Sep 29, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer (6) calls a play in the huddle during the third quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at FirstEnergy Stadium. Browns beat the Bengals 17-6. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
If the Cleveland Browns hope to improve on last season’s 7-9 record the team will need an improved performance from its offense.
The 2014 season started out strong, with the Browns running the ball at will and quarterback Brian Hoyer leading the offense to 26.8 points per game through the first five games.
But once center Alex Mack was lost for the season with a leg injury, the running game stalled, the play-action passes stopped working, and Hoyer struggled on a weekly basis, ultimately leading to the historically horrendous seven quarters of football from rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel.
Since the end of the season general manager Ray Farmer has worked to reshape the offense into one that will not have to rely on the quarterback to win. Out is Hoyer and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, along with tight end Jordan Cameron and wide receiver Miles Austin.
According to Pro Football Focus, the Browns lost the equivalent of 2.94 players on offense, based on the number of offensive snaps the departed players were on the field for last season. The bulk of those lost snaps came from just a handful of players, however, with Hoyer leading the way with 934 offensive snaps. He was followed by Austin (544), center Nick McDonald (481) and Cameron (487).
Of that group, Cameron is the only one that the Browns will potentially miss, but that is predicated on Cameron being able to stay on the field, something he was only able to do 10 times last season and just 47 (out of a possible 64 times) in his four seasons in Cleveland.
So while the Browns had some turnover with the offense, they didn’t lose anyone crucial, which means improvement is just around the corner, yes?
Well, not so fast my friends.
Pro Football Focus also examined the offensive depth chart for the Browns, ranking each player in one of seven categories: Elite, High Quality, Good, Average, Below Average, Poor, Not Enough Info, Rookie and Rookie Undrafted Free Agent.
According to their rankings, the Browns’ offense still has a lot of work to do, with only six players earning a rank of Good or better.
Let’s take a look at each position group, see how PFF ranked the players, and determine if the ranking is fair or not.
Next: Offensive Line
Aug 23, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Joel Bitonio (75) and tackle Joe Thomas (73) block St. Louis Rams defensive end Robert Quinn (94) in the second quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
No surprises here, as the offensive line is easily the strongest group on offense.
Left tackle Joe Thomas checks in as the lone Elite player on offense, while left guard Joel Bitonio and Mack both receive a ranking of High Quality. On the right side of the line, guard John Greco and much-maligned tackle Mitchell Schwartz fall into the Good category.
Related: Joel Bitonio tabbed as breakout player
Among the backups, guard Michael Bowie surprisingly checks in at average, while the rest of the group, including first-round draft pick Cameron Erving, are all too inexperienced (or are rookies) to earn a ranking.
This grouping is spot on and has gotten better simply because McDonald is no longer on the roster. As PFF points out, while filling in for Mack in 2014, McDonald earned the “third-worst grade at center (-28.3) in the process and did so on less than half as many snaps as the guys just below him.”
It’s no wonder the offense struggled once Mack was injured.
The line should also get better with the addition of Erving, who worked so far at both tackle positions, center and right guard during the just-completed Organized Team Activities.
Verdict: Fair
Next: Wide Receivers
Nov 16, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Andrew Hawkins (16) scores a touchdown during the second quarter against the Houston Texans at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
While the offensive line will look familiar to fans, the same cannot be said of the wide receiver group.
The Browns brought in free agents Dwayne Bowe and Brian Hartline, and drafted Vince Mayle, to compete with incumbents Andrew Hawkins, Travis Benjamin and Taylor Gabriel.
Related: Predicting 2015 wide receiver starters
Hawkins is a PFF favorite, pulling in the highest grade among the receivers with a High Quality mark. According to the site:
"Andrew Hawkins is the Browns best skill position player at this point, and underrated by many even as a slot receiver. Our 11th highest graded receiver in 2014, Hawkins forced 11 missed tackles and averaged 6.4 yards after the catch. The type of receiver where it’s important to find ways to put the football in his hands, he can be a major asset for the Browns out of the slot in 2015."
Things fall off pretty quickly, though, with Hartline, Bowe, Benjamin and Gabriel all earning Average grades, with the rest of the receiving group checking in at Below Average, Rookie or Not Enough Info.
“There’s not really any what-if,” Hawkins told the team’s website. “Hartline’s been in the league a long time. Dwayne Bowe has done it in this league a long time. These guys are coming out here and practicing and they’re pros. You couldn’t have made two better additions to this team. There’s pressure on all of us, which is a good thing. We still have a lot to prove. That’s a good situation to be in. Once the season rolls around, we’ll have to keep this going.”
There are certainly no superstars among the group, but they may collectively be better than their numbers from last season would indicate – especially with the increased competition driving everyone to be better.
