Posts
And the beat goes on and on and on
The Dysfunction Express continues to roll at 76 Lou Groza Blvd.
And why not? It has been moving along at a stunningly rapid (and unsuccessful) clip for the Browns for the vast majority of the last 16 seasons. Why stop now?
The latest round of dysfunction comes in the form of the
Browns Thursday permitting offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan to leave after just one
season and the firing of quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains.
Just like that, the two brains responsible for making the
Cleveland offense go (during the early stages of the season) and then stumble
badly in reverse (the rest of the season) are gone.
That means the Browns once again will have a new philosophy
on the attacking side of the football this season. That will (sarcasm warning) thrill (end sarcasm warning) those who operate
on that side of the ball.
Yep, another change in philosophy. Just when players are
starting to get comfortable with one style of play, along comes someone else with
a completely different approach. No wonder they grumble when coaches leave
almost as quickly as they arrive.
Whoever is anointed the new offensive boss will be the
unlucky 13th man to hold the job since the resurrection in 1999.
Think about that. That’s 13 new philosophies in 17 seasons. No wonder the
Cleveland attack suffers year after year after year.
Since 1999, the Browns’ offense has been guided by Chris
Palmer, Pete Carmichael, Bruce Arians, Terry Robiskie, Rob Chudzinski (who held
the position twice in different seasons), Maurice Carthon, Jeff Davidson, Brian
Daboll, Pat Shurmur, Brad Childress, Norv Turner and Shanahan.
Arians ran the offense for what can now be considered a
record three seasons (2001-03), while Robiskie ran it before taking over the
head reins for the final five games of the 2004 season after Butch Davis quit.
Palmer and Shurmur were head coaches who ran their own offenses.
No matter whom the Browns bring in to replace the departed
duo, unless he’s a combination of greats like Paul Brown, Sid Gillman, Blanton Collier and Don
Coryell, you can count on only token improvement of the offense.
Adapting to new philosophies, new nomenclature, new system, new
everything takes time for an offense. It doesn’t gel just like that. Offenses
are predicated on rhythm and timing. It’s the opposite for defense, where
belligerence and aggression are essential requirements.
An offense runs more as a total unit whereas the defense
does not require the precision of all 11 men to be successful on a play. That’s why in training camp, exhibition games and the early
part of the regular season, the defense is clearly ahead of the offense. Most good
offenses start catching up a few games into the season.
The mutual parting of the ways by Shanahan and the Browns did
not come as a surprise. Speculation he might be leaving arose when other
National Football League clubs inquired about his availability for at least a
lateral move, if not one that involved a head coaching vacancy.
When it was learned his father, Mike, wanted to return to
the league, it was only natural that Shanahan’s name was linked to the
possibility of his father hooking up with some team.
Shanahan leaves an offense that was predicated on the
running game, which, to his credit, was the single greatest improvement on the
team this season on either side of the ball. The Cleveland running game, which
broke down in the last month of the season, was well respected around the NFL
until then.
When a team goes from four rushing touchdowns in 2013 to 17 this
past season, Shanahan must get a majority of the credit. His zone-blocking scheme
was the main reason the Browns gained nearly 350 more yards in 2014.
It also allowed rookie running backs Isaiah Crowell and
Terrance West to emerge as definite threats with the ball. The only drawback
was Shanahan’s reluctance to involve his running backs in the passing game.
What hurt the offense ultimately was the inability of
whoever was under center to be proficient enough and dangerous enough to get
the opposition to back off crowding the line of scrimmage.
Once teams realized the best way to beat the Browns was to
put as many as eight men in the box, take away the run game and force the quarterback
to throw the ball more than he or his coordinator wanted, the offense sputtered
badly. The result was a season-ending five-game losing streak.
Maybe that’s why coach Mike Pettine at the end of the season called his quarterback situation
“messy” and General Manager Ray Farmer did not slam
the door on selecting a quarterback in the next college football draft.
Pettine holds the key to where the Browns are headed
offensively. He makes the calls on his coaching staff. In choosing Shanahan, he
obviously was a fan of the running game. Shanahan’s successor most likely will
have the same philosophy if Pettine has anything to say about it.
It’s a tricky situation because the offense has the
potential of becoming something better than decent. (Full disclosure: I hate
potential. It does not necessarily guarantee success. Only hope.)
The good news is Alex Mack will be back. That’s a huge
difference right there. The offensive line struggled after the Pro Bowl center
was lost for the season after breaking a leg in game five.
Farmer has two first-round draft picks to play with and wide
receiver, a position that suffered all season despite his protestations to the
contrary, is certain to be one of his targets. Depending on what happens with
Josh Gordon and in free agency, as many as two might be taken.
There is no question, though, the Browns definitely need a
quarterback better than whom they have now. In his brief time with the Browns,
Shanahan could not solve the passing game problems. That should be the top
priority for his successor.
However, Browns fans should not expect whomever that man is
to arrive and right the ship immediately. That’s not going to happen.
