Cleveland Browns: Greg Robinson benefiting from scheme change
By Joel W. Cade
The more things change
When Haley and former Browns head coach he Hue must not be named were fired, Freddie Kitchens took over as the offensive coordinator. All of a sudden the “do it my way” mentality faded in favor of a collaborative approach seeking to develop Baker Mayfield.
With Kitchens, the Browns began to slowly explore different ways to protect Baker. At first, the ways were limited to different play-action schemes. There were more screens employed to slow down the rush.
But changing the protection scheme had to wait until the bye week. Coming off the bye week, the Browns went into Cincinnati with a different style of pass protection. This different style is commonly known as dish protection.
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Basic pass protection is governed by a few rules. The interior offensive linemen control the depth of the pocket. It is important for a shorter quarterback like Mayfield that the interior linemen establish a solid wall up front. Mayfield also has to get depth to see over the interior linemen or through windows. Defenses will attempt to collapse the pocket from the front on shorter quarterbacks.
Second, the offensive tackles control the width of the pocket. The depth of their drops determines how far left and right the quarterback can move within the pocket. For a shorter quarterback, it is imperative the quarterback has enough room to move left and right to see into the throwing lanes.
Dish protection lengthens the pocket by having the interior linemen engage almost immediately off the ball. It also widens the pocket by having the offensive tackles take a few steps out and back then engage defenders.
By doing so, all the blocking action remains in front of the quarterback. Having the action in front allows Mayfield to see if there is a breakdown in protection. It gives him time to react to those breakdowns appropriately.
The result of the switch to dish protection has been more time for Mayfield. It has also allowed him to move back and forth, left and right with greater ease. As a result, the Browns have given up fewer hits on the quarterback and fewer sacks.
But it is not just Mayfield that benefits. The offensive tackles benefit as well.