But having said that, the receivers – especially Bowe and Hartline – have to show that their down seasons in 2014 were just off years, rather than the beginning of the end of their days as productive wide receivers.
Verdict: Fair
Next: Tight Ends
Dec 11, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Arizona Cardinals tight end Rob Housler (84) runs the ball against the St. Louis Rams during the first half at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
If the wide receivers have Browns fans feeling down, the rankings of the tight ends will leave them depressed.
The players can be divided into two groups: Below Average veterans Jim Dray, Gary Barnidge and Rob Housler; and rookies Randall Telfar, Malcolm Johnson (who will be used more as a fullback and/or H-back), Emmanuel Bibbs and Kevin Haplea.
No matter who takes the field at the position, they will be involved in the offense in some fashion.
Related: 4 questions with Randall Telfer
“The tight ends will be very involved. We want to run the football. That’s going to be an important part, a cornerstone of what we do,” head coach Mike Pettine told the team’s website. “We also want to be able to control and work the middle of the field. That’s why we feel very fortunate to add a Rob Housler.”
If Cameron, who signed with Miami as a free agent, stays healthy and plays 16 games (or close to it), there is no doubt that is the position group that will be most impacted by the off-season. But Cameron has only done that once in four years (2013 when he played 15 games), so while the Browns lost a talented player, it was a player who they couldn’t rely on to be there each week.
Even having said that, this is unquestionably the weakest position group on offense that doesn’t include Josh McCown or Johnny Manziel.
Verdict: Fair
Next: The Running Backs
Dec 7, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns running back Isaiah Crowell (34) runs through the tackle of Indianapolis Colts free safety Sergio Brown (38) during the first quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
This is the first position group where we don’t agree with PFF’s rankings.
Second-year running backs Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell are both ranked Below Average and, of course, Duke Johnson is a Rookie.
Related: Competition pushing Browns running backs
Some of our believe in the running game is based on Mack returning from injury, and the fact that Johnson could be a major addition to the offense. But the rankings by PFF are based off last year’s performance, so we can’t hold Johnson being a rookie against them.
West and Crowell combined to rush for 1,280 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, which if they were a single running back would have placed them fifth in rushing and second in touchdowns in the NFL. And did we mention that they did that with McDonald at center? That should be worth some kind of bonus points.
The duo struggled at times as rookie to understand what it means to be an NFL player, but with a year under their belts and the addition of Johnson pushing them for playing time, the running game should be the least of the Browns’ worries on offense in 2015.
Verdict: Unfair
Next: The Quarterbacks
Nov 30, 2014; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) lays on the ground after being tackled Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams (not pictured) during the second half at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Bills won 26-10. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Do we have to go there? We do? OK then.
Veterans Josh McCown and Thad Lewis are both ranked Below Average, and second-year players Johnny Manziel and Connor Shaw both earned the Not Enough Info label.
What is there left to say, really? The Browns are going to do everything they can to make sure McCown will have to do as little as possible this fall on offense, and there is a chance the plan could work out.
There is no chance (we hope) that McCown can’t be as bad as he was last season with Tampa Bay, where he completed just 56 percent of his passes, while throwing 14 interceptions and taking 36 sacks. But it is also unrealistic to think the Browns will get the McCown who threw for 1,829 yards, 13 touchdowns and just one interception in eight starts for Chicago in 2013.
You can’t say last year in Tampa was an aberration, while at the same time claiming that the McCown we saw in a Chicago uniform was the real deal; it just doesn’t work that way.
Realistically, McCown will be somewhere in the middle for the Browns: a quarterback who, when things are going right, can make enough plays (or minimize his mistakes, if you prefer) to help the team win. Kind of like Hoyer in 2014.
“He’s a guy that’s been around a long time,” Joe Thomas told the team’s website. “So, he obviously understands what it takes to be a winner in the NFL. When you have a guy like that at the quarterback position – it’s just the No. 1 position where you need that leadership and command of the huddle.”
So the Browns have that going for them, which is nice.
McCown also joins first-time offensive coordinator John DeFilippo in running the offense, a pairing that may not find success in its debut season.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, in the past three seasons 13 NFL teams have gone into the season with both a new offensive coordinator and new starting quarterback. Those teams won an average of 6.7 games, were 22nd in the league in points per game on average, with 10 of the 13 in the bottom half of the league in scoring. And only two of the 13 made the playoffs – the Indianapolis Colts (2012) and Kansas City Chiefs (2013).
So the odds are that McCown and the offense will struggle more than not this season, but could be better in 2016. Although if McCown is the starting quarterback in 2016, there is going to be some explaining to do in Berea.
If McCown struggles or is hurt, well, we’re just not ready to talk about that just yet.
Verdict: Fair
What do you think of the depth chart rankings for the Browns?