The Cleveland Browns are turning to a power run game to help neutralize opposing rushers and help out the passing game.
The more things change; the more they stay the same.
With the hire of head coach Hue Jackson, the Cleveland Browns have committed to yet another rebuilding project. The hiring of new coaches means changes in the offensive and defensive schemes as well.
Gone is the zone-run scheme of Kyle Shanahan and the vertical passing game of John DeFilippo. In their place is one of the oldest running schemes in football: the power run. The power run game has its origins dating back to Pop Warner’s single wing offense, has stood the test of time and is a classic football offense.
In recent years, the NFL has become a passing league, leaving an offensive game plan of ground-and-pound outdated. Or is it? For as much as former head coach Mike Pettine advocated the three yards and a cloud of dust approach, it will be Jackson that will actually implement it.
But the power run will not be focal point of the offense. The Browns will not be the Jim Tressel-era Ohio State Buckeyes that will look to control the clock, punt for field position and win with field goals. The NFL has shown that this approach no longer works.
Instead, the power run scheme will be used to control the game and set the tone. In the past two years, Jackson has found a new way to utilize the power run as a way to neutralize the Von Millers and J.J. Watts of the NFL.
In order to see how the power run game can control dominant outside linebackers, we need to visit the NFL schematic and personnel museum. The visit to this museum will help us gain insight into how the outside linebacker became a dominant force in the NFL and how offenses have learned to neutralize them.
Next: Lawrence Taylor Refined the Position
Before Lawrence Taylor the outside linebacker was a run stopper. The position basically read the offensive play and then reacted to the ball, meaning the job was basically the same schematically as it is today: keep outside contain. The outside linebacker also had pass coverage duties and would rush the passer to keep the offense guessing.
The emergence of Taylor was due to the success of the West Coast offense under Bill Walsh. As the San Francisco 49ers and others transitioned to the quick-timing passing game, the role of outside linebacker was neutralized. He could not get into coverage quick enough to disrupt the quick passes designed to lead to yards after the catch. Just envision Jerry Rice catching a quick slant, splitting the safeties and taking it to the house.
But the defense always has answers. During this time, NFL offenses used running backs to pick up edge blitzes. Schematically, linebackers were matched up against tight ends and running backs on all occasions. If the back went out for a pass, the linebacker covered. If a linebacker blitzed, it was the running back that picked up the blitz.
Enter Taylor, who possessed a great combination of speed and size. He could out-muscle a smaller running back on a pass rush. If the offense tried to neutralize him by sending a back out for a pass, he was fast enough to cover. But the real innovation was how Taylor was used.
The New York Giants changed their defense schematically in order to get Taylor mismatches against smaller running backs or bigger, slower linemen. Against each option, Taylor had an advantage. In the copycat league that is the NFL, Taylor became the model for the outside linebacker position.
But this is the NFL, where the offense always responds.
Next: An answer to Lawrence Taylor
Defenses were able to neutralize the West Coast offense, in part, by expanding the role of the outside linebacker to fit smaller and faster personnel.
The game of cat and mouse is played at two levels in the NFL. Both intermingle and any separation is purely artificial. But for the sake of explanation, let’s separate what cannot be separated on the field.
Offenses employed schematic changes to neutralize the outside linebacker. At this point, outside linebackers were coming off the edge untouched to be blocked by smaller running backs. Problem: how to slow down or stop Lawrence Taylor? Schematic answer: Extend the edge.
Offenses began to extend the edge of the formation to spread the outside linebacker further out or put them in assignment conflicts to neutralize their impact. This was done in several ways.
The Washington Redskins under head coach Joe Gibbs decided to extend the line of scrimmage by going to two tight end sets to one side. One tight end would line up next to the tackle, with the second tight end slightly behind in a wing position. This formation extends the outside linebacker further out from the quarterback, meaning he must take a longer route on a blitz. It also creates conflict as the linebacker must decide if he is responsible for the second tight end or the running back.
At the University of Miami another creative solution occurred. Outside linebackers were now smaller and faster, but were they good enough in coverage to defend a running back lined up in the slot? The Ace offense of head coach Dennis Erickson used running backs lined up in multiple positions to put outside linebackers in a bind. It is the same offense that Marshall Faulk terrorized linebackers in as a member of the St. Louis Rams’ Greatest Show on Turf.
The most creative response was the zone run. As offenses became smaller and faster, offensive coordinators like Mike Shanahan and Gary Kubiak created an offense designed to allow smaller, quicker offensive linemen to utilize the defenses’ aggression and speed against itself. But the offense hinged on controlling the fast backside outside linebacker. With the zone-run offense came the zone-read option and the roll-out passing game.
The offense now had an answer schematically. Now it was time to answer in terms of personnel.
Next: The Rise of Joe Thomas
Given all the schematic changes outlined above, the most important change was in personnel. One only need to see or read The Blindside by Michael Lewis (yes the same Michael Lewis who authored Moneyball) to see how the changes in the play of outside linebackers forced a change at the left tackle position.
The offense had to answer Taylor by changing its personnel. The problem the offense faced was how to block a smaller, faster outside linebacker with running backs or big, slow offensive linemen. The answer: draft bigger, quicker and more athletic offensive linemen to block outside linebackers. This shift in personnel led, instead of running backs, to offensive linemen now blocking outside linebackers in pass protection.
Joe Thomas is the quintessential definition of the left tackle after the position evolved in order to protect the quarterback’s blindside.
