Offensive juggernaut?

With the Browns ramping up the rest of this week in preparation for the padded-practice portion of their contact integration period beginning next Monday, time to assess what lies ahead for the 2020 National Football League season. First the offense.

 

It has been nearly 40 years since the Browns have put an offense on the field like the one fans will see this season. You have to go back to the fun days of Bernie Kosar in the mid-1980s for comparisons.

 

It is, in a word, stacked.

 

From the revamped – and vastly improved – line to the twin stud running backs to the star-studded receiving corps to the face-of-the-franchise quarterback, the Browns this season will not be starved for points. At least on paper.

 

The biggest difference between this season and last season’s lamented struggle to finish 6-10 lies up front. Last season’s unit in the trenches was mediocre at best, awful at worst. Not this season’s. More on that later.

 

The so-called skill positions, already dangerously strong last season, were enhanced during the offseason with the addition of free-agent tight end Austin Hooper, the two-time Pro Bowler from Atlanta.

 

Last season, the offense clearly underperformed (underachieved?) because that side of the football was handled almost exclusively by the club’s dimwitted head coach who had no clue he was undermining himself.

 

Not this season. Even though he has yet to be the head coach in an NFL game, Kevin Stefanski is the coaching antithesis of his predecessor. He actually has a clue. Actually a lot more. And that portends success.

 

In what way? Having already successfully coached a solid, multi-talented offense in Minnesota, he understands the key to any success is maximizing all the talents on board. The only goal is winning. Makes no difference how you get there. Selfish is out.

 

Stefanski’s biggest challenge will be satisfying everyone on that side of the football, assuming he takes on the role of play caller. Ball distribution is vital in a well-balanced offense, which will be highly favored under his roof.

 

One high-strung personality stands in his way. Odell Beckham Jr. is never satisfied unless he sees the football on a fairly regular basis. The team concept does not appear in his thought patterns. His “throw me the damn ball” approach is problematic.

 

It will be interesting to see how the new head coach handles his star wide receiver when – not if – when that occurs. Beckham was the star in his five seasons with the New York Giants, who reached the playoffs only once in that span. He became spoiled and selfish, attributes that carried over to his first season in Cleveland last season.

 

One benefit of Stefanski’s love affair with the ground game and equal distribution of the football lies in how well Baker Mayfield, whose two years in the NFL have been a rollercoaster ride, performs this season.

 

After setting a rookie record for touchdown passes, he bottomed out last season. This season, he is being counted on to minimize his mistakes, become a game manager so to speak. He’ll be the offense’s linchpin, but not necessarily the focal point.

 

The focal point will be the entirety of the offense. There will be no I, no me. It will be we and they. Singular is out; plural is in.  

 

Stefanski has quite an arsenal at his disposal. With the mobile and strong-armed Mayfield commanding the huddle, he can rely on the elite running of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, the receiving prowess of wide receivers like Jarvis Landry and Beckham and tight ends Hooper and David Njoku.

 

It is not an exaggeration to contend this is a team capable of winning games just by outscoring the opposition. Its talents are so varied, the playbook is wide open as to what is not only possible, but doable.

 

It has yet to be determined who will call plays, but if Stefanski is wise, he will initially cede that aspect of the offense to Alex Van Pelt, his coordinator. The hard part there might be entrusting such a job to someone else in the absence of exhibition games.

 

But in order to have a shot at being successful as a head coach, he needs to step back and see the whole picture, something Kitchens stubbornly refused to do last season. That’s why he is now tight ends coach for the Giants.

 

And now the line, where it all starts.

 

It was a unit that last season was grossly overrated with woeful weakness at both tackles and right guard. The fact Chubb finished second in rushing is more a testament to his greatness than the performance of the guys up front.

 

The line is startlingly different this season, smartly crafted by General Manager Andrew Berry. Gone are tackles Greg Robinson (now a free agent) and Chris Hubbard (relegated to the bench), replaced by rookie Jedrick Wills Jr. and free agent Jack Conklin. They join center JC Tretter and guards Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller.

 

Conklin is a Pro Bowler whose forte is the run game; Wills is the X factor until games are played; and Teller did not start until midway through last season, but did not embarrass himself down the stretch.

 

The big gamble is switching Wills, a career right tackle, to the left side. How well he defends his quarterback’s blind side will be watched carefully in the relatively limited time the club has to get ready for the season opener in Baltimore.

Add up a vastly improved offensive line, a quarterback determined to show he’s more like 2018 than 2019, arguably the best running game in the league, a pair of star wide receivers and immense improvement at tight end and you have excellent reasons to hope the pandemic does not short-circuit the 2020 season.

Next: The defense