A few weeks ago Kevin Stefanski spoke of the need for his squad to get "back to basics" and it was at that point I knew the Browns season was likely finished.
The Browns real problems started when Paul DePodesta and Jimmy Haslam decided to force Kevin Stefanski to uproot his entire offensive support structure with the goal of maximizing the teams ability to create "explosive plays." I blame Stefanski too, because in the end, he went along with the lunacy. After 4 years of working with Paul DePodesta I suspect Kevin Stefanski knows perfectly well that DePo is full of shit. For Stefanski to agree to fire AVP and turnover most of his offensive staff shows that he was afraid to say what he really believes for fear of being seen as not in alignment.
The problem is simple: Paul DePodesta apparently got Jimmy Haslam and Andrew Berry to believe that explosive plays are driven primarily by scheme. It's as stupid a strategy as a baseball fan can come up with.
What was the result?
Stefanski loses his entire offensive support structure starting with the firing of his trusted assistant and during the off season, Stefanski was overwhelmed by how to implement a new scheme that will satisfy Jimmy and DePo.
Bill Walsh once stated that if you have to get back to basics, it's because you have not built the basics into your daily routine. My guess is that Stefanski focused his team 100% on learning the new scheme, gave them far too much to digest and ignored the basics.
The outcome is 1-6 and it's going to get worse from here.
The Ravens are a team so focused on the basics, so stable that they are able to layer in sophistication with the due care required, over seasons of consistent effort. This season Lamar Jackson has near complete control of the offense, he's adjusting his protection packages moments before each snap and changing plays whenever he needs to. Could Lamar have handled that in his first few years with the Ravens? No! Ask Deshaun Watson how easy it is to develop a sophisticated understanding of a scheme. The Browns force fed Watson and his entire offense too much, Watson paid, probably with his career for that mistake. He took so many hits in a scheme he and his teammates were not ready to run that eventually he finally took one too many hits.
Lamar Jackson is in his 3rd year in Todd Monken's scheme and he has 7 years running the Ravens offense and That's why they are scoring over 30 points a game this season.
Browns fans, it is PICK YOUR POISON this week.
Stop Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson will either run or kill you in the air.
Stop Lamar Jackson in the air and Derrick Henry will kill you on the ground.
I do believe that Jameis Winston will be able to get the ball accurately 20+ yards downfield and the Browns will move the ball for the first time this season, I even see the Browns surpassing that magical 20 point barrier for the first time this season, the definition of an average NFL offense. A turnover or two might even help the Browns compete on Sunday, but the Ravens are going to win this game.
The Brown BLog Predicts
Ravens 27
Browns 24
The Brown BLog are 5-2 season to date predicting Browns games.
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