 10 in the box.
The Browns are 23rd in the league in pass attempts with 360. That's currently 110 less pass attempts than Tampa Bay and the Bucs have only played 11 games. Now it's true that the Browns are 2nd in rushing but what happens when you can't run? The Browns are 14th in the league in net yards per pass attempt yet they won't throw to keep the defense honest. Add to that fact that only Las Vegas and Dallas have been penalized more than the Browns and you have a formula to lose.
I go back to the Arizona game that was the most telling game as to what Stefanski's scheme is in reality. When your losing 20-0 five minutes into the 2nd quarter and you only throw 19 times from that point forward you have sent a clear message to the league that your QB will not be throwing. Remember, the Browns lost that game 34-14 and were never in the game or a threat to be competitive. Since that game, the Browns have scored more than 17 points one freaking time! Including the Arizona game, the Browns have now went 7 straight games with less than 225 yards passing. The Browns are never going to win consistently with any QB who only throws for an average of 207 yds per game like the Browns have so far this season. Finally, I have some swamp land in Florida for you if you think for a moment that a Rodgers, Wilson, or Watson is going to want to come to Cleveland to throw for 200 yds per game. You honestly must be smoking something if you believe those QB's would ever agree to play in the Stefanski scheme - IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN!
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