Cleveland Browns may like more than just Baylor’s players
By Peter Smith
After signing Robert Griffin III in free agency and then adding both Corey Coleman and Spencer Drango in the NFL Draft, the Browns may have eyes on Baylor’s offense too.
With the 2016 NFL Draft only a few days old, it seem as though many look at how the Cleveland Browns drafted and are confused on how to evaluate it. This seems to be due to the fact that teams aren’t sure what this team is doing on offense or assume they are going to be running the same offense Hue Jackson did in Cincinnati. Going into the draft, I was working under the same assumption and I was wrong. Jackson and the Browns are going in a completely different direction.
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Based on the draft results, how the roster is currently constructed and what Jackson has said, the Browns are going to run a spread offense taking inspiration from Baylor’s offense under Art Briles. Spreading teams out with wide receivers to create space and having a big, powerful offensive line mow down the opponent with the running game.
Baylor’s offense is built on the running game first, then takes full advantage of speed and athletes on the outside and uses tempo to make it that much more difficult to defend. The athletes Baylor has been able to recruit have made the offense that much more challenging to defend, but it provides substantial schematic advantages as well.
First, some people want to understand what the Baylor offense is and does. When most people say spread, this is usually what they think of:
A simple twins formation with weapons lined up outside with a quarterback in shotgun and a tailback. Certainly, there are any number of ways to vary on this concept, but this is the basic idea. It allows offenses to play smaller and use more athletes since talented 300lb football players aren’t common, especially in high school and college. Wide receivers are easier to find.
This also forces the defense to play smaller, using more nickel and dime packages to compensate. Most teams feel they have a much better chance of beating a team when they are making them use their third and fourth corners as opposed to having their starting SAM and WILL linebackers. So, that’s the basic spread.
When I think of Baylor’s Spread under Art Briles, this is what comes to mind:
They still have the same twins look with receivers, but they push them further out and force defenses to really decide where they want to put their numbers. In particular, it forces the linebackers and safeties to cover way more ground.
Baylor forces teams to cover the outside more and then uses a power running game inside to punish them for it, taking advantage of their numbers. Chip Kelly’s offense is focused on creating numbers advantages. Briles’ offense works on the same principle.
If the defensive backs slide out wide, the offensive line potentially finds themselves in a five on five situation where if they simple get bodies on blocks, their running back gets a lot of free yardage before running into contact. Play too tight and the quarterback can throw a screen pass, quick hitch or go route to punish the opponent.
In order to really stop this offense, the defense needs athletes with range that are very smart and be able to hold up when Baylor ramps up the tempo. If a defense can cover the outside receivers and control the running game, putting them in predictable situations, it really short circuits what Baylor wants to do.
Obviously, that is just part of what Baylor does offensively, but let’s look at a very basic concept of what Baylor does and see how the Browns could employ it:
This is a simple power run with an option to throw wide receiver screens to both sides. The quarterback, in this case, Robert Griffin III, basically goes up to the line of scrimmage and sees where the defense lines up and goes wherever the number advantage is.
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If the defense plays close to the box, he throws to whichever wide receiver screen he likes better. If the middle of the field looks open, he goes ahead and gives to the running back who goes behind the pulling right guard and hopefully has some open real estate.
Imagine Corey Coleman and Ricardo Louis are each playing in the slot on this formation with Jordan Payton and Rashard Higgins, both willing, effective blockers are on the line. It’s not difficult to see why this simple concept would cause opposing defenses a lot of stress.
If Coleman is the player the Browns think he is and the Browns can be effective running the ball, look at the stress this puts on those players covering the alleys. If those defenders make a mistake, their team can get gauged by the running game or give up a big play on the screen. It puts a ton of stress on them to be perfect.
With the speed Coleman and Louis bring to the table, they are threats to be opponents deep and may cause some corners to require safety over the top. That will only open up space for the running game. Griffin has more than enough arm to chuck it deep and let these guys go get the ball. The Browns are going to force defenses to cover the entire field on virtually every single play and look to exploit the holes created.
The Browns basically have one inline tight on the roster currently. Randall Telfer, who missed last year with a foot injury and hasn’t played a down yet. Gary Barnidge is better in space. Seth DeValve was the other weapon the Browns drafted and he is best utilized in space.
Barnidge and DeValve could both be in the slot on opposite sides creating potential mismatches. They could put Barnidge out wide and have him block a corner for Coleman on a quick pass. The options are virtually endless and it’s about creating problems for the defense to try to stop.
Obviously, Griffin has experience running this type of offense. Jackson said he would be incorporating some of those concepts from Baylor and added Coleman who just came from there himself. It’s a good situation where Griffin can be comfortable and confident.
In college, Baylor’s offense would likely also include a quarterback keep option where he could keep and run the ball, making the defense actually account for three things. It’s not terribly likely that Griffin will run it much but for an athletic quarterback who can protect himself, it’s another deadly option.
In the event Griffin just isn’t good this year and Jackson wants to keep the concept, there may be a quarterback headlining next year’s class that would be able to step in and run this type of offense in DeShaun Watson from Clemson, should he opt to declare.
It is also an offense that Cody Kessler could run. He doesn’t have the arm that Griffin has, but accuracy and getting rid of the ball quickly are two things where he does excel and that could be part of why Jackson likes him so much.
There are two major stumbling blocks for the Browns right now. First, the running game. They didn’t add another running back in the draft and they are banking on the same group they last year, including Isaiah Crowell, Duke Johnson, Glenn Winston and then adding Terrell Watson, who the Browns signed off of the Cincinnati Bengals’ practice squad when Jackson took the job.
It’s imperative they get an effective running back that can make teams for the space this offense creates. This might be a boon for Duke Johnson who is a terrific weapon as a receiver, but has a lot of juice in the open field.
The other potential stumbling block is short yardage and especially the red zone. Obviously with 53 players and only 45 active on gameday, it’s not easy to have the players active to play the spread and be able to go into a jumbo formation.
The defense gains a big advantage because they have so much less ground to cover, so maybe the Browns use their extra linemen as tight ends or have something else in mind to resolve this. In college, with schools having so many players, they can have a legitimate short yardage package where NFL teams are far more pinched.
The offensive line is incredibly important in any scheme, but certainly gets added pressure here. They aren’t getting much help from ancillary players like tight ends and fullbacks to block and may get nothing more than a tailback for help with pass protection. Certainly, misdirection and getting the ball out quickly are important but the five guys up front are critical to the success of this offense (probably smart the Browns decided to keep Joe Thomas).
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It remains to be seen just how much of this type of offense the Browns intend to use. They may run this type of system the entire time or it may be just a small part of Jackson’s overall plan, but given the draft and the way the roster is currently, this seems to be where Jackson wants to go with the Browns in 2016.