To protect the blindside, a left tackle needs to be quick enough off the ball to beat the outside linebacker into position. Once position is gained, he must extend his arms to punch the defender off and maintain space. Maintaining space is the key to all pass protection because if you lose space, you lose the quarterback.
An offensive lineman cannot hold a block forever, however, so in addition to space the second key to pass protection is time. Pass routes take different amounts of time to develop. A streak or high low concept requires more time to develop than a curl/flat combination. The longer the route, the longer a lineman must hold a block. The longer a lineman has to hold a block, the higher the chance the quarterback gets hit.
But defenses always respond. If you cannot beat the left tackle, just rush the right tackle.
Next: The changing offensive line
It is undeniable the NFL has become a passing league. The proliferation of the passing game puts a premium on pass protection for offensive linemen. Instead of the specialization of lineman in terms of the running game, linemen have become specialized in the passing game. While each position must pass block differently, offensive linemen are now becoming pass blockers first and run blockers second.
Von Miller of the Denver Broncos is the standard-bearer of the outside linebacker position in the NFL today. Outside of J.J Watt of the Houston Texans, Miller is the best defensive player in the game. Miller’s greatest asset is his ability to rush the passer, but unlike Lawrence Taylor, Miller primarily rushes against the right tackle.
As Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski reports in a recent article, in today’s NFL, the left and right tackle must both be able to block outside linebackers against the pass. Miller rushing against the right tackle means the right tackle position must change.
As a passing league, offensive linemen are becoming mirrors images of each other. That is, right and left tackles are basically the same player. Left and right guards are basically the same player. Both sets simply line up on opposite sides of the center.
According to Sobleski, offensive line salaries are starting to reflect the change in position. No longer is the left tackle the most important position on the line. Guards and centers’ salaries are now starting to catch up to those of left tackles. Teams are now looking to acquire the best five linemen available instead of preferring one position over another.
All of this assumes that as a passing league, the best offensive line is the one that can create enough space and time for a quarterback to deliver long, intermediate and short passes.
All of this makes sense, except in the AFC North.
Next: AFC North as a passing division
The AFC North is the best division in football. Despite its reputation as a running division, the AFC North is primarily a passing division as, despite the weather conditions, two of the division’s four teams finished in the top 10 in the league in passing in 2015, and three of the teams placed in the top half.
It is a different story when it comes to the running game. Only one team placed in the top half of the league in rushing, the Cincinnati Bengals. Yet, only one team in the AFC North fits the mold of Sobleski’s passing offensive line.
That team? The 2015 Cleveland Browns. They boasted Joe Thomas and Mitchell Schwartz, both excellent pass blockers. The line was built with athletic players who excel in pass blocking: Alex Mack, Joel Bitonio and John Greco. According to the pass first logic, the Browns should have dominated the AFC North. Instead, they posted the worst pass and rushing numbers of the division.
What are other teams doing differently than the Browns? What do the other teams know that the Browns have not figured out? It comes down to a simple question: How to win in a league dominated by Lawrence Taylor-type pass rushers? Answer: Utilize a power run offense.
The teams with the best passing numbers in the AFC North primarily used a power run scheme.
Next: The return of the power run
The traditional struggle of pass protection is space and time. The traditional answer to Lawrence Taylor quickly closing space has been more athletic and bigger offensive lineman. The defensive response to bigger athletic linemen has been to get a Lawrence Taylor for each side of the defense.
The offense’s response is purely reactionary. Maintain space and time by getting better linemen to pass block outside linebackers, slowing down or containing the edge rusher in the passing game.
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But even this solution is still playing Taylor’s game. The smaller outside linebackers still set the tone by attacking from the edge. The offense is still passive in pass protection.
But Jackson is solving a different question: How can we neutralize the smaller and faster type of linebacker?
The answer: instead of trying to stop the smaller, faster outside linebacker, attack the outside linebacker in order to schematically change the way space and time are created in the passing game.
Smaller, faster outside linebackers have a difficult time holding an edge against bigger, athletic offensive lineman. With this approach, the outdated power running scheme returns to establish the passing game.
Schematically, the best way to neutralize a speedy aggressive defender is to trap him. The power run specializes at putting more numbers at the point of attack than a defense can handle. By pulling a 300-pound athletic lineman, the scheme gives an offensive lineman a running start to trap a 240-pound outside linebacker off the edge. This is a mismatch that creates an advantage for the offense.
After getting smashed a few times at the point of attack, an outside linebacker is acutely aware of a pulling lineman. The outside linebacker is now a step slower off the ball in pass-rush situations because he must protect himself in the run game. This allows more time and space when throwing the ball downfield in passing situations. Thus, the offense has effectively controlled space and time by attacking the outside linebacker with pulling linemen.
In order to take advantage of a dominant outside linebacker, an offensive line must be built to execute the power run. As Jackson proved in Cincinnati, an offensive line built to execute a traditional power run scheme can produce an outstanding passing attack. All of this goes against the logic that an offensive line must be built to pass block.
Next: Browns training camp preview: Center
The Browns have rebuilt their offensive line to fit the power run attack. By pulling and trapping smaller outside linebackers, the offensive effectively slows them down in the passing game. The sun is setting on the smaller outside linebacker in the AFC North as the NFL has gone back to its roots, bringing back smash-mouth football as a means of establishing an effective passing attack.
For all the talk of the NFL being a passing league, it is still the power run that makes it possible.