The learning curve for the sixth different offensive
coordinator in the last six seasons will be painfully slow. It will be even
slower for the players, who face the tough task of learning a completely new
system.
Don’t expect much from the new Cleveland offense right away.
That’s because the club clearly took a step back Thursday.
Sometimes I wonder if we accept mediocrity in the name of stability. We sucked the last 2 months of the season and missed on a lot of personnel moves. Why does anyone still have a job? Oh, I know. We need stability. And we got a lot of media criticism last year for firing the beloved Chud. Can't have none of that. I say fire every bastard until I see some goddamn results. I've been waiting since 1964.
ReplyDeleteCareful, Tim, your frustration is showing.
DeleteWe have all been waiting since 1964. A lot of us are rowing in that same fleet of boats. And until the right group of people comes along, that's not going to change.
Who are the right people? That's the ultimate question to which no one has an answer. Until then, all we can do is hang in there and hope.
Probably not what you want to hear, I know, but the only alternative is to root for someone else.
I'll never root for another team. But I will say those years we did not have a team - I loved it. My Sundays were peaceful, never got upset. It really was bliss. After I got over the loss, I adapted, quit watching the NFL and really enjoyed no heartaches.
DeleteYou might not have missed those three years, but I and I'm certain many others did. My Sundays are still peaceful during football season, as well as baseball and basketball seasons.
DeleteSports, at least to me, is like the toy department of life. When I worked at the Plain Dealer, the sports department was known by many people outside of it as the toy department. We looked at it as pure fun.
The frustration of sports, at least for Cleveland teams, is palpable for just so long. And then we move on to more important matters.
I'm going to stop now. This is getting way too sappy.
"Just when players are starting to get comfortable with one style of play, ..." Gee, I guess they got so comfortable with that "style" that they just quit playing after game 11! Shanahan was not the answer and Loggains turned into a publicity whore after the draft. You keep saddling this organization, that's been trying to build for what, 2 years with the last 16 years of futility. What happened from 1999-2012 shouldn't be hung around these guys' necks like a stone. Give'em a chance to find the right combination.
ReplyDeleteThey didn't quit playing, Southie. By game 11, actually it was more like a few games before that, opposing teams figured out how to beat the Browns.
DeleteIn actuality, the season-ending streak should have been seven games. If not for Mike Smith's bonehead move of calling a timeout in the final minute of the Atlanta game, the Browns would have lost that one, too.
The latest moves are nothing more than another in a series of moves by a front office that has no clue as to how to run a football team.
It fired a coach in Chudzinski, who deserved at least one more season, then waited for too long a time before hiring what probably was their fourth or fifth choice.
Then that relatively unknown person was saddled with an offensive coordinator (whom I believe he agreed to rather than chose) and this is the end result.
As for the futility, what they have done for the vast majority of the last 16 seasons should be hung around their necks. Not like a stone, Like a boulder.
Give them a chance to find the right direction? I've been giving them a chance for the last 16 years. And they keep giving me great stuff to hang them.
What don't you understand about the fact that these guys weren't even around for most of the last 16 years?
DeleteAnd what don't you understand that this has been going on for 16 years no matter who is in charge? The only things that change are the names and faces. Everything else is the same. The losing, the ineptitude, the frustration, the lack of understanding of just what it takes to put together a winning team.
DeleteOK, give these guys at least one more year. I have no problem with that. I understand the stability factor. But it seems the learning curve in Cleveland is all too brief.
One of these years, Haslam or whoever owns the team will make the correct moves and then be content enough to sit back and let those he hires do their jobs with no interference. If he can't do that, then this franchise is doomed to fail on an annual basis.
I say good riddance to Shanahan. He's a spoiled, whiny, over rated, egotistical child who doesn't play well with others (IMO). A "me first" kind of guy.
ReplyDeleteHe was also forced on Pettine, wanted to bring in Kirk Cousins (!), and had no answer to opponents' defensive strategies for half the season.
Lane Adkins at the OBR wrote, among other things, that he lessened the use of the hurry up offense, which was our most effective weapon, because he didn't like Hoyer calling his own plays.
I 'm willing to bet that most players/coaches won't miss him.
Things might actually be looking up...
I don't have a problem with Shanahan's departure. Strummer. I wasn't impressed with his offense, but I will defend his inability to beat the strategies of opposing teams in the second half of the season.
ReplyDeleteHe didn't have the talent at the most important position. Once opposing teams figured out Brian Hoyer, the Cleveland attack was doomed. And the only fallback he had was Johnny Manziel.
Manziel clearly was not ready. We found that out in the Cincinnati disaster. Why he wasn't ready is another matter.
Losing Alex Mack definitely hurt. Cohesion along the offensive line was dramatically affected by his loss. You could see it crumbling on a game-to-game basis.
As for the hurry-up offense, you are preaching to the choir. It was obvious from almost the start of the season that the uptempo approach was more successful than huddling.
In fact, I wrote a piece around game five or six with stats that reflected that success. That style all but disappeared in the second half of the season and now I can see why. Stubbornness paved Shanahan's way out of Cleveland.
He will not be missed.